Bunaken Marine Park

The tropical ideal of scuba diving, dazzling color and an abundance of life​

With up to 2000 species of fish and 390 species of coral, the Bunaken area is known to have some of the highest biodiversity on the world.

Whether you want to snorkel to simply watch the turtles swim by or find small critters to photography, Bunaken always delivers.

Average boat travel: 20 minutes

Wetsuit: 3 or 5 mm

What to see: turtles, damselfish, batfish, angel fish, reef sharks, lobsters, giant clams, dolphins, pilot whales.

Diver with turtle at Bunaken

Bunaken and surrounding islands

Comprised of a group of islands and the coastline near Manado, the Bunaken Marine Park is known for its sheer drops covered with sponges and all kinds of corals, dropping down 60-200 meters into the deep blue, The amount of turtles on these reefs is staggering. With the walls flanked by huge schools of colorful fish, a variety of camouflaged creatures await to be discovered in every nook and cranny of the northern Bunaken reefs.

Lizard fish catching a puffer

Southern mainland​

The southern part however, is a completely different story — its sandy slopes are covered in sea grass, where you can spot grazing sea cows, and a macro environment of seahorses, scorpionfish, nudibranchs, sea slugs, octopi and a lot more. On the mainland, a varied topography of sandy slopes and rocky outcrops make every dive different. Closer to the resort, the site of Black Rock is where we do many of our night dives.

Highlights

Thalassa Manado turtle swimming

Lekuan 1, 2 & 3​

The Lekuan sites are some of the most popular ones in front of Bunaken. Coral walls and a lot of turtles are to be seen.

Scorpion fish close up

Celah-Celah​

Celah-Celah, meaning "gaps" or "cracks", is great for wide-angle photography, especially with the sun shining.

Damselfish in hard coral at Bunaken

Timur

"East" is best visited during one of the earlier dives. The site will be bathing in light and you are surrounded by schools upons schools of fish.

Divers at Fukui Point with giant clam, Bunaken

Fukui Point

A coral wall intersecting a gentle slope makes Fukui a hit with divers, especially for the chance to spot humphead parrotfish and dogtooth tuna.

More diving areas

Lembeh Strait

Macro photographers love Lembeh for the strange critters living on the black sand bottoms and among the corals.

Bangka Archipelago

At the very tip of North Sulawesi, coral pinnacles are home to squid, giant frogfish and large schools of fish.

Let's plan your next trip

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