While Bali’s coast is best known for its incredible surf beaches, it also has reputation as a unique and varied dive destination. But, if you’re not keen on slugging a tank on your back and learning to SCUBA, Bali’s underwater world has plenty to offer those who prefer the less technical sport of snorkeling, from beginners to the keenest enthusiasts.
Also read: 11 hidden beach paradise that Balinese would never tell you
Bali (and in fact all of Indonesia) is considered by scientists to be part of the ‘coral triangle’. This means that they are part of the most biodiverse hotspot for marine life in the world.
Still, if you’ve been to Bali, you’ll know that in some places, the water can be rough, murky and definitely no fun for snorkelling!
So if you’re dreaming of exploring Bali’s coral reefs on your next vacation, you’ll need to know exactly where to head first.
Explore our list of Bali’s 7 best snorkelling spots and you’ll discover pristine reefs in crystal clear water, WWII shipwrecks, baby sharks and giant mantas, and even the largest man-made coral reef in the world!
Slap on a snorkel, stick on some fins and dive right in, Bali’s underwater world has so much more to offer than you think!
1. Wreck of the USAT Liberty, and The Coral Garden – Tulamben
1-a. See vibrant coral and fish life – Wreck of the USAT Liberty, Tulamben
Tulamben is probably the most famous destination among divers in Bali, being home to the American warship wreck, the USAT Liberty that torpedoed during WWII while traversing the Lombok Strait.
The Liberty eventually made it to Bali but had taken on too much water and eventually beached off Tulamben and sank.
Photo by Christian Loader via Scubazoo
The bottom of the wreck is at around 30m, making the deep part of it accessible only to advanced SCUBA divers and expert freedivers, but the top reaches up to 5m, and when the water is clear, much of the huge 125m long wreck can be seen from the surface.
Photo Via R0binvp
The best thing about the Liberty for snorkelers though, is the huge amount of fishlife that have made the wreck home – now an artificial reef completely overgrown with vibrant, healthy coral.
Because Tulamben’s economy is heavily tied to the dive industry, the locals have agreed not to fish on or near the wreck, and as a result, the fish population has exploded.
Photo Via Ludovic
With swarms of tropical reef fish and loads of interesting history, the Liberty is easily one the best snorkelling wrecks in Asia.
Photo Via Mihtiandr
Video by CrazyAboutScuba
Wreck of the USAT Liberty, Tulamben
Getting there: From Denpasar Airport or the Kuta region, Tulamben is between 3 and 3.5 hours drive depending on traffic.
Recommended Tour Operators: There are numerous dive shops located along Tulamben Beach strip, including Matahari, Mimpi Tauch Terminal, and Liberty Dive. All of them will happily take snorkellers on guided tours of the wreck. Try for a personal guide who can take you at a time when there are less SCUBA divers in the water.
Reaching the snorkel site: The USAT Liberty is located directly off Tulamben Beach, just to the north of the resort strip. We definitely recommend taking a guide on your first snorkel tour of the wreck. Watch your step when walking along the beach – it’s made up of smooth pebbles which are surprisingly slippery!
Other tips:
Expect to pay around 500,000 IDR per car for a private transfer to Tulamben.
If you’re not planning to stay in Tulamben, you can join a day trip with one of the Sanur area dive resorts, but be aware, the Liberty can get extremely crowded with day trippers when the tour buses arrive.
1-b. Snorkel right above an ocean garden – The Coral Garden, Tulamben
Being Bali’s premier dive destination, there’s more to Tulamben than just the wreck of the Liberty. In fact, the highlight for snorkelers is probably the Coral Garden, a shallow reef that starts almost as soon as you step into the water.
The coral garden is a mixture of original rocky reef and man-made structures, placed on the site by dive resorts to help promote coral growth and repopulate the (now unofficially protected) reef after decades of fishing.
The 150m reef is very shallow, with soft and hard corals from 3m down to about 12m.
