Kungkungan Bay Resort

Overview

Kungkungan Bay Resort is an impressive and spacious resort occupying an enviable position overlooking the quiet and unique Lembeh Straits. KBR, as the resort is known locally, is a favourite with divers from around the world and is revisited by many of them year after year, retaining its unique local atmosphere and character.

The public areas are set out in an attractive open plan layout, with panoramic views over the water and a visit to KBR's Spa is not to be missed.

Clients can enjoy unlimited access to the resort's house reef during daylight hours from its on site dive centre and jetty.

Accommodation

Regaldive are able to offer Garden and Beach Front Cabins, which are very cost effective. Prices indicated are based on this room type, which is smaller than the other rooms, but comfortable.

In addition, the resort has 16 spacious and attractive en-suite rooms, within 3 categories. All have partial or direct sea view, with ceiling fan and air-conditioning.

• 8 Cottage Suites have a queen or queen twin beds, sitting room area, veranda and large shower room (one or two also have a bath tub). A couple of the cottage suites can take extra beds for 3 & 4 person occupancy.
• 3 Traditional Houses have mainly two queen sized beds (one has a queen and two singles) and shower room.
• 4 Beachfront Villas and 1 Hillside villa offer a king-size bed, open plan living area, spacious veranda and large bath/shower room.

All rooms have a mini bar, tea/coffee facilities, hairdryer and TV.

Other Facilities

There is an attractive restaurant with lovely views offering local and international choices, built over the water. The upper floor offers a bar, and there is an attractive pool with swim up bar. The resort also offers traditional Indonesian massage and treatments in their lovely spa.

Location

North East coast of North Sulawesi is 1½ hour drive from Manado and the airport. The dive centre and jetty is on site

Dive info

Volcanic and Dramatic

The dominating volcanic landscape creates a dramatic backdrop to the world class diving available in North Sulawesi. Conditions are generally calm all year round, and the deep waters afford excellent visibility averaging 25m. The seas are home to many unusual species, ranging from the prehistoric ‘coelacanth’ fish through to reef shark, green turtles, napoleon wrasse and dugongs. The majority of sites are easily accessible and they are rarely crowded. Manado is extremely popular with photographers, who relish the fascinating marine life, excellent conditions and facilities.

Diving in the region is concentrated over two areas: Bunaken National Marine Park and the Lembeh Straits.

Dive Bunaken National Marine Park

The Bunaken National Marine Park has won numerous international conservation awards and is home to the majority of the dive sites that are accessible from Tasik Ria, Minahasa Lagoon and Siladen Resort & Spa.

Most of the reefs of the Bunaken National Marine Park are rich and unspoilt, offering pristine and abundant soft coral and fish life in huge concentrations. The night diving in the park is spectacular, providing frequent encounters with rare nocturnal creatures. For a change of scenery, the Molas wreck is remarkably intact for a WWII ship, the bow resting at 25m and the propeller at 40m.

The Bunaken National Marine Park consists of five islands: Bunaken, Manado Tua, Nain, Montehage, and Siladen, as well as a part of the North Sulawesi mainland. Diving in and around Bunaken is predominantly wall diving and drift diving. There are also numerous beautiful coral slopes that are suitable for novice divers. There are 22 official dive sites within the park. The variety of both fish and soft coral is outstanding, and marks out this area as one of the most bio diverse marine environments in the world. With visibility around 25m and water temperature 26-30 C, this is an excellent destination for underwater photographers and naturalists alike.

Schools of Barracudas and Jacks, Green Sea Turtles and reef sharks, Sea snakes and Napoleon wrasses are among the resident inhabitants of these steep coral walls fringing Bunaken Island.

View Bunaken National Marine Park dive sites

Dive Lembeh Strait

The Lembeh Strait is world famous for its macro life. This is arguably one of the finest destinations in the world for macro and photography enthusiasts.

Lembeh plays host to a cornucopia of weird and wonderful creatures that are found here and here alone. Diving is over shallow black sandy slopes where seahorses and nudibranches are found in abundance. Many of the species that are encountered are simply not found elsewhere. Inimicus devilfish, dwarf lionfish, scorpion fish, puffer fish, mimic octopus, pegasus sea moths, frogfish, ribbon eels and flying gurnards to name but a few.

