Siddhartha Oceanfront Resort & Spa sits on Bali's northeast coast, in the quiet village of Kubu. Here, Mount Agung rises directly behind the property, and the Lombok Strait stretches out in front. The resort occupies 2.4 hectares of oceanfront land, with just 32 bungalows and villas spread across the slope. Space and privacy are the point. You will not feel like one of a hundred guests. You will feel like Siddhartha Dive Resort was built around your stay.
The architecture is striking without being flashy. High-pitched thatched roofs, open-air bathrooms with mature trees growing through them, and generous private terraces. The infinity pool looks out over the beach and the strait. The open-air restaurant serves meals with garden and ocean views. And the Six Elements Spa, with its lava stone grotto and 6 treatment rooms, offers genuine Balinese therapies using local organic products. This is a resort designed by people who understand that diving holidays need both comfort and recovery.
Diving is the main event, and Siddhartha Dive Resort takes it seriously. The on-site SSI Dive Centre is fully equipped with rental gear, 2 compressors, and an nitrox membrane system. Certified nitrox divers get free enriched air. The house reef, part of the Kubu Marine Park restoration project, lies directly in front of the resort. A 350-metre stretch of protected reef with 5 entry points. Staff carry your gear to the water and rinse it afterwards. The Boga Wreck, sunk in 2012, sits 16 to 35 metres deep and is accessible from the house reef. An intact propeller, a VW jeep, and buddha statues reward advanced divers who explore inside.
Location works in your favour. The famous Liberty wreck at Tulamben is 5 minutes away by car or boat. The resort has its own boat, Baba, which carries up to 10 guests, plus air-conditioned minibuses for shore entries. Daily local diving departs twice per day. Full-day trips to Amed, Padang Bay, or Nusa Penida start earlier and return in the late afternoon. Lunch and soft drinks are included on full-day excursions.
What sets Siddhartha Dive Resort apart is the combination of luxury and competence. German and Swiss management means European standards across the dive operation. Safety equipment is carried on every boat and in every vehicle. Dive guides are trained, experienced, and employed permanently. They know the black sand slopes of Seraya Secrets, the coral gardens of Tulamben, and the manta ray cleaning stations at Nusa Penida. If you want to see a rhinopias or a mimic octopus, they know where to look.
When you are not diving, the resort keeps you busy or lets you do nothing at all. Daily yoga classes in the oceanfront studio. A fitness centre with cross-trainer, treadmill, and weights. A games room with pool table, darts, and table tennis. Tours to waterfalls, rice terraces, sacred sites, and the Besakih Temple. Or simply lounging by the pool with a drink from the bar. Siddhartha Dive Resort stands at the top end of Bali dive accommodation. For scuba divers who want luxury, efficiency, and direct access to the region's best sites, it is difficult to imagine a better base in northeast Bali than Siddhartha Oceanfront Resort & Spa.
Siddhartha Dive Resort spreads just 32 freestanding bungalows and villas across 2.4 hectares of oceanfront land. You get space, privacy, and a genuine sense of seclusion. Mature trees remain throughout the property. Some even grow through the outdoor bathrooms. The architecture is Balinese: high-pitched thatched roofs, open-air showers, and generous private terraces.
Choose from 4 categories:
- 7 Superior Bungalows (45 sqm) sit among tropical gardens, each with a queen bed, outdoor terrace, and open-air bathroom with a rain shower.
- 18 Deluxe Bungalows (55 sqm) offer more space and most have ocean views. High ceilings, a queen bed, and a window daybed that converts to a single.
- 5 Oceanfront Deluxe Bungalows (65 sqm) are the next step up. Unrestricted sea and pool views. King bed. Private balcony with sunbeds and sitting area. The sound of waves at night is standard.
- At the top end, 2 Oceanfront Pool Villas (228+ sqm each) sit directly on the water. 2 separate master bedrooms with ensuite outdoor bathrooms. A common outdoor lounge and dining area, kitchenette, and large terrace with sunbeds. Private pool. Direct sea access. These are for groups or families who want the best.
Every room at Siddhartha Dive Resort includes air conditioning with individual controls and a ceiling fan, private bathroom with hot water shower, towels, bathrobe, toiletries, garden patio with furniture, personal safe, minibar, tea and coffee making facilities, dressing table, hairdryer, desk, bedside lights, and fire extinguishers. Oceanfront Deluxe Bungalows and Villas add satellite TV and a Bluetooth loudspeaker.
