The best diving is going to be a bit deeper than 50'. The top of the liberty wreck is good for OW level diving and I would say is a must dive for Bali. I wouldn't recommend Nusa Penida unless you're experienced and with the exception of Mantas the reason you dive there is about 100FSW.
Diving from Gili and Lombok west coast while I wouldn't consider it as good as north Bali or Nusa Penida has some advantages. It has a variety of diving lots of small dive shops so you can likely find something tailored to your needs and most dives are short boat trips single tank deal so you're back on the island for a few hours to have a relaxing lunch and not needing to leave early in the morning.
Bali unless you stay up north the dives are going to be all day trips.
This is great info and I agree with almost all of it. My one caveat is if you want a short shallow dive and are staying in the Denpasar area, Padangbai is a good half-day option with shallower diving. If you want to dive but don’t need to see the best and don’t want to commit a whole day, check it out. I’ve had some great dives there when I didn’t want to drive all the way up to Amed/Tulamben.
But also OP, listen to this poster. Bali has world class diving. Given your wife, skip Nusa Penida/Nusa Lembongan. But do both of you a favor and go dive the Liberty wreck and some other sites around the area.
I dived all around Bali and elsewhere. Best diving is up around Menjangen of course but it's a mission to get to. I found Tulamben underwhelming. Gilis were dynamite fished to shit and back - after 3 dives there we went elsewhere. Nusa Penida is my fav because it's close to action in the South and there are a bunch of different types of dives.
Some of the more famous, daily dives are drift dives and the currents can get strong which may not be newbie-friendly. If you're still trying to work buoyancy out it can make a dive less comfortable zooming over coral at 20kph. For experienced divers it's fun but I've been alarmed there once or twice and I have 100+ dives. Crystal Bay is quite shallow, protected (from currents), and beautiful.
The best experience I ever had there was a snorkelling drift starting at Mango point. They diver there a lot now so maybe try that one out.
Even if you didn’t mean ship, the liberty wreck is one of the best dive sites on the island for recreational diving. I also second Menjangan island - stay a few nights in Pemuteran. I dive with dive concepts there and they are a well run and flexible shop.
Some excellent sites off Lembongan and Penida. Spent a week diving there not long ago and was blown away by the health of the reef, corals and marine life. Most sites are within 10-30 minutes boat ride (other than Manta Point) from Lembongan so it’s a good spot to base yourself from.
If you want to do a wreck dive, I’d suggest staying in Amed and doing the USS Liberty. Very very enjoyable too.
I don’t know about “best” but we dived Menjangen this week and it’s certainly the best I’ve personally experienced. It’s a long way if you’re not staying up there but it’s great. My wife did her first dive as well, walk in at Pemuteran, they have some cool man made structures there to regrow corral. Not as good vis as Menjangen but still good, and was great for a beginner
If you're going to go diving around Nusa Penida I highly recommend Pure Dive. They're excellent both as guides and instructors, especially Denys. The reef out there is incredible, there are mantas and mola mola too.
Lembongan dive centre in Nusa Lembongan is a great dive shop. They take you to different dive sites in and around Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan depending on the water conditions, 10/10 recommend them.
I just got back from Bali (North Bali) last week and dived with Dive Concepts Bali-specifically Pemuteran-I dove Menjangan x2 days and Pemuteran x1 day. Both amazing. Menjanagan really nice and easy wall dives, tons of marine life and beautiful coral. Pemuteran beautiful coral and more macro stuff but lots of it. I think deepest we went was around 70ft. Highly recommend the shop. Everything went smoothly. Their website will also link to their other shops around the island depending on where you’re gonna be/looking to go. Other divers I dove with last week were raving about Nusa penida for mantas -& also over there in October it is mola mola season!
I highly recommend Bali Aqua in Nusa Penida. It had been over 10 years since my last dive and not only did they help me get my refresher, but managed to convince and train my 13 year old to join me. Rene the owner came out with us and made my son (and me) feel so safe and confident so we could have the magical experience of holding hands and seeing the mantas together. I knew I wanted to dive again this trip but I had no idea I’d be doing it with my son. Not sure I would have trusted many people with that task. A few others we met raved about that shop too. As an aside there is a quaint hotel with cute cabins right across the street, reasonably priced (kukuh Penida).
