Scuba Diving in Amed

Diving in Amed

Diving in Amed is the quiet, shore-based counterpart to Tulamben next door. Instead of one famous wreck, Amed gives you a 14 km (8.7 mile) string of sheltered bays along Bali's northeast coast, each with its own dive sites. You walk from the beach or hop onto a traditional wooden jukung outrigger boat, and in five minutes you're over a wall, a macro slope, or an artificial sculpture garden.

The bays, roughly west to east along the coast, are Amed village, Jemeluk, Bunutan, Lipah, Selang, and Banyuning, with the small islet of Gili Selang sitting offshore at Bali's easternmost point. Jemeluk Bay holds an underwater art gallery with a working postbox. Banyuning Bay has the Japanese Shipwreck, a small wooden wreck heavily encrusted in soft coral and loaded with frogfish and pygmy seahorses. Gili Selang itself serves up the strongest currents on this side of the island for divers who want action.

Conditions across the main bays are mellow. Currents stay gentle to moderate, visibility runs 15 – 25 m (49 – 82 ft) year-round, and water temperatures sit at 26 – 30 °C (79 – 86 °F) with mild thermoclines in the July – August cool window. Shore entry from black volcanic sand is the default, and even the boat dives are five-minute jukung rides rather than long ocean crossings.

Most divers base in Amed village or Jemeluk and treat Tulamben as a side trip. The vibe is fishing-village quiet, not resort-strip loud. Expect warungs, yoga, traditional outriggers on the beach, and a slower pace than you get in southern Bali.

Best dive sites in Amed

The best dive sites in Amed cover macro, wall, wreck, drift, and artificial reef in a single coastline. Most are shore-accessible, with optional jukung pickups for the outer sites.

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Jemeluk Bay

Jemeluk Bay is the picture-postcard dive of Amed. The bay protects a shallow coral garden that drops over a wall to around 40 m (130 ft), with a local artist's sculpture garden and a working underwater postbox sitting at around 3 – 5 m (10 – 16 ft). You can buy a waterproof postcard from the warungs on shore, deposit it in the yellow postbox, and a local dive guide collects and mails it. It's also one of the most reliable turtle sites on the coast.

Depth: 5 – 40 m (16 – 130 ft) | Visibility: 15 – 25 m (49 – 82 ft) | Current: Gentle | Level: All Levels Key species: Hawksbill turtle, bluefin trevally, clownfish, parrotfish, blue-spotted ribbontail ray

Japanese Shipwreck, Banyuning Bay

The Japanese Shipwreck is a small wooden vessel sitting in 6 – 12 m (20 – 40 ft) on a sloping sand and coral bottom. Despite the name, it's a small wooden wreck of uncertain origin (some sources cite a WWII-era Japanese patrol boat, others a local Indonesian fishing jukung), not the large-scale USAT Liberty-style wreck you'll find in Tulamben. What makes it a standout is the macro: pygmy seahorses cling to the gorgonian fans at 15 – 20 m (49 – 65 ft) just off the wreck, and the rubble around it hosts ghost pipefish, leaf scorpionfish, and a rotating cast of nudibranchs. Shallow enough to snorkel, quiet enough to macro-hunt for an hour.

Depth: 2 – 35 m (7 – 115 ft) | Visibility: 14 – 22 m (46 – 72 ft) | Current: Gentle | Level: All Levels Key species: Pygmy seahorse, ornate ghost pipefish, leaf scorpionfish, nudibranchs, giant moray

Gili Selang

Gili Selang is the advanced end of Amed diving. The tiny islet off Bali's easternmost point sits in a tidal convergence zone where currents regularly run 2 – 3 knots and occasionally more. Experienced drift divers use the rock formations at the "Three Fingers" entrance as shelter, then hook into a drift along the plateau. Pelagic action, healthy coral, and dramatic topography reward the effort. Check the current with your guide before committing, because the site is only diveable on the right tide.

