Bunaken, Manado Travel Tips

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In this page you will find practical information to plan a scuba diving trip to Bunaken, Manado:

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Bunaken is regarded as one of the top scuba diving destinations in stunning Indonesia. People come from all around the world especially to dive here. Divers will be delighted by the huge walls covered with magnificent coral in crystal clear water! The seabed around Bunaken Island is also incredibly deep, up to 1600 meters. It makes this destination something special!

Bunaken Island Manado Sulawesi

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/baroquem/3638904368/

There you will find big pelagic fishes as well as small critters which make it a terrific dive location for underwater photography.

Bunaken Island belongs to the Bunaken National Marine Park created in 1991. There are several other islands like Manado Tua, Siladen, Montehagen, Nain, and Nain Kecil. Due to the creation of the marine park, the waters around Bunaken are very healthy with fantastic biodiversity and corals among the best in the world.

This destination offers also terrific snorkelling opportunities for non-divers.

Activities and excursions in Bunaken, Manado

Bunaken Marine National Park is mostly a diving destination. Although it is possible to do many other things during your stay or for the non divers:

  • Snorkelling the coral gardens. It is just fantastic in front of most of the resorts.
  • Go hiking along the Islands footpath or climb the Manado Tua Volcano.
  • Go fishing with a local fisherman but out of the marine park ;-)
  • Go dolphin watching or whale spotting on a day trip.

All these excursions can easily be arranged for you by your diving resort.

Best time to visit

During the touristic peak season which runs in July and August, the diving resorts can be full and it is advised to book in advance! Otherwise, anytime of the year is good. Visit our diving page for more information.

Coral Reef, Scuba Diving in Bunaken

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jipii/2231337136/

Where is Bunaken, Manado?

Bunaken is a small island (8 km²) located on the Northern Tip of Sulawesi Island, North Indonesia. It is part of the huge Bunaken National Marine Park which covers an area of 890.65km² of which only 3% is terrestrial.

How to get to Bunaken, Manado?

To reach the park you will firstly need to make your way to Manado. It is the second largest city of Sulawesi after Makassar and it is located about 50 minutes away by boat from Bunaken Island.

So to arrive in Manado, the best way is to get a plane from Jakarta, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Bali. On most of the flights there is a stop over in Makassar airport.

Most of the resorts will arrange a private boat or charter boat for your transfer. If not, you can take the public ferry leaving daily (except Sunday) at 2 PM. It will cost you around Rp 25000 for a foreigner and Rp 10000 for a local. You can also charter your own boat but be prepared to bargain hard!

Hot Tips

  • Try to arrive in Manado during day time to be transferred directly to your hotel on the islands. Otherwise, if you arrive at night you will have to stay one night in Manado before enjoying the dives in Bunaken.
  • If you arrive via an International flight, it is possible to get a visa on arrival in Sam Ratulangi, the Manado Airport.
  • To dive inside the Bunaken marine Park you need to buy a permit. It is normally provided by your local dive operator. If not, it can be purchased in one of the three ticket offices on Bunaken and Siladen islands.
  • People tend to prefer to stay on Siladen than on Bunaken Island because of the very beautiful beaches. However Siladen is much more isolated than Bunaken so you can choose!

Do I need a visa for Bunaken, Manado?

It is possible to get a tourist visa (30 days, 25 US $) on arrival in Manado airport.

Getting Around

Bunaken is quite a small island and getting around is pretty easy. There are no cars on the islands. So you can either walk, hire a scooter or take a boat. There are several lovely pathways on the island worth exploring.

Where to stay?

There are several resorts on Bunaken Island and Manado Tua Island. Most of the accomodation is quite expensive and upmarket but you will get a really nice bungalow by the beach. It is also possible to stay on the main land around Manado in a luxurious resort with a great view on the bay.

Scuba diving

You will find all information about sea life, best time to visit, top dive spots, etc. in our review: Bunaken, Manado Diving

Dive spots in Bunaken, Manado

Review

Mandolin

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Mandolin dive site is a wall going deep down with large steps. On the bottom on the wall there are numerous small caves ...
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Bunaken Timur

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Bunaken Timur dive site is a steep wall with a good reef life. It is an excellent place for macro photographers as there...
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Mike’s Point

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Mike's point dive site in Bunaken is a very beautiful wall with a shape of an amphitheatre. The wall is covered with mas...
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Likuan III

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Lekuan III is a good diving site to see black-tip reef sharks, barracudas and even manta rays if you get lucky! The wall...
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Alung Banua

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Alung Banua dive site is a vertical wall like often found in the Bunaken Nation Park. The wall has a lot of cracks, crev...
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Likuan II

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Likuan II is very close to Likuan I. This is also a very nice dive site with a wall descending in deep water. Along the ...
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Raymond’s Point

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Raymond's point is a vertical wall with usually strong current, making it an ideal place for drift dives in Bunaken. The...
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Fukui Point

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Fukui Point is a popular dive site in Bunaken national park. It is a nice slope covered with very beautiful hard corals ...

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