Reef & Snorkel

Divers come north for Tulamben and Amed: coral, a wreck, and warm, clear water.

This is a day on the water that a local operator runs, not a trip VELA runs itself. We have no dive centre. Tell the concierge whether you want a first dive, a course or a day on the reefs, and we put you with an operator we work with. The courses are SSI: Basic Diver (one day, one dive), Open Water Diver (three days, four dives), Advanced Adventurer (two days, five dives) and the Advanced Open Water Package (three to four days, seven dives). Prices are per person and are on the booking page.

The USAT Liberty wreck at Tulamben is fifteen minutes by car and lies just offshore in shallow water. The bays around Amed are forty minutes away, with clear water, healthy reef and jukungs pulled up on the shore. Amed is busier than Tianyar, because the dive shops are there, though it still has far fewer people than anywhere in the south.

Getting there is a separate step. Transport to Tulamben is not included in a course, so add a transfer if you need one. A private car with driver takes up to four guests, and tour options are billed by the hour or by the day. Course dates depend on the dive centre, so ask before you plan the rest of the week around them.

The water is clearest from April to October and often stays that way into November. The wreck is dived all year, but the further you sit inside that window, the better the visibility tends to be.

For an early start, breakfast at Saga runs from 07:30 to 10:30, so if you dive before six, ask Saga for a breakfast box. When you get back, rinse your kit at the showers by the pool and ask one of the team to point you there, because there is no separate dive rinse station. Pack water shoes too: the shore in front of VELA is pebbles.

Who this is not for: anyone who wants a dive centre, a kit shop or a classroom on the property. The reefs on this page are in Tulamben and Amed, fifteen and forty minutes away, and the operators are there too. Swimming in front of VELA is safe unless we say otherwise that day, but it is a swim from a pebble shore, not a reef trip.