Photo Via Delaip
Come at different times of the day and you can spot schools of damselfish and butterflyfish, clownfish, eels, octopus, squid, barracuda – and maybe even the reef’s resident school of trevally. A spectacular sight as impressive numbers of bulky, silvery fish whirl about in the shallows.
Photo Via Foscadivers,Danangshutama,Emmamcbean
Be sure to look out for the ‘underwater temple’, now brimming with colourful marine growth. The Coral Garden is literally right off the back of several of the resorts.
Photo Via Sue Hen
Where else in Bali can you have your morning coffee overlooking one of the island’s best dive sites? A snorkel-lover’s paradise indeed.
Photo Via Tiomax
The Coral Garden, Tulamben
Getting there: From Denpasar Airport or the Kuta region, Tulamben is between 3 and 3.5 hours drive depending on traffic.
Recommended Tour Operators: There are numerous dive shops located along Tulamben Beach strip, including Matahari, Mimpi Tauch Terminal, and Liberty Dive. All of them will happily take snorkellers on guided tours of the wreck.
Try for a personal guide who can take you at a time when there are less SCUBA divers in the water. Try at least one guided tour to familiarise yourself with the site before exploring on your own. The guides are great at pointing out hard-to-spot-marine life.
Reaching the snorkel site: Most of the beachfront resorts, such as Mimpi, Matahari and Tacuh Terminal are positioned right in front of the Coral Garden. Walk along the beach behind the resorts, step out into the water and you should land almost directly on top of the reef!
2. Manta Rays, and a Fish Nursery – Nusa Islands (Penida, Lembongan)
2-a. Watch huge manta rays get cleaned – Manta Point, Nusa Penida
Off the rugged coast of Nusa Penida lies Manta Point, the only place in Bali where huge reef manta rays are sighted on a regular basis.
Photo Via Corcaigh39
These gentle giants (known for being curious and friendly around humans) emerge from the deep to have their skin plucked of parasites, by a resident army of cleaner fish. Imagine the car wash scene in ‘Shark Tale’, only with giant rays instead of sharks!
Photo Via Ximeamayac
The cleaner fish are stationed on a coral mound a few metres below the surface. If the mantas are in the mood for a clean, they will circle this mound repeatedly until the cleaner fishes’ work is done.
Photo Via Viarobertacfaria
Being so close to the surface, snorkelers can easily witness this fascinating behaviour up-close – but please respect the wildlife and never chase or touch mantas. This can scare them off and ruin the experience for everyone.
Photo Via Robbie Hunter
There’s not much else to see here, and if you’re unlucky, Manta Point can be a real bore, but if the mantas are around (which is most of the time, fortunately!) – swimming so close to these enormous, intelligent creatures is one of the most amazing human-animal interactions you are ever likely to experience.
Nusa Islands (Penida, Lembongan)
Getting There: The vast majority of visitors’ reach Manta Point via booking a full day trip with one of the dive shops or tour guide companies in Kuta, Sanur or Padangbai.
Recommended Tour Operators: There are many tour operators in the Seminyak-Sanur area who offer diving and snorkel trips to Manta Point, often combined with a second site around Nusa Penida. Note that the currents around Nusa Penida can be very strong and can catch even experienced snorkellers by surprise. We recommend Aquamarine Bali for their focus on safety.
Reaching the snorkel site: Manta Point is accessible only by boat. The dive boat will drop snorkelers close to the cleaning station, where you wait until the mantas (hopefully) arrive.
Other tips:
A day trip from the Kuta area costs roughly $150USD including transport, a meal and a guided tour of Manta Point and a visit to one other site. From Padangbai, a day trip is around $120, and from Nusa Lembongan, a dedicated trip to Manta Point is about $60.
2-b) The natural nursery for baby fish – Mangrove Point, Nusa Lembongan
The reefs around Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan are often affected by strong currents, which can often make snorkelling a challenge, or even unsafe, without a reliable spotter on your dive boat to look out for you.
