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Two banded shrimps with long white antennae on a reef crusted with red, pink and green growth — Amed.

Amed · Indonesia · Muck & macro · Artificial reef

Ghost Bay

Ghost pipefish and mimic octopus on volcanic sand

Area photo: Bernard DUPONT · CC BY-SA 4.0

Ghost Bay is a macro shore dive on the north side of Jemeluk Bay, on volcanic sand scattered with an artificial reef of bottles and wheels. It takes its name from the frequent ghost pipefish, harlequin and robust, and mimic octopus are often seen too, which draws critter hunters and photographers.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Ghost Bay: typical dive 3–20 m (10–66 ft), deepest point 25 m (82 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit3 m20 m25 m maxtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

8.3339° S, 115.6425° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

From the beach the dive crosses a plateau about 150 m wide that runs parallel to the shore between 4 and 7 m. Beyond it a slope of volcanic sand drops to 20 m. Bottles, wheels and other junk form an artificial reef where ghost pipefish and mimic octopus live, and current is generally very slight.

Marine life and season

  • Macro critters
  • Octopus & cuttlefish
  • Reef fish swarms
Month-by-month season rating for Ghost Bay
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
FairFairFairGoodGoodPrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodGoodFair

Season follows Amed: June to September is Bali's dry season, with hardly any rain on the coast; December to March brings west-monsoon showers.

Dive videos

Diving Amed - Critters of Ghost Bay · baliste olivatre on YouTube

Nightcrawlers of Ghost Bay [Diving Amed, Bali] · baliste olivatre on YouTube

Sources

  1. Ghost Bay (ScubaGo) — ScubaGo
  2. Ghost Bay (Macro) — Dive Concepts
  3. Dive sites — Diving With Jim
  4. Scuba diving in Amed — Bali Aqua
  5. Ghost Bay dive site — Divezone

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