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Why go to Indonesia For a Family Dive Holiday
You can go diving many times over in Indonesia and never be bored. The beautiful island archipelago is covered in lush tropical jungle giving way to beautiful white sandy beaches. The turquoise waters around the archipelago boast a variety of marine life, with the waters around Raja Ampat boasting the area of highest marine biodiversity on the planet. With pristine reefs and a variety of family dive adventures, Indonesia is the perfect place for a family dive holiday.
Best Marine Life in Indonesia
With such high marine biodiversity in the area, Indonesia is blessed with many beautiful marine creatures to spot.
Manta Rays are high up many peoples list of creatures to spot in Indonesian waters. Of course kids will also love this gentle giant, especially if they are fans of the Moana films! You can find manta rays around the coasts of several small islands in Bali.
Another big tick on the list are whale sharks. These gentle giants are often found around Raja Ampat and near some of Bali’s islands. Although they are sharks, they shouldn’t be feared. They are actually filter feeders and pose divers no harm.
The extraordinary Mola Mola, or giant sunfish, is a strange looking fish, that can be found around Bali between the months of July and November. It’s the heaviest bony fish in the world and is rather unusually shaped.
There are seven types of sea turtle in the world and Indonesia is home to six of these! With a particularly large population of the green turtles around the Gili Islands. So this is the perfect destination if you want to swim with sea turtles!
There are also a great variety of soft corals and smaller fish, from the pygmy seahorse to moray eels and the beautiful mandarinfish. Whilst muck diving you may even be lucky enough to spot the strange looking nudibranchs with over 3000 species currently known!
Dive Resorts For Younger Children
if you are travelling with younger children who aren’t able to dive yet, then there are still some great dive resorts around. It’s possible to use a kids sea camp for children to safely enjoy Indonesia whilst the adults go off diving. Children from ages 8-10 can take part in the bubble maker programs, but only 10+ can take the junior open water certificate. So finding a resort with a kids club or ability to dive with the adults can be tricky. Fortunately there are several excellent resorts in Indonesia for dive resorts that cater for younger children include children.
Wakatobi Dive Resort, Sulawesi
This 5 star resort is perfect for families of all ages. Wakatobi resort has nanny’s available for ages 4 years and under and a kids club for those 5-12 years old. So you can dive without worrying about the kids. Children from 10+ with a Junior Open Water Certificate are able to dive with parents to certain depths alongside a private guide. Or you can take the younger kids snorkelling without a certificate. The resort itself also touts its house reef being one of the best in the world, with its excellent location in the UNESCO biosphere reserve.
Wakatobi Dive Resort also has a great conservation program supporting the marine environment and local communities. It’s certainly an excellent place for a family adventure holiday!
Cove Eco Resort, Raja Ampat
As a 3 star resort Cove Eco resort is a cheaper alternative to Wakatobi. However, you will still find brilliant diving and excellent service. Located in Raja Ampat, you will certainly be in awe of the incredible marine biodiversity. Although there is no childcare for under 4 year olds, there is a babysitting service available for children aged 4+ at around 30 Euros a half day.
The resort is an eco resort that places a lot of emphasis on sustainable tourism.
Misool Eco resort, Raja Ampat
The Misool eco resort doesn’t have a kids club, however it does provide babysitting services. The eco credentials of this resort are high. With the island previously a shark finning camp, the owners have a worked to create a 300,000 acre Misool marine reserve, which has had an increase in fish biomass by 600% since 2008! The island has it’s own solar farm, vegetable co-op and bath recycling and community education projects.
Another excellent choice for a family resort!
Lembeh Resort, North Sulawesi
The Lembeh strait is well known for its excellent diving and biodiversity. You can enjoy plenty of dives along this stretch of coast, but also many land based activities that the kids may enjoy too. From visiting a local village and market, to rainforest and volcano tours. The Lembeh resort also offers discounts for students and children, plus it supports responsible tourism.
The 5 Best Places For Family Diving Holidays in Indonesia
Now we’ve covered some of the best family resorts, which are the best areas to visit on a family diving holiday in Indonesia? There are a variety to choose from and they include some great land activities as well as diving!
Raja Ampat
As mentioned above the Raja Ampat area has the highest marine biodiversity in the world. Although there are only 4 large islands, there are over 1500 smaller islands, cays and shoals. It is a little more difficult to get to due to its location off the western edge of New Guinea, but it’s certainly worth it. You can choose from resorts or liveaboard boats as with most diving areas. However, with younger children it is best to stay in a resort.
Raja Ampat is where you can have encounters with all manners of exotic Indonesian fish and other creatures. Including manta rays, reef sharks, whale sharks, sea turtles, reef fish, hairy frogfish and blue ringed octopus.
North Sulawesi
Northern Sulawesi has several excellent diving areas, including muck diving in the Lembeh Strait and the Bunaken National Park. The national park has some of the healthiest underwater ecosystems in the world, with over 300 species of fish. It also has wall diving, with drop-offs and beautiful coral reefs. If you enjoy muck diving, then the Lembeh strait is an excellent choice. It’s known to have a fantastic concentration of biodiversity. Including Nudibranchs, blue ringed octopus, wunderpus, Pygmy seahorses and more! The volcanic slopes are perfect for macro photography.
Komodo National Park
Obviously the Komodo national park is well known for its Komodo dragons on land, it also has lots to offer in the water too. From the rare rhinopias and mimic octopus to the well known manta rays and hammerhead sharks, this is an excellent choice for those with young children. A mixture of exploration both on land and at sea from the dive boat will keep everyone happy!
Bali
Bali is an easy island to visit, with many flights arriving from around the world. However, it’s also a stunning destination to visit for diving. Consider Bali for wreck diving, the beautiful coral garden areas and strong currents in the South. This is an excellent area for all sorts of weird and wonderful macro creatures, including nudibranchs and frogfish. However, you will also find the weird Mola Mola by the islands in the Southern ocean along side the majestic manta rays.
On land you will also find plenty of activities, from visiting temples to sampling Balinese culture.
Alor Islands
An island archipelago comprising around 20 islands, the Alor Islands are well known to experienced divers. Due to the strong currents it’s best for experienced divers, although there are a few areas where snorkelling is possible over coral reefs. Located in the bullseye of the coral triangle, the Alor islands are home to a wealth of biodiversity. The area is best for coral and muck diving. Although you may be lucky to see a blue whale that occasionally migrate through the area at certain times of the year!
Should Children Learn To Scuba Dive Before a Family Diving Holiday
Diving with children sounds a bit tricky, however it’s not impossible! You will certainly need to check your travel insurance and perhaps speak to your insurance company before you book, but it can be done!
Children as young as 8 can take take the PADI Bubblemaker to try out scuba gear and swim around in a pool or confined water. The maximum depth is 2 metres. From here the kids can try the PADI Seal team and master seal team, which is a more extensive pool program for 8+ years. It includes practicing buoyancy, taking underwater photos and other basic scuba diving skills.
From 10 years old children can take the PADI Junior Open Water Diver course. It’s similar to the adult open water course, but with smaller teacher-student ratios and shallower depths. At 15 years old their junior open water diver certification is automatically transferred to the adult open water diver certificate. There are still restrictions to the depth that junior open water divers can dive to. For 10-11 years they cannot exceed 12m and must dive with either a PADI professional or certified guardian. At 12-14 years old they can dive to 18m and must dive with a certified adult.
So yes, if you have a child aged 8+ years it may be a good idea to get them started on a diving course. That way they can join in with some of the shallower dives with you too. It’s possible to take these course at different areas in the UK. However, if you don’t have time you can still consider booking a resort that has a PADI diving course available for the children.
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