Let's Travel: BUNAKEN NATIONAL MARINE PARK

Bunaken is one of Indonesia's most famous diving and snorkeling areas and it draws visitors from all over the world. Bunaken is about 45 to 60 minutes by boat from Manado. Bunaken was formally established as a national marine park in 1991. Bunaken has a quite stunning biodiversity including:

No less than 70 different genus of coral
Five species of sea turtle
An amazing range of fish - 70% of all fish species that exist in the Indo-Western Pacific Ocean are found here
White tip and black tip reef-sharks are common
Wonderful resident dugongs
Barracuda and Tuna make regular appearances from more pelagic waters
Occasionally saltwater crocodiles

The thing to do in Bunaken is dive, dive and dive. There are beginner-friendly sites too and all dive shops can arrange introduction dives and Open Water Dive courses.

Snorkelling is fantastic in front of many of the resorts around the island, with an incredible amount of marine life inhabiting the shallows.

Tourism on Bunaken has been very much geared towards serious divers over the years but the trend seems to be changing. More and more casual snorkelers are visiting the area as are those who wish to just relax immersed in nature.

Possible activities for landlubbers include:

Beach-combing - especially at low tide when the reef top is accessible

Dolphin & Whale watching - either on dive boat trips or by hiring a boat privately.

Accommodation on Bunaken Island is generally expensive for Indonesian standards as the majority of people coming here are on a short holiday trip. Most visitors choose to sleep at their dive resort, almost all of which offer full board package offers. There are no budget options for backpackers.

Those resorts on the south and west sides of Bunaken Island are on a strip of coarse yellow sand beach whilst the frontage of those on the east side is a mixture of mangroves and small beaches.

Some of the famous resorts are: