Indonesia is one of the most popular places to dive in the world; with a great variety of different dive sites, everyone can choose something they interested in. We have Mola Mola, manta rays, reef sharks, whale sharks, hammerhead sharks and sometimes we can even spot the great white sharks. For those who are more interested in coral reefs, schools of fish or macro diving, Indonesia has it all, and more. You just have to keep in mind that it’s all spread out over considerable distances. Indonesia is the biggest island country in the world. Don’t plan too much for one trip because getting from one place to another sometimes can take more than a day and for some remote places even longer. To find the best places to dive, many people resign themselves to searching through the internet jungle.

Now that you have a small taste of what kind of diving wonders are found in Indonesia, you might ask why Bali and in particular, why Amed? This is probably one of the most common questions we receive from people.

There is a reason why people choose one place or another to live or work. At some point in our lives, we decide that diving is something we would like to do more often. We start to look for possibilities to make it happen and, of course, to look for a place where to make our dream a reality. The choice is always driven by different considerations.

  1. Place where we can find enough jobs to pay the loans back home (just kidding, your finances are none of our business).
  2. Finding a perfect fit for our level of social needs. Some people like quieter or even remote places, while others prefer daily access to shopping malls and parties.
  3. Visiting that magical place you’ve heard so much about, discovering the culture and dive sites we were not able to experience during that short diving trip.
  4. Perhaps this nomadic lifestyle is the way we are living. We never stay too long in one place and usually travel to work at places to be there during the diving season.

This are just a few potential reasons. There are a great many more and, actually, it’s more important why we have chosen Amed and not another place. So the following list covers things that brought us here, made us who we are and why we like this place so much.

  1. First of all, it was kind of finger of destiny 🙂 I, Martin, got here by accident and it wasn’t my plan to stay here long. I was forced to stay in Amed for a couple of days and it gave me a chance to see the beauty of this place.
  2. We found it’s a perfect place to teach people. We are diving professionals and it’s like a habit to look at places through this prism. In my opinion, if we look at all the different diving places around Bali, Amed is the best place to take your first steps in diving and the best place to become a diving professional. Diving conditions almost all year round are good enough to do all your dive training in the sea. Waves, water clarity and water temperature conditions are so good that they are similar to pool. So why to learn to dive in a pool when you can do it in the sea, in confined water conditions, but with fishes, turtles, corals and a lot of space for your swimming and buoyancy practice. 
  3. You don’t have to waste time on a long travel to reach a great many dive sites. Most far dive sites, where we go to see Mola Mola, take 40 minutes to get there. All Amed and Tulamben dive sites are located within 5-20 minutes of distance by road from our Dive Center. 
  4. Living in Amed is cheaper than other diving places around Bali, Gili Islands, Nusa Penida, and Lembongan. We have a big variety of dormitories, hotels, and villas in a price range from 150 thousand rupiahs up to a couple of millions for a villa for the night (with very big discounts for those looking for longer-term accommodation). To get a better understanding of the price range check it on Agoda or booking.com If you have questions about location drop us a message and we will explain it.
  5. Amed has many warungs (local eateries) and restaurants for any food preferences. Vegans, vegetarians, and meat lovers will feel comfortable here. If you prefer cooking at home, you can rent a bungalow with a kitchen. Fish, fruits, veggies, and meat you can buy at the local market or ask the owner of the bungalow to buy them for you. Locals here are so friendly and flexible that you will very much enjoy your stay.
  6. The climate here is better than anywhere else around Indonesia. Our heavy rain season is only 1,5 months and even then rain is only in the afternoon. It is very seldom that it’s rainy all day long. In the middle of March rain stops. All the way from March to December we have not a drop of rain. Since we are located next to the mountains, it’s not too hot here. At night it’s very refreshing and cool. The days are sunny and warm. We have no rain because the mountains don’t allow the heavy rain clouds to pass over Amed and keep them above the other side of the island. So we have a guaranteed dry season for about 8-9 months of the year.
  7. Amed is located close to many temples, rice fields and viewpoints so you can take a day off from diving and enjoy the natural and cultural beauty of this island.
  8. Most diving and snorkeling sites are located in the Amed and Tulamben area. If you are interested in seeing the mantas and Mola Mola, from Amed it will take a relatively short time to reach the spot where you can dive or snorkel with them.
  9. Amed is a quiet place, perfect for those who don’t care for big crowds of tourists. At the same time, we have places with live music and stunning sunset points.

No doubt we forgot some benefits of this beautiful place but definitely mentioned the most important ones. Don’t look for white sand beaches here – it’s almost all volcanic sand (beautiful in its own right). We still have some near-white sand beaches but this is not what the Amed area is known for. If this is something “must-have” for your trip, then book a couple of days further south on the island and stay there before you fly back home (many of our guests do it this way).

Keep in touch! More articles are coming up for our blog! 

Sincerely yours,

Martin Slisans