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Indonesia's Dive Resorts | Liveaboards | Resorts | Bali Land Based Divings

Manado Sulawesi: Lembeh Resort | Santika/Thalassa | Kungkungan | Murex | Tasik Ria | Kasawari Lembeh Resort
Black Sand Dive Retreat | Kima Bajo Resort & Spa | Minahasa Lagoon | Gangga Island Resort & Spa Beach Bungalows
Siladen Resort and Spa Komodo National Park: Reefseekers Raja Ampat: Misool Eco Resort | Kri Island Resort
Sorido Bay Resort | Raja Ampat Dive Lodge | PapuaParadise EcoResort Wakatobi: Wakatobi
Sulawesi: Selayar Kalimantan: Derawan | Nabucco Island | Maratua Paradise Resort
Bali: Mimpi Resort Tulamben | Mimpi Resort Menjangan Maluku: Cape Paperu Resort & Spa | Maluku Divers

Manado Sulawesi

If you have the desire for an exciting and unusual destination for your next dive holiday, then North Sulawesi is perfect. In this tropical paradise you can explore one of the worlds most unspoiled marine wilderness areas, fully protected from spearfishing, coral or fish collecting, the rich coral life and unbelievable sea gardens are a diver's dream come true.

Spectacular marine life yields a kaleidoscopic submarine view of endless varieties of corals and tropical fish. The area consists of several National Parks, the best known diving areas are as follows; The Bunaken National Park and Lembeh Island. What you see will blow your mind, fantastic underwater walls, cut with many crevices and caves. A collection of marine life thrives: red and orange encrusting sponges, christmas tree worms, basket and tube sponges, soft and hard corals of all colors, sea fans, anemones stoked with clown fish, red-blue-pink and brown starfish, bright colored crinoids, giant tunicates, sea-whips, nudibranch (Spanish dancer), transparent and red striped coral shrimps, lobsters, crabs, thousands of ornamental coral fish and the larger pelagics. Often seen are giant Napolean wrasse, angel fish, turtles, blue ribbon eels, stingray and eagleray, snapper, grouper, tuna and sea-snakes. You will bewitched by the unspoiled beauty, nature at her very best. This is a world yet to be discovered

Lembeh Resort

Welcome to Lembeh Resort!

North Sulawesi offers unparalleled marine biodiversity, with a wide range of dive experience options. But for divers interested in searching out encounters with bizarre and beautiful critters, Lembeh Strait, located near the port town of Bitung, hosts the best muck diving on the planet. And besides the sand, divers can take the plunge on pinnacles, walls and slopes of extravagant hard and soft coral gardens as well as a number of wrecks, some dating from WWII. Diversity is the operative word here.

Lembeh Resort offers comfortable accommodations set in beautifully landscaped tropical gardens overlooking Lembeh Strait. For a truly exceptional experience in a relaxed and professional atmosphere, Lembeh Resort is the obvious choice.

* 14 cottages with spacious verandahs overlooking the Strait, perfect for viewing glorious North Sulawesi sunsets
* Fully air-conditioned bedrooms with attached Balinese-style (open-air) bathrooms, mini bar & personal safe
* Swimming pool, restaurant & bar, library/video viewing room with satellite TV, gift shop, massage service, internet access & laundry service

Diving at Lembeh Strait

The Lembeh Resort dive team have extensive experience diving in the strait and their infectious enthusiasm will result in the best possible dives day after day. Our focus on personal attention means that we will do our utmost to ensure that our guests fulfil their dreams and see most if not all the critters on their wish lists. Unlimited diving is offered to resort guests, with the majority of the 40+ sites within the strait only minutes away by boat. So guests can rest assured that they can accomplish as much diving as they desire.

The spacious camera room and equipment washing/drying facilities are only steps from the boat. Once a guest has made his or her first dive our dive team will see that the equipment is carried, washed and stored and then be on the boat assembled and ready for further dives. Special consideration will be given to photographers, whose delicate equipment often seems the center of their universe. Our boat crews will treat camera gear with the respect it deserves. The friendly and cheerful people of North Sulawesi are as much a selling point as the diving. Our professional, courteous and attentive service will be as memorable as the critters.

NITROX will be available to qualified Lembeh Resort divers - the first time this desirable mixed gas has been made available in the strait. NITROX is simply an increased oxygen percentage in a diver's tank. Rather than the usual 21% oxygen, divers can enjoy up to 40% oxygen in their tank, though 32% is the standard mix. It is not for deep diving, but is preferred for longer mid-range or shallow dives - perfect for the style of diving called for in the strait. The user benefits of NITROX include increased allowable bottom time, shorter surface intervals, reduction of post-dive fatigue, and best of all, increased safety margins. For those who have yet to experience the benefits of NITROX, 2-day ANDI courses will be available to guests to initiate them to the world of NITROX. As well, a full range of PADI courses will be available, from Introductory to Divemaster, for those who wish to increase their diving knowledge and skills.

Lembeh Strait has already been established as the mecca of what is known as muck or critter diving. Professional photographers and film crews are regular visitors to the strait, shooting award-winning images of the extraordinary inhabitants that mesmerize divers dive after dive. Pygmy seahorses, mimic octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, mandarinfish, hairy frogfish, ghost pipefish, rhinopias, pegasus seamoths, banggai cardinalfish, stargazers, bobbit worms, harlequin shrimp, candy crabs, bobtail squid, devilfish, snake eels, etc. The list seems endless, with every dive an opportunity to discover a species new to science. The array of nudibranchs and crustaceans is astounding. The number of cephalopod species on display amazing. The assortment of eels and venomous fish species limitless. "Going macro" will open an entire new world to divers who follow the maxim "go slow and look down". Different months offer a variety of highlights, so repeat guests can always look forward to something new and exciting on subsequent visits.

