Dive Review of Pure Dive Resort in
Indonesia/Nusa Penida

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Pure Dive Resort: "Surprisingly good reef diving, consistent manta sightings", Aug, 2022, by Phil Johnston, Bayswater, AU ( Sr. Contributor 25 reports with 23 Helpful votes). Report 12034.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food	N/A
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I visited Nusa Penida solely to see Mola Molas, which are seasonal & appear only during late winter/ early spring as they inhabit colder water (< 20 degrees C / 70 degree F). Regrettably no Mola Molas in my 3 days at Nusa Penida, due to water temps > 20 Deg C. This may have been a natural variation, but I suspect might be due to global warming. I did however dive Manta Bay on the south side of Nusa Penida Island on all 3 days, & saw Mantas on all 3 occasions. There is a quite shallow cleaning station 5-6 meters / 15-18 feet, saw up to 4 full size mantas at that site on my last visit there. A couple of mantas made quite close passes on that dive. Mola Molas use the same cleaning stations as the Mantas apparently, when the waters are cold enough. Negatives of this site: not much other marine life, & the site can get quite crowded (22 boats on my first visit). Manta Bay is accessed via boats that depart from the northern side of Nusa Penida, the trip takes 45-50 minutes & covers some open water so can be rough (choppy & a bit swelly during my visit ). Like to ferry to Sanur Beach, embarking / disembarking the dive boat is done via the beach. I also dived a couple of reefs on the north side of Nusa Penida, & Crystal Bay on the western edge of NPI. Crystal Bay did not excite, but "SD' reef & the western end of Toya Pakeh Reef exceeded my expectations, quite rich reefs with good small tropicals & occasional small critters eg nudis (mainly spotted by the dive instructor). As with much of Indonesia, there was little in the way of pelagics / large fish life. The dive store operator told me sharks have basically disappeared from Nusa Penida over the last decade or so. I did see some mature turtles at various times. I found the dive operation, run by a Ukrainian gentleman, to be very professionally run. There is no accommodation attached to the dive operation, I stayed at Ring Sameton resort, which is within easy walking distance of the dive store, & a pleasant enough place. Lunch at a Warung across the road from the dive store was included in the price of the 2 morning dives, basic but tasty Indonesian food. Drawbacks of Nusa Penida: strong currents can make some sites inaccessible at times. One dive planned at Toya Pakeh was aborted due to sudden strong currents. The boat captain seemed to have pretty good judgement as to when to dive / not to dive a particular site. The flip side of the strong currents is very good viz due to the strait between Bali & Nusa Penida regularly being flushed by clean oceanic waters. Overall I enjoyed the diving with Pure Dive, I'm happy to recommend them for good Manta dives, some pretty good coral reef dives, & if you're lucky, Mola Molas.
Websites	Pure Dive Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Australia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Indonesia (Bali, Komodo, Rajah Ampat, Lembeh, Manado, Ambon) Cocos Islands, Mexico (Cozumel & Soccorros) Tonga, Galapagos, Tahiti, Maldives, Mozambique, Bahamas, Red Sea, Roatan, Philippines, Hawaii (Kona, Maui)
Closest Airport	Ngurah Rai International Airport, Denpasar	Getting There	Nusa Penida island can only be accessed via a fast ferry from Sanur beach, on the Bali mainland. When I say Sanur beach, I mean an actual beach...there is no dock facility, passengers must wade through knee deep water to embark / disembark the ferry. This is particularly challenging at low tide, on account of rocks & stones under the water. Passengers are asked to remove shoes for this, making for an uncomfortable wade to / from the boat. Do not wear trousers / long pants here!
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	currents
Water Temp	23-27°C / 73-81°F	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	10-15 M / 33-49 Ft
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	The usual, no deco diving, no solo diving etc.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	I can't comment too much as I didn't have a camera. No fresh water rinse tanks on the dive boat though.

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Dive Review of Pure Dive Resort in Indonesia/Nusa Penida

Pure Dive Resort: "Surprisingly good reef diving, consistent manta sightings", Aug, 2022,

Photos Submitted with this Report

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Pure Dive Resort in
Indonesia/Nusa Penida