The rather dramatically named Ghost Bay in Amed is one of the first dive sites you will pass after you arrive in the North Seraya area and turn right to go along the coast road.

You will know you are there when you see the small Amed Dive Center on the left and once parked you can make your way to the kitting up area at the back of the shop.

You can get changed in this area and leave your stuff there quite safely, whether or not you are diving with Amed Dive Center,  although you may have to pay a small fee.

Access to the beach and Ghost Bay is a  walk of about 100m from the back of the shop and on the way you will pass some interesting concrete sculptures.

The story behind these “objects” is quite interesting and worth repeating as a cautionary tale…

At the end of the 1980’s tourism had started to really take off in Bali and resulted in a construction boom as numerous resorts were built to accommodate the influx of visitors.

Construction requires a lot of cement which at that time was both expensive and difficult to obtain.

So in what became an exquisite but very sad irony, the extensive hard coral growth in Ghost Bay was harvested as a substitute for mortar and was used in building the accommodation & restaurants the tourists who came to see the reefs would sleep and eat at…

 

Ghost Bay artificial reef concrete “objects”

Unfortunately, by the time the full implications of this substitution were realized it was too late and huge swathes of reef had been destroyed.

So in an attempt to rebuild the reefs, artificial structures were cast in concrete (the real stuff, this time..) and deposited where the reefs used to be so, that a habitat for marine life could be restored.

The full story can be read on the Amed Dive Center site, but basically they have established an area where marine life can breed and they monitor the overall activity on a regular basis.

Quite how successful this admirable attempt at restoration has been is a bit debatable.

My experience has been mixed and the best pictures I have taken on the dives I did in Ghost Bay in 2007 and again in early 2011 are displayed in the image gallery below.

However, that said, I have spoken to several underwater photographers who swear by the place and have shown me some superb images – so the best advice I can offer is give Ghost Bay a try for yourself!

Ghost Bay Image Gallery

Diving Indonesia: Bali – When to dive Ghost Bay in Amed, North-East Bali

Ghost Bay is a shore dive, and as such quite easy to dive – the exception being when the wind is from the north-west, as this produces big waves & surf, which means getting in and out can be quite difficult.

The best time of year to dive the site is October & November after the southeast (dry season) monsoon has ended, but before the northwest one (wet season) has begun, and when you will get the calmest conditions and best visibility.

The period at the the start of the southeast monsoon in May through to about mid July also offers good conditions, but after that for about 2 to 2.5 months high winds create rough seas and poor conditions. Around the end of September the conditions start to improve again.

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