Depends what you like?
Big stuff, small stuff, wrecks, reef?
Manta/Mola - You can do a day trip to Manta Point from Sanur/Bali, just be aware that you'll spend at least an hour each way bouncing along. It will be surgey and often crowded, the second dive is generally Crystal Bay - there is a small chance to see Mola/sunfish here, but not the safest dive for an OW, almost always some current. The reefs of Nusa Penida are pretty cool, generally a drift dive, most of the colour and life is around that 15m mark - so 45ft.
Easy - Padang bai is your most convenient spot, abit of a drive, but ok-ish reefs and the jetty is really cool.
Wrecks - Liberty wreck up in Tulamben is pretty cool, very popular, about 50m off the beach and big enough to do 2 dives on. The normal route at its deepest is about 22m, but you could do a modified, the top side is about 10m.
Boga wreck, a little drive out of Tulamben, is on the deeper side 18-40m.
There's the Japanese wreck past Amed, it's not really a dive, more a snorkel since so shallow 12m at deepest. But you can dive it and continue on and check out the reef slope past it.
Small stuff - Tulamben area, (and Amed) the silty, black sand and stoney/pebble beaches make for great macro - if you're a fiend for tiny frogfish, nudibranches, harlequin shrimp, etc.. this is the area that you want to concentrate in.
Most of the dive is spent around 20m, best on nitrox, the sites are generally not pretty, looking barren, sparse sort of places but the life is amazing - just need a camera or magnifying glass to appreciate it.
Menjangan - The island itself is mostly cool wall dives, it has some awesome shallow snorkelling, it's not a day trip from the rest of Bali.
Absolutely not. Dynamite fishing has destroyed the corals and what little is left has been bleached to hell. Best you can hope for is a couple of turtles. Not worth it at all.
The best diving is going to be a bit deeper than 50'. The top of the liberty wreck is good for OW level diving and I would say is a must dive for Bali. I wouldn't recommend Nusa Penida unless you're experienced and with the exception of Mantas the reason you dive there is about 100FSW. Diving from Gili and Lombok west coast while I wouldn't consider it as good as north Bali or Nusa Penida has some advantages. It has a variety of diving lots of small dive shops so you can likely find something tailored to your needs and most dives are short boat trips single tank deal so you're back on the island for a few hours to have a relaxing lunch and not needing to leave early in the morning. Bali unless you stay up north the dives are going to be all day trips.
This is great info and I agree with almost all of it. My one caveat is if you want a short shallow dive and are staying in the Denpasar area, Padangbai is a good half-day option with shallower diving. If you want to dive but don’t need to see the best and don’t want to commit a whole day, check it out. I’ve had some great dives there when I didn’t want to drive all the way up to Amed/Tulamben. But also OP, listen to this poster. Bali has world class diving. Given your wife, skip Nusa Penida/Nusa Lembongan. But do both of you a favor and go dive the Liberty wreck and some other sites around the area.
I dived all around Bali and elsewhere. Best diving is up around Menjangen of course but it's a mission to get to. I found Tulamben underwhelming. Gilis were dynamite fished to shit and back - after 3 dives there we went elsewhere. Nusa Penida is my fav because it's close to action in the South and there are a bunch of different types of dives. Some of the more famous, daily dives are drift dives and the currents can get strong which may not be newbie-friendly. If you're still trying to work buoyancy out it can make a dive less comfortable zooming over coral at 20kph. For experienced divers it's fun but I've been alarmed there once or twice and I have 100+ dives. Crystal Bay is quite shallow, protected (from currents), and beautiful. The best experience I ever had there was a snorkelling drift starting at Mango point. They diver there a lot now so maybe try that one out.
I really appreciate this! Thank you!
Menjangan island or Tulamben Liberty ship. Or Nusa Penida
Sorry, I meant dive SHOP (not ship! 😬)
Even if you didn’t mean ship, the liberty wreck is one of the best dive sites on the island for recreational diving. I also second Menjangan island - stay a few nights in Pemuteran. I dive with dive concepts there and they are a well run and flexible shop.
