The Enchantment of the Beauty of Bunaken Marine Park, Manado, Indonesia
Bunaken National Park is a favorite of tourists who visit Manado to see the beauty of the sea corals. Bunaken is an island at the mouth of Manado Bay, along with Manadotua Island, Siladen Island, Mantehage Island, and Naen Island to form the Bunaken National Park cluster.
This National Park marine biodiversity is one of the highest in the world with 90 species of fish and 390 types of coral reefs scattered on the seabed and various marine mammals, mollusks, and mangroves.
Bunaken National Park was inaugurated in 1991 after previously conducted research by marine experts on underwater beauty.
The government has registered Bunaken to become a UNESCO world heritage site in 2005 but has not received a response until now.
The area of Bunaken island itself is about 8 km2 and serves as a transit point for diving. The tourists who want to dive or snorkel can change costumes on this island because there are places to rent equipment for diving.
The facilities available are quite complete, from toilets to restaurants and there are several resorts to stay. To get to Bunaken we have to rent a boat for a group with a load of about 15-20 people from the Marina port or Bersehati market.
So if you want to save money, you have to find another group or join the trip because the rent is calculated per ship, not per person. Usually, boats to Bunaken provide glass under the boat, making it easier for those who don't like to swim and dive to see coral reefs and fish roaming the seabed.
If you are not satisfied with the view in the glass, you can rent diving equipment at an additional cost, ranging from around 300-400 thousand rupiah including photos on the seabed and guide services.
Bunaken is a paradise for divers who are curious about its underwater biodiversity.
There are about 12 dive points along the coast of Bunaken out of a total of 40 dive points throughout Bunaken National Park. Usually, the guide will direct the most interesting spots for photos.
For those who don't like diving, you don't need to worry because you can do other activities such as swimming on the beach or perched at a coffee shop while enjoying the views of the sea and mountains on the island of Manado Tua.
In addition, so you don't get bored, you can go around the island because the island is not too big and can be reached on foot.
You can also see the seabed from the ship, although it is not satisfactory because it is limited by the glass. Visiting time should start in the morning around 8 to 9 to avoid the hot weather.
Then the ship crossed for about 40-60 minutes while looking at the seabed from the glass mounted on the hull.
After that, the ship docked at the pier and those who want to dive can change costumes first. Diving time ranges from 1-2 hours depending on how satisfied you are to see the underwater scenery.
At lunchtime all activities including diving are finished. Just choose whether to have lunch at Bunaken or return to Manado.
You can continue until the afternoon or stay overnight, with the consequence that the boat rental fee increases if it exceeds the day. If you are satisfied enough, you should have lunch in Manado because there are more variations than in Bunaken.