This is not basic dive accommodation. It is well appointed, thoughtfully spaced, and designed for divers who want to recover properly between dives.
Local diving around Kubu and Tulamben departs twice daily: 8:30 am and 1:30 pm. Transport is by car or boat, depending on conditions. These are single tank dives. Each trip returns to Siddhartha Oceanfront Resort between dives. You can do 2 or 3 dives per day, depending on your package.
Full-day excursions to Amed, Padang Bay, or Nusa Penida start earlier. Departures are between 6:30 and 8 am, depending on the destination. These trips include 2 dives. Lunch, fresh fruit, water, and soft drinks are provided. Return to the resort is between 3-5 pm. For Nusa Penida, travel by car to Padang Bay, then a private speed boat for 45 minutes to the island. Manta rays are present year round at Manta Point. Mola mola (sunfish) are typically seen from July to October.
Dive site options:
* Siddhartha Dive Resort has direct access to over 50 dive and snorkel sites. The house reef, part of the Kubu Marine Park restoration project, stretches 350 metres with 5 entry points. Turtles, trumpetfish, batfish, snappers, trevallies, fusiliers, nudibranchs, leaf fish, pipefish, lionfish, and stingrays are common.
* The Boga Wreck sits on the house reef, 16 to 35 metres deep. A 50-metre boat sunk in 2012. Outside, a steering wheel and intact propeller. Inside, a VW jeep, buddha statues, and used scuba tanks. Schools of trevallies, batfish, and fusiliers gather around the wreck. Moray eels, ghost pipefish, and scorpionfish live there.
* The USAT Liberty wreck at Tulamben is 5 minutes away by car or boat. This world-famous wreck lies on a sandy slope from 5 to 30 metres. A school of bumphead parrotfish is often seen on early morning and night dives. Barracuda, sweetlips, snappers, butterflyfish, turtles, and blacktip reef sharks are regular visitors.
* Other local sites within 5 to 20 minutes: Seraya Secret, Batu Belah, Batu Niti, Tulamben Drop Off, Coral Gardens, Melasti, Emerald. The black sand slopes here are famous for macro life: harlequin shrimp, leaf fish, nudibranchs, boxer crabs, ghost pipefish, demon stingers, crocodile fish, bumblebee shrimp, bobtail squid, tiger shrimp, pygmy seahorses in sea fans, and pink squat lobsters in barrel sponges.
* Amed sites are 45 minutes away. Calm waters, gentle currents. The Japanese Wreck, Pyramids reef restoration, Amed Wall. Drift dives with turtles, stingrays, reef sharks, leaf fish, mantis shrimps, ribbon eels. At Lipah Bay: rhinopias, seahorses, ghost pipefish, mimic octopus, frogfish.
* Padang Bay is further south. Padangbai Jetty is a macro treasure trove: rhinopias, frogfish, schools of catfish. Blue Lagoon has coral heads dropping to a rubbly slope. Frogfish, reef octopus, demon stingers, pygmy seahorses, ghost pipefish, leaf fish.
Dive type options:
- House reef diving. Access from the beach, 5 entry points. Staff carry your gear.
- Shore diving at local Kubu and Tulamben sites.
- Boat diving to the Liberty wreck, Amed, and Padang Bay.
- Full-day trips to Nusa Penida for manta rays and mola mola.
- Night diving on the Liberty wreck and house reef. Request in advance.
- Introductory dives for beginners.
- SSI courses from Try Scuba to Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver, and specialties including Enriched Air Nitrox, Deep Diving, Navigation, and Wreck Diving.
Diving facilities on site:
Siddhartha Dive Resort has its own fully equipped SSI Dive Centre located within the resort grounds, 50 metres from the shore. The centre includes toilets, showers, storage lockers, large equipment rinse tanks, and plenty of space to clean, hang, and dry your gear. Rental equipment is available: 30 full sets of state-of-the-art gear, plus 12 and 15 litre tanks. The centre runs 2 Coltri compressors and an NRC nitrox membrane system. Certified nitrox divers get free enriched air. Staff carry your equipment to and from the water and rinse everything after each dive. You finish your dive, hand over your kit, and go to the pool bar.
The resort has its own dive boat, Baba, which accommodates up to 10 guests. Several air-conditioned minibuses are also available for shore entries. All transport to dive sites is included.
