How to make Drift Diving in Bali more exciting…

Drift Diving in Bali, especially at Nusa Penida Island, come with an incredible adrenaline rush as you hover over breathtaking coral and drift with marine life. I just finished my PADI Divemater Course  and I got to experience the excitement of drift diving all around Nusa Penida and Bali; but I must confess that I prefer muck diving and looking at all of the small creatures and coral that Bali has to offer. So, I found a way to enjoy drift diving through one activity…

Underwater Acrobatics, performing: front flips, back flips, “The Torpedo”, “The Ramora” and “The sideways Kart-Wheel” – for the more advanced, has changed my drift diving experience and diving skills. Performing these skills you firstly need to be comfortable in the water and have good buoyancy control and excellent spacial awareness of the environment around you.

My favorite tricks to do are the front flip, torpedo and the remora as these are the easiest to master and are the least likely to cause any damage to the coral reef below you. The back flip and the side ways kart-wheel must be done with great caution as with these tricks you could experience some vertigo because you do not have a visual point of reference of the ground beneath you and your head is exposed to the underwater environment which could cause some injury to yourself and the coral reef.

This is why the front flip and torpedo are my favorite because these maneuvers are safer for the performer and the coral reef environment as you have a visual reference of the environment and your head is protected as well. The drift may be to fast to successfully practice these moves and then you can use The Remora as then you and your buddy can enjoy the experience of the beautiful marine life and coral  together as you ride your buddy’s tank hovering through the drift dive, only do this if it is agreed upon beforehand and your buddy is a competent diver.

These fun tricks are done to improve your drift diving experience and not to take away the beauty of the dive sites and should done with great care of the well being of the underwater environment as we all want to be able to enjoy our acrobatics in 20 years time and still get the same adrenaline rush from drift diving.

Have you been drift diving in Bali? What was your favourite site? Have you tried any of the above moves? Let us know in the comments below!