Murex Dive Resort and Live-aboards

Located on the Manado Bay waterfront facing Bunaken National Park and Manado Tua Island, Murex is a forty-five minute drive from Manado International Airport. Murex offers the visitor an ideal vacation venue for diving adventures, snorkelling, family vacations, eco-touring or just pure relaxation.

Diving packages provide for two dives a day, but a third dive or night dive is easily available for an additional fee (night dives are highly recommended by this author).

Alternate activities include trips to the volcanoes of Minahasa Land, white-water rafting and rainforest trekking at Tangkoko National Park Reserve.

Accomodation
Twenty fully air-conditioned rooms feature natural timber construction, typical of the Minahasa people of Manado. Each cottage is complete with attached balcony and bathroom with hot water. Rooms are available with a choice of single or double beds. Laundry facilities are also available. For over-night trips to other parts of North Sulawesi, accommodations at affiliated resorts on Lehaga Island, Tanjung Pulisan and Gardenia Resort in Tomohon are also available.

Meals
Three buffet style meals are served per day. Vegetarian meals are available on request. Meals are provided for all boat dives away from the resort. Meals are inclusive in your package.

Diving
Murex is located about 15 minutes by speedboat from Bunaken Marine Park. There are more than 100 excellent dive sites that include wall diving, pinnacles, cave and wreck diving, and are all accesable by boat directly from Murex. The diving in Manado is excellent all-year-round and boasts excellent visibility. All diving equipment is available at the resort and trips are supervised by trained and experienced divemasters. Scuba lessons and introductory scuba experiences are available on request from certified diving instructors.

Live-aboard
In addition to resort, Murex offers an opportunity to live-aboard one of three fully equipped live-aboard vessels that explore the islands of the Sulawesi and Maluku Seas around Manado. Cruises last from four to 14 days and include all necessary facilities for diving. Vessels that have capacities of 4 (The Arlena), 8 (The Symphony) and 12 (The Serenade) divers respectively. Destinations include the Sangihe Islands (about 6-10 days) and the Togian Islands in the Tomini Gulf (about 10-14 days).

All the cabins on the Serenade and Symphony are fully air-conditioned. The Serenade has attached bathroom facilities with hot water showers while The Symphony and The Arlena have showers on the aft ramp. Meals are provided for the trip by resident cooks. The live-aboard dives are fully supervised by qualified divemasters. Air, tanks and weights are provided as part of your diving package.

Large palegic fish and many varieties of hard and soft coral are common sights during the dives. Whales, dolphins, giant manta rays and turtles are often seen. Most of the dives are wall drift dives.