Lembeh Liveaboard
Diving Lembeh
With dark volcanic sand rich with aquatic life, Lembeh is considered a paradise for the photographers who fly here from all over the world to capture some breathtaking shots to reveal the underwater beauty to the world. The numerous varieties of critters, frogfish, pipefish, nudibranchs, seahorses, juvenile fish, and other exotic underwater creatures make this remote yet diversely vibrant region of North Sulawesi, Indonesia, rightly known as the muck diving capital of the world.
The dive sites in Lembeh are mostly sandy slopes, rock, muck, or rubble, but there are a few spots with good soft corals and small walls. Although the reefs on this island are not quite attractive, they offer unique species to keep them returning. If you are looking for picturesque reefs, there are plenty of other beautiful and spectacular islands around to discover.
Lembeh Liveaboard Routes
Dive trips on a Lembeh liveaboard combine destinations as Raja Ampat, Halmahera, Lembeh, Bangka island, and other parts of North Sulawesi.
Marine Life
You can easily find aquatic species of all shapes and sizes in these richly biodiverse islands. Commonly found creatures include several species of pygmy seahorses, squid, cuttlefish, blue ring octopus, mimic octopus, and wonderpus, ornate, ghost pipefish, pipehorses, filefish, boxfish and puffers, shrimp, orangutan crabs, decorator crabs, Bangaii cardinalfish, assorted anemonefish, gobies and blennies, eels and morays, razorfish, schooling striped catfish, hairy frogfish to name a few.
Along with muck diving and other natural wonders that this region offers, Lembeh also has some fascinating shipwrecks.
The most famous being the Mawali wreck which is entirely embedded with soft corals from all sides, making them an enthralling experience to explore. The shipwrecks hide within them the huge scorpionfish and lionfish, and barramundis.
Lembeh Dive Sites
Mawali Wreck
Mawali wreck is a Japanese Cargo ship that is named after the village where it sunk.
Laying down on her port side at a maximum depth of 30 meters makes this dive site an excellent dive for advanced divers with nitrox certification.
A great photo opportunity is at the stern of the ship, where you can see the 6 foot long blades of the propeller.
Angel’s Window
This popular dive site consists out of 2 pinnacles that almost reach the surface. In the deeper end of the site, rocks form a massive cavern that gives it the name angel’s window. During your dive, you come across a little bit of everything.
From macro life to stunning soft corals and swim troughs this is a perfect dive to see more than only the black sand.
Hairball
Lembeh’s most famous dive site is Hairball which offers a fantastic diversity and quantity of critters every macro lover wants to see.
Nudifalls
Goby a Crab
Diving Season
Scuba diving in Lembeh is year-round, but the weather varies through the seasons. From October until March, water temperatures are warmest, with peaks of 28-29°C. The lowest temperatures are measured during July and August when it can drop down to 25-26°C. In general, the tiny critters do not travel far, and sightings are more to do with their reproductive cycle than with the movements during seasons.
The visibility is at its best from October until December. The higher water temperature and the highest chance of rain during January and February bring some lower visibility.
From June, the South-East monsoon brings along more wind, making the water a bit more choppy. This will last until September, and it can occur that dive operators cannot reach dive sites on the Northern end.
HOW TO GET TO THERE
Lembeh island is most straightforward from Singapore, where you can find flights to Monado international airport with Silk air. They are scheduled for Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. The flight is about 3 hours. If you are already in Indonesia, there are daily flights from several airports in the country.
A Lembeh liveaboard usually departs or disembark from the ports Manado and Sahaung. We will send you all the information about the itinerary when you book to ensure you know what ports you will visit.