From Weird Critters in the North to Sharks in the South

You want to dive with sharks, see whale sharks and look out for small weird critters? Then you should head to Sulawesi. This island in Indonesia has everything.

Sulawesi, also known as Celebes, is an island in Indonesia. It is situated east of Borneo and west of the Maluku Islands. The island can be separated into three parts: North, Central and South. All the parts await with different specialties for scuba divers. Sulawesi offers some great muck diving, amazing walls and drift dives and live volcanoes. Underwater you can encounter whale sharks, strange critters, beautifully soft and hard corals, loads of turtles and much more.

BEST TIME TO DIVE IN SULAWESI

The best travel time is up to the destination in Sulawesi. For the North, the best time to go is between July to October during the dry season. To dive in the Togians go between March and December. For the Banggai archipelago, the best time is September to February. Diving in South Sulawesi is possible the whole year but October is the warmest month and July and August the coolest times in the year.

No matter where and when you go, the water temperature is always pleasant between 29-33 degrees.

DIVE REGIONS OF SULAWESI

North Sulawesi

The most famous places here is probably the Lembeh Strait with its strange critters. This is the place for muck diving. There is not so many coral but weird and wonderful critters on the seafloor. You can see the famous blue-ringed octopus, different frogfishes, or pygmy seahorses.

Another famous place in the North is the Bunaken Nationalpark. This is wall diving at its best with beautiful corals, turtles and sometimes sharks.

Central Sulawesi

Lovers of very remote places will visit the Togian Islands. The islands are located in the Gulf of Tomini. The water here is crystal clear and calm. Explore many species of fish and coral and even some wrecks.

Banggai Archipelago is the most eastern dive spot of Sulawesi. This area is only accessible by liveaboard. This area is more exposed, which makes it more possible for pelagic encounters.

South Sulawesi

The Wakatobi Nationalpark is the main dive hotspot in this region. It is home to 900 species of fish and 25 coral reefs. No wonder it is known as one of the best diving locations in the world. 

In the very South, you can find the small village Bira. The diving here offers some stronger currents with encounters of blacktip and whitetip sharks.

LIVEABOARDS IN SULAWESI

Some places in Sulawesi can be reached by land. There are many resorts that offer daily diving trips, for example in Bunaken. However, to reach destinations can be quite challenging. That’s why a liveaboard trip is by far the most comfortable way to explore Sulawesi. You can explore more than one of these beautiful dive destinations. A liveaboard can show you the very remote and hidden spots of Sulawesi and often they combine the trips with the Banda Sea or the Maluku Islands.