Have heard of the African Big 5? What about the Indonesian Big 5? It’s arguable which 5 marine life species would be on this list but we are pretty sure that the top 3 spots would be taken by manta rays, mola and hammerheads and this summer you can dive with all 3 in one epic trip!

Join us in Bali or Nusa Lembongan to dive with the resident population of Manta Rays at Nusa Penida, a beautiful Island off Bali’s East Coast where you’ll also have the chance to see the elusive mola (Oceanic Sunfish) from July through to October.

Just a short land and sea transfer away from Bali or Lembongan and you’ll find yourself in Seketong, South Lombok. From Seketong we run day trips every Tuesday and Thursday to Belongas Bay which is where you’ll have the chance to witness the awesome schooling hammerheads. (Please note that these dive sites are best suited to divers with 100+ dives and an Advanced Open Water certification.)

Great hammerheads are a highlight of diving Belongas Bay in South Lombok

Read on and take a look at the iconic dive sites which are best known for their BIG fish sightings…

Crystal Bay – Nusa Penida, Bali

Dived from Two Fish Nusa Lembongan and Bali

Located on the south end of the channel that runs between Nusa Penida and Ceningan, Crystal Bay offers phenomenal visibility, beautiful corals, a variety of marine life, some interesting currents and MOLA! The main sloping reef is along the side of the island that sits in the bay and which also offers a stunning coral garden reef top.

Crystal bay, located on the south side of Nusa Penida

The sloping reef features some interesting overhangs, an abundance of stag horn corals and as you near the front of the island there is a ‘drop off’ where you can look at to the blue for mola sightings. The mola come to this area to clean and are often surrounded by schools of bannerfish, butterflyfish and even angelfish have been known to join in.

Look out for “shimmering” water which indicates a cool thermocline – the mola often travel with these colder waters. Currents at Crystal Bay, especially near the drop off, can be unpredictable with rapid changes of direction. Stay close to the reef, pay attention to your guide and look out for the mola!

Manta Point & Manta Bay, Nusa Penida, Bali

Dived from Two Fish Nusa Lembongan and Bali

Manta Point is a cleaning station site on the south coast of Nusa Penida. The topside scenery at this site and along the entire south coast of the island is nothing short of staggering with towering limestone cliffs and rugged pinnacles. Manta Point sits in a small cove which, when the sea is calm, offers equally interesting topography underwater.

Manta Point is in front of the staggering vertical cliffs of Nusa Penida

The main cleaning station is a huge boulder which sits in just 8 – 13 meters of water. On good days you’ll see the manta rays taking turns and queuing to glide over the top of the station, where they hover, seemingly motionless, while the small fish come and clean the parasites from their bodies, eyes and gills. Moving away from the shallow cleaning station, the site gently slopes down to 25 meters on the east side and on the west side, features a drop of where divers can look out to the blue. In addition to manta rays, from July to October, mola are also spotted here!

When the ocean swell picks up though, this site is subject to surge as the water crashes into the base of the cliffs and rolls back out again. Having excellent buoyancy control is important here and allows divers to watch the manta rays going about their cleaning in comfort – even on days with surge. Do you want to improve your buoyancy while you are here? The PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy dive can be incorporated into your PADI Advanced Open Water Course or why not take a more in depth look at buoyancy and take the PADI Specialty Course!

Manta Bay is a shallower dive site where juvenile manta rays feed

Manta Bay is also located along the south coast of Nusa Penida and features similar top side scenery to Manta Point but on a smaller scale. Manta Bay is actually a series of 3 Bays with shallow dives inside each of them. Maximum depth inside these bays is as little as 15 meters and the manta rays we see here are usually feeding in the plankton rich water.

