Indonesia is the home of 20% of the world's reef and some of the finest diving and snorkelling you can find. There are lots of opportunities available for novice and experienced scuba divers, with great deals of equipment rental shops and liveaboard journeys and more being offered. Indonesia also has a great deal of shipwrecks off its coasts, which produce fascinating dives. It is almost a pity to visit Indonesia and not obtain your feet damp.
In Bali tourism has BLOWN UP! It’s very well-traveled at this point and if you’re at all nervous about traveling in Asia as a solo traveler, this is a great place to start. Not only are the people really sweet and passionate about sharing their culture with you, the island is stunning. On top of that, since travel is so popular there, you are bound to cross paths with many others traveling alone.
Sunken temples and ships and coral walls that bloom with color can be encountered. Sea fans can swim near Manta rays and Mola Mola, as you marvel at the beauty of the deep sea. Bali is one of the best locations in the world for scuba diving. There are a number of diving points and you can see the USS liberty ship wreck, manta rays and corals.
This is why this article focuses on the island's best dive spots. Moreover, another favorite and exciting activity is free diving in Bali. Freediving, however, isn't uncommon. On the contrary, it's a little more exciting and an adventure than scuba diving. You must visit these best scuba diving in Bali spots if you are looking to relax your body and soul.
If you are looking to get away from everything and renew your spirit, a retreat in Bali can provide the perfect solo travel choice. Beautiful beaches and lush greenery create a serene backdrop for your travels. Resorts, spas and retreats in the area offer a host of different options to help you recharge. You can go on a yoga retreat or meditate in a women's only sanctuary.
Of course, you don't have to select a retreat that caters to a specific need to unwind in this serene setting. Bali is home to luxury resorts featuring private villas, infinity pools, gourmet meals and even surf lessons to make your solo journey relaxing and rewarding.
Let's begin with the best beaches in Bali!1. West Bali National Park
If you have arrived at the tip of Bali, don't forget to stop by Menjangan Island. You can stay overnight in the village of Pemuteran, go to the people's harbor to bargain for snorkeling or diving. The island of Menjangan has the most beautiful underwater world in Bali compared to some other regions such as Amed and Tulamben.
The famous Menjangan Island (Deer Island) is one of the true natural treasures of Bali. The island is part of Bali Barat Taman National Park in Bali's northwest area. The beautiful coral reef gardens that surround the entire island make this spot so amazing. Can you imagine the underwater sight being so impressive?
Also, for scuba divers who wants to see aquatic animals, the place has a wide range of ecobiology. This is the perfect place to explore fish and colorful coral reefs. In fact, you will notice several coral species and colorful tropical fish.
But Menjangan Island is not even the best part. There will also be a look at turtles, reef sharks, eagle rays, frogfish and more. The visibility is good and therefore suitable for every diver.
The beautiful Pemuteran is another hidden gem. It is a fisherman village on the north coast of Bali. The jungle is green, the water is blue, and what else can you ask for, for a dive under the surface!
Before you get to the destination, the Pemuteran adventure begins. Because you have to pass by the mountain road past Bedugul if you want to get there. Three great views over three different lakes will be seen along the route. As a bonus, you can admire some of the best temples in Bali.
None of the beauty over the surface, however, comes close to the beauty of the underwater sites. The Napoleon Reef, Biorock Reef, Temple Wall, and Bio Wreck are the most popular sites. In shape of shipwrecks covered in beautiful corals species along with fish floating in the vicinity of the artificial metal structures.
You could even be fortunate and see great ocean animals such as whale sharks, eagle rays, and reef sharks. Pemuteran is the paradise spot for every diver who wants to enjoy underwater beauty and is one of the best diving sites in Bali. Here you can also go for night dives!
Perhaps Batu Kursi is the driest place in Bali. In dry season, this place is scorchingly hot. Batu Kursi is grass-covered hill on the northern coasts of Bali that is seldom visited by tourists. The location is too far-away from any entry ports, unless tourists purposely visit Pemuteran, there is almost no chance that this place get any glances.
