Bali’s Five Top Dive Spots

My best friend and I are avid divers and usually try to take a diving trip together at least once a year.  This year, we went all out and spent a couple of weeks in Bali.  Let me tell you – it was amazing!  Bali has an abundance of diving locales, each one offering something special.  If you like diving, you’ll love the diversity offered in Bali.  Imagine encountering shipwrecks, vertical walls, volcanic outcrops, ripping currents, coral ridges and submerged reefs.  Although we loved every dive, we managed to come up with our top five lists of our favorite dive spots we encountered on our recent trip.

  1. USAT Liberty – Most of the dive operators we talked with consider the USAT Liberty to be the most popular dive site.  Based on the number of divers when we visited – I’d have to agree.  This dive site features the American Ship USAT Liberty that was an armed cargo steamship torpedoed by the Japanese in 1942.  With all those years under the sea, it is now a beautiful artificial reef.  You can expect to see huge soft coral trees, barrel sponges, bigeye jacks, batfish, sweetlips and parrotfish!  Definitely worth the crowds. 

  2. Gili Tepekong – Located near the Candi Dasa shore on the southeast coast, this dive site is a big volcanic hump rising impressively out of the water.  But, it’s what’s underneath that is so spectacular.  Covered in snake like coral heads of many sizes, you’ll be in awe of the site.  Blood red seafans, tunicates and many different kinds of sponges proliferate.  You’ll also witness gorgeous coral life; however, it is important to dive with a guide because strong downward currents can develop when the tide and surf are active.

  3. Manta Point – If you are lucky, you may just have a close encounter with the manta rays that pass through this area.  We were lucky enough to have such an encounter.  I especially enjoyed seeing the pure white manta that was both eerie and beautiful at the same time.  Be warned though, this dive site is located along the Nusa Penida, famed for its high and rugged cliffs, so it can be difficult to get to the site if there are large swells.

  4. Menjangen Island – Home to the Menjangen Island Marine Park, a protected habitat for around 3,500 marine species you can expect a spectacular visual dive.  We enjoyed being greeted by batfish and exploring the deep crevices and small caves around the reef.  We also saw beautiful coral, sleeping groupers and nervous bigeyes.

  5. Lipah Shipwreck – In the Lipah fishing village, you can find the Lipah Shipwreck dive site.  Hire a boat to take you down the coast or you can drive along the coast and walk in.  We were there on a particularly active day and found hundreds of cooper sweepers, more batfish and breathtaking waving sea fans.  We also went with a guide here because we’d heard that it can be an area susceptible to sudden, hard and fast currents.

Bali is an amazing place to dive with the abundance of spectacular dive sites and the generally warm waters.  Not only is it a great place to dive, but the culture and landscape make it amazing for all your land-based activities too!  I truly hope you get to enjoy your own Bali diving escape someday soon!

Posted by on 04/14 at 03:04 PM

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