Diving & Snorkeling

Diving

Bali is a great place to dive, and most of the best and most easily accessible dive sites are in the East of Bali close to Villa Talia Vashti. Candi Dasa has many agents who will arrange trips and equipment to enable even the most inexperienced divers to be able to enjoy these sites and our staff our happy to help arrange a trip should you wish to go.

For Beginner and Intermediate divers, probably the best dive is the Liberty Wreck at Tulumben which is less than 45 minutes drive from Villa Talia Vashti. Lying on a black sand bottom, you can pick your depth on the wreck which lies as shallow as 3m, and goes as deep as 30m. The fish life on the wreck is amazing, and personally I love the atmospheric swim-thrus that you can do. Watch out also for some of the smaller creatures that can be found on the wreck including sea horses (on the fan corals on the deeper edge of the wreck) ghost pipefish and at least two different varieties of garden eels in the shallow lying sands inshore of the wreck.

There are also however excellent dives close to Padang Bai (less than 15 minutes from Villa Talia Vashti) and Amed (about 40 minutes away). For more advanced divers some of the best diving in Bali can be had at the small islands that you can see directly offshore from Villa Talia Vashti (Gili Tepekong, Gili Mimpang & Gili Biaha) that can easily be reached by boat direct from Candi Dasa.

For more advanced divers there are some fantastic dives off Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan (the large islands across from Villa Talia Vashti). Although the currents can be strong and it requires a 40 minute boat ride, it is all worth it to see giant sting rays, eagle rays and particularly manta rays (off manta point) as well as in summer one of Bali's most well known sights the amazing giant sun fish.

For more detailed information on dive sites in Bali see http://www.divesitedirectory.co.uk/indonesia_bali.html#overview

Snorkeling

Some of the best snorkeling in Bali can be found just out from the beach in front of the Villa. The protecting coral reef means that currents never get very strong, and the depth is never more than a couple of metres which is ideal for snorkeling. There are several great sites with pristine coral including a fascinating stag coral community with many thousands of small fish directly opposite the villa. As well as the colourful fish and corals we have seen loads of interesting and unusual creatures such as snake eels, scorpion fish, blue spotted rays, lobsters and razor fish.

Alternatively there is also some great snorkeling only a short drive away, including Blue Lagoon (15 minutes); the Tulumben wreck (40 minutes) and Amed (40 minutes). If the sea is too rough for snorkeling in front of the villa, it normally means that the sea is flat calm at the latter two sites.

Snorkeling equipment is available to use free of charge at the villa.