Crystal Bay, Nusa Penida

Verified2026-09-11 checkedReefDriftPelagic

Cold upwellings bring mola mola to a bay that looks like an easy shore dive and is not.

Depth: 5–40 m16–131 ft
Difficulty: Advanced
Entry: Boat
Typical current: Strong
Coordinates: 8°43.248′S 115°28.248′E
Activities: Scuba

Crystal Bay is the most dangerous site in Bali and the one most often dived by people who should not be there. The bay itself is calm and shallow; the channel outside it runs hard, and downcurrents on the western point have killed divers. Between July and October the cold water that causes them also brings mola mola up from depth to be cleaned, which is why people accept the risk. Dive it with an operator who reads the tide and be prepared to be told no.

Fast boat from Sanur to Nusa Penida, then by road or dive boat to the bay.

Best season

ExcellentJul–Sep
GoodOct
FairNov–Jun

Before you get in

Past 30 m, where no-stop time and gas both go quickly and nitrogen narcosis starts to show.
Recorded as a site with strong current. Settle your gas reserve, when you would call the dive, and your surface signal before you get in.
A drift dive: you do not come back to where you went in, so boat pickup and an SMB are part of the plan rather than extras.

Taken from this site’s recorded depth, type and current, and nothing else. An empty list is not a safe site — the sea on the day, the local geography and the boat traffic are not in it. The briefing on the spot comes first.

Conditions

Water temperature: 26.4°C80°F
Wave height: 1.7 m6 ft
Air temperature: 24.3°C76°F
Wind speed: 3.4 km/h2.1 mph

Updated 2026-10-07 16:15 UTC · Source: Open-Meteo

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0)

Conditions are reported for information only. Assess the site yourself and follow your guide and your training.

No live conditions for this site yet.

We only show numbers we can attribute to a source.

Sea state and tide

On a date

Tide · 10/8

Low02:02-0.27 m
High07:560.88 m
Low14:20-0.56 m

Forecast heights against mean sea level. Real tides in a bay, a harbour or over a flat can differ — check an official tide table before you get in.

Pick a day to see its tide

Only wave height and wind are scored, because those are what close a boat ramp or a shore entry. Water temperature is reported and never scored: 12°C is an ordinary dive in a drysuit and punishing in a 3 mm, and a number that cannot see your suit has no business marking it down. Stars do not decide whether you get in — you and your guide do, on the day.

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0)

Marine life you may see

Ocean sunfishMola alexandriniJul–OctSeasonal
Green turtleChelonia mydasCommon
Bumphead parrotfishBolbometopon muricatumSeasonal
Bluespotted ribbontail rayTaeniura lymmaCommon
Whitetip reef sharkTriaenodon obesusSeasonal
TrumpetfishAulostomus chinensisCommon
Moorish idolZanclus cornutusCommon
Emperor angelfishPomacanthus imperatorCommon

From divers

What people who were in the water reported. Not a forecast, and not a judgement about whether the site is safe to dive.

No recent reports from divers. If you dived here in the last two weeks, you can say how it was.

How divers rate this site

Nobody has rated this site yet.

Log a dive here and you can be the first.

Log a dive here

Rating is open to divers who have logged a dive here.

Who is going

Nobody has planned a dive here yet.

Somebody reading this page is the most likely person in the world to organise one.

Create a plan

Dive shops here

How we check

No dive shop has claimed this site yet.

Be the first shop to join BubbleSong Diving World.