Marine Tours, Diving, and Snorkeling in Bunaken National Park

Bunaken National Park is a marine park located in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province. The location is in the Coral Triangle, providing habitat to 390 species of coral as well as many fish, mollusc, reptile and marine mammal species. Bunaken is representative of Indonesian tropical water ecosystems, coral reef, consisting of seagrass plain, and coastal ecosystems.

Bunaken Island seen from Manado Tua Island.
Source: wikipedia.org 

The Park covers a total area of 890.65 km², which 97% of it is marine habitat. The remaining 3% of the park is terrestrial, including the five islands of Bunaken, Siladen, Nain, Mantehage and Manado Tua. At the southern part of the Park covers part of the Tanjung Kelapa coast.

A very rich coral ecosystem covers most of Bunaken, dominated by fringing reef and barrier reef corals. Approximately 390 species of coral recorded in the Park. A distinct feature is a 25-50 meter vertical coral wall which is inhabited by 13 coral genus. Seaweeds that can be found here include Halimeda, Padina, and Caulerpa species. The dominant seagrasses in Montehage and Nain island are Enhallus acoroides, Thalassodendron ciliatum, and Thalassia hemprichii.

Approximately 90 species of fish live in the waters of the park, among them are the Emperor Angelfish, Almaco Jack, Spotted Seahorse, Bluestripe Snapper, Pinkish Basslet and Two-lined monocle bream. The species of mollusc include the Giant Clam (Tridacna gigas), horned helmet (Cassis cornuta), pearly-chambered nautili (Nautilus pompillius), and ascidians.

Bunaken National Park, Manado. Source: wikipedia.org

On the land, the Park are rich in species of palm, sagu, woka, silar and coconut. Among the animal species that live on the land and the beaches are black-crested macaques (Macaca nigra nigra), Timor deer (Cervus timorensis russa), and bear-cuscus (Ailurops ursinus ursinus). The mangrove forest at the Park contains Lumnitzera, Rhizophora, Bruguiera, and Sonneratia species. This forest is also rich in species of crab, lobster, mollusc, and sea birds such as gulls, herons, sea doves, and storks.

There are some tourist attractions in the park. Anniversary of Manado in July and Menulude in January are suitable for cultural attractions. Bunaken is one of Indonesia's most famous diving and snorkeling spot, it draws visitors from all over the world. Marine habitats suitable for tourists to do the marine tours, diving, and snorkeling in Bunaken. There are beginner-friendly sites too and all dive shops can arrange introduction dives and Open Water Dive courses. The best time to visit it is at May to August.

How to go to Bunaken ?

The Park can be reached from Manado harbour, the Nusantara Diving Centre Marina in Molas subdistrict, and the Blue Banter Marina. From Manado harbour by motor boat :

• to Siladen Island takes about 20 minutes, 
• to Bunaken Island takes about 30 minutes, 
• to Montehage Island takes about 50 minutes, 
• to Nain Island takes about 60 minutes. 

From Blue Banter Marina heading to the tourist attractions on Bunaken takes about 10-15 minutes by cabin cruiser. From the Nusantara Diving Centre harbour to the dive spots take about 20 minutes by speedboat.