Indonesia is little known to divers out there that Indonesia is actually
one of the world’s best scuba destination even though it has many beautiful diving spots.
Indonesia has one of the longest coastline in the worldstretching from the Indian Ocean to the east and Pacific Ocean to the west. Being part of the Coral Triangle of the world, Indonesia has a diverse marine life with 20% of world’s coral reefs. There are over 3000 fish species and 600 coral species to discover, where the dive sites come in diverse types from coral, steep walls, deep water trenches, wrecks and underwater volcanic mountains. To top it off, diving in Indonesia is affordable.
Best time to dive?
The best time and weather to dive in Indonesia are during the dry season of April to December.
But it is generally alright to dive all year round in Indonesia.
Sea Life
Whale Sharks I Mola Mola or Giant Sunfish I Manta Rays I Green Turtles I Ribbon Eels
Wonderpus I Wobbegong Sharks I Banded Sea Kraits I Blue Ringed Octopus I Frogfish
Mandarinfish I Ornate Ghost Pipe Fish I Nudibranchs I Mantis Shrimp I Pygmy Seahorses
Dive Sites
Forming one corner of the ‘Coral Triangle’, the epicenter of world marine biodiversity, and containing 20% of the world’s coral reefs, it will come as no surprise that it boasts the most diverse waters in the world.
RAJA AMPAT
The best time and weather to dive in Indonesia are during the dry season of April to December. But it is generally alright to dive all year round in Indonesia.
Forming one corner of the ‘Coral Triangle’, the epicenter of world marine biodiversity, and containing 20% of the world’s coral reefs, it will come as no surprise that it boasts the most diverse waters in the world.
TOGIAN ISLANDS
Diving in Togian Islands are also among the top activities in Indonesia that many know besides Raja Ampat. Just located North of Sulawesi, Togian Islands are a group of islands boasting secrets to amazing dives. This place is still largely unexploited, invoking feelings of diving in unexplored places. One of the best diving places in Indonesia and maybe even on earth, you will have to explore more than the 3 dive sites among these 56 islands The two top places to stay on this island are Black Marlin Dive Resort
KOMODO ISLANDS
Diving Komodo islands are also known to many world-class divers due to the Komodo National Park’s reserve that offers what every tropical diving paradise does – calm and colourful shallow reefs, mountains of marine life from reef fishes to sharks, and deep walls and pinnacles. Komodo Islands is the epicentre of scuba diving for its rich marine life and coral reefs. Besides, on land, it houses the famous Komodo dragon which is the largest lizard in the world.
BUNAKEN ISLANDS
One of the top diving sites in Indonesia, Bunaken Island (Pulau Bunaken) is unsurprisingly very popular for divers around the world. The Bunaken Marine Park, located at the north tip of Sulawesi, is not only rich with marine lives, but it is also mesmerizing for its water so clear it is truly transparent. It has an amazing diverse marine life such as 70 different corals, five species of sea turtles, many fish species and even white tip and black tip reef sharks, the almost extinct dugongs, barracuda and even saltwater crocodiles! Bunaken island also features a world-class wall diving.
BALI ISLANDS
No doubt there are reasons for Bali’s popularity, not only was it one of the best places to surf in Indonesia, but it is also one of the best places to dive here. Many divers find this place with excellent shore-based diving surrounded with a view of magnificent volcanoes and lush rice paddy terraces. Scuba diving in Bali gives you deep drop-offs, steep banks, coral ridges and famous wrecks from the world war, volcanic outcrops and seagrass beds. Choices of dive sites here including Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, Tulamben and Candi Dasa
LOMBOK & GILI ISLANDS
Just neighbour to the famous Bali, this sister island Lombok keeps its own secrets to spectacular diving with untouched coral reefs and pinnacles. You may even find Hammerhead sharks here and other wild marine life. besides being a peaceful holiday getaway, it features many adventurous dive to balance it with drop-offs, plateaus and slopes among fascinating corals and diverse marine lives.
BANGKA & BELITUNG ISLANDS
Bangka and Belitung Islands, just off Sumatra, offer over 25 dive sites that promise reef slopes and pinnacles of soft corals and rich marine life. You can also do a drift diving here with a negative entry and also descending pinnacles and giant granite rock formations that are clinging with beautiful corals.
PALAU WEH, SUMATRA
Diving in Pulau Weh is well known for its rich ecosystem and off the beaten track in oppose to its famous distant sister Bali of Indonesia. A part of this island had been declared as wildlife protection is by the Indonesian government because it is the home to many rare species on land wild the coral reefs are bursting with large and diverse variety of Indo-Pacific marine life. The remoteness of this Island makes the open Banda Sea all the more fascinating to dive in as the place is still bursting with vibrant and natural reef system and large variety of marine life that are not exploited.
WAKATOBI ISLANDS
Dotted in the Banda Sea, the islands of Wakatobi – Wangi, Kaledupa, Tomea and Binongki is another Indonesia’s answer to world class diving. Rich with reefs along barriers, corals and fishes, this national park is well protected thus brimming with healthy marine lives. Diving here will also contribute towards local community and the support for the marine park.
BANDA ISLANDS
One of the best-kept secrets of Indonesia, this little-known diving site of Indonesia is bursting with healthy reefs of massive hard corals, sea fans, sponges and marine wildlife of pelagics and reef fishes. Diving Banda Islands might just bring you into critter havens of Ambon and also other undiscovered secrets that only diving exploration can bring.
For more information, visit ALL INDONESIA TRAVEL
How to arrive
The principal gateways for entry to Indonesia are Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang (just at the outskirt of Jakarta) and Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport. Both have undergone massive expansion and are now equipped with the latest and most convenient facilities. Other Airports that also serve international flights include Juanda Airport in Surabaya, Hasanudin Airport in Makassar, and Kuala Namu in Medan. The recently established West Java International Airport in Majalengka, West Java Province about 68Km from Bandung also serves numerous international flights.
Travel to Indonesia from the Americas can take as little as 20 hours and requires at least a transit in East Asia, Europe or the Middle East. Travel from most of Europe will take less than 20 hours. While there are direct flights to Jakarta from Amsterdam, London and Istanbul, for other cities a transit is required. Australia, though, is just 4–7 hours away. There are several flights from various cities in the Middle East to Indonesia. There are also short flights from Indonesian cities to nearby Malaysian cities, such as from Pontianak to Kuching, Tarakan to Tawau, and Pekanbaru to Malacca.
Garuda Indonesia, the flag carrier of Indonesia, serves flights to several cities in Southeast Asia, East Asia, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Amsterdam, and London. The airline also has extensive code-sharing agreements (Sky Team) and this assists in providing good flight frequencies from airports in countries near Indonesia.
Other international airlines that serve to and from Indonesia include AirAsia. Cathay Pacific Airways, China Airlines, Emirates, Eva Air, Firefly, Japan Airlines, KLM, Korean Air, Lion Air, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, and Qantas/Jetstar Airways.