But there is more. Though it is the black sand inhabitants that have made the area famous, there are sites that showcase the biodiversity that North Sulawesi is renowned for. With approximately 300 types of coral and 3000 species of fish to be found along the coasts of the region, there are plenty of sites which offer divers a more traditional diving experience with hard and soft coral gardens hosting schooling fish in abundance, sea snakes, turtles, as well as passing pelagics such as barracuda, trevally and mackerel species. Mantas and whales also make seasonal appearances in the strait. There are walls, slopes, sand flats with bommies, boulder-strewn areas and even pinnacles to provide a variety of underwater landscapes. To round out the superlative adventure there are even 5 wrecks to dive, 2 of which were sunk during WWII action.

Diving Lembeh Strait can be accomplished year-round owing to the sheltering influence of Lembeh Island. No matter what inclement weather system may be passing, or how strong the currents may be, there will be numerous sites with calm conditions suitable for easy for diving. The water temperature varies, but is usually 26-29 degrees Celcius. This is a usually a bit cooler than Bunaken, so a 5 mm full wetsuit is recommended. Visibility also varies, between sites as well as time of the year. It fluctuates between 5-30 meters, lower at the muck sites compared to the more open northern sites, but usually rests in the 12-15 meter range at most of the more popular central sites.

Hotel Santika Manado & Thalassa Dive Center

Wow! 5-star PADI Dive facilities, outdoor swimming pools, you name it, if it's comfort and service your looking for then this is for you. This new tropical getaway offers you an added bonus, Bunaken Sea Garden a magnificent dive site is only 10 min. away. Surrounded by an untouched tropical world, waving palm trees and mysterious mangroves and on the shortest possible distance to the beautiful Bunaken sea gardens, the on-premises PADI 5 * Dive Center THALASSA is the perfect place to spend your holiday.

The philosophy of Dive Center THALASSA is offering diving and other watersport activities with the highest quality, safety and service possible. Their guests can find all activities under one roof: from half day sight seeing trips to full day dive trips, from equipment rental to dive courses, from souvenirs to 'après dive' drinks, all making sure that even the highest demands for safety and service can be fulfilled.

The dive and snorkel spots are mainly located around Bunaken and its four surrounding islands. Huge walls, crystal blue water, beautiful soft and hard corals, big sponges, and amazing encounters with colorful tropical fishes, or like a famous travel magazine wrote: "the dive spots are located in the heart of the most biologically diverse marine environment on the planet. Fish species here total over 3000 and corals over 500 - truly more than a diver ever can comprehend"*. But besides these famous dive sites, Dive Center THALASSA has a magnificent 'house reef', which is a real paradise for photographers! You will hardly find any other divers there and an abundance of small critters makes this place unique. Our guides can show you mandarin fish, ghost pipefish and almost everything else you would like to see.

* Source: Action Asia October 1995

Kungkungan Bay Resort

Kungkungan Bay Resort, is a small exclusive resort tucked against a coral-filled bay on the Lembeh Strait. Located just north of Bitung harbour opposite the town of Manado, Sulawesi. The accommodations are deluxe beach front cottages offering two queen size beds, very spacious and built of local wood and design. A wide verandah with a sitting area offers an excellent view of the strait and the island of Lembeh.

The lodgings are outstanding, but the real appeal to this resort is the diving. You will see such things as the cockatoo waspfish, frog fish(in variety of colors) mandarin fish, nudibranches of all makes and models, orangutan crab, harlequin ghost pipefish, coleman shrimp in fire urchins, lionfish by the hundreds on the Malawi shipwreck, blue ribbon eels and juveniles, blue ringed octopus, mimic octopus, devil scorpion fish, pigmy seahorse (1/4"big),sea moth, leaf fish tame cuttlefish, ornate ghost pipefish, a prolific variety of mantis shrimps all colors, several colors of Rhinopias including a shaggy haired Rhinopia the color of Larry Smith's beard (red)!

Other activities include canoeing around the bay, highland tours can be arranged ot nearby volcanoes in the Minahasa area, hot spring bath houses or the photogenic rice paddies of Tondano.

Tangkoko Reserve is a national reserve of mountainous acres of lush rainforest on Sulawes's northeastern tip. On guided nature hikes you can see the endangered Maleo bird unique to north Sulawesi, the tiny Tarsier (one of the worlds smallest primates, they can fit in a tea cup), hornbill birds, flying lizards, the crested macaque ( an unusual tail-less monkey native only to Sulawesi) and much more. Tours can be arranged at the resort and subject to availability.

Murex Dive Resort

Murex Dive Resort is an equatorial paradise located on the waterfront facing Bunaken National Park and Manado Tua Island. An ideal vacation venue for Romantic Honeymoons, Diving Adventures, Snorkelling, Family Vacations, Eco-touring or just pure relaxation.

Tasik Ria Resort

Their mission; to be recognized as a resort with excellent facilities that strongly emphasizes Eco-Tourism, to satisfy the needs of their guests and to provide uncompromising quality. The resort is brand new and already has a strong reputation for excellent dining, beautiful landscaped surroundings with lovely accommodations (beach front bungalows or garden view) and last but not least complete and full service dive shop. All you are expected to do is show up for your dives and you are good to go. The dive masters are extremely knowledgeable and I have been told by travelers that I have sent there that they "practically hold your hand". Tasik Ria Resort, has captured the European market and is welcoming the American's with open arms. With out a doubt, Tasik Ria Resort, will provide you with a memorable Indonesian dive holiday.

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Indonesia's Dive Resorts | Liveaboards | Resorts | Bali Land Based Divings