Diving & Snorkeling in Nusa Penida

Crystal Bay is the bay of Penida village, located in the channel between Nusa Penida and Nusa Ceningan islands. Cooler water temperatures than in Bali allow soft and hard corals to thrive and explode onto every surface underwater. A fantastic variety of tropical fish live near large bommies - hundreds of reef fish species like eels, angelfish, surgeonfish and wrasses. Clams, teeming balls of striped catfish and small marine creatures will make your dive or snorkeling trip unforgettable. You may also see big pelagics like eagle rays, whitetip reef sharks, mackerel and tuna in the depths.

The visibility is truly world class at this dive site, often exceeding 30 m (100 ft). The inner bay is a wonderful place for snorkelers and novice divers as it has astonishing amounts of coral and reef fish at shallow depths of around 10 m (30 ft). There is a large rock in the middle of the bay and two entrances around it. This is where the depth drops to beyond 40 m (130 ft) and strong currents can push divers along the outer wall. If your dive plan includes circling the rock or visiting the cave on the side of the bay wall facing north then you will have to follow your guide's instructions closely. Note that there are very strong currents at the southern side of the bay wall.

The cave is at 11 m (35 ft) depth and some people call it bat cave, other shark cave, depending on what they notice above the water or underwater. Inside the cave there are usually juvenile whitetip reef sharks. It is possible to surface inside the cave. The sunlight filters through cracks in the rocks and you will see bats roosting at the roof of the cave. [Is this safe to do in terms of decompression?]

Out in the bay there are cleaning stations for mola molas at 18 m (60 ft) and 30 m (100 ft) depths, they are most frequently seen in August and September.

Nusa Penida is approx. 25 km (15 mi) from the coast of Bali. Most of the dive operators in the south and the east of Bali organize Nusa Penida day trips. It normally takes less than an hour from Sanur, Nusa Dua or Padangbai to reach any of the Nusa Penida dive sites. Speed boat rides can be quite choppy - a massive breakfast before takeoff is not necessarily the best idea!

The dive boats from Bali will take you to one of the Nusa Penida dive sites then pick you up after your dive to transport you to the second dive location of the day. While the boat is moving around the picturesque island and you have a light lunch your surface interval should pass. After the second dive the boat takes you back to the Bali port you left from so in this case you don't even set foot on Nusa Penida.

There are also public boats from Sanur and Padangbai and from nearby Nusa Lembongan, operating at specific times, a couple of times a day. There is no regular boat service to Lombok, so you have to go back to Bali if you'd like to continue your diving or snorkeling trip on Lombok or further away.

There is no fresh water source on the island and most food also comes by boat. This is a whole different experience from Bali. Simple, local meals, simple accommodation, a much slower lifestyle, but astonishing natural beauty everywhere: white sand beach (Crystal Bay), rugged coast, amazing sunsets, lake, waterfall, birdwatching and trekking opportunities. Even the temples on the island are located in spectacular environments, Goa Giri Putri (Karangsari Cave) for example is in a limestone cave.

If you have a bit of time up your sleeve, consider staying for a week in a homestay and doing ten-fifteen dives. You would have to sort out meals and accommodation by arrangement with the locals but you will not be disappointed.

• SD Point / Sekolah Desar (Primary School) - This all experience levels drift dive site is named after the school located on the cliff above it. Amazing coral gardens await you, from a depth of 6 to 27 m (20-90 ft). Butterflyfish, clownfish, angelfish, basslets, damselfish, chromis and hundreds of other fish species are teeming near the top of sponges, brain, staghorn corals, anemones, massive platter corals and gorgonian sea fans. Should you come across a seasnake, please remember that they are highly venomous, though rarely aggressive. Average visibility is 20 m (65 ft) so you don't have to stick your mask close to one. Turtles, stingrays and sharks are seen here on many dives and you might even meet a mola mola. On the other end of the scale there are lovely small critters everywhere: porcelain and orangutan crabs, mantis shrimp and other vibrantly colored invertebrates.

The currents can be quite strong here, including vertical surges or down-drifts. This is an exhilarating ride, a bit like watching a National Geographic underwater special on fast forward. No matter how experienced a diver you are, you need to follow your dive master and keep calm. If you don't have a lot of dives in your logbook, make sure you are not much more than arms length distance from your guide at all times.

• Toyapakeh (Salt Water) - West of SD Point on the north shore of Nusa Penida, this wall dive site lies close to the Toyapakeh channel that brings strong currents. It starts off close to the Toyapakeh dock then drops off quickly into the depths beyond 50 m (165 ft). There are star patches, sea fans and vast stretches of soft corals, especially at around 25 m (80 ft). Emperor and regal angelfish, firefishes, fairy basslets, amberjacks, sweetlips, Titan triggerfish, midnight snappers number in the hundreds on this reef. Massive groupers, bumphead parrotfish, bigeye trevally and moray eels are frequently spotted here. Great barracuda, whitetip reef sharks snatch reef fish from their schools. The ocean sunfish or mola mola has been photographed here as it makes its way to the deep channel.
• Ped - This dive site is located 300 m (990 ft) east of SD Point on the north shore of Nusa Penida. The currents are a bit more forgiving than at SD but you still need to treat them with respect. There are fewer large pelagics here but the reef fish appreciate the calmer waters and fill every nook and cranny here among the acropora tables, large gorgonians and barrel sponges. Beautiful Moorish idols and parrotfish will vie for your attention, schools of black triggerfish and shoals of unicornfishes will swim past you. You might even notice a few hawksbill turtles and rays.

There are fantastic dive sites around Nusa Lembongan and Cenindan, however, the easiest route from Nusa Penida is always to return to Bali by boat. Sanur and Nusa Dua in the south of Bali will offer Bali's best diving courses and some easy dive sites next to holiday resorts. Padangbai in the east of Bali will open up a whole world of diving for you, whether you continue on Bali or get on boats to Gili Tepekong or Lombok for example.

• Manta Point - Though this dive site at the south side of Nusa Penida doesn't exceed depths of 15 m (50 ft) it is for intermediate and advance divers only due to the surge and the relatively low visibility. The low visibility is caused by nutrients in the water, no wonder that small schools of manta rays love this spot. There is some nice coral cover here with small rays and reef fish but usually the dive group just hovers around 4-6 m (13-20 ft) in order to glimpse the majestic manta rays as they patrol the area. The surge can be mild, moving you a few meters back and forth horizontally, allowing you to take multiple videos of the same coral patch but it can also be strong necessitating holding your mask with your hand.
• Manta Bay - This is a great dive and snorkelling site with a beautiful shallow coral garden right next to underwater foundation of the island. The rays of the sun light up the reef for wonderful photo and video opportunities involving triggerfish, small sharks, turtles and schools of small reef fish in abundance. Manta rays often glide into the bay to feed on plankton.

April to November in the dry season. August and September are the best months to spot mola molas around Nusa Penida. At the dive sites that are more exposed to currents, the water temperature can drop to 18-20 °C (64-68 °F) so thick wetsuits are required. The average water temperature is around 25 °C (77 °F).

Most of the Nusa Penida dive sites involve battling currents, requiring frequent equalization and near perfect buoyancy control. Pay attention at the pre-dive briefing and stay very close to the dive master underwater. This is not the place to test new skills or endurance limits, you have to stay calm and apply what you have practiced dozens of times.

Note that there are some dangerous dive sites on the northeast side of the island that are off-limits for fun divers. If you insist on getting to these locations, your dive may be cut short when a police boat orders you out of the water. No reputable dive operator will take you to unsafe places though.