Diving in
North Sulawesi
with Celebes Divers
Diving in the Bunaken National Marine Park
Diving from the Onong Resort and from the Kuda Laut Boutique Dive Resort primarily takes place in the Bunaken National Park, which is famous for its biodiversity and breathtaking wall dives.
Usually diving begins along beautiful cliffs that seem to get lost in the depths, covered by an incredible variety of corals, sponges, and anemones and populated by large schools of fish and many turtles. There often is a bit of current, from mild to strong. For this reason, all dives are organized as if there was a current. All scheduled dives are from the boat.
A guided house reef dive from the shore is possible on request, to explore the beautiful wall in front of the resorts and the stunning coral garden bathed in sunlight.
We also organize regular night dives and sunset dives to watch the mandarin fish mating.
SSI Courses
You always asked yourself what lies beneath the surface of the ocean? Or why all divers are excited about diving? Then you should become a diver, or expand your knowledge about diving. At Celebes Divers we can teach you all that you like to know, up to the level of Dive Instructor.
If you are not sure whether diving is the right thing for you, start with Try Scuba Diving. You will do a dive with a dive instructor and get a first glimpse into what diving is all about.
The next step will then be the Open Water Diver. You will get a theoretical education and a personalized training with exercises in the pool before you will complete your training with four dives in the ocean.
Thereafter you can continue your diving career with a large number of Specialty Courses and even become an Advanced Adventurer.
And last but not least, we are also an SSI Instructor Training Center! Therefore, if you are interested in becoming a Dive Professional, you can continue your education to the level of dive instructor with us.
Once you have an idea, which dive training you’d like to do, please contact us. We can help you setting up the necessary user account with SSI and we can also tell you, which theory modules you could complete before arriving at our resorts.
Dive gear & Equipment
We offer full service valet diving: Our crew will take care of everything and your equipment will always be ready for you whenever you need it to be.
We also have quality sets of dive gear available for rent, and aluminum tanks with INT and DIN connectors. The rental gear is serviced at our own workshop to ensure that everything is in perfect working condition at all times. If you need rental gear, please let us know during your time of booking, so that we can make sure to have the right size available.
Our Coltri Compressors, for air and Nitrox, are serviced to international standards in strict accordance to the service & maintenance schedule of the manufacturer.
Nitrox (32%) is available for a surcharge for Nitrox-certified divers. Please inform us at the time of booking if you wish to dive with Nitrox.
Dive Boats
Our dive boats all are traditional fiberglass boats – locally called “Perahu”. On these dive boats you will have a comfortable and relaxing journey to the dive sites. The boats have a spacious fully covered dressing and seating area, a sun deck, a toilet, and lots of space to get ready for the dive in a relaxed manner. The boats also carry a fresh water box for cameras.
The larger boats can accommodate 14 divers/snorkelers each, the smaller boats are for 6 divers/snorkelers. Our crews will ensure the highest degree of safety and comfort throughout the dive trips. In-between dives, fresh fruits and cookies will be served and cold water, hot water, coffee and tea are available throughout the dive trip.
All boats are equipped with emergency oxygen supply and a first aid set and our crews are trained for the case of an emergency.
For the ultimate diving experience, the dive groups are limited to 4 divers and an experienced dive guide. This ensures that everyone has ample time and space to observe, to film or to photograph even the smallest of critters and it also ensures maximum safety for all our divers.
Additional information & Dive Insurance
When you go diving in the Bunaken National Park, it is mandatory to pay the marine park fee. You pay the fee at the Resort.
Dive Assure Insurance
It is mandatory for all divers to have a recognized dive insurance. Please refer to our terms and conditions for more details.
All divers must carry a safety buoy.
All dives are made within the limits of depth and according to the guidelines.
Diving Etiquette
Not only because we are in a marine park but also because we very much care about the environment, the following rules apply to all our diving guests:
- We do not allow divers to wear gloves.
- Don’t hold on to corals or sponges when diving in currents or while taking pictures.
- When taking pictures please also be aware of where you put your fins and your strobes.
