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INDONESIA: amazingly colourful diving with fantastic visibility
INDONESIA
Indonesia is made up of more than 17,000 beautiful islands, which sit straddling the equator, on the Western edge of the Pacific Rim. The 55,000 kilometres of coastline have created some excellent areas of scuba diving, and some of the Indonesian dive sites have a greater density of marine life than anywhere else in the world. In fact there is more coral for divers to explore in the Indonesian archipelago than there is on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and Indonesia is home to over a quarter of the fish species found on earth. A diving holiday to Indonesia offers a complete range of diving, including reef diving, drift diving, muck diving, night diving and wall diving. There are also plenty of WW2 wrecks for divers to explore, including one of the most famous in Asia, the U.S Liberty. Underwater photography is a popular pastime amongst the divers here, who come to take advantage of the 600 coral species and 3000 varieties of fish. Above the water, visitors to Indonesia will be amazed by the beauty of the country, the exotic food and the exciting culture.
Indonesia Highlights
Bali is one of the most popular destinations in Indonesia, and is often the starting point for live-aboard diving holidays. There are many dive centres offering courses for all abilities, and this is a good place for complete beginners to learn to dive. Bali has lots of wall diving, drift diving and muck diving available. It is also home to the U.S Liberty wreck, which has become an extraordinary eco-environment for marine life, and offers excellent diving both at night and during the day. The waters around Bali offer diving visitors the chance to see large creatures such as Mola Mola (sunfish), sharks and manta rays, but there is also an abundance of macro creatures for muck diving enthusiasts to get excited about. Menjangan Island is a National Marine Park not far from Bali that has hordes of tropical fish, colourful corals and interesting seascapes.
The Komodo National Park encompasses the islands of Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as many smaller islands. The park, which is home to the famous Komodo dragon, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986, and is known for having some of the best scuba diving in Indonesia. There is a huge diversity in the diving here, and divers can choose from many sites including deep water sea mounts with strong currents, pinnacles, walls, and shallow reefs that are packed full of colourful tropical fish. The currents ensure that the water is always full of plankton and nutrients, creating a vibrant ecosystem and encouraging a lot of marine life for divers to see. The north of the park is where to go to dive with large numbers of big fish, and the south offers divers colourful corals and interesting smaller creatures, such as unusual invertebrates. The region is popular for night dives as well as day diving. The waters in the Komodo region attract a full range of species, including mantas, sharks, trevally, eagle rays, turtles, dolphins, seahorses, rhinopias, nudibranchs, eels, frogfish, sweetlips and butterflyfish, to name but a few. Thanks to the richness of the underwater life, the area is perfect for an unforgettable diving holiday.
The Ampat Raja region of Indonesia has become one of the most exciting dive destinations in the world. With over 1200 different species in the water here, the variety of life is second to none. Divers will be able to explore reefs that are home to 74% of all known coral species in the world, which teem with activity from fish of all sizes. Diving holidays in Ampat Raja tend to be on live-aboard vessels.
Sulawesi is one of the world’s top scuba diving destinations, and is home to the renowned dive areas of Manado, the Lembeh Strait, Bunaken and Wakatobi. In addition to these famous dive spots, the region has countless other reefs, atolls and islands, just crying out to be explored by divers. The Wakatobi house reef is known as being the ‘best house reef in the world’, and offers divers the chance to see ghost pipefish, blue ringed octopi and sea turtles. Sulawesi is noted for its abyssal trenches and sheer drop offs, which are teeming with interesting life for divers to enjoy.
One of the best places to learn to dive in Indonesia is the Gili Islands. The three beautiful isles, Meno, Trawangan and Air, have the benefit of exceptional calm waters that are perfect for diving beginners. The water is crystal clear, and is full of exciting life that will ensure that novice divers become hooked on the sport. The waters are home to octopi, lionfish, scorpionfish and turtles.
Indonesia is made up of more than 17,000 beautiful islands, which sit straddling the equator, on the Western edge of the Pacific Rim. The 55,000 kilometres of coastline have created some excellent areas of scuba diving, and some of the Indonesian dive sites have a greater density of marine life than anywhere else in the world. In fact there is more coral for divers to explore in the Indonesian archipelago than there is on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and Indonesia is home to over a quarter of the fish species found on earth. A diving holiday to Indonesia offers a complete range of diving, including reef diving, drift diving, muck diving, night diving and wall diving. There are also plenty of WW2 wrecks for divers to explore, including one of the most famous in Asia, the U.S Liberty. Underwater photography is a popular pastime amongst the divers here, who come to take advantage of the 600 coral species and 3000 varieties of fish. Above the water, visitors to Indonesia will be amazed by the beauty of the country, the exotic food and the exciting culture.
Indonesia Highlights
Bali is one of the most popular destinations in Indonesia, and is often the starting point for live-aboard diving holidays. There are many dive centres offering courses for all abilities, and this is a good place for complete beginners to learn to dive. Bali has lots of wall diving, drift diving and muck diving available. It is also home to the U.S Liberty wreck, which has become an extraordinary eco-environment for marine life, and offers excellent diving both at night and during the day. The waters around Bali offer diving visitors the chance to see large creatures such as Mola Mola (sunfish), sharks and manta rays, but there is also an abundance of macro creatures for muck diving enthusiasts to get excited about. Menjangan Island is a National Marine Park not far from Bali that has hordes of tropical fish, colourful corals and interesting seascapes.
The Komodo National Park encompasses the islands of Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as many smaller islands. The park, which is home to the famous Komodo dragon, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986, and is known for having some of the best scuba diving in Indonesia. There is a huge diversity in the diving here, and divers can choose from many sites including deep water sea mounts with strong currents, pinnacles, walls, and shallow reefs that are packed full of colourful tropical fish. The currents ensure that the water is always full of plankton and nutrients, creating a vibrant ecosystem and encouraging a lot of marine life for divers to see. The north of the park is where to go to dive with large numbers of big fish, and the south offers divers colourful corals and interesting smaller creatures, such as unusual invertebrates. The region is popular for night dives as well as day diving. The waters in the Komodo region attract a full range of species, including mantas, sharks, trevally, eagle rays, turtles, dolphins, seahorses, rhinopias, nudibranchs, eels, frogfish, sweetlips and butterflyfish, to name but a few. Thanks to the richness of the underwater life, the area is perfect for an unforgettable diving holiday.
The Ampat Raja region of Indonesia has become one of the most exciting dive destinations in the world. With over 1200 different species in the water here, the variety of life is second to none. Divers will be able to explore reefs that are home to 74% of all known coral species in the world, which teem with activity from fish of all sizes. Diving holidays in Ampat Raja tend to be on live-aboard vessels.
Sulawesi is one of the world’s top scuba diving destinations, and is home to the renowned dive areas of Manado, the Lembeh Strait, Bunaken and Wakatobi. In addition to these famous dive spots, the region has countless other reefs, atolls and islands, just crying out to be explored by divers. The Wakatobi house reef is known as being the ‘best house reef in the world’, and offers divers the chance to see ghost pipefish, blue ringed octopi and sea turtles. Sulawesi is noted for its abyssal trenches and sheer drop offs, which are teeming with interesting life for divers to enjoy.
One of the best places to learn to dive in Indonesia is the Gili Islands. The three beautiful isles, Meno, Trawangan and Air, have the benefit of exceptional calm waters that are perfect for diving beginners. The water is crystal clear, and is full of exciting life that will ensure that novice divers become hooked on the sport. The waters are home to octopi, lionfish, scorpionfish and turtles.
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