BUNAKEN DIVING

DIVING MANADO (NORTH SULAWESI) & SURROUNDING ISLANDS
The small islands in Manado Bay offer pristine coral walls covered with incredible amounts and varieties of soft coral. Visibility ranges from 12-25 meters, but this is due to plankton, which sustains the area's rich fish life. The reefs here are basically untouched. The marine life here is excellent and the surfaces of the walls are crowded with hard and soft coral. Huge schools of Pyramid Butterfly Fish, Black Triggerfish, Barracuda, rays, Moray eels and sea snakes are common.

DIVE SITES:

Bunaken Islands:
The bay of Manado is located at the very top of the island of Sulawesi. Less than 30 minutes by boat from the docks of the picturesque Christian Harbor lay the Bunaken Sea Gardens, one of Indonesia's finest sea parks and one of the world's best scuba diving experiences. While tourism interests have now started to encroach on the simplicity of Manado, the reality of the Bunaken is impossible to damage. Most diving around the Bunaken Sea Garden is shore based day dives, with transportation being provided by small open boats equipped with out-board motors. The reef is good all the way around Bunaken, and 6 km long island features no less than 13 dive sites. Bunaken is the centerpiece of this national reserve and, with careful observation, you could possibly see the majority of reef fish found in Indonesia. All the sites are similar in that they feature steep walls of coral, pocketed with small caves, and they are buzzing with small and medium sized reef fish. Good coral growth usually extends down to 40-50 meters, and in deeper parts of the walls, one can see sharks, large rays and Napoleon Wrasse.

Siladen Island:
There is one regular site off the small island of Siladen, just 2 km northeast of unaken. The wall is steep, down to about 35 meters, and coral growth is very good. Siladen is a good place to see big pelagic fish, and the largest stingrays in the reserve.