Interestingly, Batu Kursi Hill is just few kilometers to the south of Singaraja-Gilimanuk road that connects two important towns in northern Bali. On the top of these hills, there are at least a dozen temples. The holy sites are small although well-maintained by local villagers. To reach those temples you need to hike these hills, that require some physical efforts.
But once you reach the top you will be able to observe the scenery of Pemuteran coastal area and Bali Sea. Remember to bring along some bottled water with you.
When you arrive at the Ubung station you will be offered all kinds of transport to Gilimanuk, much more expensive than what it really costs and they will try to buy you the bus ticket along with the ferry ticket. Do not get involved! It took us about 3.5 hours to get to Gilimanuk and once there it was very easy to take the ferry to Java. The bus leaves you in the same port.
The ferry trip (1 hour) was most entertaining. In that journey you start to see that you are already moving away from the tourism of Bali and you are entering a more authentic and deep Indonesia. People threw coins into the sea asking for wishes and many of them wanted to take pictures with us, it was very interesting.
2. Kubu
The experienced divers know that the word muck (a silty seabed generally of black volcanic sand) means to find unbelievable little treasures. A great tip before you go there is to make sure that you go with a Balinese dive guide. Spotting the Ghost pipefish, the nudibranchs or the pigmy horses require patience, knowledge and good eyes. The guides know the best places to spot them.
Liberty wreck is now one of the most popular wreck dives in Bali. USAT Liberty was a US cargo ship struck by a torpedo. You can start your dive from the black sand beach in Tulamben. The USAT Liberty is just 25 m away. You can see the bump head parrotfish School and Jackfish float around the boat when you go diving at sunrise.
In 1963, a 70 m deep underwater wall arose from the volcanic eruption of Mount Agung. This is a good place to try your luck on white tip sharks. You can also spot whale sharks if you are extra lucky.
Along with its village of fisherman and its black sandy beach, this is the ideal place for relaxing and peaceful diving. The 15 minutes of sailing by traditional jukung boats is compulsory to reach the charm of diving in Amed.
A great variety of marine life can be found in Amed. Keep your eyes peeled out for the ever. You can see the pygmy or occasional blacktip reef shark. You can also spot angelfish, puffer fish, trevally and lionfish.
Seraya Secrets is one of the most exciting dives in Bali with a truly amazing life. This is an essential destination for underwater photographers. When you enter Seraya Secret, at the same moment that your mask is submerged, you realize that you have entered another world.
You can see boxing crabs, zebra crabs, harlequin prawns, devil scorpionfish, mime octopus, juvenile lionfish, Coleman prawns. Just 10 meters deep, you can enjoy one of the most exciting dives in the world, full of strange life and that can only be found in this part of the planet.
3. Padangbai
Padangbai, also known as Blue Lagoon is a beautiful site. It is perfect for beginners or those who are looking for a cruise dive because the location is protected. Visibility is excellent, and you don't have to go too far to explore some of the site's beauty. Marine life is wondrously diverse too. You will find frogfish, morays, stonefish, nudibranchs, squid, stargazers and rays also.
Gili Tepekong and Mimpang await those with more experience seeking their next adventure. The great thing is that Gili Tepekong has poor conditions. The chances are that they will be appropriate for Gili Mimpang diving and vice versa.
There are beautiful rock formations, colorful sea life and calm corals in the underwater world. This part of Bali also offers an opportunity if you are visiting at the right time. July to September is the best time to dive in bali as you can see the incredible mola mola.
4. Gili Selang
Gili Selang is a big rock located on the east of Bali. It lies only a few meters away from the beach and considered as one of lesser known diving sites. The rock hides rich marine life just beneath its cliffs. To reach Gili Selang, you might need to stay in more famous diving sites, Amed and Tulamben. Alternatively, if you are into snorkeling, you can travel to Amed Beach - about 2 hrs from Ubud.
