Dive Manado Indonesia

Manado is the capital of the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia and is located at the far north east of Sulawesi, surrounded by a mountainous area.

Best Time to Dive Manado

You can dive all year round in Manado if you are on a good condition of boats.
Dry season is from April to October when the wind blows from south-east and the sea stays relatively calm. Visibility is normally 25m and can sometimes get as good as 30m+ on some days. And the Wet season is from November to March with cooler winds from north-west which can bring heavier rains and rougher seas. Visibility is about 15-20m but can sometimes drop to 10m for a few days.

Manado Sightseeing

Provincial Museum

The city’s Provincial Museum includes an interesting display of traditional costumes and modes of transport like the bendi (a small horse trap) which is still in use in many places. There are ceramics from China, Japan and Europe, as well as an impressive display of weaponry.

Bukit Kasih (Mountain of Love)

There are several inland tours available including those to volcanic peaks, local markets and natural hot springs. One interesting spot is Bukit Kasih or the “Mountain of Love”. It has been likened to a miniature version of the Great Wall of China. At the top of the climb you can fall to your knees and beseech your god in any of the several places of worship you can find there: a Catholic and a Protestant church, a Mosque, a Buddhist temple and a Hindu temple.

Tangkoko National Park

One of the many reasons to visit the Tangkoko National Park forest is to seek out the delightful sight of a tarsier clinging to a branch in a wide-eyed glare. The 12 cm species is endemic to Sulawesi and make great photographic subjects.

Accommodation at Manado

Tasic Ria Resort

About 30 minutes drive from the hustle & bustle of Manado is Tasik Ria Resort & Spa. Here with its peaceful and scenic palm fringed backdrop is a family owned and run resort that offers not only luxury and comfort but also a level of warmth and hospitality which in today’s frantic world is such a rarity.

With the Bunaken National Park only a 45 min boat ride away, you can be assured of some of the best diving in the world.

• Full air conditioning
• Mini bar
• Safety deposit boxes
• En-suite bathrooms
• Cable tv
• IDD phone
• Coffee/tea making facilities
• Pool/Sea view rooms

Manado Dive Sites

Lekuan I, II & III

Whether beginner or experienced, in daytime or at night, you will drop down here through calm and crystal clear water to the coral wall in front of Lekuan Beach on the south side of Bunaken Island. The wall has 3 prongs imaginatively named I, II and III and is a very popular site for all levels due to the conditions and the variety of fish and turtles present.

Tanjung Kopi

Located on the east coast foothills of the spectacular volcanic island of Manado Tua, Tanjung Kopi is literally translated as “Coffee Point” but the reason for the name remains a mystery.The dive site’s main feature is a sloping underwater plateau that descends from 5 to 30 metres, fringed with a vertical wall that drops off to over 80 metres. An experienced dive guide is essential for diving here, as entry at the correct point is critical. Currents can be very strong, so you’ll want to drop in upstream and drift over to the plateau.

Mandolin Point

The origin of the name of this site in the south west of the island is unknown but some have suggested it is a reference to the number of ‘strings’ present here in the form of whip corals.Descending down alongside one of Bunaken’s typically colourful walls you will soon realise that, in the 20-45m depth range, there are more single whips than your eye can take in. For depth chargers this is a good chance to get down into the ‘narc zone’.

Fukui Point

This site, on the west coast of Bunaken Island, always features highly on people’s favourites list and is named, not as an insult to a visitor called Hughie, but after its Japanese discoverer who dived this spot some 20 years ago. Here, unlike most of the Bunaken diving sites, you will find not a wall but more of a slope with a few short, steep drops.

Here you can find white-spotted moray eels peering out from their hideouts, and sailfin tangs elegantly raising their dorsal fins and soaring away. If there’s a current running then you can expect to see thousands of red-tooth triggerfish, swarming low down and en-masse across the reef slope.