Nico Dives Cool Bali

Diving Padang Bai

The special critters PARADISE with Wreck, Coral Wall, Blue Lagoon, and Shark Point Diving

Diving Padang Bai

Diving Padang Bai is suitable for all levels of divers from beginners to advanced divers. There are also some great snorkeling spots here across the shallow reef. This dive site can be accessed straight from the white sandy beach. However, we prefer to take our guests out on a traditional fisherman boat (Jukung) to dive and snorkel.

Padang Bai is a small village located in a perfect little bay. It is also the ferry port between Bali and Lombok.

Nico Dives Cool takes you diving to seven very different but amazing dive sites. Here, you will encounter hundreds of species, large and small. We regularly observe the Oriental Sweetlips, Moray Eels, many species of Clownfish and Anemone Fish, Napoleon Wrasses, Trevallies, Jackfish, Schools of Barracudas, Frogfish, Leaf scorpion fish, Cuttlefish, Mantis Shrimps, Orangutan Carab, King Mackerels, Crocodile Fish, Lionfish, Octopus, Ghost Pipefish, Cowfish, and Green Turtles, just to name a few!

What is included

We include all necessities and more in our price. Dive locations, trip duration, and extras can be fully customized to your preferences and diving skills. Please contact us regarding diving Padang Bai for further information.

2 dives (3rd optional)
normal air tanks (Nitrox available)
highly professional diving instructor or dive master to guide you
all necessary diving gear
all transportation
Lunch, water and soft drinks, fresh fruit, snacks
fresh and clean towels
changing rooms and toilets
All marine park fees, taxes, and boating services
one big fat smile at the end of your trip
Responsible diving – We are a proud eco dive shop and follow a zero plastic waste policy

Please visit our full-price list for details and optional extras. We offer you amazing extras such as personalized photography Services, Enriched Air (Nitrox), extra large 15L tanks, and a special for accompanying non-diving guests (check out our new “chill out Padang Bai” package)

How we get there

From Sanur, we take one of our buses and reach the tranquil Bay of Padang Bai. It is located about 45 minutes from Sanur in the East of Bali. Water temperatures throughout the year range from 21°C to 30°C! So, it is better to check with your dive shop before heading out there and bring that extra layer of protection, just in case. If you don’t have your own we will take care of you.

Marine Life at the Dive Site

One of our favorite dive sites is Tanjung Sari (Shark Point) and at Ferry Channel. Diving Padang Bai never disappoints. Conditions here can vary with strong currents, so we decide on the day if this dive site is suitable considering the skills and experience of our guests. At this top dive site, you have a great chance to meet with White Tip, Nurse, Blacktip Reef, and Wobbegong Sharks.

You will see a large variety of hard and soft corals and an abundance of life. Various types of Gorgonians, healthy Staghorn Coral, huge Coral Bommies, and Table Coral can be observed here. Bias Tugal, Tanjung Sari, and Blue Lagoon, in particular, are great dive sites to encounter larger marine life.

Other sites like the Secret Jetty or Secret Jepun are muck dive sites and have very little coral coverage, but tons of critters. These are fantastic dive sites for macro lovers and photographers alike!

Experience Level:

Try Divers
Open Water Diver
Advanced Open Water Diver recommended
Current Diving Specialty recommended
Night and Limited Visibility Speciality recommended

Scuba Packages

Warning:

Although there are some dive sites available for beginners, some of them require advanced diving skills.
Nico Dives Cool will provide you with an experienced dive professional who knows all sites very well. Please do not question the dive professional’s judgment.
Be prepared that we may decide not to dive on certain sites if conditions are not suitable for safe diving.

Blue Lagoon

Using the traditional Jukung local boat, the Blue Lagoon dive site is only a couple of minutes away from the Padang Bay beach. With one of the bluest waters of Bali, snorkelers and divers enjoy the underwater world a lot. This shallow coastal reef has a white sandy bottom. The corals are in very good condition, and you can see huge coral bommies that start at around 5m of depth. The fish life is abundant and amazing here, and we can encounter sharks and dolphins regularly at this dive spot. This top dive site is very popular with photographers due to the shallow depth and the quality of the marine life. Night Diving Padang Bai is a good option here as a completely different variety of unusual marine life comes out to play at night! Meeting a Spanish dancer is almost guaranteed.

