Siladen Resort & Spa — Boutique Dive Resort in Bunaken Marine Park

Siladen Resort & Spa is a boutique dive resort on the small island of Siladen, inside Bunaken National Marine Park, about 90 minutes from Manado airport by car and boat with transfers included. Guests stay in private villas, from garden-view villas to two-bedroom beach-view villas, and the resort has a spa and a sister property, Coral Eye, on Bangka Island.

Bunaken is best known for sheer coral walls, healthy turtle populations (ten or more on a dive is not unusual), Napoleon wrasse, giant trevally and resident reef sharks, as well as pygmy seahorses, ornate ghost pipefish and blue-ringed octopus. Visibility averages around 30 metres on the walls and the water stays near 28°C all year.

Diving is by boat only, because of the currents, with two dives in the morning and one in the afternoon, dusk and night dives on request, current checks before every entry and a maximum of four divers per guide. The dive centre teaches PADI and SSI courses in English, German, Italian and Spanish, from Discover Scuba and Open Water through Advanced, Nitrox, Rescue and Divemaster, plus an INON underwater photo course, and rents Scubapro and Mares equipment, dive computers and torches.

Siladen does not publish diving prices online; contact the resort for current rates and packages.