Manado Bay
World class muck diving in Manado, North Sulawesi in Indonesia
Many years ago Manado Bay was always overlooked and scuba divers only wanted to dive Bunaken Island. But with the popularity of muck diving in the Lembeh Strait, divers started to explore the shores of Manado Bay with it’s sloping reefs and sandy bottoms. What they found were top notch muck diving sites but also stellar coral reefs and even a coral wall that can compete with the coral and fish diversity of Raja Ampat.
Manado Bay starts north west of the city of Manado and goes all the way down south, past by Lumbalumba Resort, to the reef edge of a little fishermen village called Poopoh. That most southern section is also part of Bunaken National Park and it even continues beyond the most south west corner of Manado Bay, further south.
You will find a whole array of dive sites going from north to south through the bay. From a well preserved WWII wreck in Molas, pristine coral reefs right in front of the city of Manado and amazing black sand muck dives in the south. Between that are numerous dive sites full of rare and wonderful critters.
We often do our 3rd dive of the day in the bay but we also do full days of diving in Manado Bay. If you are a fan of hunting for little critters than Manado Bay is the place to be for you. All our nights dives take place in the bay.
Manado Bay Critters
Dive & Snorkel sites in Manado Bay
Poopoh 1 & 2
Poopoh is where we enter the southern part of the park. Interesting sites with lots of soft coral and good macro stuff. From sea grass and sandy muck bottom to a pristine soft coral wall, all within a 500m stretch of water. It is also one of the places where most probably we can show you pygmy seahorses. In general the current is strong when the tides change, but in between, it is nice and calm. Very suitable for snorkeling too.
Circus Critter
The variety is what gave this site its name: a circus of different critters can be found on the sloping hard coral reef, white sandy slopes and in the tall sea grass. The site is big enough to dive numerous times. Breeding broadclub cuttlefish can be found all year round. The bottom is scattered with mantis shrimp burrows and you’ll find critters like flamboyant cuttlefish, sea horses and frogfish. The tiny hairy shrimp inhabits the sea grass.
Molas Shipwreck
Nobody is quite sure and no records exist anymore about this once proud merchandiser. Some say it is German, others say it is Dutch. We like to stick with that last opinion. It is for sure that she sunk in WW II and that there is 60 meters of spectacular dive adventure!. The wreck lies on a slope, with the bow starting at 22 meters and propellers stop at exactly 40 meters. It is not a beginners dive.