Secret Jetty

There is a very special atmosphere when diving between the giant pillars of the Secret Jetty. The Secret Jetty dive site is one of the newest dive sites in Padang Bai, since until recently only cruise ships were docking here. Unlike the other magnificent dive sites in Padang Bai, the sand here is black. The bottom is sloping and you will find soft corals, and anemones, all directly under the jetty.

We we take you scuba diving here we always look for Bali unique and special species on the sandy bottom and all around the jetty. It’s one of the best muck diving sites in Bali. We regularly encounter the Frog Fish, Seahorses, Flying Gurnard, Octopus, various Nudibranchs, Crabs, Shrimps, and the elusive Crocodile Fish here. The Jetty is most definitely a macro photographer’s Heaven on Earth.

Shark Point (Tanjung Sari)

We need only 5 minutes from Padang Bai beach to reach the dive spot by local fisherman boat. This dive site is very surprising and different from the others in Padang Bai. The fauna here is very special and we often encounter mild to strong currents here. It is not uncommon to see Green Turtles, White Tip Reef Sharks, Moray Eels, Sea Snakes, and several large schools of fish here, at once! Sometimes it is hard to focus on what to watch while streamlining yourself in the current and hiding behind some beautiful corals. The bottom is covered with nice white sand and many types of coral. We regularly observe large schools of Oriental Sweetlips, Blue Striped Snappers, and Surgeon Fish here. Last but not least we almost always see the white-tip reef shark here. It is an amazing dive site for night dives as well.

The Jepun Wreck - Diving on Padang Bai

This dive site is on the north side of Padang Bay’s diving area past Blue Lagoon. The Jepun Wreck is a 10-minute boat journey from the main beach in Padang Bai. This dive site is a reef that descends on the white sand. On the sandy bottom, we can see small groups of corals, nice sea fans, reef fish, scorpion fish, some rays, and the possibility of seeing some white-tip reef sharks.
The dive site starts quite shallow and gradually slopes to some 26 meters. The fishing boat sinking here has added to this dive site. The wreck itself lies at 16m depth just next to the reef. All sorts of weird and wonderful creatures can be found here from the frogfish, blue spotted stingrays, lionfish, cuttlefish, sea horses, mantis shrimps, and the Indian Ocean Walkman. This is a great location to find a small marine life and to take nice pictures.

Ferry Channel

This dive site is just in front of the beach of Padang Bay. We are diving in the channel where the ferries are leaving for Nusa Penida and Lombok. You can see them passing above your head while at the deepest part of our dive. We dive on a sandy-sloped bottom with and abundance of corals and pinnacles.

We start the dive in the ferry channel and finish it around the corner on the other dive site Tanjung Sari. It is a great spot for macro, you see a lot of different species, but it is also a great place to find big turtles and some reef sharks. Often the Wobbegong Shark (carpet shark) can be found here!

Blue Lagoon Wall (Turtle Neck)

This is a coral wall starting just on the left of Blue Lagoon Bay. The wall starts shallow at around 5m and slopes gently to 30m. This is a very nice site for macro life such as nudibranchs, small shrimps, leaf scorpion fish, orangutan crab, eels, lionfish, mantis shrimp, and octopus. Along the wall, you may see larger such as reef sharks, trevally fish, moray eels, and groupers.

Bias Tugal - Diving Padang Bai

The dive site named Bias Tugal is just in front of the ferry channel. Here you will see beautiful corals. The slope is covered with big rock formations that make it a wonderful dive spot filled with beautiful underwater landscapes and colorful marine life. The shallow area is flat with sandy bottom and lots of coral patches. The sloping reef starts around 10m depth and goes down as far as 30m. It is not uncommon to spot white-tip reef sharks, turtles, pygmy seahorses in gorgonian coals, orangutan crabs, and eagle rays. Lucky divers can spot the famous Mola Mola during the Season (June to October).