Blue Corner – Nusa Lembongan, Bali

Dived from Two Fish Nusa Lembongan and Bali

This is an epic dive for Advanced Open Water divers who have more than 50 dives. The site is located on the north side of Nusa Lembongan and starts with a sloping reef which drops off into the blue. The site bottoms out at around 40 meters before dropping off again. As you drift along you’ll find canyons and huge boulders – on of which forms the “corner”. Currents here can be strong and change rapidly but as the old adage goes “more current more fish”. Highlights of Blue Corner include mola (often in groups), huge marble sting rays, reef sharks and eagle rays. This is an adrenaline pumping dive from start to safety stop!

Blue Corner is an epic site for mola (oceanic sunfish)

If you want to dive Blue Corner and are an Open Water Diver diver, no problem! Take your PADI Advanced Open Water course while you are here. You’ll make 5 thrilling adcenture dives including deep and navigation dives (which are required) and we’ll also recommend drift and buoyancy dives to prepare you for Blue Corner. Spoiler alert: it’s the amount of food being brought through by the current that makes Blue Corner such a vibrant site, however the same current can mean the site is undiveable. Our expert dive guides know when we can and cannot dive there safely, so if they say it’s not safe you have to trust them!!

Are you hoping to dive Belongas Bay and see hammerheads? Why not take your Advanced Open Water course or fun dive two locations and take advantage of our our 10% discount offer for combination stays? Dive in two locations and automatically qualify for a 10% discount in your second resort!

The Magnet, Belongas Bay, South Lombok

Dived from Two Fish South Lombok and Belongas Bay

The Magnet is South Lombok’s most iconic site, located in Belongas Bay – the one that most people come to dive as it offers the chance of both scalloped and great hammerheads schooling from late June to late October. The Magnet is a magnificent rock pinnacle out in the open ocean which rises up from around 80 meters and the surge around the pinnacle is visible from the surface with waves crashing into the rock.

For those who enjoy the thrill of a negative entry, this site is for you! A negative entry allows you to descend through the surge zone as quickly as possible and into the waters below.

Great and schooling scalloped hammerhead sharks are a highlight of Magnet

The side of the pinnacle you dive will depend on the current direction on the day and the dive is generally back and forth across one side of the rock – be careful of getting too close to the east and west edges as the currents coming in from the opposite side whip around the pinnacle. On the calmest of days (outside of hammerhead season) it is actually possible to circumnavigate the entire pinnacle!)

The wall is completely coral encrusted with short, colourful close cropped corals but this is really a site for looking out to the blue – huge tunas, mobula rays and eagle rays, barracudas, big schools of fusiliers, black tip, white tip and grey reef sharks are seen here and the sheer volume of fish is astonishing. Of course, the main highlight is the schooling hammerheads and when you see them coming out of the blue it’s a breathtaking experience.

Mobula rays in South Lombok. Photo credit: Gerald Nowak

This is an exhilarating dive for experienced divers and whilst it can be challenging it certainly reaps rewards which will be the talk of your diving holiday.

When diving The Magnet listen carefully to your guides briefing, pay attention, stay close and behind the guide during the dive and a delayed SMB is strongly recommended. If you arrive at the site and the guide thinks the conditions are too rough to dive, listen to their expertise and save it for another day.

For diving the Magnet, divers need to be Advanced Open Water Divers with more than 100 logged dives.

Not yet have your PADI Advanced Open Water? Take your course while you are here, you’ll make 5 thrilling adventure dives including deep and navigation dives (which are required) and we’ll also recommend drift and buoyancy dives to prepare you for The Magnet.

Book Now!

So are you ready to dive some of Indonesia’s most adrenaline pumping dive sites? Are you looking forward to diving with our favourite BIG 3? For more information or to make a booking, fill in the contact form below and we’ll get right back to you.

Big Fish Special Offer

If you are intending to travel this year then take advantage of our fabulous Big Fish Special Offer.

Diving discount

If you dive both Nusa Lembongan/Nusa Penida AND South Lombok locations then we’ll give you a 10% discount on your diving in the 2nd location!! Click here for offer details.

Advanced Open Water Course discount

Want to take your PADI Advanced Open Water course while you are with us? We’ll offer a 10% discount to get you closer to being able to dive these Big Fish! Click here for offer details.