Diving & Snorkeling in Nusa Dua
Loading, please wait...About Nusa Dua
Nusa Dua is the eastern side of the Bukit Peninsula, located in the south of Bali, Indonesia. Half an hour by taxi from Denpasar International Airport, it is full of world class resorts and restaurants right next to wonderful tropical beaches.
Snorkeling is a must-do activity here and dive sites and reefs are waiting to be explored just beyond the sandy beaches. Nusa Dua's best dive site, Batu Gede (Big Rock), is only a ten-minute boat ride away from the mainland. Hard and soft corals and dozens of exotic fish species live almost on the doorstep of Bali's world famous holiday strip.
This is an excellent place to do a diving course, to pick up additional diving specifications, to refresh diving skills or to take the whole family snorkeling. Many operators offer introductory dives where anyone will be able to poke around in shallow waters without prior certification. If you don't want to travel 3-4 hours to a breathtaking dive site, just get on a local diving boat in Nusa Dua and you'll be smiling at the fishes in no time. For those who have several days to spare for Bali diving activities, Nusa Dua's diving operators offer trips to all other diving locations in Bali and at nearby islands.
Best diving spot in Nusa Dua - Batu Gede (Big Rock)
Batu Gede (Big Rock) is the most famous point on the barrier reef running parallel to the whole Nusa Dua coast from Tanjung Benoa in the north to Sawangan beach in the south. In addition to tons of fish and a smattering of table and barrel coral there is a massive underwater rock here that you can discover on an easy, shallow dive between 5-16 m (16-52 ft). Then you will find yourself in a submerged museum with statues everywhere. The good visibility (10-20 m, 16-32 ft) will allow you to take pictures with schools of fish mobbing the statues and the divers.
Exploring the Underwater World
The best part of a Nusa Dua dive is the feeding frenzy when hundreds of tropical fishes - batfishes, damselfishes, butterflyfishes swarm around you if you stumble into their dining room. The luckiest divers come upon lobsters, anemone fishes, snappers, giant trigger fish, cuttlefish and octopuses if they leave behind the playful schools of fish. Some may even notice small reef sharks lounging under the coral. There are also tiny creatures like nudibranchs, magnificent slugs, prawns and shrimp all over the reef.
Gonnadive travel tip
You can't go wrong with staying in Nusa Dua and diving and snorkeling there or using it as a hub for diving activities further away. In addition to the beaches, hotels, restaurants and night life, Nusa Dua has a lot more to offer as a holiday destination. There are fantastic temples like the Geger Temple on a limestone cliff or Puja Mandala, a complex of five temples belonging to five different religions. There is the Museum Pasifika with a cornucopia of rare art from the Asia-Pacific region. Camel rides on the beach, extreme sports, dance shows with pyrotechnics - Nusa Dua has it all.
Dive sites in Nusa Dua
- Nusa Dua Point - A great night dive location where you will discover a completely different world with a unique set of fishes and critters. The daytime species will be sleeping in crevices and cracks while you come face-to-face with the nocturnal gang. It is a shallow dive in warm waters, a great introduction to the mysterious, thrilling but peaceful realm of night diving. Warning, you might get addicted - it only takes the first school of fish to float into the light cone of your diving torch!
- Laguna Hotel Reef / Club Med Reef / Grand Mirage Reef - These are more pretty spots on the barrier reef stretching along the Nusa Dua coast. Sunshine, shallow reefs, lots of fish, good visibility, balmy water. Splash!
GonnaDive recommends in the neighborhood
Nusa Dua is a hub for divers as local diving operators organize diving safaris by minibus or boat to all other diving locations in Bali. You could head north, crossing the island, to Pemuteran or Lovina for some great muck-diving and easy access to the fantastic Pulau Menjangan (Deer Island) or travel up the coast northeast toward Sanur and Padangbai for more diving and snorkeling.
Best Time for a Scuba Diving or a Snorkeling Vacation
All year round essentially. The best time is from May to November. From December to February, the visibility is lower than usual due to the monsoon, however, the water temperature doesn't stray much from 29 °C (84 °F).
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