Cover photo by Fabio Galbiati
Scuba Diving around Bangka Island
Bangka Island in North Sulawesi is situated in the heart of the Coral Triangle and is renowned for its marine biodiversity.
With more than 30 world-class dive sites, Bangka's archipelago offers several different diving spots, from richly-colonized volcanic pinnacles, beautiful pristine coral reef slopes to sandy slopes, mangroves and walls. All the diving spots can be reached with 5 / 40 minutes of navigation from the resort.
The seascape encompasses several different habitats that support rare species such as the pygmy seahorse, leaf fish, frog fish, white and black tip reef sharks, nudibranchs, and dugongs.
VOLCANIC SAND: These areas present a black sandy bottom with rocks completely covered by coral and colonized by a large number of different invertebrates and fish. It is very similar to the environment found in the Lembeh Straits.
PINNACLES: Volcanic walls and pinnacles, completely covered by corals (in particular soft corals) make beautiful dive sites. These can be subject to strong currents but we use our local knowledge and expertise to ensure a safe dive.
FRINGING REEF: Dominated by hard coral, they grow on an originally sandy bottom and demonstrate extremely high biodiversity.
MANGROVES: Tidal currents, wave action, river flow and salinity gradients affect sedimentation in various complex ways. Sponges, flatworms, snails, and small fish that live around the mangrove roots can be found here. The seagrass in front of each mangrove forest provides food for the dugongs.
Diving is possible all year around, but the best time is from April to November. The water is normally around 28° to 29° with some cold upwellings (24°to 26°), especially during summer. The visibility is mostly very good (30mt) in summer, decreasing in winter due to the action of waves and rain.
coral eye diving center
Our dive center has a terrace right on the beach and a wet room where each guest has his own space to wash and store their diving equipment. A cameras room is available for photographers.
We prefer to focus on small groups (max 4 divers per guide) to guarantee a highly individual service. Our local guides, all certified Dive Masters, have a wealth of experience in diving the waters around Bangka Island!
DIVING TRIPS
Leaving around 8 in the morning, our boats will take you out for two dives. Dive sites are selected according to the needs of guests and weather conditions.
You will find your equipment already assembled on board and after the dives our staff will rinse and store it again in your personal cubicle at the diving center.
On board we provide fresh water, hot coffee & tea, snacks and fruits. Just bring the provided beach towel and your sunblock!
Afternoon dives are possible by boat or from the jetty on our house reef. Night dives are usually organized from the jetty around 6.00pm. On request we can organize full day excursions to the Lembeh Strait in search of the legendary critters or to the beautiful walls of Bunaken. We have 12 and 15lt aluminium cylinders with INT or DIN connections available.
DIVING BOATS
Building boats is our passion.
All our diving boats have been built handcrafted by local carpenters in our shipyard and have been designed to offer maximum comfort to scuba divers with an easy back-roll entry.
They are equipped with sun deck and a shaded area that can easily accomodate six/eight divers.
Each boat is provided with safety equipment (O2, first aid kit, life jackets and VHF radio)
RENTAL SHOP
Our rental shop is equipped with modern SCUBAPRO scuba diving and snorkeling equipment.
Due to a limited number of full-sets, please let us know in advance if you need to rent any diving gear during your stay.
DIVING COURSES
Our diving center offers a complete range of globally recognized diving courses.
Our Instructors will teach a maximum of 2 students per group and teach in English, Italian, German, French and Dutch. The theory part of the courses is available online in most languages.
Please contact us for more information on courses.
SAFETY
As qualified divers, you are responsible for your own and your buddy’s safety during the dive, that’s why you will be requested to have a personal dive computer to be able to dive with us.
if you don't have your dive computer it will be possible to rent one at our rental shop.
We strongly recommend travelling with diving insurance that can cover medical expenses, emergency medical evacuations, hyperbaric treatments and more. To dive with us it is mandatory to be covered by diving insurance
If you weren't already insured, you can easily get insured for the period you need by clicking on the button below or we’re happy to help once you get here.