Explore Padang Bai

On Bali’s east coast lies the small fishing village of Padang Bai, home to idyllic beaches with alluring underwater worlds. Most visitors come here to take a ferry to Lombok, Gili's or Nusa Islands and leave without exploring the beautiful reefs and wonderful marine life found while scuba diving in Padang Bai. Famous for easy dive sites, Padang Bai diving is perfect for dive courses and those passionate about underwater photography. Yet, there are also a few challenging dive sites with current and the opportunity to spot reef-sharks and perhaps even the incredible oceanic sunfish!

From Padang Bai, you can easily access Gili Mimpang, Gili Biaha and Gili Tepekong at Candi Dasa where there is the chance to see hammerhead sharks. While, only a ferry ride away, there are numerous other dive sites waiting for you to don your scuba gear and investigate their depths. Just remember not to overlook the humble Padang Bai, home to excellent macro dive sites with numerous frogfish, nudibranch and ghost pipefish.

Padang Bai has a number of dive centres and dive resorts with excellent guides, all ready to help you discover the dive sites. For those interested in scuba diving in Padang Bai as well as other Bali dive locations, stay on one of the many liveaboards visiting Bali and the Lesser Sunda Islands.

Top Dive Sites Map

Diving in Padang Bai

The easy and multi-coloured dive sites at the Blue Lagoon and Bias Tugal are popular sites for those participating in dive courses while they are also a great location for macro photography. Due to the calm conditions and array of ‘small stuff’, Padang Bai is suitable for night dives at Tanjung Sari and Blue Lagoon. A small wreck can be found at Tanjung Jepun where you can also search the artificial reef for the fascinating life it now harbours.

Located further out from Padang Bai’s coastline you can find a few dive sites with strong currents and accompanying pelagics. Also with challenging currents, close to shore, is The Channel dive site where you can find yourself gliding across a coral plateau with numerous caves providing shelter to a range of underwater life.

The best Months to dive in Padang Bai

Padang Bai diving is possible all year round but it is best to avoid the rainy season from December through to April. Surface run-off can lead to decreased visibility in dive sites close to the shore. The best chance to see a mola mola in Padang Bai is from July until November however they are in the waters all year round but often too deep to see.

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Historical data and trends

Dive Activity & Environmental Conditions