Few places in the world can offer three different types of diving in one region. North Sulawesi boasts world class diving like nowhere else. The Indonesian Island of Sulawesi is located in the middle of the renowned Coral Triangle.  It is reasonably sheltered because of its geographic location allowing year-round diving. There are three distinct regions in North Sulawesi.  Bunaken Marine Park is on the western side of the peninsula and has spectacular wall diving.  The big attraction here is the huge sea turtle population. Bangka, in the north, has beautiful soft coral reefs with an abundance of marine life and one of the most incredible beaches ever seen. On the east side of the peninsula, you will find the Lembeh Strait with its world-renowned muck diving.  Photographers flock here from all over the world to capture some of the most unique critters, such as the Ghost Nudi and Mimic Octopus.

When to go

The unique geographic location of North Sulawesi means it is great to visit year-round.

How to get there

Fly to Manado airport. We recommend travelling with Singapore Airlines as they have the most efficient connections, however you can usually get an OK connection via Denpasar with Malindo from most Australian cities.

Where to stay

Murex Resorts offer an amazing package incorporating three incredible dive locations with Manado (Bunaken) in the West, Bangka in the North and Lembeh in the East. Get the most out of this unique diving opportunity and dive as you transfer by boat between the resorts. This is amazing experience unique to this destination, and we think it is the best way to maximise your time here.

For another option on the Manado side of the peninsula, from which you would dive Bunaken Marine Park, we would also highly recommend the fun boutique property of Tasik Ria, who boast decades of experience and a fantastic in-house dive operation.

If you are after a solely macro experience, there are quite a few great options in Lembeh.  We highly recommend Lembeh Resort, which is a stunning five-star property with great food and a pool with a heck of a view.  We also can suggest a stay with Dive Into Lembeh resort, which offers the added bonus of a Japanese Onsen for each twin share bungalow!

Highlights

Quite honestly, we don't know where to begin here with highlights.  We loved mingling with the mass of sea turtles while diving crystal clear walls at Bunaken.  We also loved the pristine beauty of the beach at Murex's Bangka resort.  Photographers everywhere will already know about the perfection of the macro at Lembeh, but we especially loved finding the elusive Ghost Nudibranch.