Amed Snorkeling Spots

Amed's volcanic substrate creates a reef system that drops abruptly rather than spreading in shallow flats, meaning most snorkeling happens along walls and slopes rather than over sand. The eastern coastline faces the Lombok Strait, which funnels nutrient-rich upwellings that feed hard coral colonies and pelagic schools but can reduce visibility to eight meters during afternoon thermocline shifts. Jemeluk Bay anchors the northern cluster. The coral wall begins in waist-deep water and descends to twenty meters, with the richest formations between three and ten meters. Butterflyfish, parrotfish, and sweetlips congregate around table corals, and the wall's undercuts shelter moray eels and octopuses. The bay's crescent shape blocks most swell, making it the most forgiving site for new snorkelers. Banyuning Bay, two kilometers south, holds the remains of a Japanese patrol boat scuttled during World War II. The wreck sits upright at seven meters, its hull encrusted with soft corals and sponges. Schooling jacks and barracuda circle the structure at dawn. The site requires a ten-minute swim from shore and stronger finning ability than Jemeluk. Lipah Bay offers the widest reef platform, sloping gradually from shore to fifteen meters. The outer edge, called ghost bay for its frequent white-tip reef shark sightings, sits three hundred meters offshore. The bay's southern corner holds the densest hard coral cover in Amed, with barrel sponges and gorgonians clustered along a volcanic ridge. The Pyramids, off Selang village, consist of forty wire-frame pyramids installed in 2012 as an artificial reef. The structures now support prolific coral growth and serve as cleaning stations for manta rays during plankton blooms. The site lies four hundred meters offshore and requires confident open-water swimming. Small parking fees apply at most beach access points, collected informally by village cooperatives.