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Sulawesi
Sulawesi has become a very popular tourist destination. It offers beautiful flora and fauna and is home to many different ethnic groups.
Sulawesi's dive sites are among the most spectacular in the world. Sulawesi is also excellent for snorkelers, especially the Bunaken National
Park. Many dive schools operate in Sulawesi. Several of them have very
good credentials and are PADI certified. It is advisable to check their
credentials. Dive schools also offer
snorkelling trips, however it is perhaps more suitable for the snorkelers
to arrange their own boat trips as dive schools often cater only to the
requirements of divers and snorkelers may end up visiting sites hat are
not very exciting for them.
Sulawesi can be very easily reached by air, either from other parts of
Indonesia or from Singapore.
Lonely
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NORTH SULAWESI
Near Manado
There is
plenty of accommodation in and around Manado. Many dive schools offer
their own accommodation or are located within one of the resorts.
Bunaken National Marine Park
Islands: Bunaken, Manado Tua, Mantehage, Nain and Siladen
Accommodation can be found on the island. The nicest and more upmarket
accommodation is however around nearby Manado. There are some nice three
or four star hotels, which receive very good reviews by guests, many of
whom come back every year. Some of the hotels overlook the Bunaken National Marine
Park
and offer a free shuttle boat service to the island.
Bunaken
Bunaken offers
excellent diving and snorkelling, mainly off the island,
accessable by a short boat ride. Most dive operators will bring their
guests around Bunaken.
Special Attractions: spectacular walls,
very clear water in the dry season
Corals: lush corals
Fish: turtles, barracuda, sharks
Corals:
good variety of hard and soft corals
Diving: very good, highly recommended by many divers
Snorkelling: very nice variety of corals and fish
Manado Tua
Excellent diving, mainly for the more experienced diver.
Siladen
Beaches: white, sandy beaches, relaxing atmosphere,
probably the best beaches of all the islands.
Corals: good variety of hard and soft corals
Diving: good
Snorkelling: nice variety of corals and fish can be seen just off
shore.
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Off Sulawesi's North Coast
Bangka Island
Sulawesi's most Northern island.
Easily accessible from Manado by speedboat in a day trip. Many dive
operators will offer organised dive or snorkel tours to these islands. The
trip is very enjoyable, passing along fishing villages, islands, fishing
boats.
Corals: less variety than Bunaken
Fish: often big
fish, including sharks, barracudas
Diving: very good
Snorkelling: snorkelling is available off the boat, good variety of bigger
fish can be seen. A wet suit may be advisable as the water can get very
cold there and sometimes jelly fish can be around.
Dive Schools
Off Bitung
Lembeh Island
Lembeh island has mainly black sand and is off Bitung, a major shipping
port in North Sulawesi. Several good dive and
snorkel sites, in particular at the very Northern end of the island. Lembeh
can be accessed by road from Manado or by boat. Thalassa Dive Centre at
Santika Hotel offers day trips covering Lembeh and Banka.
Fish: very small and
unique creatures
can be found on the bottom of the ocean.
Diving:
very good, due to the uniqueness of the creatures in the ocean,
highly
recommended by many divers.
Snorkelling: difficult to see the marine life.
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Between Palu and Manado (Central
and North Sulawesi)
Togian Islands
(Tomini Bay)
Gorontalo and the Togian Islands.
Islands: over 50 islands
Attractions: hawksbill turtle, the green turtle, dugong.
They are reachable by chartered boat from Manado or from Palu by road and
boat.
Accommodation
Dive Schools
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CENTRAL SULAWESI
Donggala
There are some excellent diving spots.
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OFF SOUTH EAST SULAWESI
Tukang Besi Islands
Main Islands: Buton, Kabaena, Kaledupa, Hoga
Eco Projects:
Yayasan Bajo Sejahtera is a non profit NGO run from Bau-Bau on the island of Buton
Wakatobi Marine National Park
Islands: Wangi Wangi, Lintea, Tomea, Binongko
Special Attractions: spectacular walls
Corals: large variety
Fish: large variety
Endangered species: clams
Accommodation
Dive Schools
OFF SOUTH SULAWESI
Telaga Bone Rate
This is the third largest atoll in the world.
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| GETTING
THERE
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By Air:
To Manado
International:
From
Taipei: Garuda Indonesia is going to introduce a new
service to Manado, continuing to Bali
From Singapore: Silk Air flies
several times a week.
Domestic:
From Jakarta:
Garuda Indonesia: once a day
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To Ujung Pandang
Domestic:
From different airports in Indonesia by
Garuda Indonesia
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