Nusa Penida close to Bali provides a unbelievable alternative to dive with mola mola (the oceanic sunfish) and manta rays, two of essentially the most exceptional giant creatures to swim inside the ocean. On this article, we talk about our diving experience right here, the place is the most effective place to dive from Padang Bai, Nusa Penida or Nusa Lembongan, the most effective mola mola and manta season for Nusa Penida, dive operators, dive websites round Nusa Penida, dive costs and lodging. For the most effective diving throughout Indonesia see our Full Indonesia Dive Information.
Nusa Penida
Nusa Penida, Nusa Ceningan, and Nusa Lembongan are three small islands separated from Bali on the east facet by The Bandung Strait, a spot to not miss when touring to Bali. Nusa Penida is the most important of the three at 17km lengthy. There’s a lot to discover across the island, spectacular cliffs, pristine seashores, bat caves, temples, and waterfalls, however for us, it was all about diving from Nusa Penida island.
Diving Nusa Penida
There’s some unbelievable diving round Nusa Penida, the highlights are the unimaginable cleansing stations at Manta Level and swimming with mola mola at Crystal Bay. This little neighbor to Bali has much more diving to supply than sunfish and manta rays.
We did a few of the longest drift dives we have now completed around the globe, gliding over the attractive reefs surrounding Nusa Penida. I’ll advocate the drift dives round Nusa Penida for extra skilled divers because the currents will be robust and unpredictable.
The water flowing across the island is an up-welling from the deep and is usually chilly water with temperatures within the low twenty diploma Celsius vary, even dropping to 16C! I’ll advocate diving right here in a 5mm wetsuit (your dive middle ought to present one). Water temperatures are the bottom from June to October and better from November to February.
The visibility is sweet diving within the space, ranging between 10 and 40 meters!
Many of the diving is completed at depths ranging between 10m and 20m, there are some deep dive websites all the way in which to 40m.
For extra superior things to do within the space see this Bali journey itinerary.
Finest time of yr to Dive Nusa Penida
January and February are the height of the wet season and never essentially the most nice time to be on the island. Diving is sweet from November to Might when the ocean is calm. Manta Rays will be seen from Nusa Penida all yr spherical. August to October is the most effective time of the yr to dive with Mola Mola from Nusa Penida, we talk about this later within the article. Take a look at our complete Bali Information for all the knowledge wanted to Dive and Journey to Bali.
Marine Life Diving Nusa Penida
The island is understood for Mola mola (the oceanic sunfish) and manta rays, two huge bucket checklist animals for many divers to swim with! Mola mola, generally often called the oceanic sunfish is the heaviest identified bony fish on this planet weighing as much as 1,000 kg. These animals are native to tropical and temperate waters across the globe. The mola mola seems just like a fish head with a tail, and its predominant physique is flattened laterally. Manta rays are giant rays belonging to the genus Manta. The bigger species, M. birostris, attain as much as 7 meters in width. Each these animals will be very giant and make unbelievable picture topics! If you happen to stay calm and swim gradual they’ll come very shut!
This isn’t the one exceptional marine life discovered diving round this superb little island. Silvertip and Gray Reef sharks typically swim within the currents round Nusa Penida. Hawksbill turtles and a wide range of puffer fish and lionfish are generally encountered floating over the reef. Examine-in holes and crevasses, Large Moray eels reside right here. Don’t simply seize or put your knees on any piece of reef, scorpionfish reside on the reef and the sting could be very toxic. Brilliant-colored anemone fish make anemones all around the reef their house. Hold an eye fixed out for a wide range of lovely nudibranchs (sea slugs) when you have information he’ll level some out. In sandy areas swim fastidiously to identify blue noticed stingrays and backyard eels, they’re tough to {photograph} since they pull again into the sand as quickly as they sense you. We have been fortunate to swim with some large marble rays whereas doing a deep dive in a powerful present.