Safety and emergency:
Siddhartha Dive Resort adheres to European safety standards. One dive guide is provided for every 4 divers. All dive guides are trained, experienced, and employed permanently. The dive boat and all transport vehicles carry emergency oxygen, first aid kits, mobile phones, life vests, and fire extinguishers.
The nearest recompression chamber is at Sanglah General Hospital in Denpasar, approximately 100 kilometres away. A local hospital is 20 kilometres from the resort.
Siddhartha Oceanfront Dive Resort is largely self-contained. The area around Kubu is quiet and rural. There is no strip of bars or nightlife. You come here to dive, eat, sleep, and relax. The resort provides everything you need for that rhythm.
The Six Elements Spa is the standout facility. 6 single treatment rooms and one double room, each inspired by a different element. The signature hot stone treatment takes place in a lava stone grotto. Therapies include massages, exfoliations, facials, and full body treatments. All products are natural and local. After a week of shore entries and current work, this is not an indulgence. It is recovery.
The oceanfront infinity pool has a bar and a large sundeck. Snacks and drinks are available throughout the day. Sunset hour with Mount Agung in the background is a genuine highlight. The open-air restaurant serves meals with garden and sea views.
Daily yoga classes are held in the oceanfront studio. Free of charge. Mats and blocks are provided. The schedule varies, but there is usually a morning session before diving starts. A small gym has a cross-trainer, treadmill, stationary bike, weights, and rowing machine. The games room includes a pool table, darts, and table tennis.
Tours and excursions:
When you have energy beyond diving, Siddhartha Dive Resort can arrange a range of day trips. A personal local driver takes you. No crowded tour buses. Options include:
- Ubud: monkey forest, rice terraces at Tegalalang, markets, and palaces.
- East Bali: Tirta Gangga water palace, Tenganan traditional village, Goa Lawah bat temple.
- Mount Batur sunrise trek. Depart the resort at 2 am. 2 hours of hiking. The view from the top is worth the early start.
- Besakih Temple, the mother temple of Bali, combined with a rice field walk near Sideman.
- Lovina on the north coast: hot springs, Buddhist temple, and beach time.
- Bedugul: lake temples at Bratan, Gitgit waterfall, coffee plantation stop.
- White water rafting on the Ayung River (easy) or the Telaga Waja River (rapids and a small waterfall).
Most tours run 8 to 10 hours. Lunch, water, and soft drinks are included. Book through the reception or tour desk.
Resort facilities at a glance: Open-air restaurant with ocean and garden views - Oceanfront infinity swimming pool - Pool bar with snacks and drinks - Six Elements Spa - Private beach area with sun beds and parasols - Complimentary daily yoga classes - Games room - Small gymnasium - Conference room with library, public access laptop & internet - Boutique shop - Tour desk - Laundry service - Shop - Police station 150m away
The open-air restaurant at Siddhartha Oceanfront Dive Resort is a striking wooden structure with a vaulted pitched roof. Garden views with glimpses of the ocean. Meals here are not rushed. Breakfast is an expansive buffet. Lunch and dinner follow an Asian fusion concept, mixing international favourites with local Balinese dishes.
Breakfast runs each morning. The buffet includes eggs cooked to order, pancakes, fresh fruit, yoghurt, cereals, breads, pastries, cheeses, cold meats, and hot options such as sausages and fried rice. Coffee, tea, and fresh juices are included.
Lunch and dinner offer variety. Local cuisine features whole crispy roasted duck served with white rice, mixed seasonal vegetables, and two different Balinese sauces. Seafood is fresh. Steaks are available. The kitchen also prepares sushi a la minute: tuna, vegetable, and egg rolls served with Japanese wasabi. Barbecue nights and Balinese themed buffet evenings happen on occasion.
The poolside bar serves snacks and drinks throughout the day. Salads, spring rolls, nasi goreng, sandwiches, and fresh baguettes. Cold beer, soft drinks, fresh juices, and cocktails. The bar is open from late morning until evening. Sunset hour with Mount Agung in the background is worth timing your surface interval around.
Siddhartha Dive Resort sources ingredients locally where possible. The property has its own vegetable garden, and the kitchen uses organic produce from it. Single-use plastic is not used onsite. Water is refillable from stations around the resort.
The restaurant caters to dietary requirements, including vegetarian and vegan. Ask when you book with us.
"
We had a wonderful experience. The manager, Daniel, and staff were very efficient. We had a wonderful diving guide, Ketut." -
David Granter, Australia, 31 July 2022 ...