- It is allowed to use a pointer stick. If you use it to find additional support on the reef, please only use it very carefully and only on uninhabited spots of the reef. We also sell those sticks at our gift shop.
Special Dive & Snorkel Trips
We offer a number of fun and exciting special dive and snorkel trips, which allow you to explore even more of the wonderful diving and snorkeling in North Sulawesi.
Dolphin Tour
Our dolphin-tour is a unique trip that you shouldn’t miss. Right after an early breakfast, the boat leaves in a Northern direction towards the open ocean. On your way to the dolphins you can relax on the top deck of the boat and enjoy the sun. If you are very lucky, you can even see whale sharks or pilot whales passing by. Arriving at the dolphins’ playground you will be surprised by how many animals meet there daily to hunt. They also come to the boat to play and jump in the waves and you have the chance to take pictures until your SD-card reaches its limits.
Duration: from 7:30 am to approx. 10:30 am
Price: 698’000 IDR (children 543’000 IDR)
Minimum: 4 people
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Bangka Island Day Trip
Duration:from 7:30am to approx. 5:00pm
This trip offers you the perfect add-on to your stay in the Bunaken National Park. The dive & snorkeling sites around Bangka Island vary in many ways from ours, as there you will find pure white sand, spotted with small reefs or underwater pinnacles that are full of life. The reefs are also very nice for snorkelling. The trip includes three dives or snorkelling hours with a lunch at one of the beaches of Bangka or Lihaga Island. The afternoon dive usually takes place around Lihaga Island.
Duration: from 7:30 am to approx. 5:00 pm
Price for divers: 2’725’000 IDR (children 2’080’000 IDR)
Price for snorkelers: 1’085’000 IDR (children 1’085’000 IDR)
Minimum: 4 divers or 6 snorkelers
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Lembeh Day Trip
Enjoy a few wonderful dives at the famous Lembeh Strait and don’t forget your camera!
We start early in the morning and after about 2 hours we reach our first dive site. We do two morning dives and thereafter enjoy our lunch on the boat. Fresh and recharged, we do our third dive in the afternoon and we will be back on Siladen in time for dinner.
This is for divers only, as most of the spots in the Lembeh Strait are not very interesting for snorkelers.
Duration: from 7.00 am to approx. 6:00 pm
Price: 3’250’000 IDR (children 2’500’000)
Minimum: 4 divers
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Nain Island Day Trip
Get ready for a gorgeous sunrise on the water! At the island Nain, in the very North of the Bunaken National Park, we go diving down to 30 m to look for hammerhead sharks. But all dive spots on this trip are very nice for snorkelersa, too.
Breakfast will either be served at the resort before we leave or on the boat after the first dive. The second dive is either done at Nain as well, or at Montehage island, where often a large school of barracudas can be encountered.
Weather and tides permitting, we will have lunch on a sand bank East of Nain, or alternatively on the boat. A third dive is done at the island Nain or on our way back to Siladen, and often, if the tides allow, we also pay the picturesque village on Nain a visit.
Duration: from 5:00 am to approx. 3:00 pm
Price for divers: 2’725’000 IDR (children 2’080’000 IDR)
Price for snorkelers: 1’085’000 IDR (children 1’085’000 IDR)
Minimum: 4 divers or 6 snorkelers
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Manado Bay Day Trip
On this trip from Siladen we go to the Manado Bay to dive the Monas shipwreck. Then we dive the ‘Motors’ dive site (you will be surprised what you will find there). Our third dive will be a macro muck dive along the coast of North Sulawesi.
Duration: from 8:00 am to approx. 3:30 pm
Price (divers only): 2’000’000 IDR
Minimum: 4 divers
Send us a message
Address
Celebes Divers
Grand Kawanua City Walk Blok B 01
Jalan A.A. Maramis - Paniki Bawah,
Kec. Mapanget - Kota Manado 95254
Sulawesi Utara - Indonesia
E-mail: info@celebesdivers.com
Phone (Indonesia):
+62 (0) 813 1355 5053
Phone (Europe):
+41 44 954 0770 (Switzerland)