Dive Site: 120m USAT Liberty Shipwreck

Posted on March 7, 2025March 10, 2025 by Annabel Thomas

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USAT Liberty Shipwreck: Possibly the World’s Easiest Wreck Dive

The Liberty was torpedoed by the Japanese off the coast of Lombok. Although attempts were made to tow the ship to north Bali, it was taking on too much water and therefore was semi-beached at Tulamben. During the last eruption of Mt Agung, Bali’s highest and most sacred mountain, the earth tremors roched the boat down the beach and into the sea.

The USAT Liberty Shipwreck lies a mere 30m offshore, and almost parallel to the beach, making it suitable for all levels of certification and experience. The shallowest part of the wreck where it touches the sand slope is at 5-10m while average depth along the middle is 16-20m. The lower edge of the wreck, the furthest down the slope, is 20-28m at high tide.

The wreck is pretty broken up, no penetration possible. But you can still see the guns, toilets, boilers, anchor chain, etc. A truly lovely dive site!

USAT Liberty Shipwreck for Underwater Photographers

The USAT Liberty Shipwreck is very popular with underwater photographers/videographers as it is totally encrusted in anemones, gorgonian fans, hard and soft corals.

In addition the black sand provides an excellent colour contrast for the incredible variety of marine life, which includes a school of 100s of Big-eyed trevallys (length 30cm/12in) and over 400 other species of fish.

Diving on, in and around the Liberty Shipwreck, you are quite likely to see a high percentage of the marine life shown in any Indo-Pacific Reef Guide book. That is what keeps divers coming back time and time again.

Each area of the Liberty Shipwreck offers something different to see!

Night and Early Morning Wreck Dives

Night diving on the Wreck is always great but particularly so during the full moon. You may see Spanish dancers and the school of huge Bumphead parrotfish in their sleeping cocoons. Also Flashlight fish, Bobtail squid, even phosphorescence, and the basket stars! – where else in the world could you make such an easy and varied Night Dive?

If you dive early enough, 06-07:00, you may see the school of Bumphead parrotfish heading out for breakfast. This is also the most likely time of day to see Mola-Mola, Manta rays, turtles and any Whalesharks passing through. In our opinion, it’s the best time of day to dive the wreck.

Dive Course: Open Water Diver

Posted on February 21, 2025March 13, 2025 by Annabel Thomas

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Open Water Diver Course

Open Water Diver Course is a great way to attain the first required certification to dive internationally.

Through the PADI Open Water Diver Course, you’ll learn the fundamentals of scuba diving, including dive theory, equipment and techniques, over the course of 2 or 3 days. The certification is recognised worldwide and is earned by completing:
– Five Knowledge Development (theory) sessions – these can be done online.
– Five Confined Water (pool) sessions to practise scuba skills, learn to breathe underwater and familiarise yourself with your scuba gear.

Then it’s time for your four Open Water (sea) dives on Bali’s beautiful east and north east coast reefs (including the famous 120m USAT Liberty Shipwreck in Tulamben Bay!).

The Theory

With PADI eLearning, you can complete the dive theory wherever and whenever you want, while going at your own pace. You’ll then be fully-prepared when you meet your AquaMarine PADI instructor and can start diving straight away. Alternatively you can buy an Open Water manual from your local dive shop or we’ll deliver one to you when you arrive in Bali. Complete the theory by the pool, on the beach, or in the shade of a convenient palm or mango tree!

Your Open Water Dives

AquaMarine recommends doing your Open Water dives in Tulamben Bay (we believe this is where you’ll really fall in love with diving) to experience shore diving. And in Blue Lagoon just outside Padangbai on Bali’s east coast for boat diving, rather than at the inferior reefs, with more difficult conditions, in the south of Bali.

Because the course is performance-based, you get as much time as you need to practise your new skills prior to certification. You can choose our 2 or 3 day OWDC schedule. Above all, AquaMarine’s instructors will ensure that not only is your course low-stress and safe, but you will have great fun, too.

The PADI Open Water Diver Course (and PADI Junior Open Water Diver Course) is your ticket to dive anywhere at any time. Once you discover how easy and fun scuba diving is, you’ll want to share it with friends and family. Bring them along to try the PADI Discover Scuba Diving, or the PADI Open Water Diver Courses.

Dive Sites: Menjangan Island

Posted on December 13, 2024December 15, 2024 by Annabel Thomas

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Menjangan Island Dive Sites

Menjangan Island became Bali’s first internationally-known diving location, famous for its wall-diving with great visibility (50m at certain times of the year).

Part of West Bali National Park, Menjangan Island is 30 minutes by local boat from mainland Bali and offers warm waters with stunning visibility that can reach 50m+. The island’s white sand beaches provide good, and well-protected, snorkelling opportunities.

The walls at Menjangan go from 10 to 26-60m+ and are full of nooks and crannies, overhangs and crevasses with soft corals, sponges and Bali’s highest concentration of Gorgonian seafans (some with pygmy seahorses). The fishlife is prolific and turtles are regular visitors.

Although Whalesharks may be sighted, pelagics are fairly rare here as the island is protected from the cold ocean currents felt at some other Bali dive sites.

The main three dive sites are Garden Eel Point, Pos Two, and the small wooden Anker Wreck (35-50m) where the calm conditions and good visibility can make it easy to forget that this is a deep dive.

Best Time to Dive

Although the best diving in Menjangan Island is said to be from April to November (during the south east monsoon), the island can be dived year round as it offers some of the most protected diving in Bali.

The clarity of the water can at times be amazing, July to September often yields the best visibility and a current of more than 1 knot is unusual. However, as Menjangan is protected from the cold currents coming in from the open sea, there are only rare sightings of larger fish.