Nusa Penida · Indonesia · Drift · Reef

SD Point (Sental)

A long drift over a coral plateau at 12 to 18 metres

SD Point lies off the north coast of Nusa Penida and takes its name from the Sekolah Dasar, the elementary school on the shore it sits in front of. It is dived as a one-way drift over a coral plateau around 12 to 18 metres deep, covering a long distance in a single dive, and it is the gentler end of an area known for water that moves hard.

Also known as S.D. Point, Sental.

Where it is and how deep

Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

8.6753° S, 115.5212° EPublished position for this site.

The dive

This is a drift, run one way with the water over a coral plateau that sits around 12 to 18 metres deep. The plateau is the whole dive: you drop in, settle at its depth and let the current carry you rather than swimming the reef, which is what makes it an easy drift by Nusa Penida standards. The site is named for the elementary school on the shore behind it, which is also the landmark the boats use.

Because you cover a long distance in one pass, the reef changes as you go and the encounters come to you rather than being searched out: reef sharks and turtles are the regulars, and manta rays turn up. Depth is the forgiving part of the profile — nothing on the plateau is deeper than about 18 metres, so a normal tank gives a long dive. Cold is what catches people out, since water here runs 16 to 22°C and a drift gives you almost no swimming to warm up on.

Marine life and season

Reef sharks
Manta rays
Sea turtles

Month-by-month season rating for SD Point (Sental)
Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Prime	Prime	Prime	Prime	Good	Good

Season follows Nusa Penida: Mola mola are most likely from July to October, inside the coldest months; mantas stay all year and are likeliest from March to June.

Know before you go

The dive moves with the water the whole way. Stay with the group and the guide's marker rather than stopping on the plateau — swimming back up a drift is not an option.
Currents around Nusa Penida are strong and unpredictable and 4 knots is not rare, so a drift here can accelerate well beyond what the briefing described.
Water runs 16 to 22°C and is coldest from June to October, and a long, shallow drift gives you little swimming to warm up on. A 5 mm full wetsuit is the local recommendation.

Dive videos

Diving Nusa Penida - S.D. Point (Bali, Indonesia) · SamudraVisions on YouTube

Questions divers ask

How deep is SD Point?+

The drift runs over a coral plateau around 12 to 18 metres deep, so the whole dive sits well inside recreational limits and the profile itself needs nothing beyond Open Water depth. The current, not the depth, is what sets the experience level here.

What does SD stand for?+

Sekolah Dasar, Indonesian for elementary school. The dive site runs along the shore directly in front of the school, on the north coast of Nusa Penida near Sental.