Depth: 5 – 40 m (16 – 130 ft) | Visibility: 15 – 25 m (49 – 82 ft) | Current: Moderate to Strong | Level: Advanced Key species: Giant trevally, barracuda, grouper, whitetip reef shark, fusilier schools

Lipah Bay

Lipah Bay is the chilled-out shore dive in the middle of Amed, and it's also where juvenile whitetip reef sharks often rest under table corals at around 10 – 15 m (33 – 49 ft). The reef slopes from 5 m down past 30 m (100 ft), with healthy hard coral on the shallows and larger sponges and gorgonians on the deeper slope. An easy dive for a first-time shark encounter without any current stress.

Depth: 5 – 40 m (16 – 130 ft) | Visibility: 15 – 25 m (49 – 82 ft) | Current: Gentle | Level: All Levels Key species: Whitetip reef shark (juveniles), blue-spotted ray, hawksbill turtle, parrotfish, reef octopus

Bunutan Point

Bunutan Point is the best site in Amed for garden eels and big barrel sponges. Drop down the sand slope at 10 – 20 m (33 – 65 ft) and you'll see hundreds of garden eels swaying above the sand. The site typically runs as a moderate drift along the slope, with the largest barrel sponges on the coast sheltering giant moray and honeycomb moray eels. When the current kicks up, trevally and eagle rays come through.

Depth: 5 – 40 m (16 – 130 ft) | Visibility: 15 – 25 m (49 – 82 ft) | Current: Moderate | Level: Intermediate Key species: Garden eel, giant moray, honeycomb moray, bluefin trevally, spotted eagle ray

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Best time to dive Amed

The best time to dive Amed is April to November, the dry season, with the clearest water and calmest surface falling in July, August, and September. The east coast sits in a rain shadow, so even outside the dry season Amed stays diveable when the rest of Bali is getting hammered.

Amed is one of the few Bali regions that holds up well outside peak season. The sheltered bays keep surface conditions workable even when southwest swells hit other parts of the island.

Diving conditions in Amed

Marine life in Amed

Marine life in Amed leans hard on macro. The black volcanic sand creates ideal muck habitat, the gorgonian fans along the wall dives host pygmy seahorses in reliable numbers, and the shallow coral gardens add the usual reef suspects. Pelagic action is more occasional than in Nusa Penida, with Bunutan Point and Gili Selang the most likely bets.

Pygmy seahorses (Hippocampus bargibanti): year-round, especially around the Japanese Shipwreck gorgonians

Look for them on Muricella fans at 15 – 20 m (49 – 65 ft). A macro lens and a patient guide are both essential.

Frogfish and ornate ghost pipefish: year-round, especially around the Japanese Shipwreck and Seraya

Giant frogfish, painted frogfish, and hairy frogfish all appear in the bays. Ghost pipefish tend to pair up over crinoids in 10 – 20 m (33 – 65 ft).

Juvenile whitetip reef sharks (Triaenodon obesus): year-round, especially around Lipah Bay

A small resident group of juveniles shelter under the table corals at Lipah. Approach slowly and they'll stay put long enough for photos.

Garden eels (Heteroconger hassi): year-round, especially around Bunutan Point

The sand slope at Bunutan holds one of the densest garden eel colonies on the island.

The Jemeluk Bay sculpture and postbox area sits inside a locally enforced no-fishing zone. Several Amed operators also run coral restoration projects, replanting fragments on the shallow reefs. Following the usual no-touch, no-chase rules goes a long way here.

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Practical information

Dive prices

• Fun dives (2-tank): IDR 1,000,000 – 1,400,000 (USD 65 – 90), with guide, tank, and weights
• Full equipment rental (per day): IDR 200,000 – 350,000 (USD 13 – 23)
• Open Water certification: IDR 5,500,000 – 7,000,000 (USD 350 – 450), typically 3 – 4 days
• Park fees: None specific to Amed
• Bali tourist levy: IDR 150,000 (USD 10), paid online before or on arrival

Getting there

From Denpasar Airport (DPS), Amed is roughly 100 km (62 miles) and takes 2.5 – 3.5 hours by car depending on which bay you're staying in. Private transfer is the standard option, running IDR 600,000 – 800,000 (USD 40 – 55) one way. Amed links well to Tulamben, a 20 – 30 minute drive north, so many divers combine both on the same trip.