The Lembeh Strait is a unique dive destination and a haven for experienced divers who are looking for species that are unusual and rarely seen. The dive guides and instructors are extremely experienced in locating and identifying the many unusual species that are encountered in the Lembeh Strait.

View Lembeh Strait dive sites

twin centre Accommodation Options

Divers can easily combine stays between the resorts of Tasik Ria, Mercure Manado Tateli Beach Resort and Siladen Island on the Bunaken side, with Dive Into Lembeh, Eco Divers Resort Lembeh and Kungkungan Bay Resort on the Lembeh side.

Many guests alos opt to combine a liveabaord in Indonesia with a land based option in Manado. Please ask a member of the Regaldive team for more information.

Dive prices

Diving at Tasik Ria is with Tasik Ria Divers

Diving at Kungkungan Bay (KBR) is with Kungkungan Bay

Diving at Siladen Resort & Spa is with Siladen Resort & Spa

Diving at Mercure Manado Tateli Beach Resort is with Eco Divers Manado

Diving at Eco Divers Resort is with Eco Divers Lembeh

Diving at Dive into Lembeh Resort  is with Dive into Lembeh 

As there are a finite number of dive spaces available at these resorts, divers are highly recommended to prebook their diving, particularly if you require any courses or speciality dives. Please ask us about the 'All-Inclusive' dive packs available with the accommodation.

Photography at Tasik Ria and KBR

These centres have a worldwide reputation for the quality of their photographic training and services. The dedicated facilities are staffed by qualified photography instructors and technicians, providing guests with some of the best underwater photographic support to be found anywhere.

The centres provides slide film and digital processing, along with both rental and sale of cameras, lens and strobes. PADI photography speciality courses are available and photo seminars with guest lecturers are held regularly through the year. The local crew are experienced in handling cameras and carrying out maintenance and repairs. Slide scanning and saving to CD services are also provided.

If you want to hone your buoyancy & photographic skills, especially macro photography, this is an excellent place to do it.

Tasik Ria Divers

The dive centre at Tasik Ria is managed by the highly experienced team, the '2 'Daniels', part of the original Eco Divers team. The dive centre is a PADI Gold Palm IDC Centre offering fully guided diving from their three purpose built day boats, in addition to two large speedboats and a local style wooden boat.

Day trips are offered to Bunaken Park giving divers a variety of wall, macro and muck diving opportunities. The centre also offer a range of courses taught in various languages by their highly qualified team of PADI and in-house trained NAUI instructors.

The 3 purpose built 16m dive boats have large dive platform plus full safety and navigation equipment. Each boat has a covered dining area, large sun deck, WC and can take 15 guests comfortably.

The centre offers a diver / guide ratio of 4:1 whenever possible, giving great personal service across all dive experience levels and abilities. It can also organise special day trips to dive the Lembeh straits' fabulous muck diving sites. For learner divers looking to take their first steps or gain more experience in a more far flung corner of the work, Tasik Ria offers this chance.

Click here to view a map of Bunaken and Manado dive sites

Snorkellers / Non Divers

Full day's boat trip: £31
Includes lunch, refreshments and local 11% tax

Children on Boat

Under supervision of their parent/guardian at all times:
0 - 2 years: Not permitted
3 - 10 years: $20
11+ yrs: As adult price

Dive Packs

These prices apply if booking your diving separate to that of your accommodation, if you do NOT want to dive everyday of your stay. The price panels under the individual resorts also offer you the great value option of booking your accommodation inclusive of your diving.

4 days boat diving*	£313
5 days boat diving*	£386
6 days boat diving*	£459
7 days boat diving*	£533

* Includes: Up to 3 guided boat dives a day, air tanks, weights, lunch, refreshments and 21% local sales tax.

Day trip to Lembeh Straits: £98pp. If day diving is prebooked the supplement is $45 approx + Lembeh Strait fee Rp. 50,000 ($6) using a prebook day.

Dive Courses

PADI Scuba Diver Course	£215
PADI Open Water Course	£332
PADI Advanced Course	£268

Includes: Dive equipment for learn to dive courses, manual (see exceptions to manual*) and certification fee. *Scuba Diver, Open Water Referral, individual Adventure Dives. 

