The North Side
The north of Bunaken National Park offers several steep walls of 80 to 200 feet deep. The walls are covered with huge sponges, hard and soft corals, fan corals, whip corals and other spectacular growth. In addition, divers and snorkelers can enjoy huge schools of fish and with the help of our experienced dive guides discover the well-camouflaged creatures that hide in small holes and between the corals on the wall.
The South Side
The south side of Bunaken National Park is completely different than the north. Here you’ll find sandy slopes covered with sea grass. Sea cows grazing with their young are often seen. Underwater you will find a macro-environment: seahorses, scorpionfish (Rhinopias), beautiful nudibranches, sea slugs and octopuses are some of the special animals that live in this shallow area.
The Coastal Reefs
The sloping reefs along the coast near Thalassa dive center offer a wide variety of nudibranches, many species of seahorse family, the scorpion fish family and the octopus family. And these are just a few of the more than 2,000 species that live there. Did you know that we can offer you great “muck” diving along the coastline? Mating Mandarin Fish, Mimic Octopus, Flying Gunnar, the Hairy frogfish and Scorpionfish are only a few of the critters you can encounter.
Just outside the park, but still close by you can dive on a wreck sitting on the sand at a depth between 30 and 40 meters. This Dutch freighter sank in 1945 and has since then become a refuge for countless species of fish. The beautifully overgrown wreck has a romantic look. There is an interesting story of how the ship sunk ... your guide can tell you about it….
Fees
Entrance fee for Bunaken National Park:
Rate non-Indonesians - 150,000 Rupiah (±€ 12, -) validity one year and 50,000 Rupiah (± € 4, -) for 1 day admission.
Rate for Indonesians - Rupiah 2500 (± € 0.20)
Free and just outside
Do you like both underwater and surface photography, or are you just curious about how our front yard looks like underwater? Then you are in for a surprise if you make a shallow dive in the mangroves or in our small harbor. And best of all is... it is free. Whether you are diving during the day or want to make a dip at night, you don’t pay anything. We can help you to find the right tide and time for your dive and arrange that your equipment is there, where you want to enter the water.