Sulawesi is one of the five main islands of Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago with over 17,000 islands spanning over 5,000km (3,200 miles) eastward from northern Sumatra. Formerly named Celebes, Sulawesi sprawls in the center of the country. The very bizarre shape of the island is its character, with an incredible diversity of people, cultures and landscapes spread across its length and breadth.

Nowhere in Sulawesi is much more than 100km from the sea, though an almost complete covering of mountains isolated its four separate peninsulas from one another, and made them difficult to penetrate individually. The strange outline resulted in a delightful pot pouring of people and numerous natural and cultural attractions, including such diverse draws as ancient megaliths, bug-eyed tarsiers and stunning sceneries of volcanoes and rice fields.

Lembeh Strait’s 40+ dive sites range in depth from 2 to 40 meters (7 to 131ft). Diving is great all year round but the conditions vary from month to month. For example, August is an excellent month for critter sighting, but the visibility is poor. September and October are the best months overall. The visibility is usually between 5 and 20m (16-66ft), with an average of 12m (40ft). It takes less than 25 minutes to reach dive spots.
Because of their depth and reasonable currents, most dive sites are accessible to Padi Open Water certified divers (or equivalent).

Lembeh is recognized as the world Mecca for critter and muck diving. Muck diving refers to diving that takes place in areas where the underwater scenery is not beautiful (sandy slopes, zones of rubble patches…). If you are looking for fantastic drop-offs covered with corals and turtles all around, Lembeh might not be for you! Many sites are typical muck dives on black volcanic or white sand slopes, or on rubbles, but the strait also has shipwrecks, pinnacles, colorful coral gardens, and mandarin sites. Each particular habitat supports a different set of marine organisms, and that is what makes Lembeh Strait so unique.

The diversity of marine life that populates the strait is incredible and the endless list of critters keeps growing as new species are discovered regularly. Many are beautiful, some are ugly, others are so small or so well camouflaged that they can barely be spotted, and most are extremely rare or endemic. For sure all of them are very bizarre and photogenic, making Lembeh the ultimate experience for photographers in search of the unusual and unseen. Dive guides are experts at spotting critters and the guest-to-guide ratio is maximum 4 to 1, providing ideal conditions to observe the underwater fauna.

The list of critters you are likely to encounter includes frogfish (clown, giant, hairy, warty…), octopus (mimic, blue-ringed, wonderpus, hairy…), cuttlefish (flamboyant, pygmy...), shrimps (mantis, harlequin, imperial, crinoid, bubble coral…), squat lobsters, crabs (calappa, boxer, Retusa decorator, orang-utan…), scorpion-fish (Ambon, leaf, devil, Rhinopias…), and also ornate and robust ghost pipe-fish, seahorses and pygmy seahorses, snake eels, Pegasus, Mandarin fishes, etc……………………

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Bastianos Dive Center is located right on Bastianos Resort’s rocky beach, less than a minute away from all accommodations. It operates 3 custom-built wooden dive boats, powered by twin 40hp Yamaha engines. All boats are fitted with first-aid kits and medical oxygen.

All dive guides are experts at identifying the smallest and rarest critters that populate the waters of Lembeh Strait. The maximum number of divers on a dive guide is 4.

There is also a brand new camera room with 9 workstations – each equipped with power sockets, drawers, lights and chairs.

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In addition to your documents related to your repatriation insurance (and for divers: your logbook, dive certification card and a medical clearance for scuba diving), you will need:

• your passport, which must be valid for a minimum of six months beyond intended date of entry into Indonesia
• a visa, which, for nationals of most countries, can be purchased on arrival. Please make sure you have one entire blank page for the placement of your visa (we made the mistake and paid the price...).

At the time of research (you may double-check with your local Indonesian Embassy for updates to the visa policy):

• nationals of the following 11 countries and territories were eligible for a "Visa Free" facility for a visit of up to 30 days: Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Morocco, Chile and Peru.
• nationals of the following countries and territories could obtain a “Visa On Arrival” processed at the gate of entry following the payment of a USD 25 (for a 30 day visa): Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherland, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Panama, People's Republic of China, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Surinam, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America.

Citizens of countries not included on the above lists must apply for a visa overseas before arriving in Indonesia.

The visa on arrival facility will only be available at the following international airports: Medan, Pekanbaru, Padang, Soekarno-Hatta (Jakarta), Halim Perdana Kusuma (Jakarta), Surabaya, Bali, Manado, Yogyakarta, Solo, Mataram (Lombok), Balikpapan, Makassar, Kupang.

• sun cream
• mosquito repellent
• adaptor-plugs
• a flashlight, which might be helpful to find your way back home at night
• batteries

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No vaccination is required to enter Indonesia. The only vaccine required by international regulations is yellow fever. Proof of vaccination will only be required if you have visited a country in the yellow-fever zone within the six days prior to entering Southeast Asia.
Travelers to Southeast Asia should be up to date with vaccinations against polio, tetanus and diphtheria. You may also consider a hepatitis A shot.

The risk of contracting malaria is low in most parts of North Sulawesi. If you plan to travel overland throughout the region and in other provinces of Sulawesi, the risk is significantly higher and you may see a physician for further advice and precautions. There are also cases of dengue fever. The best solution is to not get bitten: always have insect repellant (those purchased in pharmacies are usually the most efficient) and wear clothes with long sleeves during evenings.

Full medical insurance, including medical evacuation outside of your country of residence, is mandatory. We also recommend scuba divers to ensure their personal insurance covers dive related injuries. Should you consider becoming a member of DAN Asia-Pacific, please click here

North Sulawesi is usually safe and miles away from conflicts. In addition, Lembeh Island is fairly remote and chances are you will spend most of your time within your resort’s facilities. However, the general rule of not showing off your wealth is advisable and usual travel precautions apply, such as restraining your urge to go wandering around seedy areas alone late at night and not leaving valuables or important documents unattended.

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