Reefs, muck, wrecks and more...
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Scuba diving on the north-east coast of Bali has developed around the nucleus of the famous USAT Liberty wreck. There are now hundreds of dive sites in the area ranging from wrecks to some fine coral reefs, and our favorite - the muck diving sites. The biodiversity in the area is immense - enough to keep the most avid diver busy for more than a lifetime!
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Depending on your experience and interest, we can recommend three options for diving the local area:
- The first, suited to less experienced divers or those happy to dive in a group, is to dive with the neighbouring resort, Kubu Indah Dive Resort and Spa. The dive centre is well equiped with rental gear and has qualified instructors and dive guides. This is certainly the easiest way to dive while you stay at Villa Anggrek.
- The second is to employ a local guide who can pick you up at the villa and take you to dive sites of your choice. This might better suit keen underwater photographers as the guides are exceptional 'critter' spotters. We can put you in touch with local freelance guides.
- A third option is available for more independent divers and requires your own transport. We can provide you with details of the local dive sites and you can make your own way there and dive independently. Tanks can be delivered to most dive sites in the area for a very modest fee. We would not recommend this option unless you are confident and experienced divers and are familiar with the Tulamben/Kubu area. We can help you arrange a hire vehicle which can be delivered to the villa.
The nearby dive sites can loosely be divided into four areas.
- Batu Ringgit is just to the north of the villa and has some excellent and varied sites. Mina Labuan is one of our favourites, with a pretty reef to the left and some excellent macro opportunites to the right. Gerombong, about 10 minutes from the villa, is a beautiful wall dive, which is at its best first thing in the morning. Many dive sites in this area have rocky entries and are best dived when the swell is low.
- Kubu is obvoiusly the nearest dive area and contains several dive sites including the Kubu Indah house reef, Kubu drop-off and the Kubu wreck.
- To the south of the villa is the main Tulumben area, which is well documented elswhere. The stand-out attraction is the USAT Liberty wreck, which can be dived at all times of the day (don't be convinced that early morning is the only time to dive the wreck). Coral Garden is a pretty dive, but for variety, Tulamben Drop-off is hard to beat.
- The bay to the south of Tulamben contains the famous Seraya Secrets macro site. The dive sites in this bay are generally renowned for macro, but there are also some excellent patches of coral.
- Amed is about a half hour drive away and makes a very pleasant two-dive trip. It is best to hire a jukung to take you out to the dive sites and they can bring you back to the beach between dives.
- Candidasa is about one hour away by car. Again a jukung can be arranged to take you to the jetty, the islands or one of the dive sites between Candidasa and Padang Bai.
- Manta Point (Nusa Penida) is a spectacular dive when conditions are right. This is a full-day trip from Kubu and can easily be arranged with the dive centre at Kubu Indah Resort.