Photo Via Indahdona
Mangrove Point is located on the north side of Nusa Lembongan, and the currents on this side of the island are usually much milder – meaning snorkelers can enjoy drifting gently with the current without too much worry of being swept away.
Photo Via Lilie_09
If you’ve never experienced drifting in a current, it’s a bit like gliding through the air like superman, only in water! A good boat operator will have someone stationed on the boat to keep an eye on you at all times, so you shouldn’t have to swim back to the boat against the current.
Photo Via Wah_yoga
The site is named after the nearby mangroves, which serve as a shallow nursery for thousands of baby fish before they venture out onto the current-swept reefs further around Lembongan and Penida.
Photo Via The_pakd
Mangrove Point, Nusa Lembongan
Getting There: The best way to explore Mangrove Point is to stay on Nusa Lembongan. From any of the resorts, it’s only a few minutes by dive boat to the site. You might also be able to request a visit to Mangrove Point with one of the dive shops on the mainland.
Recommended Operators: If you’re staying on Lembongan, local fisherman may approach you offering snorkel tours, but because of the strong currents that sometimes hit Lembongan and Penida, we strongly recommended going with a licensed tour operator. Join one of the local dive boats or ask Lembongan Water Sports about their full and half day snorkel tours.
Reaching the snorkel site: Although the waters are usually much more gentle than elsewhere on the Lembongan coast, currents can still be present, and it’s advisable only to access Mangrove Point via a competent dive or snorkel tour boat.
3. Swim above an Abyss, and catch Wild Sea Turtles – Menjangan
3-a. Incredible visibility as you swim above an abyss – Pos Dua, Menjangan Island
Considered the most pristine dive destination in Bali, Menjangan is located off the coast of the beautiful Bali Barat National Park.
Only visited by a fraction of Bali’s tourists, it boasts superb variety of uncrowded reefs. The most spectacular of which is Pos Dua, famous for having incredible visibility of 40m or more at times.
Photo Via Zulfikar Aleksandri
Pos Dua starts as a shallow reef adjoining a gorgeous white sand beach. A short swim leads you to a majestic underwater canyon with a coral-encrusted wall that drops all the way down to a dramatic 40m.
Photo Via Menjangan Paradise
Despite the canyon’s colossal depth, the walls come up as shallow as 1m, and are completely covered with hard coral and swarming with rainbow-hued reef fish.
Photo Via Taufiq.afiq
The ‘drop off’ is an exhilarating experience as you swim over the shallow reef-top before it drops away beneath you into the abyss. Pos Dua is famous for its gigantic gorgonian fan corals and the chance to meet larger fish like napoleon wrasse and white tip reef sharks.
Pos Dua, Menjangan Island
Getting there: Being an uninhabited island and part of the West Bali National Park conservation area, there’s nowhere to stay on Menjangan itself. Mid-range and luxury resorts can be found on the north western coast of Bali near the West Bali National park and the Pemuteran area. Boats depart from Pemuteran each day for dive and snorkel tours to Menjangan.
Recommended tour operators: A tour operator is a must for getting out to Menjangan and a snorkel guide is a good idea for less experienced snorkellers. Menjangan Diving and Blue Season come highly recommended.
Reaching the snorkel site: Tour boats regularly drop off divers and snorkelers on top of the wall at Pos Dua after the short boat ride from the mainland.
Other tips:
To get to the Pemuteran resort area, there is a public bus available from Ubung Terminal (15km from the airport) to the port town of Gilimanuk. From there, you have to catch a bemo the next 10 to 15km to the resort area.
Much easier is negotiating with one of the private taxis, or organising transport with your resort. Expect to pay at least 600,000 IDR per vehicle for private transport from the airport/Kuta.
3-b. The ocean garden with wild sea turtles! – The Coral Garden, Menjangan Island
The second ‘coral garden’ on our list, this one is located on the north-western coast of Menjangan and is probably the best snorkel spot on the island for beginners as well as more experienced underwater explorers.
