After less than one month, I am back on the Sunshine liveaboard for a very special 8 days exploration trip: the Sangihe islands. Great diving, stunning vistas, erupting volcanoes and hot springs awaited us at this archipelago north of Sulawesi. Read on for my review of the trip!
Located North of Sulawesi, the Sangihe Archipelago comprises a chain of around 40 volcanic islands and is amongst the most underrated diving destinations in Indonesia. It offers stunning and varied dive sites with no other divers around!
The sunshine liveaboard is one of the only boats still diving. They are the most experienced boat to dive Sangihe Island, having been diving in the area for almost 10 years. The Sunshine team has discovered great dive sites but there is still so much to explore.
Book ahead because Sunshine only does a few trips a year to Sangihe, and they get booked 1-2 years in advance, meaning very few people get to dive there!
Content of this article:
How to get to the Sunshine liveaboard in Bangka?
Most trips on the sunshine liveaboard depart from Blue Bay divers, which is a paradise looking resort on Bangka island. The nearest airport is Manado and Blue Bay divers can arrange a convenient airport transfer for you for only 30 Euro per person (including car and speedboat)
I traveled from Bali. Because of coronavirus, the direct flight from Bali to Manado had been canceled so we had to transit in Surabaya and Makassar.
I flew via Citylink, which offers 20 kg of free check-in luggage
We arrived at Manado airport around 6 pm. A car organized by sunshine liveaboard was awaiting us. After 70 minutes’ drive, we arrived at a beach where we boarded the private speed boat from Blue Bay divers where the Sunshine liveaboard departed. The boat journey lasted about 30 minutes.
How to get free diving equipment luggage on Citilink?
Tip: if you bring your diving equipment, get the Citisport card; it is a club you join. The membership card gives you an extra 20 kg of diving equipment free on every Citilink flight for 1 year. At the time of writing, the card costs 450000 rupees. So, given the price of excess luggage, you make it back in 1 trip.
To sign up with Citisport, click here.
Citilink is part of Garuda. They are a budget airline, so expect no food or drinks during the flight. Garuda frequent flyers benefits do not apply for platinum members so forget about free extra luggage of lounge access.
Day 0: Boarding the Sunshine liveaboard
This is my second trip on the Sunshine liveaboard in a month 😊. Arriving on the boat felt like coming home, and I got a warm welcome from the staff who still remembered my name. 🙂
I was also super happy to meet again most passengers from the previous trip one month ago. It is a testimony to how good the sunshine trips are when 80 percent of the guests come back less than a month later!
We first had a late diner at Blue Bay divers’ resort and then were moved to our cabins on the boat for a night of sleep before the trip officially started the next day.
TIP: unlike most liveaboard, every day on the Sunshine liveaboard is a full day of diving with at least 3 dives a day. So, if you book a 7 nights cruise, you will dive 7 full days. We arrived the day before and stayed an extra day on board for a small extra fee. Most other liveaboards would budget this as a 9-night cruise making the Sunshine liveaboard excellent value for divers.
For more information about the boat, the cabins, the food, and the dive organization, check out my previous review of the Sunshine liveaboard here and the trip from Bangka to Lembeh.
In this post, I am focusing on the itinerary around Sangihe islands
Day 1: Leaving Bangka
After breakfast and a general boat briefing, we left the blue Bay divers’ resort and cruised around the gorgeous Bangka islands.
Our first stop was Batu Belah dive site.
The top of the reef starts at 5 or 6 meters and becomes a sloping reef.
There is an underground pinnacle at 15-23 meters with amazing soft corals. The colors and diversity were stunning, and I wish we had spent more time around the pinnacles.
The place is full of nudie and shrimps. I saw the biggest orangutang crab I have ever seen on that pinnacle.
Next, we moved to the Tanjung Totoke dive site.
This is also a black sand slope that starts at 5 or 6 meters and is a short distance away from Batu Belah dive site. There is a mini wall at around 20 meters. I found the soft corals less colorful than the previous dive but our guide found some severe pygmy seahorses that were very cute. They were less than one centimeter. We also found a few shrimps including the boxer shrimp.
We then cruised to Biaro during sunset. Did I mention I love aperitif time, watching the sunset by the sound of the waves?
There was a third-night dive in Tope Bay in Biaro.
Day 2- Huge school of Barracudas around Biaro island!
The fish Market dive site is an underwater pinnacle off the island of Biaro that starts around 7 meters. Part of the pinnacle is a slope down and part of it goes down like a steep wall.
This site has been named fish market because there is usually a lot of fishes around the peninsula.
There can be a lot of currents on this dive site, so be prepared.
As we went down, there was no current and visibility was great. We were in for a major surprise. Suddenly, along the wall, we saw a school of about 20 barracudas. I thought that was it… Then we continued to the corner where there is more of a slope. It became dark. A cloud of hundreds of Barracudas was in sight and blocking the sun. Majestically gliding around us with their shades of silver. What a sight! We remained calm and didn’t chase them at all. The barracudas didn’t feel threatened and moved closer and closer to us. More small schools were joining the “ball” and there must have been 500 by the end. They stuck around for about 20 minutes. Oh, and I forgot to mention the schools of jacks, fusiliers, the tunas, sharks, and even an eagle ray. What a dive!
