Diving in Bali

What attracts divers to Bali is the variety of dive sites, with something for every diver. There are deep drop-offs, steep banks, beautiful coral reefs, volcanic underwater cliffs, seagrass beds and one of the most famous wrecks in the world, the USS Liberty. The USS Liberty was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in the Lombok Strait on 11 January 1942, but managed to tow itself to shore. It was impossible to reach a harbour, so the captain steered the ship onto the beach at Tulamben.

East of Bali is the Lombok Strait, the first deep channel of water directly east of the Asian continental shelf. This channel has the highest tidal flow on Earth. The water from the Pacific Ocean therefore often produces very strong currents that characterise some of the dive sites in Bali. This results in large numbers of specialised fish, with the encounter with the lumpfish being particularly distinctive. The wild current often cleans the water and provides fantastic visibility that is rarely seen elsewhere.

There are simply so many different types of fish and underwater life that it can be difficult to keep track of what you've actually seen. From frogfish, leaf fish and small pygmy seahorses in Secret Bay and Menjangan on the north-west tip of the island, to bighead parrotfish and reef sharks in the north and east off Tulamben and Candi Dasa, to sunfish and horse mackerel at Nusa Penida and Lembongan islands. There are so many options and you never know what you'll encounter around Bali.

The advantage of Bali is that the diving season is more or less all year round. However, the best period is from April to December. Lionfish, sharks and other pelagic fish are easiest to see from June to September. December to March is the rainy season, when visibility decreases in the north and northwest.

Bering Travel is always available if you have any questions about diving in Bali.