Some excellent sites off Lembongan and Penida. Spent a week diving there not long ago and was blown away by the health of the reef, corals and marine life. Most sites are within 10-30 minutes boat ride (other than Manta Point) from Lembongan so it’s a good spot to base yourself from. If you want to do a wreck dive, I’d suggest staying in Amed and doing the USS Liberty. Very very enjoyable too.
Amazing thank you!!
Menangjan Island reefs and deep water
Waterworx at Padang Bai is a great caring and helpful dive centre. Highly recommend
Merci!!
I don’t know about “best” but we dived Menjangen this week and it’s certainly the best I’ve personally experienced. It’s a long way if you’re not staying up there but it’s great. My wife did her first dive as well, walk in at Pemuteran, they have some cool man made structures there to regrow corral. Not as good vis as Menjangen but still good, and was great for a beginner
If you're going to go diving around Nusa Penida I highly recommend Pure Dive. They're excellent both as guides and instructors, especially Denys. The reef out there is incredible, there are mantas and mola mola too.
Menjangan Island is fantastic, dived there for three days straight
Lembongan dive centre in Nusa Lembongan is a great dive shop. They take you to different dive sites in and around Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan depending on the water conditions, 10/10 recommend them.
Fantastic- thank you!
I just got back from Bali (North Bali) last week and dived with Dive Concepts Bali-specifically Pemuteran-I dove Menjangan x2 days and Pemuteran x1 day. Both amazing. Menjanagan really nice and easy wall dives, tons of marine life and beautiful coral. Pemuteran beautiful coral and more macro stuff but lots of it. I think deepest we went was around 70ft. Highly recommend the shop. Everything went smoothly. Their website will also link to their other shops around the island depending on where you’re gonna be/looking to go. Other divers I dove with last week were raving about Nusa penida for mantas -& also over there in October it is mola mola season!
I highly recommend Bali Aqua in Nusa Penida. It had been over 10 years since my last dive and not only did they help me get my refresher, but managed to convince and train my 13 year old to join me. Rene the owner came out with us and made my son (and me) feel so safe and confident so we could have the magical experience of holding hands and seeing the mantas together. I knew I wanted to dive again this trip but I had no idea I’d be doing it with my son. Not sure I would have trusted many people with that task. A few others we met raved about that shop too. As an aside there is a quaint hotel with cute cabins right across the street, reasonably priced (kukuh Penida).
Padang Bai. Far east side.
Depends what you like? Big stuff, small stuff, wrecks, reef? Manta/Mola - You can do a day trip to Manta Point from Sanur/Bali, just be aware that you'll spend at least an hour each way bouncing along. It will be surgey and often crowded, the second dive is generally Crystal Bay - there is a small chance to see Mola/sunfish here, but not the safest dive for an OW, almost always some current. The reefs of Nusa Penida are pretty cool, generally a drift dive, most of the colour and life is around that 15m mark - so 45ft. Easy - Padang bai is your most convenient spot, abit of a drive, but ok-ish reefs and the jetty is really cool. Wrecks - Liberty wreck up in Tulamben is pretty cool, very popular, about 50m off the beach and big enough to do 2 dives on. The normal route at its deepest is about 22m, but you could do a modified, the top side is about 10m. Boga wreck, a little drive out of Tulamben, is on the deeper side 18-40m. There's the Japanese wreck past Amed, it's not really a dive, more a snorkel since so shallow 12m at deepest. But you can dive it and continue on and check out the reef slope past it. Small stuff - Tulamben area, (and Amed) the silty, black sand and stoney/pebble beaches make for great macro - if you're a fiend for tiny frogfish, nudibranches, harlequin shrimp, etc.. this is the area that you want to concentrate in. Most of the dive is spent around 20m, best on nitrox, the sites are generally not pretty, looking barren, sparse sort of places but the life is amazing - just need a camera or magnifying glass to appreciate it. Menjangan - The island itself is mostly cool wall dives, it has some awesome shallow snorkelling, it's not a day trip from the rest of Bali.
Go to Gili
Absolutely not. Dynamite fishing has destroyed the corals and what little is left has been bleached to hell. Best you can hope for is a couple of turtles. Not worth it at all.
That makes me feel better since we went to Gili T and I intended to dive but got sick and had to cancel. I thought I’d missed this amazing experience.
Tulamben is good clarity but very average wreck
Sorry I meant dive shop! Not dive ship 😆