Scuba Diving at Padang Bai
Padang Bai offers fantastic diving for both new and experienced divers, with diverse topography and fascinating biodiversity.
When diving Padang Bai, we do two dives using traditional jukung, outrigger boats. During the dives, you’ll have time to relax on the boat between dives and enjoy the sun, scenery and surface interval.
Visibility is usually excellent, and there are so many fascinating creatures to meet here, from big pelagics to the tiniest of shrimp. The topography here is diverse with wall, coral reef, and sandy bay; there’s even a small shipwreck. Currents are generally mild to moderate and relatively predictable with tides.
Highlights
With vibrant, healthy coral and usually calm conditions, it’s a great training site for Discover Scuba divers and open water students.
More experienced divers will also enjoy the abundant marine life and varied topography We’ll explore the sloping reef, a gorgeous long wall and the sandy bay.
Things to see
Padang Bai is host to a myriad of marine life.
We enjoy regular sightings of turtles (green and hawksbill), frogfish, octopus and cuttlefish, white-tip reef sharks and blue spotted rays, crocodile fish, scorpionfish and leaf scorpionfish, and moray eels.
Plus smaller critters such as peacock mantis shrimps, nudibranchs, orangutan crabs, seahorses, rhinopias, yellow boxfish, cowfish… we could go on all day!
Conditions
- Currents: generally mild to moderate, relatively predictable with tides.
- Temperature: 20 – 28 degrees depending on the season and thermoclines. Temperatures can vary significantly from one day to the next and even one dive site to another.
- Suitable for: Discover Scuba divers right through to experienced macro photographers.
- Depth: 5 – 40m
Let’s Go Diving!
Other Padangbai Dive Sites
Tanjung Jepun
The main attraction for divers here is the excellent macro, blue spotted rays, and the small wreck lying at around 19m.
We often encounter seahorses, ghostpipe fish and frogfish here, resident hawksbill and green turtles and juvenile white tip reef sharks.
Tanjung Sari
There’s resident green turtles here, as well as blue spotted rays, mantis shrimps, nudis, giant frogfish and eels to be found on the sloping sand and reef.
We sometimes see white-tip reef sharks in the blue or napping under the coral.
Turtle Neck and The Wall
This dive site is a full 30m of sloping, coral-encrusted wall, home to cuttlefish and octopus, nudis, juvenile batfish, rhinopias and seahorse at the base, moray and ribbon eels, and so many fish.
Continue on to the coral reef restoration site and underwater signpost, both of which are home to a host of critters.
The Jetty
Still, much of it has become home to the ever-patient and adaptable marine life. It’s a super dive site for macro: frogfish, pipefish, nudibranchs and shrimps, cuttlefish… the list is almost endless.
There are also some interesting coral bommies on each side. The pylons of the structure are encrusted in coral and attract schooling fish.
The Channel
The overhang of the channel wall is a perfect hiding place for lobsters and white-tip reef sharks, while the coral in the shallows is quite beautiful with some enormous pinnacles.
We dive this site through to the beautiful shallow corals of Tanjung Sari for hopefully an encounter with the resident green sea turtles.
Bias Tugel
Currents can make this a demanding dive at times but the marine life on show is very rewarding.
There are pygmy seahorses, beautifully camouflaged in gorgonian fans in the deeper part of this dive site, as well as turtles, shrimps, and plentiful schooling fish.
White tip reef sharks and rays may also pop up.
QUESTIONS?
What’s included in the price?
What is the pickup and return time?
Approximately 6:30am pickup and 4pm return time.
Can I do three dives?
Yes! There are so many dive sites to explore at Padang Bai we totally understand wanting to do three dives! Pick-up will be around 6 am and return around 5-6 pm, depending on your dive time. Please check our pricing page for additional charges for your third dive.
How long is the boat ride?
How About?
Nusa Penida
Nitrox Specialty
Tulamben
Candidasa