Scuba Diving Nusa Penida with Crystal Divers

Scuba Diving Nusa Penida

You have not been diving in Bali if you haven’t been diving at Nusa Penida – Manta Point or Nusa Lembongan. Often called the “Sister Islands” of Bali, these dive sites can be reached in less than one hour on a speedboat and you are ready to jump in the crystal clear water and dive in Nusa Penida. We have a lot of different dive sites here with colourful corals and all of the tropical fish from Nemo to Napoleon Wrasse. Nusa Penida is a 50 minute boat ride from Sanur, Bali.

Visibility 15- 30 m
Depth up to 40 m+

Nusa Penida

Day Trip - 3 Dives
IDR 3.2 mil per person
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Manta Point

Manta Point is one of the most popular dive sites in Bali. There is always good chance to see the elegant manta rays dancing around you. The dive site is located in the south part of Nusa Penida, just under 60 minutes boat ride from Sanur.

The dive site has a big rock, which is the cleaning station for manta rays. The manta rays circling around the top of the rock and get cleaned by cleaning fish. They are often swimming in groups. If you are lucky, they will come really close to you, swim just over your head and dance in front of you. Sometimes the Manta Rays are close to the surface, so you can easily see them, if you are snorkeling at this site.

The cleaning station is about 10-12 meters deep, so the dive site is good for any level of divers. It is possible to dive deeper, by following the reef and the slope to the bottom. Here you can find stingrays, octopus and nudibranchs. At the reef you sometimes can see the bamboo shark swimming around. In the season July-October there is a good chance to see the Mola Mola (sunfish) in the deeper water.

Manta Point is located in a bay, which is protected from the strong current. There may be some surge, where the water moves back and forward and the surface can be a bit choppy. The water can be a bit colder in this part of Nusa Penida and turns between 21-28 degrees.
Manta Point is a good dive site, if you want to see and get close to the big, elegant manta rays, who dance in front of you, even if you are diving or snorkeling!

PED

PED is a name of a pura (temple) that is just right by the beach in front of the dive site. Located on the North of Nusa Penida island it is part of a long stretch of coast with a lot of dive sites… they are similar but each has its own characteristics.

From the beach the bottom start sloping down gently out to around 15-17 meters then it starts to slope quite steeply deeper out. Diving here is almost always a drift dive because this area gets a lot of current passing through it, the currents are going either to the West or to the East and they can change directions mid dive too so don’t be surprised. When there is minimal or no current, you can just dive nice and slow enjoying everything the site has to offer.

Corals here are very nice and healthy, colorful and with different variations. Many hard corals, towering coral structures, and also plenty of soft corals. Here you can see Turtles, Sea snakes, Napoleon Wrasses, Giant Trevally’s, Moray Eels, Moorish Idols, and many other schools of tropical fishes.

SD

SD is located in the north part of Nusa Penida. SD stands for “Sekolah Dasar”, which means elementary school in Indonesian, named after the school close to the beach. The dive site is about 45 minutes boat ride from Sanur.

SD is a coral wall with healthy corals in all kinds and colors. The coral reef have many different fish species. Here you can see big shoals of fish, turtles, big pufferfish, smaller fish and moray eels looking for food. It is also a good place to find an octopus, hidden under rocks and changing colors, nemos (clownfish) dancing in the anemone and nudibranchs in many different colors.

The temperature is around 27-29 degrees. In the season july-october, you have good chances to find the Mola Mola (sunfish), when the upwelling water makes the temperature a bit colder, and make the Mola Mola go to the shallower water. In this period, the temperature can go down to 22 degrees. The upwelling water makes the water really clear, which gives great visibility around 25 meters or more.

SD has a mild current, so here you have a nice opportunity to have a good drift dive and enjoy drifting gently in front of the colorful reef.
The reef starts shallow and have a slope bottom to the wall, which make this site a good snorkeling site too, where you still can see all the colorful fishes and corals. SD is a good dive site anytime of the year and for all levels of divers.

If you want to dive or snorkel at one of the most healthy coral reefs in Bali, with many different kinds of fish. It’s also a good dive site if you like mild drift dive or want to try it for the first time.

