Manado

Indonesian waters are among the richest in the world and have the highest fish and coral species count on the planet. North Sulawesi is at the heart of this great underwater biodiversity, and here, divers can find some of the most remarkable and rarest marine creatures to be found anywhere.

The gateway into North Sulawesi is Manado, and from here you can venture over to the western side of North Sulawesi to dive the Bunaken Islands, a beautiful and lush covered group of five volcanic islands with prolific fish life and pristine coral walls and drop-offs.

Over on the eastern side, between Sulawesi and Lembeh Island, is the world renowned Lembeh Strait – the ‘muck diving’ capital of the world. The black sandy slopes and corals here are home to some of the most magical and exotic marine critters that divers could hope to find anywhere in the world.

Easily combined, these two destinations offer divers an unparalleled Indonesian experience.

How to get there
Manado is easily reached with one stop en-route from the UK with a journey time of around 18 hours. The most straightforward routing is via Singapore with Singapore Airlines. On arrival into Manado it takes around an hour or so to get to your chosen resort on the Bunaken side of Manado, or around two hours to get to Lembeh Strait.

Stay a bit longer
Diving the Bunaken Islands and Lembeh Strait works brilliantly as a combination, with just a two and a half hour private transfer between each area, so spending a week in each area is highly recommended and very easy to do.

There are some wonderful places to explore top-side too, with the Tangkoko National Park being one of the most famous and a must-do experience. Exploring the jungle with a guide is exhilarating and here you might see crested Black Macaques monkey, hornbills and the small, Tarsier monkeys.

If you fancy breaking up your journey, then a one or two night stopover in Singapore city works really well. If you’d like to add on to your Manado trip we’ll be happy to guide you and assist with your travel needs.

Exploring Indonesia
Indonesia is vast and varied, with stunning scenery and superb diving. Visit our Indonesia section for an introduction on where to go throughout this country, including Bali, Manado (Lembeh Strait and the Bunaken Islands), Raja Ampat and Komodo National Park.