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Diving Bali – Guide to Bali’s best dive sites

Swim with giant sunfish in the waters around Nusa Lembongan, explore the 120-meter-long USAT Liberty wreck at Tulamben, be amazed by the diversity in corals at Menjangan Island or explore one of Bali’s other excellent dive sites. Bali has diving that will thrill any diver.Book With Cover

A lot of the content in this guide can be found in our free e-book on diving Bali, so if you want to be able to take this guide with you, you can download it here: E-book on diving Bali.

Where to dive in Bali

Most of the dive sites are located on the north coast and the east coast or on some of the islands off those two coasts. Diving in Bali is diverse, so no matter your skill level or your interest you are certain to find a dive site in Bali that suits you.

To help you to pick just the right place to dive for you, we have collected all you need to know in the table below. To read more about the individual dive destinations, click on the name of the destination in the table or use the navigation to the left.

Map of Bali’s major dive destinations

Dive Map

When to dive Bali

You can dive in Bali all year round, but some sites are better to dive at certain times of year.

If you are looking for sunfish, the dry season is the time of the year you should head to Bali, and on the north coast visibility can be a little reduced from December to March – for more details see the table below or in the descriptions of the individual destinations.

Nusa Lembongan
and Nusa Penida
In short A playground for experienced divers.
Rating Quality 5/5
Visibility 20 – 45 m
Level Beginner – advanced
Currents Gentle – very strong
Depth 8 – 40 m
Temp. (°C) 20 – 26
Highlights Sunfish,
schools of manta rays
Dive sites 15+
Best time to dive All year. Rough: Jun-Sep.
Sunfish: July- Sep.
Gili Islands
In short Tropical island diving
Rating Quality 4/5
Visibility 15 – 25 m
Level Beginner – advanced
Currents Gentle
Depth 3 – 40 m
Temp. (°C) 26 – 30
Highlights Sea turles, reef sharks
Dive sites 20+
Best time to dive All year. Reduced visibility Dec- Jan
Amed to Gili Selang
In short Wrecks and stunning coral
Rating Quality 4/5
Visibility 10 – 25 m
Level Beginner – advanced
Currents Gentle – very strong
Depth 5 – 40+ m
Temp. (°C) 22 – 26
Highlights Wreck, barracudas
and reef sharks.
Dive sites 8
Best time to dive April – Nov
Amuk Bay
(Padang Bai -Candi dasa)
In short
Diversity – something for every diver
Rating Quality 5/5
Visibility 10 – 30 m
Level Beginner – advanced
Currents Moderate. Can be strong
near the islands
Depth 5 – 40+ m
Temp. (°C) 20 – 29
Highlights Schools of sharks, occasional sunfish
Dive sites 7
Best time to dive All year. Rough: Jun-Sep.
Sunfish: Aug- Sep.
Menjangan Island
In short Amazing visibility and diversity in fish and coral.
Rating Quality 5/5
Visibility 20-50 m
Level Beginner – advanced
Currents Moderate
Depth 5 – 40+ m
Temp. (°C) 26 – 28
Highlights Colorful walls and 19th
century wreck.
Dive sites 9
Best time to dive All year. Aug. can be a little rough.
Tulamben
In short Bali’s best known dive site
Rating Quality 5/5
Visibility 10 – 30 m
Level Beginner – advanced
Currents Gentle
Depth 5 – 40+ m
Temp. (°C) 22 – 26
Highlights The US Liberty wreck
Dive sites 5
Best time to dive All year. Can be difficult Dec – Mar.
Pemuteran
In short Calm waters and recovering coral
Rating Quality 3/5
Visibility 10 – 25 m
Level Beginner – intermediate
Currents Gentle
Depth 5 – 30 m
Temp. (°C) 26 – 29
Highlights Marcel, tuna,
barracuda
Dive sites 5
Best time to dive All year. Aug. can be a rough.
Gilimanuk Bay
(Secret Bay)
In short Not for everyone. Great for muck divers.
Rating Quality 3/5
Visibility 5 – 10 m
Level Intermediate – advanced
Currents Very gentle
Depth 3 – 10 m
Temp. (°C) 23 – 26
Highlights Frog fish,
nudiebranches
Dive sites 1
Best time to dive All year
Nusa Dua
In short Primary for beginners and brush up dives
Rating Quality 2/5
Visibility 5 – 15 m
Level Beginner
Currents Gentle
Depth 2 – 16 m
Temp. (°C) 26 – 28
Highlights Sea snakes, frogfish and batfish
Dive sites 2
Best time to dive All year

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For places to stay when you are above water, browse our villas in Bali located all over the island:

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