Tip: wear a long wetsuit. I got stung by a jellyfish during this dive
Zakaria’s dive site is a peninsula with a mini wall around 5 meters that becomes a slope.
There are soft corals in the wall and a pleasant coral garden at 5 meters perfect for the safety stop.
We saw a Napoleon in the blue, so keep your eyes out.
Day 3: Dolphins, Lava flow, and underwater cathedral in Ruang
The lava flow dive site is unusual because it is at the bottom of an old lava flow that runs into the sea. There is a reef on a black rock at 3 to 5 meters that goes down in a wall to 25 meters. The soft corals are wonderful, complete with big sea fans and sponges.
Between the first and second dive, a pod of a hundred dolphins came to join us for breakfast. We went and snorkeled with them.
They were not playful with us but we still saw and heard them underwater. Their singing was spellbinding. What a special moment!
Our second dive was at Tagulandang jetty.
We started around the jetty with a sandy slope of rubbles that mixes with coral patches.
Similar to most muck dives, it is not pretty and is full of trash. But if you look, you can find nice critters and nudibranchs.
The highlight of this dive for me was the huge jetty that goes down to 4 to 7 meters. The pillars give you the impression of being in an underwater cathedral. Very grandiose!
There are a lot of soft corals and sea fans on the pillars of the jetty and plenty of nudis and critters.
Day 4: Active volcano and hot springs in West Siau
We arrived in the morning at a beautiful island called Siau with a dramatic rumbling volcano.
Our first dive was Batu mini
Batu mini is a small rock sticking out of the water; it becomes much bigger underwater. Sometimes, it is a deep wall that goes down to 50 meters. Towards the end of the island, it becomes a gentle slope.
The visibility was amazing; over 60 meters.
The corner has schools of fusiliers and surgeonfishes but few big fishes.
There are nice sponges and soft corals along the wall. The slope was much more damaged. I found the hard corals growing inside sponges amazing. We saw a napoleon fish, a turtle, and 2 snakes. Twice during the dive, we heard the volcano erupting!
After the dive, we went to enjoy a soak in a natural hot spring. Warm water bubbles up from the ground into a natural cove. Water temperature ranged from 34 to about 40 degrees depending on where in the cove you would be. The mix of hot and cold volcanic water was interesting and supposedly very good for the skin.
The second and third dives of the day are Tanjung Kelapa and Tanjung Lehi.
It is a wall that starts around 5 meters and becomes a sandy slope around 25 to 30 meters. Tunjung Lehi is a continuation of Tunjung Kelapa; it was raining when we did it. The poor luminosity made the reef look dull, and I didn’t find it fantastic. There were corals but very few fishes.
(last photo by @roxnroads)
We went back for sunset drinks to the hot spring and it was marvelous. Soaking in the hot water with the lights of the sunset reflecting on the water’s cove.
We created a makeshift bar on the rock and Anke, the boat owner brought nachos with homemade hummus, beers, wine, and cocktails.
We watched the sunset, as well as the stars rise. The stars in the night sky looked big. We could see the milky way. As we moved in the hot water, the plankton created bioluminescence. Dreamy…
After diner, we cruised from west to east Siau island.
To end an already perfect day, at Karangetang, the volcano was erupting, and we could see the lava coming down the slope! It was scary to see so many houses on the coast below the lava flow. They have lived there for a while so we can only guess it is OK as the lava would stop midway down the mountain. It is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia.
Day 5: Looking for Shrimps and Nudis in East Siau
The first dive of the day is the Tanjung Ulu dive site. It is a sloping reef around a pinnacle that starts at 5 meters.
Ulu is a relatively large village. We found some tiger shrimps and a few nudies. One nudi was laying eggs!
(last 2 photo by @roxnroads)
I skipped the second dive in front of the church, but it was full of nudis.
The 3rd dive is jetty Ulu, the harbor of the village of Ulu.
Jetty Ulu dive site comprises patches of corals mixed with patches of sand and rubbles. corrals. While the site is not scenic at all, it reminded me of Lembeh.
Lots of trashes but the number of shrimps and nudis was impressive.
A nemo attacked me, I saw an octopus feeding, and too many cool nudis to count.
The jetty is not as impressive as the Tagulandang one, but we still found a lot of activity on the pillars. A small, yellow frogfish was sleeping. On a single pillar, we found 5 nudibranchs!
Overall, a great dive.
Day 6: Taking in the scenery in Mahoro and more barracudas
We navigated in the morning for Mahoro island.
The rugged coastline is peppered with white sandy beaches and is a pleasure to look at.
Butterfly rock dive site is a rock in the middle of the sea. It comes down as a small wall and becomes a sloppy sandy bottom with coral patches at 12-15 meters.
As we came down, an eagle ray came to check us out. Then, the show started: a school of 200 or 300 hundred barracudas swam around us. Alternating between a ball or a tornado formation. Going to our left, to our right, and just on top of us. They were checking us out!
They came and went repeatedly for the whole dive. Amazing!