If you happen to get pleasure from wreck diving take a look at our publish on diving the Wreck of the USAT Liberty from Bali.
Manta Level Nusa Penida
When speaking about diving with manta rays round Indonesia Komodo and Raja Ampat are all the time the primary locations talked about. I knew there have been mantas someplace round Bali, however by no means would have imagined a cleansing station visited by so many manta rays as Manta Level from Nusa Penida. Loads of manta rays come all yr spherical to benefit from the cleansing station. It’s a tremendous place to dive or snorkel with Manta rays. They are surely plentiful right here, for those who stand on the encircling cliffs you’ll be able to spot many mantas near the cliffs.
Mola Mola Nusa Penida
The water round Nusa Penida is pretty chilly resulting from a deep up-welling south of Bali and the nutrient-rich deep-water trench is famend as one of many high locations on this planet to identify mola mola, the large oceanic sunfish. The strange-looking mola mola seems to be like an enormous head swimming round and not using a physique. It’s the heaviest identified bony fish on this planet. These fish often reside very deep however they arrive as much as shallow waters to be cleaned of pores and skin parasites.
In South Africa, I’ve been fortunate sufficient to swim with mola mola on a number of events, however in Bali, we have been very unfortunate and arrived a day after the dive middle noticed 9 mola molas throughout a single dive! We did nevertheless see many extra manta rays than we did whereas diving in Komodo Nationwide Park. Throughout a special type of superb dive on the web site PED, Alya and I bought engaged to be married throughout a drift dive in delicate present, you’ll be able to see the video beneath.
Finest situations for seeing Mola Mola in Bali, Nusa Penida
Nusa Penida is without doubt one of the finest locations on this planet for seeing Mola Mola additionally referred to as Oceanic Sunfish. The excessive season to see them is from August to October. Tides and currents will decide if mola mola are round. The perfect time is simply between the brand new moon and the complete moon throughout lengthy slack tide. On the day of the complete moon (we arrived a day late) our dive chief noticed 9 molas! We dived for the next three days with out having any luck.
Dive websites for Mola Mola from Nusa Penida
The perfect dive websites to see them are Crystal Bay, Gamat Bay, Toyapakeh, and Ceningan Wall within the Ceningan channel and Blue Nook in Nusa Lembongan. If it’s important to choose one web site Crystal Bay is the place to go. The mola mola comes up from the deep in chilly water, so that you need temperatures beneath 25C and these large “swimming heads” don’t like present, so little present or look in a bay the place they’ll cover.
Diving Nusa Penida from Bali (Padang Bai), Nusa Penida or Nusa Lembongan
Diving the websites round Nusa Penida from the island itself is a good suggestion since it’s cheaper than diving from Padang Bai or Nusa Lembongan with a pace boat, as you’d anticipate. We loved staying in Nusa Penida, it has some lovely websites and wholesome reef, see our entry Things to do in Nusa Penida, for all about this lovely island. Since Manta Level is simply across the nook snorkeling with these lovely beasts shouldn’t be very costly and you are able to do it day by day! There’s much more to do in Bali than diving, listed below are a pair extra concepts for accountable journey actions round Bali.
Dive Centres and Costs for Diving Nusa Penida
As a result of Nusa Penida is situated near each Nusa Lembongan and Bali the websites round Nusa Penida will be dived as day journeys from both of those islands. Is that this your first dive? Manta Bay and Nusa Penida diving is a superb place for newbie divers with probability to see manta rays yr spherical on the well-known manta level dive websites. Examine this Uncover diving tour.
Nusa Penida
We did go to a number of dive resorts in Nusa Penida earlier than deciding on a dive middle to dive with for three days. We went diving with Penida Dive Resort; skilled, organized, pleasant, educated dive professionals and off-course good costs.
Dive with the famend Pure Dive Resort in Nusa Penida to discover the deep blue, whether or not you’re open water or extra superior, knowledgeable dive grasp will present you the treasures of the completely different dive websites across the islands of Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida.
Bali (Padang Bai)
Padang Bai is the place to dive from if you wish to dive round Nusa Penida from Bali itself. OK divers was a pleasant dive middle in Padang Bai. You possibly can simply e-book a tour to choose you up at your lodging in Bali similar to this Scuba Diving in Nusa Penida Island and Manta Level tour together with pick-up and drop-off out of your Bali lodge.
Nusa Lembongan
Lodging Nusa Penida
Dive Websites Nusa Penida – from my logbook
Crystal Bay Dive Web site
Max Depth: 29m, Avg Depth 15m, 23C, viz 20m
Top-of-the-line dive websites of Nusa Penida in mola-mola season. Robust currents over the coral reefs, ready at 25-30m for a lot of the dive ready for large stuff – mola mola and sharks to come back previous with our dive guides drift diving. The water temperature was good for the primary attraction the uncommon mola mola, it was chilly however the present was very robust on each our dives, perhaps explaining the molas not exhibiting up. We noticed some white tip reef sharks, eagle rays, a turtle, and a tuna in pretty deep waters on this dive journey.
On the finish of the second dive right here, we completed within the shallows and noticed good coral, plenty of nudis, backyard eels, and a wide range of reef fish.
Blue Nook dive web site
Max Depth: 38m, Avg Depth 16m, 23C, viz 20m
Some of the well-known dive websites across the island of Nusa Penida. Circumstances aren’t all the time favorable. Robust currents are higher at this dive web site and this can be a web site for superior divers. Some dive operators solely take scuba divers with greater than 100 dives on a day journey to Blue Nook. A preferred web site with a clean deep slope with terraces and a quick drift dive. Mola mola is usually seen in season, we have been hoping they’re hiding from the present across the nook, however sadly didn’t make it across the nook – no Mola mola. We did nevertheless see eight large marble rays! They have been swimming at 38m.
Manta Level
Top-of-the-line spots to see majestic manta rays within the wealthy waters of the manta cleansing station. There are two websites referred to as Manta Level; Manta level (Manta Level 1) and Manta Level 2 (Manta 66). Manta Level 1 is shallow (10m) and really near the rocks. Many mantas will be seen swimming right here from the cliff above. The height season is from March to June, however the mantas are right here all yr spherical. Some dive retailers give a money-back assure for seeing them. Our determination to go snorkeling as a substitute of diving was one. You possibly can discuss to the boat that spots them and swim in that path. We had a number of mantas swimming round us on the floor for some time.
PED
Lovely sloping reef lined in wholesome coral. Dived it twice, the present was medium and powerful. We noticed a big number of reef fish, turtles, white-tip reef sharks, if A thermocline is current mola mola will be seen right here in season.
Komodo Island is one in all our favourite dive spots in Indonesia! ↓↓↓↓↓↓ GO PRO HERO 11
I requested Alya to marry me diving on this reef
Helpful things to pack in your underwater journey
MARES STAR |AEGEND FOLD AWAY| RASH VEST |ANTI-FOG |HAVAIANAS FLIP FLOPS|GO PRO HERO 11| COLUMBIA SHIRT|OSPREY TOILETRY BAG
Happening a dive journey? – Dive Journey Packing Listing+Suggestions
Extra Diving Indonesia Sources
The island Sulawesi has a few of the finest diving in Indonesia, diving within the South of Sulawesi see the ‘off the crushed observe’ island Bira. Lembeh Strait for Muck diving within the north and the Togian Islands to actually dive a hidden paradise.
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The robust half of Stingy Nomads, a nomadic aquaman that will be completely happy to spend all his life within the water diving, browsing and spearfishing however typically has to compromise with Alya and go mountain climbing as a substitute. Campbell is answerable for all our marine adventures and following them with write-ups. He loves touring, braai (BBQ in South Africa), purple wine and spending the day in a wetsuit.
