SERAYA
Where: Two hours by road from Sanur, just a few minutes south of Tulamben.
Highlights: Macro subjects
Conditions: Dived from the shore. Usually no currents, though the full moon can bring big waves making for a hazardous shore entry.
Discovered within the last 5 years, this site has taken over from Secret Bay as the best macro site in Bali. It's also more conveniently located than Secret Bay and can be dived as a day trip from the resorts in South Bali (Sanur, Kuta, Nusa Dua, Ubud). There is one large dive site directly in front of the resort, and to the right and it will take a number of dives to cover this area.
Within a small area guides can spot Harlequin Shrimps, Frogfish (of various colours), Pipefish, Decorator Crabs, Spider Crabs, Boxer Crabs, Hermit Crabs, Comensal Shrimps, a wide variety of Nudibranchs, Squat Lobsters, juvenile Lionfish, juvenile and adult Morays, Seahorses (Thorny and Common), juvenile Cuttlefish and Dragonet.
There is also less commonly dived healthy reef a few hundred meters from the macro diving area. This reef is best dived by boat because the stronger currents at tidal changes sometimes make this a gentle drift dive.