Bali Dive Sites: Nusa Penida – Vertigo Point

Nusa Penida Dive Sites – Vertigo Point

Vertigo Point

Vertigo Point located just off south east Nusa Penida, is approx 40mins boat journey from Padangbai. It is exceptionally rare to see another dive boat here, perhaps because the site is open onto the Lombok Strait, so the currents can be very strong with some choppy waves.

This is, however, a great site for seeing the elusive Mola-Mola (Ocean sunfish) between July and mid-November each year.

Conditions for Diving

Prior to setting out, your AMD-B boat captain and guide will decide if conditions are likely to be possible for diving. For example, wind from the east means there’ll be big waves, and it’s a long way to go to then have to turn around.

AquaMarine generally stays on the south west side of the site, away from the totally exposed areas. From 10-25m, there is a gentle slope with various branching corals, including table corals with Yellow-margin moray eels, sponges, whip corals, small sea fans and a multi-coloured array of soft corals.

Around 30m the slope becomes sandy with a wall to the east.

What you can expect to see at Vertigo Point

Here you can expect to see Mola-Mola in season along with schooling bannerfish, Manta rays, various sharks, turtles, trevally, Spanish mackerel and Dogtooth tuna, and very, very occasionally: dolphins.

Shallower are clouds of anthias, octopus, lobsters, nudis, flounders, dragonets, and similar species.

AMD-B staff named the site Vertigo Point in 2009 when AMD-B was doing some survey dives on Nusa Penida’s east coast. Annabel was still congested after a cold/cough and became extremely dizzy underwater..hence the name!