Alor Tanapi Dive Resort

Nestled approximately 20 kilometers from Kalabahi, the Alor Tanapi Dive Resort is strategically located to offer divers a unique haven with pristine waters and a diverse marine ecosystem. Founded by experienced divers who were drawn to Alor's exceptional variety of dive sites, the resort caters to small groups, couples, and solo travelers seeking unforgettable underwater adventures.

How To Get There

Travel to Alor Mali Airport (ARD) on flights transiting Kupang (KOE) from either Jakarta (CGK) or Bali (DPS). Upon arrival at the airport, you'll be greeted by the resort's dedicated airport transfer service, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable 60-minute drive to the resort. The scenic route from Mali Airport to Alor Tanapi Dive Resort offers a glimpse of the picturesque landscapes that await.

Dive Overview

Diving in Alor offers a captivating and unparalleled underwater experience for enthusiasts seeking to explore the rich marine biodiversity of this remote Indonesian paradise. The waters surrounding Alor are renowned for their pristine conditions, boasting crystal-clear visibility and vibrant coral reefs. Divers can expect encounters with a diverse array of marine life, including pelagic species, reef sharks, and an abundance of colorful reef fish. The region's unique combination of coral reefs, walls, and muck diving sites caters to a variety of interests, making Alor a hidden gem in the diving world.

Alor Tanapi Dive Resort, situated strategically on the Birds Head Peninsula, provides access to over 40 world-class dive sites within a short speedboat ride of 30-45 minutes.

[Read More: Alor Dive Travel Guide]

Accommodation Overview

Alor Tanapi Dive Resort offers an intimate and comfortable accommodation experience with its charming bungalows. Nestled on a hill in Sebanjar on the Bird's Head Peninsula, the resort provides guests with a tranquil retreat surrounded by breathtaking views of Pantar, Pura, and Ternate islands. The resort features just six well-appointed bungalows, ensuring a private and exclusive atmosphere for guests, and each bungalow is thoughtfully designed to blend harmoniously with the natural surroundings while providing modern amenities and conveniences.

The two Oceanfront Bungalows offer spacious interiors and the choice of double or king-sized beds. These rooms boast features such as air conditioning, en suite bathrooms, hot water showers, and private balconies or terraces with ocean views.For a unique experience, the Hillside Bungalow, a double or single accommodation option, provides a cozy and serene setting. This bungalow is equipped with air-conditioning, a fan, private bathroom, and free Wi-Fi. The Seaview Deluxe bungalows offer an elevated position with a panoramic ocean view, providing guests with an immersive seascape experience. Meanwhile, the Oceanfront Deluxe bungalow, situated right by the water's edge, grants guests immediate beach access and a more intimate connection with the ocean, ideal for those seeking the soothing sound of waves and convenient proximity to the sandy shores.

The 90m Deluxe Bungalows also offer ocean views, king or twin beds with mosquito nets, an open-air bathroom, air conditioning, and amenities like a minibar, double vanity, and daybed for relaxation.

Food & Drinks

Alor Tanapi Dive Resort takes pride in providing a delightful culinary experience for its guests, offering a diverse array of local, western, and international cuisines. The resort's commitment to ensuring a memorable stay extends to the freshly prepared meals served in a plated service style for breakfast and family-style for lunch and dinner. Guests can indulge in a gastronomic journey that reflects the rich cultural and culinary influences of the region.

The resort's kitchen team sources fresh and locally sourced ingredients to create flavorful and satisfying dishes. Whether savoring a hearty breakfast to fuel a day of diving adventures or enjoying a communal dining experience with fellow guests during lunch and dinner, Alor Tanapi Dive Resort caters to a variety of palates and dietary preferences.

Dive Information

Alor Dive Overview

Scuba diving in Alor presents a unique and diverse underwater experience, offering enthusiasts the opportunity to explore various types of tropical diving all within one stunning location, free from the crowds often found in more popular dive destinations. The waters surrounding Alor boast exceptional visibility, allowing divers to immerse themselves in the vibrant and untouched marine environment. Whether marveling at the intricate coral formations or discovering the captivating world of muck diving, Alor offers a range of underwater landscapes that cater to the preferences of every diver. From schools of colorful reef fish to encounters with pelagic species, the diversity of marine life is a hallmark of Alor's underwater allure.

Alor Muck Diving Sites

Alor is emerging on the world scene as a top muck diving destination. Muck diving sites are typically on black sand and volcanic rock slopes which are plentiful inside the Kalanahi Bay located 2-10 minutes from the resort by speedboat. These sites are famous for at first appearing quite plain and devoid of corals and swimming fishes, but on second look be full of some of the planets most fascinating and bizarre bottom-dwelling creatures. Here are some of our favorite muck diving sites:

