Best Bali Dive Sites – Sidem
Located just a few minutes by bus south of Tulamben lies the dive site called Sidem. The site has easy road access and is equipped with a rest area, shower, rinse tanks, and toilets.
Situated in a small bay with a volcanic stone beach, Sidem is a beautiful site with traditional fishing boats (Jukongs) on shore and a small temple hidden by beautiful green tropical trees.
The location is off the beaten track so is never too crowded. We generally like to make two long dives when visiting Sidem as the quiet, relaxed atmosphere of the location makes our surface interval very pleasant
The Dive Site
We start the dive from the beach in front of the rest area. It features a gentle slope of sand and round stones, the perfect habitat for nudibranchs.
At about 20m/70ft from the shore, the gentle slope becomes steeper and descends to more than 40m/130ft. The steep, sandy slope has many small finger sponges, halimeda seaweed, small hard coral patches, and many tube anemones.
This one of the few dive site in Bali where it’s possible to spot flasher wrasses.
Marine Life
The site is an excellent place for macro underwater photography. A great variety of critters can be found on the site: including Rhinopia scorpion fish, boxer crabs, seahorses, Mototi and Wondepus octopi, peacock mantis shrimp, ghost pipefish, flasher wrasse, and many species of nudibranchs.
General Dive Conditions
The general conditions in this dive site are good, it’s very seldom that we find a strong current but the area can affected by swell. The visibility is normally between 10m/35ft and 20m/70ft.
