Bunaken diving: what the walls are like and who they suit

By Bunaken Island Editorial Desk

Sourced figures: prices in the table carry their source and date. Fees and fares change, and they are third-party figures, not our offers.

Bunaken diving means steep coral walls that begin close to the surface and fall far below recreational depth, usually a short boat ride from your base. Strong, changeable currents make many sites better suited to divers with some experience, though gentler reefs exist. Allow several days, confirm your level with the operator, and budget for park charges as well as the dives.

What is Bunaken diving actually like?

The sea floor explains most of it. The UNESCO Tentative List text records no continental shelf in this part of North Sulawesi, and the coast simply falls away down the continental slope. The same text puts the sea between the park's islands at 200 to 1,840 m deep, and Wikipedia gives 1,566 m in Manado Bay. Those depths begin close to shore around Bunaken Island and the other Bunaken National Park islands, so most dives run along a wall.

Published descriptions of the walls differ in scale. Wikipedia's park entry describes a vertical coral wall, 25 to 50 m, with 13 genera of coral, while Underwater Atlas says walls run from 3 to 5 m down to beyond 40 m. Both accounts put the reef face deep, and Scuba Guide says buoyancy matters because the walls fall past recreational depths. Settle a maximum depth with your guide first.

The contrast with the nearby mainland is useful if you are building a longer trip. Siladen Resort, which operates inside the park, says the five islands give you walls, whereas the mainland coast is mostly dark sandy slope, with a wreck in Manado Bay. It also describes Lekuan, the name most divers hear first, as a stretch of several kilometres divided into Lekuan I, II, Pygmy and III. For how the sites differ and why counts vary, including the park portal's figure of more than 53 spots, read our guide to Bunaken dive sites.

The shallow end may disappoint: Sulawesi.com, a travel publisher that also sells tours, reports bleaching damage on some shallow reefs but describes the deep walls as largely intact. It cites no survey, so treat that as one publisher's view. The depth also attracts specialists. Divernet describes technical divers searching for the coelacanth on trimix, without claiming a guaranteed sighting. That is a separate discipline from recreational scuba diving at Bunaken, and it should not be a reason to go deeper on an ordinary fun dive.

What visibility and water temperature should you expect?

Each figure below belongs to its source, and none promises conditions on your dates.

The practical reading is that temperature is a small planning issue and visibility is a seasonal gamble. If clear water matters most, for example for wide-angle photography, the seasonal split is the part to check, and sources disagree on the calendar too. Our page on the best time to visit Bunaken compares those season claims.

The sources on this page set no wetsuit thickness, so the choice depends on how you feel the cold and how many dives you plan. Ask the operator what suit it rents before you pack your own.

How strong are the currents at Bunaken?

The sources on this page describe currents in words, not speeds. Wikivoyage warns that between the steep walls and currents that shift fast, many sites are better left to intermediate or advanced divers, though it adds that beginner-friendly sites exist. In our judgement, that is a reason not to book around one famous name, because the site you dive may change with the day's conditions.

Ask the operator how it picks sites when conditions change, and whether a guide can call off a dive once you are at the mooring. The specific hazards, including accelerating points and downward water movement, are covered on our page asking whether Bunaken is safe.

What level of certification do you need?

The level guide we cite comes from The Indonesia Guide, which says the Lekuan and Siladen walls suit Open Water divers while Mandolin and the outer walls suit Advanced divers. Wikivoyage also says dive shops can arrange introduction dives and Open Water courses, so ask a shop about a first course. Tell the operator when you last dived and how many dives you have logged, since a card shows neither.

• New to diving: start with our notes on Bunaken for beginner divers, and ask for a sheltered site and close guiding.
• Open Water with a modest logbook: The Indonesia Guide places those walls at Open Water level. Ask the operator whether your logbook fits, and say honestly how long ago you last dived and how you handle current.
• Advanced or experienced: ask about outer walls and points, and confirm the depth limit the operator applies.
• Technical divers: treat this as a separate enquiry. Ordinary fun-dive operators may not support it, so ask directly.

Should you dive from the island or from Manado?

Scuba Guide frames the choice as island resorts near the walls or city comfort in Manado with longer boat runs, and it regards day trips from Manado hotels as workable, given a crossing of less than an hour in normal weather. Our Bunaken day trip page works through the hours, and Manado to Bunaken compares the boats. Sulawesi.com says mainland resorts mean 40 to 60 minute rides to Bunaken sites, and suggests they suit divers travelling with a non-diving partner, who may want our Bunaken snorkeling guide.

Length of stay matters too. Sulawesi.com thinks in terms of five days and ten to twelve dives, and treats three full days as the floor. That is an opinion from a company with something to sell, but the reasoning holds: a site may be unsuitable on a given day, so a longer stay gives you more chances. It also suggests a non-dive recovery day, and a visit to Tangkoko on the way back.

