Diving & Snorkeling in Amed

Chromis, large clown triggerfish, basslets, lionfish, longnose emperors, baitfish, surgeonfish, blue-streak fusiliers, wrasses and hundreds of other tropical fish live around Amed. There is also a good amount of small critters and the occasional large pelagics like whitetip sharks and blue-spotted sting rays who are drawn to all that vibrant marine life. Large fish include giant trevally, blue-fin trevallies and tuna.

The Ngurah Rai International Airport (Denpasar, Bali) is only 95 km (60 mi) from Amed but it usually takes around 3 hours by car or even longer by bus to get there. Once the road skirts around Mount Agung you will be enchanted by the coastal secenery in front of you. The following villages are part of the "Amed" coast: Culik, Amed, Jemeluk, Bunutan, Lipah, Selang, Banyuning and Aas. You need to walk a bit or organise transport as accommodation, meal providers and dive operators may be distant from each other on this 14 km (9 mi) stretch of grey and black sand beaches.

As the soil here is poor for much farming, a sizeable chunk of the local population lives from tourism and they operate good dive shops covering the east coast of Bali. Traditional professions include fishing and salt-making; the fishing boats are everywhere and you will see the salt drying pans on some of the streets.

• Amed Wall - Jemeluk Bay - Perfect for beginner divers and snorkelers as the bay protects them from currents. There is a coral reef (Amed Reef) to the left of the grey and black sand beach, offering soft corals and sponges and to the right with depths of 12-24 m (39-78 ft) a reef wall (Amed Wall) featuring sea fans and barrel sponges. Fish are everywhere - bluefin trevally, snapper, bannerfish, surgeonfish, parrotfish, blue-spotted rays and reef sharks. The area is also excellent for macro-diving, that is bringing your macro lens with you to photograph small citizens of the marine world: nudibranchs, shrimp, gobies, etc.

Ghost Bay - Artificial Coral - A shore dive that focuses on artificial reefs right next to Amed Beach. As some coral was used in the 1980s to build accommodation and restaurants quickly for tourists who came to see the ... erm... coral reefs, it was decided that artificial objects cast from concrete should be placed underwater to allow the regrowth of coral. Luckily the experiment was more or less a success and the Ghost Bay now offers great muck diving conditions, with many rare species only available for a macro photo here on the Amed coast (mimic octopus, clown frog fish, razor fish, etc.)
Banyuning - Japanese wreck (off Lipah Bay) - Past the black sand Banyuning bay at shallow depths of 6-12 m (20-39 ft) lies this small broken wreck completely covered with gorgonian fans, black corals and sponges and visited regularly by hundreds of fish like schools of angelfish. The diesel engine of the vessel is in much deeper water at 30-35 m (98-115 ft). It is well worth exploring the deeper sections of the reef teeming with abundant critters (ghost pipefish, seahorses, nudibranchs).

• Bunutan Point - A short boat trip away from Jemeluk Bay and by short we literally mean less than fifteen minutes including your last, non-alcoholic drink on the beach, Bunutan Point has a gentle slope which a lot of small creatures call home. The big attraction here are garden eels and chevron barracudas as well as all the other fish you would expect in east Bali like reef sharks and giant trevally. There is often a strong current at this site and potentially thermoclines - dive with a reputable operator here and start your dives at high tide between July and September in dry season.
• Lipah Bay - Great snorkelling site with some wood from a tiny wreck in just 2 m of water (6 ft).
• Gili Selang - A small island off the easternmost point of Bali, accessible by traditional boats from Amed or by more modern dive boats from Padangbai. This site is for advanced divers only as there can be various currents and thermoclines requiring local diving knowledge and diving with experienced operators. The water temperature can quickly drop to 20 °C (68 °F) from 30 °C (86 °F) and the current may bring you up or push you down or out to sea. Follow your dive master's pre-dive brief closely and stay close to your diving group underwater.
  After a black sand slope you will encounter reef at 3-4 m (10-12 ft) depth then a reef walls as you dive deeper. The marine life is amazing here, cuttlefish, morays, white-tip reef sharks, small and big rays, Napoleon wrasse and parrotfish. If conditions are favourable dolphins and hammerhead sharks can be spotted as well.

Once you had your fill of Amed diving adventures head north to nearby Tulamben to do a lap around the USAT Liberty wreck or even travel further north to wonderful Lovina Beach. If you are completing a clockwise Bali diving safari, world class diving and snorkeling sites will keep you busy for days in Padangbai.

All year round essentially, but visibility is truly great, sometimes up to 40 m (130 ft), from April to July and October to November.