Photo Via Daley
The garden starts from just 5m below the surface, and is covered with thousands of anemones, the flower-like relatives of the coral family that frequently serve as homes for families of clownfish (aka Nemo fish!)
Photo Via Ferdi de Gier
While the many tiny fish and crustaceans that flit around the reef can keep you distracted for hours, keep an eye out into the blue, as sometimes larger fish cruise past the outer edge of the reef, including reef sharks, tuna, eagle rays and stingrays.
Photo Via Tanyabaracchi
Menjangan is also reputed to be the best place in Bali to swim with sea turtles. So if swimming with wild turtles is on your bucket list, it’s worth making the long trip out to Menjangan and asking the guides if any have been spotted lately.
Photo Via Scubazoo
The Coral Garden, Menjangan Island
Getting There: Being an uninhabited island and part of the West Bali National Park conservation area, there’s nowhere to stay on Menjangan itself. Mid-range and luxury resorts can be found on the north western coast of Bali near the West Bali National park and the Pemuteran area.
Boats depart from Pemuteran each day for dive and snorkel tours to Menjangan. Hiring private transport or a shuttle bus is recommended.
Recommended tour operators: A tour operator is a must for getting out to Menjangan and a snorkel guide is a good idea for less experienced snorkelers. Menjangan Diving and Blue Season come highly recommended.
Reaching the snorkel site: The Coral Garden is very popular with snorkelers, and many of the local dive and tour boats run dedicated snorkel trips to the site.
4. Wrecked WWII Japanese Patrol Boat, and Crystal Clear Sapphire Waters – Amed
4-a. See the wrecked WWII Japanese patrol boat – Lipah Bay, Amed
This tranquil black sand bay near the quiet resort town of Amed is home to a wonderfully rich reef brimming with soft and hard corals and a variety of fish.
One of the easiest snorkel spots in Bali, simply walk straight off the beach and with a few kicks – you’ll be right in the middle of a beautifully preserved reef, which gently drops down to a shallow, sandy bottom.
Lipah Bay is also the resting place of a wrecked WWII Japanese patrol boat. The top of the wreck is at just 6m depth, and on a day with a good visibility, much of the wreck can be seen from the surface.
Photo Via Diveplanit
Photo Via Josh Krancer
The bottom of the wreck is just 12m deep, making it easily accessible for freediving. The wreck is covered in growth, with staghorn corals on the shallow part of the wreck playing host to a variety of fish, crabs, octopus and other tropical critters.
Photo Via Amyadventures
While Lipah Bay is a protected, gentle site ideal for snorkelers of all experience levels, the abundance of marine life here comes from the rich nutrients that pass by a by further away along the reef.
It’s quite safe to snorkel here without a guide, but be sure to stick close to the reef and not venture too far into the deeper ocean.
Photo Via Sorrelclaire
Amed
Location: Amed is about 120km from the airport, roughly 3 hours drive.
Reaching the snorkel site: Amed’s resorts are clustered around Lipah and Jemeluk Bays. You can easily walk between the two, catch a bemo or request a ride from your resort. The best way to explore Lipah Bay is simply to walk off the beach and explore. In calm, clear water, the Japanese wreck is easily spotted just a few metres off the beach.
Other tips:
You can arrange a private transfer with your Amed resort or avail of the private taxi services in the airport and the major resort areas.
A private cab is roughly 450,000 IDR from the airport. Shared shuttle buses in the Kuta area are around 180,000 IDR per person.
4-b. Crystal clear sapphire waters – Jemeluk Bay, Amed
If you’re looking for a quiet, relaxing Bali retreat, with beautiful, easy snorkelling as a priority, Amed might just be your best bet.
Photo Via Kamumma
Jemeluk Bay is another calm, crescent shaped bay in the Amed region, and is possibly one of the most picturesque beaches in Bali, with the loomic volcanic uprising of Mount Agung in the background.
Jemeluk is closer than Lipah to most of the resorts, and most people snorkel there simply by walking a few steps from their resort to the beach.
