Pure Dive Resort

13/05/2026

One quite often needs that second look to see what is hiding in plain sight while diving Nusa Penida.

At first glance, you might only see a vibrant reef sponge, but look closer. This giant frogfish has spent days perfectly positioned to blend into its environment, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The biggest myth about these predators is that they are slow. While they rarely move, their strike is one of the fastest in the animal kingdom, occurring in milliseconds.

The Antennarius commerson - or Giant Frogfish - is a master of mimicry, often adopting the color and texture of the surrounding sponges to remain invisible to prey. They use a modified dorsal fin spine known as an illicium, topped with a fleshy esca (lure), to draw in unsuspecting fish.

📷 .addict

12/05/2026

https://youtube.com/shorts/zgXJJPTgD3M?si=lTlR1vbr_9ksvLKX

While diving Nusa Penida offers a window into this complex world, the dynamic nature of these waters requires a specialized approach. If done wrong, the conf...

12/05/2026

Scuba diving Nusa Penida’s South coast sometimes offers the rare opportunity to see one of the ocean’s most intricate and mesmerizing courtship displays.

This is the famous “manta train,” an incredible courtship behavior where multiple males closely follow a single female in a synchronized, high-speed dance.

Manta Ray exhibits this “manta train” behavior as a rigorous test of endurance. The female leads the train, testing the fitness of the pursuing males through rapid speed changes, tight turns, and complex maneuvers.

So what are the best diving spots for finding manta rays? For the highest chances, we take our guests to Manta Point, Labyrinth, and Manta Bay. If you are wondering about the best time of the year for manta ray encounters while scuba diving, the great news is that manta rays are residents here. The possibility to see them depends entirely on the swell and tide - strict safety considerations we always take into account while planning a dive trip to these exposed sites.

Can manta rays be seen around other dive sites? Yes, occasionally you can spot a manta ray at any dive site around Nusa Penida, though these sightings are quite rare and random.

📷 .addict

12/05/2026

School of blue-striped snappers at the shallow reef, Sental dive site, Nusa Penida.

📷 .addict

10/05/2026

https://youtube.com/shorts/KS4krVu94wM?si=Sgc0kpmABTUTRPvS

The Giant Frogfish - Antennarius commerson - is a master of aggressive mimicry, often found perfectly integrated into the reef structures of Indonesia. This ...

10/05/2026

Stunning contrast of marine life, from the brightest colors to the best camouflage in the area - all of that is diving in Nusa Penida and Bali waters.

We are indeed famous for our giants, but the true health of our Marine Protected Area is seen in the smallest details, from vibrant sea slugs to masters of disguise hidden in the sand.

Divers often ask us about the best time to dive in Nusa Penida. The answer is: the whole year, depending on your preferences! The Indonesian Throughflow ensures a constant supply of nutrients, meaning there is always incredible life to see, regardless of the season.

How much time would a keen scuba diver need to cover all the bases one might ask?

Ideally, we recommend 6 days of diving to experience everything from the deep walls to the sandy slopes, though it can be done in 5 if we don’t revisit sites.

📷 .addict

08/05/2026

Watching the methodical hunter while diving the reefs of Nusa Penida.
This is a Banded Sea Krait on a mission, carefully inspecting every nook and cranny of the coral for its next meal.
This sea snake is an amphibious species, meaning it must return to land to digest its food and lay eggs. They possess a highly potent neurotoxic venom, specifically evolved to paralyze their primary prey: eels. Because they are air-breathers, you will often see them transition from these deep crevice checks to a graceful ascent toward the surface.

📷 .addict

07/05/2026

Though scuba diving in Nusa Penida is mostly known for manta rays and mola-mola as well as great drift dives - we do have some shark encounters here as well.
So what is the best way to see sharks during you diving holiday? The secret is consistency. To have the best chances, we recommend a 2 - 4 day diving window with 2 - 3 dives per day across different dive sites. This allows us to explore the full range of habitats in the MPA.
For the Whitetip Reef Sharkfeatured in these images, we often head to Crystal Bay, Gamat, or Blue Corner. For Brownbanded Bamboo Shark or the Tasselled Wobbegong - Manta Point and Manta Bay might be excellent choices. For quite rate though still possible Pelagic Thresher Shark we scan the blue at Sental or Puramasgading, where we also occasionally find baby whitetips. Our eastern sites from Sampalan to Malibu offer chances for threshers and whitetips, and we occasionally visit Tepekong and Biaha in South East Bali specifically for their resident whitetip populations.

📷 .addict

06/05/2026

Nusa Penida scuba diving - watch the most intimate routines of the ocean’s giants.
This is the moment a manta ray rises from the deep, heading toward the shallow reef plateaus to visit a cleaning station.
The Mobula alfredi (Reef Manta Ray) visits these specific shallow sites to interact with Labroides dimidiatus (Bluestreak cleaner wrasse). This symbiotic relationship is essential for the ray, as the wrasse removes parasites and dead tissue, while the wrasse gains a consistent food source.
When is the best time to come diving Nusa Penida to have a chance to see this?
Well, manta rays are around the whole year. When the ocean conditions (swell and wind) allow us to safely get to the Southern dive sites - chances to see the giants are really good.

📷 .addict

04/05/2026

Seeing a sea turtle while diving Nusa Penida is a normal occurrence, yet every time it is an exciting and memorable moment.
Reefs around the island, especially along the North and East coasts are a perfect habitat for hawksbill and green turtles.
Hawksbills are being our favorites as most of the tike they don’t us divers at all!

📷 .addict

04/05/2026

https://youtube.com/shorts/cHzRgvgBCJA?si=5QsWdS8d4iJdtKYx

11 likes. "Evolution in action: watch the hunting strategies and of the Banded Sea Krait in Nusa Penida."