* Includes study pack and certification fee. No dives included, but client will receive 50% off any Nitrox fills they purchase post course completion in resort.

Extras in Resort

• Night dive: $45
• Snorkeller/Non-diver full day boat trip including lunch:  $39
• Bunaken Marine Park fee:
  Per visit: IDR 50,000 or $6
  Per calendar year: IDR 150,000 or $18
• Lembeh Straits: On prepaid diving day $45 approx + Lembeh Strait fee Rp. 50,000 ($6)

Equipment Rental - pay locally:

• Full equipment: $30 per day
• Regulator: $10 per day
• BCD: $8 per day
• Wetsuits: $6 per day
• Masks, fins, boots: $5 each
• Computer: $5 per day
• Torch: $8 per day

Local sales tax payable in resort:
Sales tax:  11%

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Kungkungan Bay Resort Divers

The expertly run PADI dive centre at “KBR” is based around 'muck' diving and the area's extraordinary variety of macro life, hiding in the black sandy slopes and stunning coral heads.

A maximum group size of just 4 guests per guide is provided, to allow plenty of space for photographers and a gentle pace of diving. The dive centre have a fleet of fast speedboats allowing access to all 56 dive sites from the resort's own jetty, all within a 15 minutes radius.

The resorts guides have finely tuned vision to spot a dive site's rare critters, finding camouflaged and elusive creatures where you swear there are none! The dedicated dive team, headed up by Stefan Soh, will look after your equipment, rinse it down after a days diving and store it for you in a security watched area. At the end of the week the centre will wash and dry your equipment ready to take home. 

Group Offers

1 free in 10 on accomodation & diving - conditions apply

Dive Packs

These prices apply if booking your diving separate to that of your accommodation, if you do NOT want to dive everyday of your stay. The price panels under the individual resorts also offer you the great value option of booking your accommodation inclusive of your diving.

4 Boat dives	£153
6 Boat dives	£229
8 Boat dives	£305
10 Boat dives	£381
12 Boat dives	£450
4 House reef dives	£95
6 House reef dives	£143

Includes: Boat dives, air tanks, weights, guide and local taxes at 21%.

Dive Courses

PADI Scuba Diver Course	£315
PADI Open Water Course	£472
PADI Referral (4 dives)	£219
PADI Advanced Course	£381

Includes: Dive equipment for learn-to-dive courses, manual and certification fee.

Extras in Resort

• Night Dive: $50
• Lembeh Strait fee: Rp. 50,000 (approx.$6)

Equipment Rental - paid locally per day:

• Full equipment: $46 per day
• Regulator: $17 per day
• Computer: $17
• BCD: $12 per day
• Wetsuits: $12
• Mask: $8
• Fins: $8
• Boots: $8
• Torch: $12

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Siladen Resort & Spa Dive Centre

Siladen Resort & Spa's PADI dive centre operates exclusively to guests staying at Siladen Resort and Spa. Running a professional and small, friendly outfit, they place high emphasis on protection of the national marine park and its environment.

The multi-lingual dive centre operates with a maximum of 5 divers to each guide and offers an intro dive to non-divers free of charge if staying 7 nights or more. It has access to 50 excellent dive sites and special trips on request to Lembeh, Bangka & Popo. Night dives are offered every night.

There are no shore dive sites available; the diving is operated from 3 traditional Indonesian style vessels with a maximum of 8 to 12 guests per boat.

It is compulsory to dive with a dive computer in resort. Each diver must have their own computer.

Diving with knives and gloves is not permitted in the Bunaken National Marine Park.

Dive Packs

We recommend you pre-book your dive packs with Regaldive prior to departure in order to secure your diving benefit from slightly lower rates than you will pay in resort. Pre-booked rates include the locally charged 21% government and service taxes.

Dive Pack Prices (Air)

6 boat dives	£225
11 boat dives	£413
15 boat dives	£532
20 boat dives	£710
25 boat dives	£887

Includes: Guided boat dives with air tanks, weights, weight belts, refreshments and local 21% government sales and service tax.