Photo Via Nandubcn
Jemeluk’s waters are usually a crystal clear blue, making its myriad of marine life easy to spot. Most of the corals range from a depth of 12m down to 22m. On the right side of the bay is a gently sloping wall populated with spectacular sea fans and black corals.
Photo Via Valentin.ayupov
Just off the reef are some artificial ‘FADS’ (fish attracting devices), called ‘pyramids’ thanks to their shape. The pyramids are starting to be covered in soft marine growth and sometimes attract moray eels, napoleon wrasse, trevally and even the odd turtle.
Photo Via Prsclls
Video by tuamigoenbali
Jemeluk Bay, Amed
Getting There: Amed is about 120km from the airport, roughly 3 hours drive. It’s possible to take a day trip to Amed from Kuta or Ubud, but we recommend staying a few days to soak up the vibe.
Recommended Operators: Jemeluk Bay is easy enough to explore on your own, but ask at your resort or one of the local dive shops if you’d like a snorkel guide to show you the sites. If you’re keen to see the Pyramids, tag along with one of the dive boats, as they are a little way past the reef over a steep drop off.
Reaching the snorkel site: Amed’s resorts are clustered around Lipah and Jemeluk Bays. You can easily walk between the two, catch a bemo or request a ride from your resort. The best way to explore Lipah Bay is simply to walk off the beach and explore.
Ask at your resort or one of the local dive shops if you’d like a snorkel guide to show you the sites. If you’re keen to see the Pyramids, tag along with one of the dive boats, as they are a little way past the reef over a steep drop off.
Other tips:
You can arrange a private transfer with your Amed resort or avail of the private taxi services in the airport and the major resort areas.
A private cab is roughly 450,000 IDR from the airport. Shared shuttle buses in the Kuta area are around 180,000 IDR per person.
5. The largest Biorock artificial reef project in the world – Biorock Reefs, Pemuteran
Off a small fishing village on Bali’s remote north east coast is scenic Pemuteran Bay.
Photo Via Indonesia.travel
Off the main tourist trail, and best known as the jumping off point for trips to Menjangan Island, Pemuteran has a laidback rural charm of its own.
Photo Via Sammymcgold
While the dive sites here are often ignored in favour of Menjangan, lately, it’s been attracting the attention of marine scientists, as well as in-the-know divers and snorkelers.
Photo Via Mikeportnoy6
Why? Sleepy Pemuteran Bay is in fact home to largest Biorock artificial reef project in the world!
Photo Via Leonislanders
Biorock is a cement-like substance used to create structures that provide the perfect habitat for corals, oysters, clams and other marine creatures – often bringing back to life reefs that have previously been decimated by storms, coral bleaching and overfishing.
Photo Via Scuba_chic
There are several Biorock structures around Pemuteran Bay and all are thriving and helping to restore fish populations in the area.
As an added bonus, this isolated stretch of coast is also one of Bali’s best places to encounter larger creatures like sea turtles, reef sharks and on rare occasions, the elusive whale shark.
Biorock Reefs, Pemuteran
Getting There: To get to the Pemuteran resort area, there is a public bus option available from Ubung Terminal (15km from the airport) to the nearest port town of Gilimanuk (around 4 hours), which is another 15km bemo ride to Pemuteran.
Reaching the snorkel Site: The shallow Biorock reefs start almost right off the beach in shallow water. Ask a local for advice or spend a few minutes swimming just out from the beach and you’re sure to come across them quickly.
Other tips:
Much easier is negotiating with one of the private taxis, or organising transport with your resort. Expect to pay at least 600,000 IDR per vehicle for private transport from the airport/Kuta.
6. Great for newbie snorkelers and packed with tropical fish – Blue Lagoon, Padangbai
Apart from Tulamben, Padangbai on the mid-east coast, is the other main centre for diving and snorkelling in Bali. Popular because of its proximity to the world-class sites at Nusa Penida, there are also very good snorkelling opportunities closer to Padangbai itself.
