Kungkungan Bay Resort : Manado

Kungkungan Bay Resort, or just 'KBR' to its many fans, is built on a former coconut plantation. Kungkungan faces the Lembeh Strait and guests dining in the over-the-water restaurant have an unfettered view of this unique and peaceful setting.

Facilities at KBR include a private jetty with camera rinse tanks and hot showers, swimming pool with swim-up bar, lounge, internet access and library. Restaurant service is available 24-hours of every day.

Kungkungan Bay Resort is proud to offer North Sulawesi’s only truly exclusive dive site. Kungkungan Bay (our House Reef) can only be dived by our in-house guests. No fishing has been allowed in Kungkungan Bay since the resort opened, way back in 1994, making this without doubt the fishiest dive site anywhere in the Strait – and it’s yours alone to enjoy, when you stay at KBR.

Location:

Kungkungan Bay Resort is nestled on the site of an old coconut plantation on the Sulawesi coast of Lembeh strait. Located on the sunrise side of the peninsula, the view from the guest accommodations encompasses rugged Lembeh Island and the smaller Serena Island. North Sulawesi enjoys a mild tropical climate with gentle breezes year round. Kungkungan Bay Resort was conceived and built by ecology-minded divers whose wish for an eco-friendly resort guided the planning and construction from the beginning. Raw site drawings were used to plan the layout of the resort around the old growth trees that you see today.

The Resort was specifically designed to achieve a pleasing aesthetic effect with minimum impact on the environment. By using local materials and traditional architecture and adding western style bathrooms and amenities the resort reflects the local Minahasan culture, while providing international standards of comfort, convenience, safety, and privacy.

Accommodation:

Cottage Suites
Beautiful coconut wood cottage. Room has large sitting room with veranda, air-conditioned bedroom with queen bed, ceiling fan, mini-bar, hair-dryer and large shower room (some rooms with bathtub). Second bed can be added to some rooms, to increase occupancy to a maximum of 4 persons.

Traditional Houses
Original traditional house style. Each Room has 2 queen beds (with the exception of our two-room Family Traditional House,which has a King bed in one room and 2 single beds in the other), air-conditioning, tea & coffee maker, ceiling fans above the beds and a well-equipped shower room. Our L-shaped room gives privacy for each bed. These are perfect rooms for non couples. Occupancy a maximum of 4 persons.

Deluxe Rooms
Modern-traditional house style. Perfect room for couples or honeymooners. Each room is air conditioned and offers an open style with a huge living area, king bed, spacious veranda and large bathroom with bath facilities. All Deluxe Rooms offer mini-bar, tea & coffee maker, hair-dryer and cable TV.

Hillside Villa (Deluxe Room category)
Located on a hillside within the resort is the Hillside Villa, an intimate and exclusive accommodation on two stories. This is KBR's version of the 'penthouse suite', with a stunning view and all the privacy a romantic couple could wish for. The Hillside Villa belongs to the same specification as the resort's Deluxe Rooms, with ensuite shower room, air-conditioner on the top level, mini-bar, tea & coffee maker, hair-dryer and cable TV.

Diving:

Lembeh Strait and Kungkungan Bay Resort is simply the best place in the world for macro photography! Lembeh plays host to a cornucopia of weird and wonderful creatures to be found here and here alone. We moor over shallow black sandy slopes, where seahorses and nudibranchs are in abundance. Then there are the Inimicus devilfish, dwarf lionfish, scorpionfish, pufferfish, octopus, pegasus sea moths, frogfish, ribbon eels and flying gunnards. Truly a one-off opportunity for all photographers and anyone looking for the unusual and unseen, you’re sure to see something that you have never seen before, no matter how experienced you are.

Diving at KBR is a hugely pleasurable experience, as we guarantee a maximum group size of just 4 guests to each guide, so there is never a crowd of other divers getting in your way. Our speedboats can reach all 40 dive sites in no more than 15 minutes from our jetty, which means that you come back to the resort between dives and have plenty of time to rest, relax, eat, sleep, swim in the pool, change lens on your camera... whatever you decide you want to do.

