Thanks Rickg for the dive sites! We'll be there in November and are really looking for that kind of info.
Bunaken report/photos
- Thread starter scottfiji
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The best dive sites for me for fish were pangolingan, barracuda point, and sachiko. I dove pangolingan twice, and sachiko 3 times, and it wasn't enough. dive them early and often! less experienced divers might not be brought to these sites. 20-40 meters deep was great at sachiko and pangoligan. barracuda point was best at 15 meters, although at the end of the dive we saw them at 5-6 meters deep.
"the point" at lekuan I, where the currents are strongest, can also be good for blue-fin and giant trevally, 5-10 meters deep. I would skip the wall and hang out at the "point".
usually the more currents, the more I saw.
siladan was also great for lots of small fish and beautiful coral very shallow... I'd spend minimal time on the wall, and most of my time here at 3-6 meters.
if you google "bunaken dive sites", you'll see a map
we went to Batu Kapal to see the hammerheads at 45 meters, but didn't see any. there was a large napolean wrasse down there, and it was beautiful at 45 meters. the shallow parts of the site were mostly rubble.
the best night dive was in front of two-fish.
enjoy bunaken!
Scott
"the point" at lekuan I, where the currents are strongest, can also be good for blue-fin and giant trevally, 5-10 meters deep. I would skip the wall and hang out at the "point".
usually the more currents, the more I saw.
siladan was also great for lots of small fish and beautiful coral very shallow... I'd spend minimal time on the wall, and most of my time here at 3-6 meters.
if you google "bunaken dive sites", you'll see a map
we went to Batu Kapal to see the hammerheads at 45 meters, but didn't see any. there was a large napolean wrasse down there, and it was beautiful at 45 meters. the shallow parts of the site were mostly rubble.
the best night dive was in front of two-fish.
enjoy bunaken!
Scott
Rickg
Contributor
highdesert,
Your quite welcome. Must warn you though that if you haven't dove in that part of the world before it might just spoil you when it comes to diving many other locals in the world
Hope you have a great trip.
Your quite welcome. Must warn you though that if you haven't dove in that part of the world before it might just spoil you when it comes to diving many other locals in the world
Hope you have a great trip.
highdesert, Your quite welcome. Must warn you though that if you haven't dove in that part of the world before it might just spoil you when it comes to diving many other locals in the world
We did Wakatobi last year, our first Indo trip. I guess that explains why we're passing on the Caribbean this spring and going back to Indonesia in the fall.
silent running
Contributor
Hello Rickg, glad you saw some big stuff in this area, makes me reconsider visiting the area as I had heard there isn't much bigger stuff around.
But I have to ask, are you sure the hammers you saw were great hammerheads? That would be unusual as they are not known to school. I have seen 1 in the Coral Sea and it was easy to tell from the scalloped hammers as it had a taller scythe like dorsal fin and it's head was flatter in front and it was a good deal bigger than the scalloped hammers, about 14ft. -Andy
Rickg
Contributor
silent running,
That is a good question. I can't be sure that they were giant hammerheads. I based my "best guess" for classification based on their girth vs length and I could have been totally mistaken. These sharks were much "heftier" than the scalloped hammerheads I'd seen.
While the trip was a great and a fabulous price at the time (2004) I was somewhat disappointed in the lack on big things when we were diving along the Sangihe/Talud Island chain. What you read was only an excerpt from the entire trip report. I've attached the full trip report. Please don't hesitate to PM me if you have any questions at all.
silent running
Contributor
Thanks for putting up the report Rick, always good to have first hand info... -Andy
Rickg
Contributor
Andy,
Your quite welcome. I thought you might be interested in what we saw after your comment about "big stuff". While we did have good luck with seeing big stuff on our last day, like I said in my trip report I was somewhat disappointed in the lack of "big stuff" and in particular sharks during our LOB trip along the Sangihe Islands north of Sulawesi. All in all we still had a great trip but I would have thought we'd see more big stuff the further we got away from civilization but that wasn't the case.
Travelnsj
Contributor
Rickg have you ever dove Raja Ampat/Papua area or Palau? Wondering how you compare to Bunaken?
scottfiji...great pics.
scottfiji...great pics.
Rickg
Contributor
Travelnsj,
I have been to Palau but not to Raja Ampat/Papua. When we went to Palau we stayed on shore and dove with NECO Marine on day boats. We plan on going back next year and use a LOB - the only way to go IMO but I didn't know any better the first time we went.
Without a doubt, I'd have to say the diving was better in Palau than Bunaken. I've never seen so many sharks, tuna, jacks, etc in one place. For overall experience - people, food, other site seeing options I'd have to give the nod to Manado/Bunaken/Lembeh area.
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