The most famous of the Padangbai sites for snorkelers is the Blue Lagoon.
Photo Via Berthginting
While the name is somewhat misleading (it is not in fact a lagoon but a shallow coral reef), Blue Lagoon is one of Bali’s most popular snorkelling spots – thanks to its location a five minute boat ride from Padangbai’s main beach.
Almost always flat and calm and packed with tropical fish, it offers plenty for experienced and newbie snorkelers who like to get up close with the wildlife.
Photo Via Thomas Koper
Some of the boat operators at Blue Lagoon feed the fish here, so they’re quite tame and definitely not afraid of swimming up to snorkelers for a closer look themselves!
Being in the midst of a fish feeding frenzy is quite the experience!
Blue Lagoon, Padangbai
Getting There: Blue Lagoon is probably the number one site for snorkel tours in Bali, so you should have no problem finding a tour in any of the resort towns.
Recommended Operators: There are plenty of freelance boats and ‘tour guides’ offering snorkel tours in Padangbai but we can’t vouch for their safety or environmentally sound practices. Best hook up with a licensed operator like Geko Dive, or if you’re staying closer to the Sanur area, try Aquamarine in Sanur, one of Bali’s biggest and best organised dive/snorkel tour operators.
Reaching the snorkel Site: Once you reach Padangbai, it’s just 5 minutes by boat to Blue Lagoon. If you have a group, you can negotiate a private charter from Padangbai Beach.
Other tips:
Expect to pay about $75USD per person for a one day snorkel tour to Padangbai including lunch and pick up from the Kuta or Ubud areas.
Of course, it’s much cheaper to visit Blue Lagoon by staying in Padangbai itself. A super chilled out beach resort, Padangbai is about 90 minutes by taxi from the airport and the trip is around 360,000 IDR.
7. Snorkel with the sharks – ‘Shark Island’, Serangan
Sadly, unregulated shark fishing is still a fact of life in Bali, and it’s now very rare to see the once common reef sharks that prowled across Bali’s coral-fringed coasts.
Bali Sharks is the island’s first shark conservation program, offering an alternative fate for young sharks being killed and sold as food in local markets or shipped overseas for their fins.
Photo Via Bali Sharks
The founders of Bali Sharks have created an artificial ‘shark island’ in Serangan, a few minutes by boat from the bustling township of Sanur.
The mostly black and white tip reef sharks are kept in large sea pens in the open ocean. Sharks arrive at the sanctuary after they have been purchased from fishermen, or rescued from being tangled in nets. Eventually, the healthy sharks are released back into the wild.
Photo Via Bali Sharks
Guests embark on a 3 hour eco tour, which includes jumping in for a quick snorkel with the sharks.
If you’ve never swum with sharks, we highly encourage you give it a try!
Photo Via Oditx
Most people find their fear simply disappears when they’re able to see just how beautiful and graceful these animals are up close.
Still, not every guest manages to muster up the courage to take the plunge, but you can always help out with their daily feed, and visit the adjoining Turtle Conservation Centre.
‘Shark Island’, Serangan
Getting There: Shark Island is located about 5 minutes boat ride from northern jetty on Pulau Serangi, near the Agus Bar and Restaurant, where Bali Sharks have a makeshift office. If you are staying in the Kuta-Seminyak area, Bali Sharks can arrange free transport to you from the island when you book a tour.
Price: $100 (Adult), $90 (Child); Children under 5 visit free. A typical tour lasts about 3 hours including transportation and a light meal provided.
Opening hours: 7am to 3pm daily
Booking Details: Book online at: http://www.balisharks.com or phone 0361-9965-101
Now you know all the best spots, have fun snorkelling in Bali – it’ll be one of the most unforgettable adventures in your life, we promise!
Let us know if we’ve missed your favourite snorkeling spot! We’d love to include it in the list.
The post 7 snorkelling spots that showcase Bali’s spectacular underwater world appeared first on TripCanvas Indonesia.