• SECRET BAY, Kalabahi Bay, Alor - This tiny black sand bay makes a great day muck dive but is one of our favorites for night dives. We have seen coconut, long arm and starry night octopus, dwarf cuttlefish, stargazers and some really great nudis here.
• PERTAMINA PIER, Kalabahi Bay, Alor - This muck dive is located under the fuel depot pier with black sand under the pillars and a rocky slope to the side. The central pier section can be good for an assortment of seahorses and pipefish plus coleman shrimp, zebra crabs or brooks urchin shrimp in the numerous fire urchins. Mandarin fish can usually be spotted in the rocky slope along with ghost pipefish and frogfish.
• BLACK RHINO, Pura - This is one of our favorite places to go on the hunt for rhinopias. Paddle flap, weedy and lacy have all been spotted here at some point. This black sand with
• coral slope is also home to Indian walkmans and many types of nudibranch, shrimps and crabs.
• HOT ROCKS, Beang Bay, South Pantar - Possibly our favorite muck dive in the Alor Archipelago, Hot Rocks is ever changing but never fails to entertain us. We have seen juvenile rhinopias, many species of frogfish including painted, warty, freckled, ocellated, striated and hispid (we have had 7 hairy frogfish on 1 dive!), also rare nudis and headsheild slugs, seahorses, snake eels and more.
• SEA PEN SLOPE, Beang Bay, South Pantar - Another of our favorites in Beang, this delicate sandy site is a great place to search for wonderpus, blue ring, poison ocellate and many other types of octopuses, tozeuma shrimp, robust, halimeda, velvet and ornate ghost pipefish, and lavish decorator crabs.

Alor Coral Reef Dive Sites

Each site in the Strait is diverse with its own topography and color scheme including walls, slopes and seamounts. Some sites are known for their beautiful panoramas of dense coral, anemone and sponge coverage mixed with smaller reef fish and unique macro life such as anemone fish and shrimp, eels, frogfish, leaf and bearded scorpionfish, pygmy seahorses, schools of black snapper and unicornfish, stingrays, sea snakes, reef sharks, a wide assortment of nudibranchs and more. Others provide us with the chance to experience pelagic fish given the right tide and moon phase. Here are some of our favorite coral reef dive sites:

• CATHEDRAL, Alor - Cathedral is a beautiful coral wall covered in both soft and hard corals with a small cave swim through. Located in south Alor, this site can get some big thermoclines from 27C on the surface reaching as little as 14C deeper than 30m! The cooler water that tends to pass here is apparent in the reef condition with vibrantly colored hard and soft corals. Bargibanti and pontohi seahorses, leaf fish, scorpionfish, sea snakes, blue ring octopus can all be found on the wall with the possibility of bamboo sharks in the shallow overhangs or large marbled rays passing deep in the crystal clear cold water.
• MAXS POINT (Maxs Big Blue), Alor - You never know what will be seen in the blue here. We have had schools of unicornfish, schools of pickhandle barracuda, grey reef and white tip reef sharks, mola-mola, huge marble rays, dolphins and even a blue whale (yes, during the dive!)
• WOLANG CAVES, Alor - Two fantastic caves in the south of Alor. The first cave we enter offers great wide angle shots with a chance of white tip reef sharks towards the back of the cave. This cave has a huge chamber where divers can surface. The second cave is covered with sponges and full of small fish, lobsters, decorator crabs and nudibranch. Great possibilities for wide-angle or macro photography.
• APURI, Pura - South Pura is not only one of the most unique places in Alor, but in the entire world. It is the densest concentration of anemone anywhere on the planet! Apuri village is located here southeast and at the start of the fields. It provides a beautiful sloping landscape to look for macro subjects such as nudibranch and small shrimps,
• squat lobsters and crabs. It is a must to always keep an eye in the blue as passing thresher sharks and mola-mola are not uncommon here.
• RED SAND BEACH & RED WALL, Pura - This large site is very unique and has something for everyone. The Red Wall is a beautiful backdrop going down to 35m+ full of overhangs followed by a coral slope and a red volcanic sand bay. The Red Wall is a good place to see sweetlips, groupers, black snappers and schools of fusiliers, while the slope and red sand bay are best for macro such as nudis, Indian Walkman, snake eels. Gas vents in the volcanic red sand spew bubbles as we complete our safety stop hunting for little critters.
• THE GREAT WALL (of Pantar), Pantar - One of the Pantar Straits most beautiful walls, the Great Wall aka Bamah Wall is covered in vividly orange and pink colored sponge, soft corals and orange anthias. Aside from the spectacular condition of the reef and the topography, we can see a variety of marine life such as napoleon wrasse and bumphead parrotfish, giant and bluefin trevally, schools of black snapper and fusiliers plus tons of macro such as bargabanti pygmy seahorses, flatworms, nudis, leaf fish, and whip coral shrimp.
• CURRENT ALLEY, Pantar - This site is great for big fish when the conditions are right. Schooling scalloped hammerheads, great hammerhead, grey reef sharks, white tip and black tip reef sharks plus giant trevally, dogtooth tuna, napoleon wrasse and also devil and eagle rays have all been spotted on this deep wall.

[Read More: Alor Dive Travel Guide]

Dive Center Information

Alor Tanapi Dive Resort's modern two-story dive center offers convenience and comfort. The first level features outdoor showers, rinse tanks, a drying area, and a dedicated camera room, while the upper floor includes a relaxing area and a sun deck. Guests are encouraged to bring their own equipment, but high-quality rentals are also available. The dive center also features a custom-built boat powered by two 150HP Yamaha engines and that accommodates 8 divers, ensuring quick access to dive sites. The dive center also offers a flexible dive schedule that includes two morning dives, with options for additional afternoon or night dives, striking a balance between reef and muck dives.

Dive Center Facilities & Services

• Onsite dive center
• Camera room
• 15L tanks
• DIN tanks
• Yoke tanks
• Equipment rental
• Courses available

Practical Information

• Electricity: 230v
• Time zone: GMT+8
• Language(s) Spoken: English, French, Spanish and Indonesian
• Payment methods: Cash