Having an unhealthy fear of sharks was not helping with hubby convincing me to snorkel in any ocean.  



Convinced by locals I decided to take the plunge, literally.  

Where is it?

Located in the Amed (area) on the far Eastern tip of Bali, few tourists aboard.  No bogans in sight, it is a welcome relief.  Most tourists here are serious divers and tourists wanting to escape the tourist packed western beaches.  Amed is three hours by car or longer if you decide to stop at the most famous temples along the way.  Mother Temple. Besakih is worth a visit with Tirta (water) Gangga Palace nearby.


Amed area is a series of beaches and small villages including Amed central, with the Japanese wreck located next to Ibus beach where a number of stunning villas are located.  Coming from Ubud you pass through Amed Central, Jemuluk and Lipah beach, just to name a few.  As we are not divers we chose to stay at Ibus beach walking distance to the Japanese wreck.


 Villa Infinte Horizon had the most ridiculous views, with only four villas and a kid free policy, it was an exquisite place to stay for a few days.


Choosing to eat at the cute and clean Warung Seaview Ibus was a life saver.  With stunning views and cheap and cheerful menu, it was our local go to day and night.  Setting us back $15 for food and drinks for two people, and no belly issues.

Warung Seaview Ibus Beach

The World War 2, Japanese patrol boat is in small sheltered Bayuning Bay located about 20m off shore.  As you walk down to the hill to the tiny, sleepy village you will see some steps on your left. These steps are free to walk down. (you will see why I say this later)


As you look over the bay from the steps, you can see two black buoys marking the wreck with a number of snorkelers in the water.  Walk down these steps to the beach.  If you continue down the road and past the diving hire shop on your right, there are a couple of steps on the left.  You will get charged to walk down these steps to the beach as it is patrolled by the local mafia wanting you to drink at the local cafe. So go back up the hill and go down the free steps.


Once down the (free) steps you will see a snorkelling hire shed. on your right.  We hired fins for $2 as we took our own snorkel and mask.  The man there was really nice and helpful. You can also leave your gear there, rather than unattended on the beach.

Hire guy over there!

The beach (or rocky shore) is completely packed with colourful Jukungs (fishing boats) . Great photo ops here!

Getting into the water is hilarious.  The rocks are unbelievably painful to walk on and watching people hobbling into the water is quite entertaining.



Snorkelling out to the wreck is simple and safe.  The wreck can almost be touched, with heaps of colourful coral and beautiful schools of fish swimming past you. We felt completely safe and would be a great experience for older kids.  While the water was a bit murky due to the monsoon season, we had heaps to look at. When leaving you can walk up the mafia steps and they are free to walk up, just not down.  Though if you want to drink and eat at their cafe, the steps are refunded.  The cafe looks really nice, but we didn't need to use it as our villa was just up the road.

Home from school!