During my trip to Bali a few weeks ago i went diving on four different days – posts on the Gili Islands, Tulamben and Padang Bai will be coming soon but today I will take you into the underwater world of Nusa Penida. Nusa Penida is probably most known for it’s famous cliffside beaches which from the top provide incredible vistas – Kelingking Beach and Diamond beach. In another post (and on another day) I got to these beaches but today is about the wonders in the water around this island.
From the South of Bali it is only an hour via fast boat to Nusa Penida and we dove in three spots – Crystal Bay, the kindergarten, and Manta Point.Manta Point was by far my favorite with the 12 foot giant Manta rays and while the visibility was not ideal the guides said sometimes the water is crystal clear but there are absolutely no mantas and I would greatly prefer the former.
After Manta Ray, two more dive sites: Crystal Bay and the Kindergarden. The first is well known because when in season (around August) Crystal Bay is one of the most well known sites for spotting a mola mola. While officially called the ocean sunfish the massive mola mola starts at 550 pounds and can get over 2,000 pounds and is a massive site to be seen. We did not catch any diving in late April but luckily I had seen one in the Galapagos a few years ago. (You can get an idea here though). Instead both spots had pretty color, bright fish, and lots to see!
I went back to Nusa Penida a few days later to actually explore the island so stay tuned for that!
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julie says
wow, this looks like such an incredible experience!!
Emily says
Those Ray’s are insane. I didn’t know that they get that big. I have scuba dove a lot and never seen any that big. In the Galapagos one time I looked up and there was one about 6 feet across coming right at me. I had to hold my you know what together and not freak out.
Super photos and putting this on my to go to list.