Is Amed the best diving in Bali?

If you want to go diving in Bali, what are the best dive sites?
Amed has earned its place amongst the best dive sites in Bali, with uncrowded sites, lots of nudibranchs and even the occasional shark sighting.
Read on for my review of Amed’s dive sites.

Getting to Amed

Amed is about a 3-hour drive from Ubud, Kuta, or the airport. It is possible to take a day trip to Amed from those locations and do 2 dives. You can even make a road trip out of your drive to Amed. Two great stops are the bat cave and the Klungkung palace. You’ll enjoy the scenic drive, with a beautiful view of the rice fields and the sea. A nice stop for lunch is the restaurant Bali Asli. They serve traditional Balinese food that is mouthwatering. Bali Asli also offers cooking classes. The restaurant is high up on the mountain and has a spectacular view. It’s definitely worth a visit.

Read more about it in my article on exploring East Bali in one day.

Where to Stay in Amed?

There are several good accommodation options if you’ll be staying in Amed for a few days. You can stay in Tulamben, but Amed has better restaurants and hotels, so I prefer to stay there. It is only a 30-minute drive to Tulamben, so it is easy to dive Tulamben while staying in Amed.

I have stayed at a few places while diving in Amed and here are 3 places that I recommend:

1. Puriwirata resort. They are beachfront on a hill with a great view and a good dive center
2. Baliku resort. They are located just above the Japanese shipwreck dive site so easy to go diving. Rooms are simple but spacious and the staff if friendly
3. if you want more space and privacy, check out this villa on Airbnb. It is beachfront with a private pool and has easy access to both tulemben and amed dive sites. There is a popular night dive spot just in front of the villa

 

Description of Amed’s dive site:

Here are some of the most sought-after dive sites of Amed, Bali.

Jemeluk Bay

Jemeluk Bay is a beautiful sight on the Amed beach which has the clearest rich blue waters. The scene gets even more enthralling. As you can look deep down to the sea bed which has all kinds of fishes and nudibranchs. In fact, pygmy seahorses are the most beloved sea creature at this dive site. You can get quite close to them as you start your dive at about 5 meters depth in the sandy area.

The Pyramids

The Pyramids on the Amed beach is my favorite dive site at Amed. The water is just the right temperature for diving but beware of the thermocline. The artificial creation is for the sake of the pleasure of tourists who dive in Amed. They cover the water belt of about 20 meters. And have such nice reef structures that you will instantly want to capture them in your cameras. The reef structures are not only attractive for humans. As marine life has an enormous diversity and even larger numbers there. It has corals, though they have been damaged, lots of nudibranchs, cuttlefishes and even sharks. When I was there, the number of fishes was quite limited. I think it might be due to the hundreds of fishing boats that you’ll see on the beaches in Amed.

Lipah Bay

Lipah Bay is another amazing dive site at the Amed beach which lies only a road across the coast. The Lipah Bay dive site has exotic sea creatures and corals which you can hardly take your eyes off.
It is a gently sloping slope from the beach. The beach has sand here, so it is easier to enter. Lipah Bay is one of the best places in Amed to find sharks and turtle, and we did see both.

The Japanese Wreck

The Japanese wreck is a little wreck that lies in about 5 meters of water. It is much smaller than the Tulamben wreck but is still a fun place to start and end a dive. You then continue the dive through a gently sloping reef that is also full of critters and nudibranchs.

Finding the Best Diving: Amed or Tulamben?

The Tulamben Liberty Wreck is a world-famous dive site. You can read my review here.

Now that I’ve dived both, I believe that Tulamben is better diving than Amed because of the spectacular landscape created by the wreck. It has a lot more fishes and turtles. The nudibranchs, crabs and other critters that you can see in Amed are also present in Tulamben.

The one significant disadvantage of Tulamben is the number of divers. It is probably the busiest dive site in Bali. You may encounter up to 30-40 divers at a single site. It is so crowded that I even lost my dive group!

If you strongly prefer fewer crowds, check out Amed. It is almost as good as Tulamben. Amed also has better accommodations and restaurants, so it’s more pleasant if you’ll be staying in East Bali for a few days.

Tip: try diving in the early afternoon, and you will have the dive sites to yourself. I did Pyramid and Jemuluk Bay and was the only diver on both dive sites.

 

What If You’re Attacked by Triggerfishes?

Amed’s Pyramid dive site is populated by many aggressive triggerfishes. My dive guide warned me before the dive, and I thought he was joking. You should take this warning seriously! I did get attacked while underwater, but fortunately, the triggerfish only bit my fins. The fish even came back around three times. I was lucky— some divers in Amed have been bitten on their arms and heads and had to be hospitalized.

If you do get attacked, stop moving and try to get low on the reef. It might seem counter-intuitive, as anyone’s first reflex would be to try and escape, but staying close to the reef worked for me. The triggerfish eventually went away, and I was able to continue my dive unharmed.

 

Dive Operations in Amed

I dove with Bali Reef Divers. They are located in the Puri Wirata hotel where I was staying. They are a super-friendly dive operation. Bali Reef Divers form small dive groups. On the first day, I was diving alone with just the dive guide. On the second day, there were three divers, so they added another guide so that we had a group of one and a group of two people. They also provide water and fresh fruit between dives.

Another good option is Calypso diving. They do a lot of sustainability programs, I did the coral gardeners program with them and learned a lot about coral conservation.

 

Conclusion

Amed is a great place to stay and dive for a few days if you are already in Bali. If you’re coming from abroad specifically for diving, I’d recommend many other dive sites in Indonesia that are more impressive. Check my reviews of Komodo diving, Raja Ampat diving, Alor diving or even Timor Leste diving.