Are Bunaken's dive sites crowded, and what else can you dive nearby?

The sources on this page give no boat counts, so these are opinions. ZuBlu, a dive travel agency that sells trips here, says the park rarely feels crowded because the best sites are well spread out, and that it receives fewer guests than Bali or Komodo. Wikivoyage says it never gets crowded. The visitor figures we can cite date from 2003 to 2006, so ask an operator how many boats use a mooring on your dates.

For variety, ZuBlu points to muck diving on the mainland coast north and south of Manado, on silty and sandy slopes with pipefish, frogfish, nudibranchs and the mimic octopus. It also names Bangka and Lembeh as add-ons. Our page on Bunaken vs Lembeh compares the walls with the black sand.

What does diving at Bunaken cost?

Three separate charges are involved, and the price table on this page shows one published figure for each, with its source: a single dive as estimated by a community guide, the national scuba activity charge, and park entry. Add them with care, because they come from different sources and dates. The community guide's dive figure excludes equipment, and the national tariff table sets the scuba charge per person per day, so the cost grows with each day you dive unless a package says otherwise. Our Bunaken entrance fee page explains how the charges fit together. Full-board dive packages are quoted differently, so compare the written total.

What should you check with a dive operator first?

Our sources offer no neutral ranking of Bunaken dive centres. One starting list is the North Sulawesi Watersports Association, whose member resorts include Bunaken Oasis and Siladen Resort. Membership is not a quality rating. Inside Indonesia reported around 2001 that seven tourism firms formed the association in mid-1998 over anchor damage and ran a stop-anchoring campaign, which is a useful thing to ask any boat crew about today. Then send these questions:

• Permit: Scuba Guide says operators handle the park tag and that rangers do check it. Ask who buys it, and whether the charge is in your quote.
• Guide ratio: Bunaken Oasis advertises two divers to a guide, with four to six guests on a boat, and Two Fish Divers sets its ceiling at four divers for each guide. Ask each operator for its figure in writing, so you can compare like with like.
• Equipment: ask what is included, what is rented, and whether it fits your size.
• Solo divers: ask how a solo guest is buddied, and whether a private guide costs extra.
• Dives per day: ask how many are scheduled, and what the surface intervals look like.
• Emergencies: Siladen Resort says a recompression chamber is in Manado, under 2 hours from its resort. Ask for the current plan in writing.

What else do divers ask before booking Bunaken?

Why is Bunaken famous for diving?

Mostly for its walls. UNESCO's text describes a coast that drops straight down the continental slope, so reef faces sit a short boat ride from shore instead of far out on a shelf. Wikipedia also records a very long list of coral and fish species for the park.

How strong are currents in Bunaken?

Our sources give no speed. Wikivoyage calls them strong and quick to change at many sites, which is why it steers many sites towards intermediate or advanced divers. Ask the operator about the specific site on the day, not about the island in general.

Do I need a wetsuit in Bunaken?

Our sources set no thickness, so it comes down to how you feel the cold. Bottles Up Diving reports water of 26 to 30 C. Ask the operator what it rents, and bring your own suit if you already know you feel the cold.

What should I bring for diving at Bunaken?

Bring your certification card and logbook so an operator can judge your level. Ask what the boat supplies, and read our where to stay guide for cash and drinking water on the island.

How much does diving in Bunaken cost?

Expect three parts: the dive itself, a per-day scuba charge, and park entry. The price table on this page shows one published figure for each with its source. Ask for a written total that says which parts are included and whether equipment is extra.

Which sources support this page?

• UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List: Bunaken National Park
• Wikipedia: Bunaken
• Wikipedia: Bunaken National Park
• Underwater Atlas: Bunaken
• Scuba Guide: Bunaken
• Siladen Resort: dive sites map (operator)
• Bunaken National Park booking portal
• Sulawesi.com: Bunaken marine park diving (publisher that also sells tours)
• Divernet: technical diving in Bunaken Marine Park
• DivePass: Bunaken dive conditions
• Bottles Up Diving: Bunaken (operator)
• Wikivoyage: Bunaken
• The Indonesia Guide: Bunaken diving
• National conservation tariff table, regional conservation office
• North Sulawesi Watersports Association: member resorts
• Inside Indonesia: Saving Bunaken
• Bunaken Oasis: pricing (operator)
• Two Fish Divers: Bunaken (operator)
• Siladen Resort: FAQ (operator)
• ZuBlu: diving Bunaken National Park

How do I reach the desk?

Tell us your certification, logged dives, travel dates and whether you prefer an island or Manado base. Write on WhatsApp +62 811-3941-4563 or to bd@juaraholding.com. Requests through the desk can lead to a paid booking, so we have a commercial interest. We do not run boats or dive centres, and nothing is held for you until a written offer states the price, any fee and the company that contracts with you.