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Dive Sites in Manado
Manado & Bunaken Marine Park’s dive sites map is deliberately not shown on our website.
New Dive Site (Found on August 2019)
Mainland site
Jerry Yip Point 1
A 30-35 minute boat ride.
There are corals at from depths of 2-8 meters, but it is at depths of 8-20 meters that you find a wealth of small critters (on a black sandy bottom): juvenile frogfish, long-arm octopus, ornate ghost pipefish, blue and black ribbon eels. With visibility ranging from 15 to 25 meters, this is a very nice site, suitable for all levels of divers, including macro lovers.
Jerry Yip Point 2
A 30-35 minute boat ride.
A black sandy bottom with impressive sea fan corals at depths 25-35 meters. Great for muck diving. Look for pygmy seahorses, nudibranch species, coral bubble shrimps and orang utan crabs. Visibility ranging from 15 to 25 meters.
Daniel Kway Point
A 10-minutes boat ride.
An interesting site with a “shallow” depth of 18 meters for viewing most critters and a sandy bottom at depth 25-35 meters. Enjoy critters such as the octopus, xeno crab, and halimeda ghost pipefish. There are also big schools unicorn fish and fusilier fish around.
Mainland Sites – Manado Area
Wori Bay
5-minute boat ride.
There are not a lot of hard and soft corals at this site, but its black sandy slope and relatively shallow depth of 10 to 15 meters makes this a great muck location, with ghost pipefish, ribbon eels, batfish, juvenile sweetlips, and many different species of gobies.
Odyssea Point 1 & 2
10-minute boat ride.
A shallow site with a maximum depth of 15 meters, this is a sandy slope with some coral outcroppings. Frequented by frogfish, seahorses, crocodile fish, nudibranchs, a variety of crabs and shrimp, it has become a guest favourite. It’s also a popular as a night dive site.
Tiwoho
10-minute boat ride.
This is a sandy slope, dotted with coral heads where a wealth of small critters live. Ghost pipefish, frogfish, squat lobsters, anemone fish, ribbon eels, and several species of nudibranchs are the regular fare. With visibility ranging from 10 to 30 meters, this is a very nice site, suitable for all levels of divers, as well as snorkelers.
Gabet
10-minute boat ride.
A shallow site with a maximum depth of 15 meters, this is a sandy slope with some very nice coral heads. A great muck site with cuttlefish, pink leaf scorpionfish, giant mantis shrimp, Spanish dancers, harlequin shrimp, boxer crabs, and even Pontohi pygmy seahorses! A favourite location for night dives.
Molas Shipwreck
30-minute boat ride.
As no one is exactly sure of the name and origin of the ship, the site is named after the local village. Sunk in 1942, it is presumed to be a Dutch cargo ship. This site is for advanced divers due its depth. Lying on its side, the bow starts at 24 meters, and the propellers are at 42 meters. Although not safe for penetration, the marine life around the wreck makes this an entertaining dive, with nice soft corals, nudibranchs, pufferfish, white-tip reef sharks and Napoleon wrasses in attendance.
Bunaken Island Sites
Lekuan 1, 2 & 3
20-minute boat ride.
On the southeast side of Bunaken Island, the walls at Lekuan are definite favourites amongst the Cocotinos dive staff. With visibility often extending up to 40 meters, sightings of the larger species such at sharks, turtles, and schools of trevally and Napoleon wrasses are very common. Smaller fish such as butterflyfish, triggerfish, scorpionfish and lionfish are also abundant. And the small stuff isn’t lacking either, with many species of nudibranchs making their home here.
A beautiful set of dive sites!
Sachiko’s Point
20-minute boat ride.
Named after a Japanese tour operator, this is a deep, vertical wall on the northeast side of Bunaken, with visibility frequently in the 30 to 40-meter range. The slight current here means larger pelagics such as sharks, turtles, barracuda and Napoleon wrasses frequent the area. Other critters typically found here include moray eels, sea snakes, leaf scorpionfish, nudibranchs, crabs and shrimp.
Bunaken Timur 1 & 2
25-minute boat ride.
On the east (timur) side of Bunaken. After an initial sandy slope for 5 to 10 meters, this site becomes a vertical wall with beautiful hard and soft corals. A great variety of sea life, both large and small, gather here, including eagle rays, turtles, Napoleon wrasses, harlequin shrimp and nudibranchs. This is also a nice site for snorkeling.
Fukui Point
40-minute boat ride.
On the southwest side of Bunaken. Named after a Japanses dive instructor who first described the site in the 1980’s, this site has many of the same critters found on other sites around Bunaken such as barracuda, batfish and trevally, yet it has no wall. It’s a slope with a white sandy bottom, with many hard corals and large sponges. One of its most noticeable and distinguishing features are the 5 giant clams, a nice treat for snorkelers. The site is also home to Pontohi pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs, crabs, and shrimp. It’s a good place for dive training due to its shallow maximum depth (18 meters) and little to no current.
Ron’s Point
40-minute boat ride.
At the southwest corner of Bunaken, this is an advanced dive location due to its depth and strong currents, which of course means larger pelagics are sighted here. Schools of black-tip reef sharks, barracuda, tuna and jacks frequent the area. The coral rubble is home to eels, ghost pipefish, and anemones. As a special treat, there’s a family of Pontohi pygmy seahorses living in a rock towards the end of the dive – a really nice way of doing your safety stop!
Raymond’s Point
40-minute boat ride.
On the western corner of Bunaken Island, this is a deep wall with lots of soft and hard corals and an amazing array of critters – white and black-tip reef sharks, turtles, clown triggerfish, eagle rays, stingrays, ribbon eels, and lobster. There’s also a small cave. The top of the reef is at 5 meters, so the show continues all the way through to your surface stop.
Siladen Island
20-minute boat ride.
A small island surrounded by a beautiful white sandy beach, Siladen has 2 amazing sites. Siladen 1, on the south side of the island, is a wall dive with a maximum depth of 30 meters. The top of the reef is a beautiful hard coral garden, with stunning soft corals all along the wall. Boxer crabs and pygmy seahorses are among the many different critters making their home here. This is also a very nice site for snorkeling. Siladen 2, on the northeast side, is a white sandy slope with big boulders, soft corals, and table corals. Larger pelagics frequent the area, including sharks, Napoleon wrasses and bumphead parrotfish. Due to its strong current, this is a site for advanced divers only.
Manado Tua Island Sites
Tanjung Kopi
50-minute boat ride.
On the north side of Manado Tua, this site gets its name from the coffee (kopi) tree on the corner (tanjung) of the island. This site combines both a slope and wall, with a maximum depth of 35 meters, and visibility ranging up to 35 meters as well! Due to its very strong currents, this is an ‘experts only’ site. With tuna, barracuda, large schools of trevally, batfish and fusiliers, Napoleon wrasses, triggerfish, bumphead parrotfish, octopuses, and sea snakes all part of the regular backdrop. Even an occasional hammerhead has been spotted here!
Montehage Island
Barracuda Point
1 hour, 20-minute boat ride (leave Cocotinos at 6:00am).
This is an ‘experts only’ dive with its strong currents, but the wall and 30-meter visibility is a delight, with barracuda and bumphead parrotfish in attendance.
For more information, please contact
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E-mail: info@cocotinos-manado.com