Dive Pack Prices (Nitrox)

6 boat dives	£257
11 boat dives	£471
15 boat dives	£595
20 boat dives	£793
25 boat dives	£991

Includes: Guided boat dives with Nitrox, weights, weight belts, refreshments and local 21% government sales and service tax.

Dive Courses

A variety of PADI courses are available on request in resort.

Extras in Resort

• Nitrox: €6 per fill
• Special trips to Lembeh, Bangka and Popo on request

Equipment Rental:

The resort carries 100 x 12 litre aluminium tanks with INT and DIN valves along with smaller tanks for children. DIN Adapters are also available.

Equipment Rental Prices per dive:

• Full diving equipment (6 dives or more per day): €16
• Fins, Mask, Snorkel: €5
• Boots: €5
• BCD: €5
• Regulator: €5
• Wetsuit: €5
• Computer: €3.50
• Torch: €5

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Eco Divers Manado

Based at the beautiful Mercure Manado Tateli Beach Resort, Eco Divers offers its renowned personal diving and snorkelling services. A maximum group size of just 4 guests per guide is attained whenever possible, to allow plenty of space for photographers and a gentle pace of diving and the dive centre is kitted out with a dedicated camera room and well-designed jetty.

Eco Divers Manado have purpose built dive boats with modern facilities in traditional style, equipped with toilet, rinse tanks and sundecks. Small groups of 8 divers are taken out for 2 morning dives and a leisurely afternoon dive if you have booked that option. A variety of speciality and further dive education courses are also available in addition to those listed below.

Dive Packs

We recommend you pre-book your dive packs with Regaldive prior to departure in order to secure your diving benefit from slightly lower rates than you will pay in resort. Pre-booked rates include the locally charged 21% government and service taxes.

Morning Dive: Up to 2 guided morning boat dives, tanks & weights - £70 per day
Full Day Dive Trip: Up to 3 guided boat divest, tanks & weights - £94 per day

Book a 7 night hotel stay with 6 days diving and SAVE upto £100 per person from the standard prices.

Group Offers

• 1 free in 10 on accomodation & diving - conditions apply, please enquire

Extras in Resort

• Bunaken Marine Park fee:
  Per visit: IDR 50,000
  Per calendar year: IDR 150,000

Equipment Rental guideline prices - EURO per dive - paid locally:

• Full equipment (Regulator, BCD, Wetsuit, Mask and Fins): €9 for 1 dive, €27 for 24 hours.
• Regulator: €7
• Computer: €5
• BCD: €5
• Wetsuit: €5
• Mask: €4
• Fins (and boots as required): €4
• Torch: €5

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Eco Divers Resort Lembeh

Well established in Manado, Sulawesi, Eco Divers Resort Lembeh offers a small, professionally run dive experience. Divers join the boat Nautica, 15 minutes drive from the Eco Divers Resort. Nautica is your floating base during the day, taking you from site to site. Nautica offers a shaded salon, two toilets, shower, tea and coffee facilities and a large sundeck. A hot buffet lunch is served on-board each day.

Dives are conducted from 2 speedboats, with jump gate for ease of entry / exit and steel ladder. Each boat takes 8 divers and has tank racks and a seated dive deck. Wherever possible, a ratio of 4:1 divers: guide ratio is aimed for. Guests may charge their cameras or bring their laptop onto the boat as an onboard generator is available.

Dive Packs

These prices apply if booking your diving separate to that of your accommodation, if you do NOT want to dive everyday of your stay. The price panels under the individual resorts also offer you the great value option of booking your accommodation inclusive of your diving.

3 days boat diving*	£280
6 days boat diving*	£560
10 days boat diving*	£934
15 days boat diving*	£1400

* Includes: Up to 3 guided boat dives a day, air tanks, weights and local sales tax.

Dive Courses

A range of PADI and CMAS learner diver, further training and speciality courses are available, please enquire.