Lembeh Strait in North Sulawesi is renowned as being the planet’s epicentre of marine bio diversity. Here you’ll find a higher concentration of marine life than anywhere else on the planet. Lembeh’s nutrient rich waters are home to rare and mysterious marine species such as the pygmy seahorse, mimic octopus, ornate ghost pipefish, hairy frogfish, Ambon scorpionfish and stargazer.

The exceptional year-round weather conditions provide a variety of diving experiences, from “muck dives” on pure black volcanic sand to colourful coral reefs and enticing historic wrecks. Whatever your pleasure, Lembeh is always sure to offer fascinating and exciting underwater discoveries.

Dive Centre - Our dive centre, located just a few yards from the jetty, includes a camera room with bright lighting, charging racks (110/220) and plenty of storage space for cameras and photographic equipment. The centre also has a number of large sweet-water rinse tanks for cameras. A course, Nitrox (max 32%) is available at KBR from our state of the art Bauer Compressor, for a small additional charge.

Underwater Photography - This is simply the best place in the world for macro photography! Lembeh plays host to a cornucopia of weird and wonderful creatures to be found here and here alone. We moor over shallow black sandy slopes, where seahorses and nudibranchs are in abundance.

Then there are the Inimicus devilfish, dwarf lionfish, scorpionfish, pufferfish, octopus, pegasus sea moths, frogfish, ribbon eels and flying gunnards. And don't forget our great coral sites which are loaded with colorful soft & hard corals and loads of reef life, our diving is truly a one-off opportunity for all photographers and anyone looking for the unusual and unseen, you’re sure to see something that you have never seen before, no matter how experienced you are.

We cater for underwater photographers, by offering camera rentals and sales, courses and seminars. Our knowledgeable photography instructors can advise you on how to improve your technique and our technician can assist you with your camera equipment if you need it.

Staff - Our European Managers are also PADI Instructors and photo professionals, who make sure your diving is hassle-free and offer extra assistance and guidance if required.

All-Inclusive Packages include three boat dives and unlimited house reef dives by day. Night dives are also available. Our dive guides and instructors will take you on a guided tour around Lembeh's wonderland and thrill you with its magic. The Lembeh Strait also contains WWII shipwrecks at "diveable depth", waiting patiently for the adventurer to explore.

KBR'S dive guides are amongst the most experienced in the Strait in finding camouflaged and elusive creatures. They also understand the extra requirements of underwater photographers and will move slowly and patiently to allow you to get the shots you want. And group size is limited to no more than four guests per guide, ensuring an ‘elbow-free’ diving experience! And, of course, you never have to think about moving your equipment around - we will set up your dive gear, change cylinders between dives and wash and store it for you at the end of your day's diving.

Safety – Safety is always of the utmost importance to us and we provide a great level of support to our clients:

• All of our Indonesian guides are certified PADI Divemasters, trained by KBR
• All guides are trained in (Emergency First Response), to provide care in an emergency
• We carry D.A.N. oxygen in our center and train our staff to administer it
• We offer Nitrox *, to added safety margins on every dive * surcharged

Conservation – We are very committed to conservation, to help sustain the livelihoods of our local community. We sponsor various conservation activities, just a few example being:

• School marine conservation education program
• Regular beach clean-ups
• Rubbish collection campaign
• Kungkungan Bay has limited its room capacity, specifically to minimize the impact of divers on this relatively unexplored area of the ocean. However, as the Lembeh Strait has been discovered by divers from all over the world, our efforts to minimize environmental impact are not enough on its own.
• Kungkungan Bay Resort fully supports the efforts, goals and methods of the North Sulawesi Watersports Association (NSWA) and urges you to support its efforts. Since its inception Kungkungan Bay Resort has supported the NSWA with funding and assistance in formulating a set of by-laws for dive operations using the strait.

Environmental Responsibility – We demand environmental responsibility of ourselves and our clients:

• We do not allow use of gloves when diving, nor touching the coral
• We dive in small groups, 4-guests-per-guide, for more environmental control
• We do training dives for uncertified divers only in the pool and on sandy areas of reefs
• We recycle paper in our office and always aim to reduce our usage
• We use energy-saving light bulbs and switch off all office equipment when not in use.

Prices:

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• All prices are subject to availability and may change.
• Booking flights and hotels separately often means your holiday is not ATOL protected! It is safest to book a complete package through Aquatours.