Gorontalo Diving

Dive Sites of Gorontalo

Tomini Bay, north Sulawesi

Diving was only started here some four or five years ago by an enthusiast who was keen to find a viable alternative to the more established and popular nearby destinations in Sulawesi.

Located on the rugged, northern coastline of mountains and rolling hills in Tomini Bay, Gorontalo not only has similar riches in biodiversity, but it also has its own unique mix of marine life and many species that are endemic to this area. To date ten new species, some only ever found in Gorontalo, have been internationally recognised and many more are slated for further investigation.

You may be wondering why the Gorontalo diving sites would posess such exciting and colourful creatures as the orange-backed wrasse, yellow-spotted slingjaw wrasse, Sarasvati's commensal shrimp and Coleman's coral shrimp. The truth lies in the unique conditions that exist here - Gorontalo is located very close to The Equator and its coastal walls plunge into a deep and very calm bay, allowing deep water marine species to come in very close to the dive sites. It's also near the centre of "The Golden Triangle" of marine bio-diversity.

With only one dive centre operating in Gorontalo, you can sample for yourself this fascinating brand of deep healthy coral walls, wreck diving, pinnacles and bays, in waters that are only crowded by fish.

With the 15 dive sites being just a few minutes from town, diving in Gorontalo will appeal to you if you have an interest in marine life identification and in absorbing some authentic culture of Indonesian rural city life. The latest dive destination in Indonesia to be receiving media attention and earning plaudits, Gorontalo, which is only a daily one hour flight from Manado International Airport, rightly deserves the praise and its place amongst the top diving destinations in Sulawesi.

• Gorontalo tourist information

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Diving Season

The Gorontalo scuba diving season runs from November to April. Outside of this time, the winds make surface conditions too unreliable for trips to be guaranteed.

Reef Basics

Great for: Small animals, underwater photography, reef life and health, wall dives and dive value-for-money
Not so great for: Non-diving activities
Depth: 5 - >40m
Visibility: 20 - 30m
Currents: Gentle
Surface Conditions: Calm
Water Temperature: 28 - 30°C
Experience Level: Beginner - advanced
Number of dive sites: 15
Access: Liveaboards
Recommended length of stay: 3 - 7 days

Dive Sites

More detailed information on some of the sites:

Dive The World Recommendations: Honeycomb and Sentinels.

Other diving sites close to Gorontalo:

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