The best scuba diving in Bunaken features pristine hard corals, an abundance of reef fish and larger pelagic species: including reef sharks, eagle rays and tuna. Bunaken Marine Park consists of five islands: Manado Tua, Siladen, Mantehage, Nain and Bunaken itself. Although the sizable volcano overlooks the Manado Tua skyline, the other four are mostly horizontal and surrounded by large fringing slabs of reef. Mangroves protect much of the island’s coastal beaches, so erosion is minimal in a calm setting even on bumpy days.
Scuba Diving in Bunaken Island
The briefing teaches anglers to descend to maximum thickness before moving ‘abandoned reef’ or ‘landing directly’, which is determined by the moment. However, maybe not every waterfall actually exists, and some of the flat and sandy spots make this a wonderful training ground for new sailors too.
Traditionally the inhabitants of the island below were sailors. But these days, hotels and homestays offer more job options. The park has many dive sites to choose from, along with operators mostly located in Bunaken and Siladen. Dive centers around south Sulawesi also provide excursions to Marine Parks. Most hotels provide guests with a full board, and some have small cafes or pubs that are ideal for interacting at the end of a dive. To test how the natives live, it’s worth taking a walk to the local villages around the island.
Mandolin Reef
It’s right across the corner out of Ron’s Point to the west side of Bunaken and confronting the island of Manado Tua is located Mandolin Reef. The water before the reef acts as strong as 1,900 ft (600 m) in areas, making it another superb spot to see sharks and lettuce. Technical divers will appreciate hovering over bigger outcrops inside the world that begin from approximately 148 ft (45 m).
Sachiko I, II
They’re home to cable corals, Napoleon wrasse and tons of a Bunaken favored — plants that are green. Whether there’s a little bit of present on those dives or not, then there’s always a lot of life to the reefs. Though your dive manual is assessing for little things, it is well worth keeping a watch at the gloomy for bigger marine life.
Leekuan II
Along the southeast of the island of Bunaken lies the perpendicular wall of Lekuan II. Boats generally fall anglers in the recess here, close to some of the shallow overhangs that are home to Allied marine sharks. A wall for macro and big lifestyle lovers, this website combines an incredible amount of lifestyle with incredible topography.
Muka Kampung
Translated literally, Muka Kampung means “in front of the village” – the main village on the island of Bunaken. Usually, this can be a light to medium float along a large sloping wall. But don’t worry there are some swirls in the walls, giving anglers a break from the present and a chance to look for smaller species like the ornate ghost pipefish.
Pangalingan
Current swimming websites provide the opportunity to see educational snapper, fusilier, and other reef fish while ducking and diving through the present.
Bualo
Bualo is located in the west of Manado Tua. More comfortable than Pangalingan, this dive site has some fantastic overhangs and provides great opportunities for pelagic viewing in addition to the small stuff.
Siladen Wall
On the southwest side of the smallest island of this sea area, lies a website called the island itself. Siladen is just another website where you have the fantastic opportunity to see things small and big equally. Soft gifts usually push the sailor along the walls and with the fantastic visibility feature it can really give you a more panoramic dive feel.
Planning to visit Bunaken soon? Find out more about Bunaken and Indonesia by visiting Wonderful Indonesia.