Extras in Resort (pay locally)

Nitrox fill: €5 per fill
Night Dive: €45 per dive
Snorkeller: €35 per trip

Equipment Rental guideline prices - EURO per dive - paid locally:

• Full equipment (Regulator, BCD, Wetsuit, Mask and Fins): €8 for 1 dive, €30 for 24 hours.
• Regulator: €8
• Computer: €6
• BCD: €6
• Wetsuit: €6
• Mask: €4
• Fins (and boots as required): €4
• Torch: €4

 

Dive into Lembeh

The Lembeh Strait has long been established as one of the best macro diving spots on the planet. Although famous for its “muck diving “ on black volcanic slopes the area also boasts some wonderful coral dive sites, including the housereef at Lembeh Resprt.  

Dive into Lembeh schedule 3 day dives per day on twin engine fiberglass dive boats to a choice of more than 60 dive spots in the Lembeh Strait. After every dive the boats return back to the resort so you can enjoy your surface interval by the swimming pool or make any adjustments to your camera before your next dive.

A night dive by boat is available daily, providing there is a a minimum of two people. 

If you have booked a diving package (starting from four nights with three days diving), then we FREE access to our two world famous house reef dive sites (“Hairball” and “Aw Shucks”) from 07:30 AM – 18.00 PM.

The fully equipped dive center has a spacious camera room and dedicated camera rinse tanks. There is also a guest dive gear locker room, with gear rinse tanks and showers for after the dive. The dive guides are trained in camera handling and are specialised in working in Lembeh’s unique underwater environment.

Extras in Resort (pay locally)

• Nitrox fill: $7 per tank, $20 per day
• Night Dive: $45 per dive

Equipment Rental guideline prices - paid locally:

• Full equipment (Regulator, BCD, Wetsuit, Mask and Fins): $15 per dive, $30 per day
• Regulator: $8
• Computer: $6
• BCD: $7
• Wetsuit: $7
• Mask and Snorkel: $4
• Fins (full foot only): $4
• Torch: $10

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Resort info

Manado is easily reached via Singapore with a connection flight time of around 3.5 hours, into Manado International airport. There are 4 connections per week to/from Singapore - Manado and daily flights to Singapore from the UK.

Flights may also be available with Etihad, Emirates and Gulf Air, with separate ticket Jakarta - Manado with LionAir.

Getting Around

Anyone booking the full package through Regaldive will receive local supplier assistance from the moment they exit customs at the airport, and all our packages include land and boat transfer where applicable, unless otherwise requested.

Taxis are readily available, but it is recommended that you seek assistance from reception at your local place of stay for any additional travel and excursion arrangements you may wish to make in situ.

Climate

You can enjoy fine diving year round in Manado.  Located just above the equator, temperatures remain constant throughout the year with highs near 33°C and lows that rarely fall below 27°C.  Humidity may be high during the rainy season.  The water temperature ranges between 27°C and 29°C.

The sunniest season is from April to November.  It does rain through out the year, with rainfall rising between December and March. Showers tend to be brief and heavy.

If you are looking to enjoy some rainforest walks or white water rafting, it is better to travel in the rainy season (but again it is year-round) because that is when the forest and highlands are watered and are at their most lush.

In Water Protection

We suggest a 3mm or 5mm full suit (or dive-skin for those who do not feel the cold) for divers and snorkellers, to protect against any stinging hydroids.

Land Clothing

It is normally shorts and T-shirts by day (even if it rains, because it is warm tropical rain) in resort.  The night time dress code is light and casual.  If you are venturing any further, we recommend more modest dress with loose fitting clothing.

Time

Manado is +7-8 hours ahead of GMT depending on summer/winter time in UK

Languages

The official language spoken is Indonesian.  English is widely spoken.

Currency

Indonesian Rupiah (IDR). Approximate rates:
£1 = 18,918 IDR
€1 = 16,750 IDR
$1 = 13,653 IDR

All resorts accept Rupiah, Euro and US Dollars. Exchange rates are usually published every day at the reception.  Visa and Mastercard are also accepted in all the resorts but may incur a local bank charge and card transactions are billed in Rupiah.  British Pounds are not accepted in Manado. The most useful currency to take is the US Dollar.

You can withdraw cash in Rupiah from the ATMs at the local banks, provided you have your PIN number with you.  Also, if you make it to town before 2pm, you can draw up to Rp 3,000,000 on a Visa card or Mastercard inside the banks (you must present your passport with your credit card).

