All you need to know about diving in Nusa Penida
Most common questions about diving with us in Nusa Penida
Insurance & Emergencies
We have liability insurance, however, this does not cover you in case anything were to happen to you underwater. We recommend purchasing personal dive or travel insurance. Please contact us if you would like to register with DAN short term insurance plan (up to 30 days), which is very affordable. You can also do it directly online here. There are 2 recompression chambers located in Bali and a number of hospitals including one in Sanur. Here in Nusa Penida, there are smaller clinics, which offer basic medical care.
NDL & Decompression limit
We do not allow decompression diving. When using your dive computer, we ask that you signal your guide or instructor when you reach 10 min to NDL so we can adjust the dive profile. Our maximum dive time is 60 minutes and maximum depth will be according to certification level. Our boats are equipped with oxygen, marine radio, life jackets and first aid kit.
Water temperature
The waters around Nusa Penida are ever changing and we experience quite big variations in temperatures when diving Nusa Penida. The warmest season is from November to May when most dives sites in Nusa Penida have a temperature between 26 and 28°C.
The colder season is from June to October, where on some dives sites you might experience temperatures below 20°C. During that time, we recommend wearing a warmer wetsuit if you are bringing your own. We provide 5mm wetsuits and full boots, and have hoods available also, if you wish.
Diving with manta rays
We are very lucky to have a resident manta ray population in Nusa Penida. They are found on the Nusa Penida dive sites, Manta Point and Manta Bay, where we have regular manta ray sightings.
However, please note that access to these dive sites is dependent on weather conditions (swell, wind and rain). We cannot guarantee in advance that on a given day we will be able to go, the safety of our customers and boats always comes first.
You can find a code of conduct for diving in the marine park here.
Weather and seasons
While Indonesia is mostly warm and sunny all year long, we do experience some seasonal changes. March to November is dry season, where it doesn’t rain much basically! December to March is rainy season. We dive all year round and the rain rarely prevents us from going out. However, if you are visiting Nusa Penida during these months, you will find the rain falls mostly in the evenings and overnight, with occasional rain during the day.
Rental equipment
All our dive equipment is regularly serviced and tested.
We use standard 12L tanks that can fit both DIN and Yoke regulators. We also offer rental of 15L and 8L tanks.
We use Mares open-heels fins and dive boots, as well as various brands of masks to fit all faces. We also have kid’s equipment available.
Dive computers are provided for all recreational PADI courses. They are not included in your standard rental equipment for fun diving, but you can rent one for 150,000 IDR per day. Your dive guide or instructor will always have a dive computer. We offer Suunto, Mares, Cressi or Shearwater dive computers.
We do not offer rental equipment as a stand-alone service.
Can I dive with you while staying in Bali?
Due to the ferry arrival times, we require all diving guests to arrive on Nusa Penida the day before you dive. Our trips generally depart around 8am with a meeting time of 7:30am and this will not leave enough time to make it here from the harbour. See our advice on the best ways to get here from Bali.
First time diving
No experience? No worries! For those who want to try diving, we offer a PADI Discover Scuba Dive program, which is designed for those who have never dived before.
With Purple, this is a 2 half-day program which includes both a pool session, done the day before, and then 2 open water dives the following day, both with your instructor. Please bear in mind, you must be able to swim in order to participate.
Booking your dives
During our busy season (June to October) booking is essential, as we have limited boat space. The rest of the year, we still advise booking to avoid disappointment. We do accept walk-ins, however this will be dependent on our availability. You can read all details about bookings and deposits here.
Schedule & planning
Our fun dive trip meets at the dive centre around 7:30-8am (depending on the tide times). We do 2 dives, each with a maximum dive time of 60 mins and are separated with a 1hr surface interval. We usually return to the dive centre by 1pm. You should allow in total, 5 hours for the 2 dive trip.
Our 3 dive trip, usually returns by 3pm. Both include lunch either at the dive centre (for the 2 dive trip) or brought to you on the boat (for the 3 dive trip).
Refresher and getting back in the water!
Our refresher session is available every day at 3pm and is available to any certified diver who would like the benefit of some time in the pool with one of our instructors.
A refresher is required if you have not dived in 1 year or longer and have less than 50 logged dives. This ensures your safety and enjoyment on the dives. If you’re not sure if you need a refresher, contact us.
Seeing manta rays and mola-mola
Manta rays are one of the reasons divers visit Nusa Penida, and once you have seen them you will see why. These beautiful animals are impressively enormous yet breathtakingly graceful, and diving with them is an experience you will not forget!
However, these are wild animals and we can never guarantee sightings.
Happily, the Manta ray population is seen here year round. They are found at Manta Point and Manta Bay dive sites, where the cleaning/feeding stations are. These dive sites are located on the South West of Nusa Penida and can be prone to large swell and winds, therefore depending on sea conditions, may not always be accessible.
The Mola-Mola season is generally from July to October. They prefer deep, cold waters and tend to be seen at Crystal Bay as well as our dive sites in the North and East of the island.
As with most things in life, you need a little bit of luck :)