It was so good we asked to repeat the dive. Unfortunately, they were gone for our second dive, so we focused on the other fishes and the corals.
Between the dives, we went to relax on a heavenly looking beach. Imagine the blue turquoise water, perfect white sandy beach, and the sound of the gentle waves. It was hard to leave but we still had some diving to do for the day.
Tanjung Mahoro dive site is a reef slope that goes down to 25 meters. The dive didn’t start well as many corals were destroyed. I don’t know if it is from dynamite fishing or bad weather, or a combination, but it was just strewn with the rubble of corals everywhere. As we progressed through the dive, the patches of healthy corals and soft corals increased. We ended up in a striking enormous staghorn coral garden. We didn’t see medium or generous size fishes. A turtle swam by. The coral garden was inhabited by hundreds of tiny lively fishes.
Day 7: Absurdly good macro diving in Ruang
We woke up in Ruang. The sea was super quiet, the view of the volcano covered by the morning mist was stunning. We could hear the birds singing.
Today was a macro day. We dived 3 times along a large black sand area full of rubbles, nudibranchs, and critters.
There are many rocks in the shallow area. Soft corals occupy the bottom. The elephant ears corals are stunning and create an ethereal atmosphere.
We saw so much on those 3 dives. Baby file fishes, dragonets, rhinopias, a red and a yellow frogfish, files fishes. And the nudibranchs were also there en masse. From Melibe to Chromodoris or Doto, we saw all the colors of the rainbow! I also saw the biggest starfish ever. I put my watch next to it in the photo so you realize the size of it!
The creativity and diversity underwater never cease to amaze me!
Those 3 dives were, at most, 90 minutes each, so we spent a lot of time underwater. It rained most of the day, but as we were doing macro dives, it mattered little.
(The last 2 photos by @roxnroads)
After a busy day underwater, we were rewarded on the front deck, by Anke, who had prepared mojitos. The rain had stopped by then and the sunset was again stunning.
Day 8: Action dives on our way back to Bangka
We woke up to a cloudy and windy day alongside Biaro island.
Due to the distance, we still had to navigate today, the wakeup call was at 5:30 am. But we were all excited as the plan was to dive fish market, an amazing site we had dived on the way up. This time, there was more current, so we used reef hooks. The barracudas we had seen on our way up were not around, but the schools of fusiliers and jacks were on display. We even saw a few giant trevallies hunting.
We then cruised back to Bangka. The islands around Bangka, with Mahoro island, are some of my favorite landscapes in the region.
Areng Kembing dive site that sits by a picture-perfect beach. It is a big rock that sticks out of the sea. It goes down on a white sandy slope. All you can see is white sand all around you. We found little in the first 30 minutes of the dive.
It improved when we reached a small area with corals where we saw cuttlefish, juvenile sweetlips, wrasse mover fish, cuttlefish, cowfish, and many others. The coral garden at 5 meters was gorgeous.
We heard a whale during the safety stop and people saw it from the boat but, unfortunately, we didn’t see it underwater. It was close, though.
The last dive of the trip is Batu Sahaung
A pinnacle that sticks out of the water and one of the best dive sites in Bangka. This dive site is stunning due to its topography, the stunning colors of the corals, and the huge fishes that usually patrol the area.
( last photo by @roxnroads)
This was a grand finale to an amazing trip. We cruised back to Blue Bay divers’ resort. There was a party feeling in the air as the staff was dancing on the beach ready to welcome us back.
The last sunset of the trip was in good spirit and the last dinner, outside on the front deck, was lovely.
How is the Internet connection while cruising the Sangihe islands?
There is no internet on the Sunshine liveaboard but 4G connection was good throughout the trip.
TIP: Buy a Telekomcel sim card with a data plan while in Manado and you can connect your phone to the network.
We had coverage in all the islands when we were close to the harbors in Ruang, Biaro, and Siau. Before the trip, I expected to travel in an almost deserted area of Indonesia but that was not the case. The villages were large (especially Siau) for such remote islands.
The connection was usually good enough for WhatsApp calls and often even for video calls.
When to dive in Sangihe islands?
Sangihe is diveable all year round but most trips run between March and November, which is the dry season. Rainy seasons starts in November and can affect the visibility until February.
I went on the trip in mid-November. We did get rain on most days, but we also got plenty of sunshine and generally great visibility.
Currents are usually stronger around the full moon.
At any time of the year, you are likely to be the only boat as very few people make it to Sangihe for diving.
In conclusion
A diving trip to Sangihe is a chance to explore a seldom dived region in Indonesia. Few people have evevn heard of this region, yet the diving is really good. Perfect for people who have already visited the most famous places like Komodo, Lembeh, and Raja Ampat and looking for new diving adventures in Indonesia. Macro and nudibranchs lovers will be in heaven.
Beyond diving, you also get to witness erupting volcanos, soak in hot springs, and wander on heavenly beaches.
The Sunshine liveaboard is a comfortable boat, with a lovely crew and the most experienced operator in the region. I highly recommend the trip but make sure you book well in advance as the 2021 and 2022 trips are already almost fully booked.
To book, check the Blue Bay divers’ website here
Good diving report, thanks