Bunaken

Bunaken's signature experience is drift diving along sheer reef walls that fall hundreds of metres into the blue. Sites like Lekuan and Mandolin are covered in soft coral, fans, and sponges, with turtles a near-certainty on most dives. The current does the work, so you glide along and watch the wall slide past.

You do not have to dive to enjoy this place. The shallow reef shelf before each wall is alive with fish and easily explored on a mask and snorkel, and you can often spot turtles from the surface. Boats drop snorkellers right above the drop-off, so even non-divers see the edge of the deep.

With calm conditions, established dive centres, and instructors used to teaching foreigners, Bunaken is a sensible spot to do an Open Water course or shake off rust. Multi-day courses are straightforward to arrange through resorts. It is a forgiving introduction before tackling more demanding sites elsewhere in Sulawesi.

Green and hawksbill turtles are the headline act and show up on the great majority of dives, often resting on ledges or grazing the wall. White-tip reef sharks, bumphead parrotfish, and big schools of fusiliers round out the cast. Bring a camera with a wide lens for the scale of it.

The neighbouring island of Siladen is even smaller and quieter, with its own reefs and a pretty stretch of sand. It makes an easy boat hop for a change of scene or a relaxed beach afternoon. Some divers prefer its house reef for a gentle, shallow dive.

Many travellers pair Bunaken with a mainland trip to Tangkoko Nature Reserve to see tiny tarsiers, black crested macaques, and hornbills. It is a couple of hours from Manado and works well as a land-based break between dive days. Book a local guide for the best wildlife encounters.