As you can see on the dive sites map below there are countless dive sites we can take you for day trips. All of these dive sites are reachable with our diving boats. We normally divide the area / day planning in going to Bunaken and Manado, but we also combine the two depending on your wishes. Do you want to know our top 5 dive sites in the area?
Top 5 Dive Sites around Manado
As seasons change and species migrate it is always hard to make a list of the best dive sites around Manado and Bunaken. However we made a list of spots we often go – dive sites you should not miss while staying with us.
1. Tanjung Kopi
If you would like to see BIG FISH and other marine life species, make sure to ask for ‘Tanjung Kopi’, or just ask for the ‘coffee’ dive site. It can be wild regarding currents, but the saying is often true: Big current, big fish!
We hope to spot schools of Barracudas, Jack fish, sharks, rays, Napoleon wrasses at Tanjung Kopi.
Because of the possible strong (and changing) currents we only take experienced divers and that decision we will take very carefully after we have seen you in the water. Because of the bottom structure swimming partly against the current is often inevitable. Safety first.
2. Lekuan 1, 2 & 3
Ok, they are actually three different dive sites – but we mention them as one in this top 5 dive sites list. The are the most beautiful coral wall dives we have in our opinion. To be fair, with strong currents (especially Lekuan 1) you can actually hit more than one of those dive sites in one drift dive – just go with the flow!
These dive sites normally have countless turtles to see as well as Eagle rays, sharks, tuna, jacks and Napoleon wrasse.. Huge schools of bat fish and midnight snappers, Butterfly fishes, fusiliers, sweet lips, angelfishes, basslets, do we need to say more?
3. Lumbalumba Diving House Reef
If you love to search for small critters and / or macro photography – our house reef it the place to go! No boat needed, just walk-in from the shore.
Perfect in the afternoon or as a night dive.
Lumbalumba house reef is more like a sandy slope with some hard corals, making it a great location to do some muck diving. Mimic octopus, blue ringed octopus, ghost pipefish, mantis shrimp, mandarin Fish, frog fish, leaf fish, nudibranchs – Can you spot them all?
More details about Lumbalumba house reef below.
4. Spaghetti Crossing
Spaghetti Crossing is an interesting site on the north side of Siladen island. The name Spaghetti Crossing comes from the spaghetti-like dives we sometimes do here due to the changing circumstances and currents. It is a hit or miss dive site, but if it is a hit… it is soooo GOOD!
Sea turtles, manta rays, sharks, frog fish, stone fish and blue ringed octopus we have seen here. Hard and soft corals color this beautiful dive site.
Not suitable for snorkeling as the reef is too deep.
5. Pangalisan
Pangalisan deserves to be in our top 5 list as well. Being close to Tanjung Kopi, our favorite dive site, Pangalisan is more easy as you can just drift along the wall and finish on the top flat reef. The shallow top reef is beautiful. Sometimes we see Dugongs here, sea cows, if we are really lucky.
Dive sites around Manado
The Manado Wreck
Nobody is quite sure and no records exist anymore about this once proud merchandiser. Some say it is German, others say it is Dutch. We like to stick with that last opinion.
It is for sure that she sunk in WW II and that there is 60 meters of spectacular dive adventure!. The wreck lies on a slope, with the bow up, starting at 22 meters and the intact twin propellers stop at exactly 40 meters, with high tide.
After so many years, her superstructure can not be trusted anymore, so no penetrations. But don’t get discouraged, there is enough to see without entering!
Nudibranches, leaf fishes, sometimes a resting white tip shark, bat fish, groupers, sweet lips, black coral, soft corals, it’s all there.
The visibility is not always too good. A river flows out close by and can bring sediments in. Less than 10 meters visibility is rare.
One time diving the wreck, 8 huge manta rays circled it as if to say, “he guys, lost something?”
Because of the depth, it is not a beginners dive. Also because of the depth, most divers run out of no decompression time before they run out of air. We do not allow decompression dives, so after the wreck we slowly swim out to shallower parts on the reefs nearby and finish our dive there.
Lumbalumba House Reef
Although not in the park, reefs are found everywhere and we have them also in front of our jetty and nearby vicinity. You can also decide to make all your dives of the day here, at your own time.
In general, the quality of the hard corals are a bit less, but it is heaven for photographers. Particularly macro photographers.
Also big pelagics as mantas and even Marlin!
We have discovered dive sites along our ‘shore line’ with names such as; 45 Bananas, Circus Critter and Sponge Garden. We still explore this area and every time find new worthwhile sites.
It is a good alternative if you have had enough of the walls for a day, or when you do not want to spend the whole day on the boat. Snorkeling is possible too, but you should not be a beginner.
Popooh 1 & 2
Popooh is where we enter the southern part of the park. Interesting sites with lots of soft coral and good macro stuff. It is also one of the places were most probably we can show you pygmy seahorses.
In general the current is strong when the tides change, but in between, it is nice and calm. Snorkeling is possible too.
The whole southern part of the park still needs a lot more exploration. Until now all was focused on and around Bunaken. However, the first few dives at Arakan showed definitely potential for this area too. We also invite you to come explore with us.
We go diving around Manado and Bunaken every day.
Contact us for more information and inquiries.