Crystal Bay

Crystal Bay is one of the most popular dive site in Bali, especially because Crystal Bay is one of the best places to see Mola-Mola or Sunfish during their season which is in July to October when the water is cold.

Located on the West side of the island of Nusa Penida, it is a small bay with the front of it is the deep channel between Nusa Penida and Nusa Ceningan. Crystal Bay gets its name from the crystal clear water, visibility can be up to 30m on a good day temperature ranges from 14-29c depending on the time of the year. 

In the middle of the bay is a small rocky island with a temple at the top. Closer to the white sand beach, sandy bottom starts at around 10m slopes down deeper as you go further out. There are coral reefs on either side of the sandy slope, they start at around 6m and get deeper as you swim out from the bay.

Moving towards the channel it drops off to a wall that goes down very deep.
The thing that one should know diving here is that the current can be tricky, very unpredictable, strong currents and strong down currents can occur suddenly especially around the drop off near the channel. One should dive here with caution. We will only take Advanced divers and above to this dive site. You can also see turtles, octopuses, scorpion fishes, sea snakes, nudibranchs, and many other tropical fishes.

At Crystal Divers we place your safety as our number 1 priority. Diving at Crystal Bay is no easy task and can catch people out easily with people being more lucky than anything here. Diving here will be at the discretion of our Instructors and Divemaster with dedicated boats and divers planned for this dive site. There are many dive sites in Bali that you can dive with the Mola Mola without the safety concerns and high boat traffic. We would be happy to advise you accordingly. We thank you in advance for your understanding.

Mangrove

Mangrove, or some people also call it Jack Point, is located to the North of Nusa Lembongan island. The name Mangrove is because there is an area grown with mangrove on the East of the island. Visibility ranges from 15-30m in this area. Temperature here ranges from 24 to 29 degrees but sometimes can get much colder on some rare occasions. This site gets a lot of currents so the dive here would probably be a drift dive. 

The bottom topography is, from the beach it slopes gently to around 18m then it starts sloping more steeply. The decision on where to drop is made depending on where the current is going, to the East or West, if it’s going to the East then we would drop in more to the West and vice versa. Drift diving here is very nice because you just relax and let the current take you while you enjoy the beautiful underwater scenery, usually people stay around 16-18m when drifting.

The corals here are very healthy, even if there’s no current you would still enjoy the dive here because of all the beautiful colours. Here you can see Turtles, Barracudas, Octopus, Moray Eels, Puffers, Mantis Shrimps, and many more.

Blue Corner

Blue Corner is located in the north-west part of Nusa Lembongan and takes about 30-45 minutes boat ride from Sanur.

The corals here are some of the most healthy and colorful in Bali. Here you can see napoleon fish, turtles and reef sharks. You can also see some rays like the marbol ray and the eagle ray. In the season, July-October, this dives site is a good place to spot the famous Mola Mola.

Often at this dive site we see pods of dolphins playing around at the surface. If you are lucky, you can see them underwater at this dive site.
In the Mola Mola season, the temperature of the water is around 20-25 degrees.

The rest of the year, the temperature is around 28 degrees. The water is clear and have a good visibility around 15-35 meters.

This dive site can be very challenging due to the strong drift currents. Diving is not possible here every day, so to dive here you need to find the good time. To dive here you need to be an experienced diver.

Toya Pakeh

In Balinese, Toya means water and Pakeh means salt. Toya Pakeh is also the name of the village next to the dive site. The dive site is located in the channel between Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida and takes about 45 minutes boat ride from Sanur.

This dive site have a lot of big coral bommies, which make Toya Pakeh difference from other dive sites. The corals here are some of the most healthy, beautiful and colorful in Nusa Penida. Here you can see big shoals of big travellys, napoleon fish, turtles and reef sharks. In the season, July-October, this dives site is a good place to spot the famous Mola Mola.

In the Mola Mola season, the temperature of the water is around 20-25 degrees. The rest of the year, the temperature is around 28 degrees. The water is clear and have a good visibility around 15-35 meters.

The dive site have a bay and slope to the coral wall. The bay is shallow, which make it good for beginner and snorkeling. The wall is deeper and good for experienced divers. Here do you have a mild-strong drift dive along the wall.

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