This is the place famous for beautiful corals for snorkeling and many open water course for tourists who want to try diving for first time.
Also, it is signified by blacksand beach so you will experience a different type of beach than Kuta or Seminyak. The current is stable here, however, the water is deep - swimming without snorkeling gear is not safe if you’re not good at swimming. In addition, there are a few mountains in the area if you want to hike. Mount Batur, Mount Agung - depends on your fitness level (Batur - 4hrs hike, Agung - 12 hrs hike).
The travel agency is everywhere, even hotel also offers the service for trekking tours. You can ask from there. Many dinning spots on the cliff overlook the ocean. From Amed you can drive all the way to the east until you reach the most eastern point of Bali.
From there, you can see Gili Selang just beneath the cliff, which takes a few minutes to reach on foot. From Amed Beach, if you want to explore something further, you can take a boat to the Gilis: Gili Meno, Gili Air, Gili Trawangan. Gili trawangan is more lively with more tourists than other Gili, the beach is beautiful. But if you want to have quiet time and swim with sea turtles: check out Gili Meno - quiet island with famous seaturtles sanctuary.
5. Benoa Bay
Nusa Dua is the most artificial and desolate spa town in Bali. The road is well equipped, and the streets are delimited by very well-kept flower beds. Some are private beaches for the clients of the hotel complexes. The prices in the warungs are expensive. The coastline is full of luxury hotels with activities typical of an amusement park. It is just worth the path that leads to the rocks on the shore.
Mola-Mola Beach has no official name. But some people call it Sunfish Beach or Mola-Mola Beach of Nusa Penida. It is located on the southeastern parts of the island. Only a few tourists in Bali visited Nusa Penida and only a few tourists in Nusa Penida visited the southeastern part of the island. Those are the reasons why it is so quiet over here.
The road does not exist on this beach. So you need to leave your vehicles a bit far and then continue on foot. The path is slippery and dangerous to both climb and descend since it’s quite steep in some parts. Once you reach the coast, you will observe narrow white-sand beach sandwiched between two tall cliffs. It is very quiet and beautiful.
In this list, Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan were to be the most popular drift diving spots in Bali. Almost all the diving sites around its area are incredibly famous. You can have the opportunity to see some truly amazing animals such as manta rays, large tuna, eagle rays or Mola Mola. Plan a day trip as this place has few locations and is a separate island that will require a ferry trip.
You also need transport on the island to go from one part to the other if you want to see all the locations. In fact, all the places you have read about are nearby. There is Crystal Bay, Manta Bay, Manta Point, Blue Corner, and Ceningan. You should visit some of these places if you would like to see a true representation of the underwater flora and fauna.
The peak season for traveling to Indonesia is from May to October, and relatively fewer people travel from November to April. The reason is that Indonesia is a tropical country, divided into the rainy season and dry season. May to October has comparatively lesser precipitation, which is more suitable for tourism.
November to April is the local rainy season with more rains and fewer tourists. At this time, air tickets, hotels are also more cost-effective. Considering the off-peak and peak seasons, we must also consider holiday factors. Generally, from September to October, transportation and tourism in the country are tight and crowded, and prices also rise high.
Bali is where most people go to Indonesia. If you want to avoid peak periods, consider Bali. June to September is the best time to travel in Bali, Indonesia, and the peak season to watch the volcano is from May to September. From June to September, Indonesia is the most suitable for traveling. It is just after the dry season, and the rainfall is just right, which makes it the peak tourist season.
Indonesia has a typical tropical rain forest climate, with an average annual temperature of 25-27°C, with no difference in the four seasons. The northern part is affected by the northern-hemisphere monsoon, with abundant precipitation from July to September, and the southern part is affected by the southern-hemisphere monsoon. December, January, and February have abundant rains, with annual precipitation of 1600-2200 mm.