It is not possible to use travellers' cheques in local shops, dive centres and resorts. Travellers' cheques can only be cashed in the bank by the owner of the cheque, with a form of photo I.D.

Tipping

Although entirely voluntary, tipping is a recognised part of life in this region of the world.  Some local staff look to guests for personal recognition of particular services offered.

Electricity

220 volt electricity with standard European round pin electricity plugs.

Activities

Manado is the regional capital of North Sulawesi and serves as an ideal base to explore this area of outstanding natural beauty. Trek to the Kali Waterfall and the "Tangkoko" rainforest where the world's smallest primate, the Tarsier monkey, lives. You can climb a volcano or take to white-water rafting. Then there's the geography of the area including paddy fields, spice plantations and markets. Excursions are available from all the resorts.

Night Life in Manado

Should you wish to try the local cuisine in town one night, you can reach Manado town from Tasik Ria Resort in around 30 minutes by taxi. These can be easily ordered through the hotel reception and cost about US$6 each way. Manado's "Warung" restaurants offer excellent seafood, Asian and (some) western food cuisine. Eating out is extremely cheap, with most meals costing only around US$5. After dining, there is a reasonable but limited nightlife - a few good bars with live bands playing most nights; you can also shop at night for clothes and snacks.

Guests at both Siladen Resort & Spa and KBR are more limited in outside evening activities due to their location. Guests staying in Eco Divers Resort Lembeh are based in Bitung town.

Travel info

Flight Information

Flights with Singapore are with Singapore airlines, via Singapore into Manado International airport. There are currently 4 connections per week to and from Singapore to Manado. Flights from London Heathrow to Singapore are daily.

Flights may also be available with Etihad, Emirates and Garuda Airlines with an onward flight to Manado with LionAir.

Flight duration:
London - Singapore 12 hours and 40 min
Singapore - Manado 3 hours and 35 minutes.

Passports

Passengers travelling to Manado should have minimum six months valid on their passport from the date of return to the UK, plus one full page free. Hotel receptions may be required to take a photocopy of your passport for registration purposes.

Visas

British nationals travelling to Indonesia can enter the country without a visa for up to 30 days at certain airports' Immigration Check Points: Soekarno-Hatta Jakarta ( CGK ), Ngurah Rai - Bali (DPS), Kualanamu, Medan (KNO), Juanda - Surabaya (SUB), Hang Nadim - Batam (BTH).

You won’t be able to extend your stay beyond 30 days if you enter under this visa waiver scheme. Entry via Manado and certain other entry points is still subject to a visa on arrival at a cost of $35 (30 day visa) and $15 (7 day visa). Please note that visitors must purchase a visa if their ultimate destination is not one of those listed above e.g. guests going to Manado.

For further information about entry requirements, visit the website of the Indonesian Embassy in London or your nearest Indonesian embassy.

Vaccinations

There are no compulsory vaccinations for travel to Manado, although we recommend protection against typhoid, tetanus, hepatitis A and polio. Vaccination requirements are subject to change and should be confirmed before departure with your GP or local travel clinic. There are plenty of chemists and dentists in Manado and the general hospital has a good recompression chamber. Further information on vaccinations for travel to this country can be found at www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk and from your local healthcare provider.

Prices

The price panel below includes: Flights, transfers and 7 nights accommodation on full-board basis in a Garden View Cabin.

Many guests opt to book a package that includes the accommodation and diving. Based on staying in a Garden View Cabin or Beach Front Cabin, 2 dives a day are provided. If you opt for the more superior room options, 3 dives per day are provided.

Regaldive are able to offer both shorter and longer holiday durations, subject to flight availability. Regional airports may also be available. Please enquire with a member of our team.

Prices are subject to change, depending on flight cost at the time of booking.

Supplements

• Beachfront Cabin Room: from £8 per person per night
• Beachfront Cottage Suite: from £65 per person per night
• Traditional House:  from £75 per person per night
• Beachfront villa / Hillside villa:   Please request a quote
• Singapore stopovers:  from £42 per person

Special offer:  Book 7 nights accommodation and 6 days diving & SAVE up to £144 per person. 

POA = Price on Application

Offers

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