Muck
down to 20 m
Aer Bajo
Gentle slopes with scattered debris and coral patches that provide habitat for mimic octopus and hairy frogfish.
- Open Water
- Frogfish
Lembeh Strait
Diving in Indonesia
17 documented dive sites, 1 of them for Open Water divers. Known for blue-ringed octopus, crustaceans and cuttlefish.
- Best months
- Aug–Dec
- Water
- 25–29 °C
- Levels
- Open Water, Advanced, Experienced
- Diving from
- Dive resorts
- Nearest airport
- MDC
When to go
Pick a month: the diving season, from published sources, and the typical weather.
Pick a month
- Best
- Good
- Possible
- Closed
- Not documented yet
Lembeh Strait in October
Best season- Sea
- 30 °C
- at the surface
- Air
- 30 °C
- 25 °C at night
- Rain
- 170 mm
- one of the driest months
- Wind
- 7 km/h
- on average
The warmest water of the year.
Typical weather, not a forecast: averages for 2021–2025 (air, rain, wind) and 2023–2025 (sea), data from Open-Meteo (ERA5 / Copernicus, Météo-France). Covers an area of roughly 10 to 25 km around the destination.
Year-round (sheltered strait); best Aug–Dec. Cooler Jul–Aug (25–26 °C) with lower visibility but more critters.
Dive sites in Lembeh Strait
From the easiest to the most demanding. Levels with a dashed outline are estimates we are still verifying.
Open Water friendly
usual dive down to 18 m1 siteFor Advanced divers
usual dive down to 30 m15 sitesWall
down to 28 m
Nudi Falls
- Advanced
- Cuttlefish
Muck
down to 25 m
Critter Hunt
- Advanced
- Blue-ringed octopus
Muck
down to 28 m
Police Pier
- Advanced
- Frogfish
Muck
down to 25 m
Goronga
- Advanced
- Frogfish
Muck
down to 25 m
Kungkungan House Reef
- Advanced
- Frogfish
Wreck
down to 30 m
Mawali Wreck
A 60 m Japanese WWII cargo ship lying on its side at 15-30 m, home to large scorpionfish, lionfish and spotted barramundi.
- Advanced
- Scorpionfish
Muck
down to 25 m
Rotan
- Advanced
- Frogfish
Muck
down to 30 m
Retak Larry
A lesser-known Lembeh muck site where common seahorses, coconut octopus and broadclub cuttlefish are frequently spotted.
- Advanced
- Cuttlefish
Muck
down to 22 m
TK 1 (Teluk Kembahu 1)
Teluk Kembahu (TK) is where the mimic octopus was first observed in Lembeh Strait.
- Advanced
- Frogfish
For experienced divers
usual dive down to 40 m1 siteMarine life
When the big encounters happen, month by month.
| Species | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue-ringed octopusSource: zubludiving.com | ||||||||||||
| CrustaceansSource: dive-the-world.com | ||||||||||||
| CuttlefishSource: zubludiving.com | ||||||||||||
| FrogfishSource: dive-the-world.com | ||||||||||||
| NudibranchsSource: dive-the-world.com | ||||||||||||
| OctopusSource: dive-the-world.com | ||||||||||||
| Pygmy seahorsesSource: dive-the-world.com |
- Peak season
- Seen
Blue-ringed octopus: Aug–Dec. Crustaceans: All year. Cuttlefish: All year. Frogfish: All year. Nudibranchs: All year. Octopus: All year. Pygmy seahorses: All year
Also reported here, season not documented yet:
- Ghost pipefish
- Mandarinfish
- Scorpionfish
- Seahorses
- Squid
Where is Lembeh Strait?
- Nearest airport
- MDC
- How people dive here
- Dive resorts
Lembeh Strait: frequently asked questions
- When is the best time to dive Lembeh Strait?
- The best months to dive Lembeh Strait are Aug–Dec. Year-round (sheltered strait); best Aug–Dec. Cooler Jul–Aug (25–26 °C) with lower visibility but more critters.
- Is Lembeh Strait good for beginner divers?
- Yes, partly: 1 of the 17 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Aer Bajo. The others need more experience or a higher certification.
- What is the water temperature in Lembeh Strait?
- The water is usually between 25 °C and 29 °C over the year.
- What marine life can you see in Lembeh Strait?
- Divers regularly see blue-ringed octopus (Aug–Dec), crustaceans (all year), cuttlefish (all year), frogfish (all year), ghost pipefish and mandarinfish.
- How do you dive Lembeh Strait?
- The nearest airport is MDC. Ways to dive here: dive resorts.
About this page
Seasons and marine life come from the sources below. Site levels and depths marked as estimated come from our original catalogue and are being checked one by one. Conditions change: always confirm with a local dive centre.
Your next dive is somewhere out there.
Find my next dive tripPhoto credits
- Lembeh Island across the strait from Bitung, Sakurai Midori, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
- Sunlight and bubbles in deep blue water, Sarah Lee, Unsplash License, on Unsplash
