Kalimaya is a small picturesque resort on its own private beach in north west Sumbawa with some interesting coastline dives and access to Sangeang volcano and the Komodo national park.
Rhinopia (weedy scorpionfish), Kalimaya House Reef, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
What You Can Expect To See Diving At Kalimaya?
One of Kalimaya’s main attractions is the house reef directly in front of the resort. This is a big area of coral bommies jutting out from the sand and big patches of sea grass.
Seahorse in the coral, Zaid, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
There is a lot of great macro stuff on the reef, with the star of the show being the usually very elusive rhinopia that are often found here. We found not one but three different weedy rhinopia thanks to guide Alex’s eagle eyes.
Rhinopia (weedy scorpionfish), Kalimaya House Reef, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
Apparently people come to the resort just for the chance to see them – and aren’t always rewarded for their efforts. See my dedicated page about weedy rhinopia for more photos and info.
Black and yellow giant frogfish, Kalimaya House Reef, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
There are also some giant frogfish on the house reef too – we saw a yellow one and black one cuddled up together on one of the bommies.
Catfish and cardinalfish, Pulau Ular North, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
Beyond the house reef there are around 20 other sites 15 to 30 minutes boat ride away. These generally follow a similar pattern of a sloping wall with lots of great, dense reef heading to a sandy bottom around 15 to 20 metres.
Bamboo shark, Tanjung Air 1, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
Personal highlights from these coastal dive included the resting bamboo shark at Tanjung Air 1 and the thousands of anthias dancing across the reef in the shallows of Babylon.
Anthias on the reef, Babylon, Indonesia © [email protected]
Babylon is perhaps the prettiest dive site on the Sumbawa coast, drenched as it by the sun and the dynamism and colour of the anthias.
Reef in the shallows, Babylon, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
That’s all offset by the dramatic peaks of the wall running up to the surface which forms what looks like a mountainous backdrop underwater.
Wury on the reef, Ilham, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
There are some impressive patches of soft corals too, usually clumped together on big bommies rather than covering entire areas of the reef.
Soft corals and feather stars, Ilham, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
Feather stars are also very common at Kalimaya, with their distinctive bright yellow and green hues as well as jet black, which is very reminiscent of Cannibal Rock and Yellow Wall dive sites in Horseshoe Bay in Southern Komodo.
Scorpionfish in the coral, Ilham, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
There are a lot of scorpionfish around, so photographers need to take care when getting near the reef, but their camouflage can also make them decent photographic subjects.
Shark cave, Habibi Falls, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
It’s always good to see sharks on the reef, and a shark cave tends to be the best bet of them staying still long enough to get a photo.
Two Rhinopias (weedy scorpionfish), Taja Ngao, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
Be aware that the coastline around Kalimaya is not protected like the sites in the Komodo national park and is still being actively fished. We came up from one dive with local fishermen waiting for us to finish so they could put their nets down. On our final dive on the house reef we heard the unmistakable sound of a fisherman’s bomb going off in the distance.
Table coral and fish, Tanjung Air 1, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
What this means is while the reef is very pretty, there are very few big schools of fish like barracuda or jacks or yellow snapper as you might encounter in Komodo or other protected areas. That said, Kalimaya is very popular with groups of snorkellers and free divers as well as scuba divers, so that’s a testament to how good the reef is in the relative shallows.
Cuttlefish, Taja Ngao, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
There are still quite a few cuttlefish and octopus around, and we even saw a mimic octopus while on a night dive which was a highlight.
Batfish, Habibi Falls, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
That said, the main focus on Kalimaya’s coastal dive sites is on the reef and smaller stuff with the occasional shark coming to say hello.
Fan coral, Tanjung Air 1, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
For macro lovers, there is a plethora of nudibranches, orangutang crabs, seahorses, gobies, mantis shrimp, ghostpipe fish and even pgymy seahorses – the reef is very rich in supporting lots of the super small stuff.
Table coral, Tanjung Air 1, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
There are plenty of fish ID books back at the resort and you’ll be needing them if you’re a nudibranch lover.
Surface like glass, Tanjung Air 1, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
The conditions at end of July were quite windy which meant for bumpy rides somedays on the speedboat, but we also had several days where the water was like glass. March to April and September to October are considered the best times to dive.
Cardinal fish, Kalimaya House Reef, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
The house reef is so rich it is definitely worth multiple dives. Typically the boat will go out for 2 morning dives and then you can dive the house reef in the afternoon – but of course you can dive it all day too. I took the shot above of this school of cardinal fish but on looking closer at the image when home…
Cardinal Fish with eggs in mouth, Kalimaya House Reef, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
… realised that one of the cardinalfish had eggs in their mouth. I’ve only seen this a couple of times before – in Bali and Anilao – so it was simultaneously exciting that I’d caught the moment and disappointing I’d not realised at the time and tried to get a better photo.
Leaf fish, Kalimaya House Reef, Sumbawa, Indonesia © [email protected]
The afternoon dives on the house reef still have some excellent light from 3pm onwards as the sun starts to drop – the visibility is never spectacular, but the sun comes through strongly down to around 10 metres, so for photos you don’t need to give up morning dives elsewhere.
Manta Ray, Galley Rock, Gili Banta, Indonesia © [email protected]
Manta Rays at Gili Banta
By way of complete contrast, about an hours boat ride away across the channel from the coast is the island of Gili Banta – this has got several famous dive sites around it like Rollercoaster and GPS Point but we were interested in the manta ray cleaning station at Galley Rock.
Manta Ray, Galley Rock, Gili Banta, Indonesia © [email protected]
The dive staff hadn’t really emphasised how good Galley Rock was for seeing mantas – we were expecting a fly by if we were lucky. We were the only group in the water, hovering at 12 metres while four mantas swirled around us – it was so epic we insisted doing it for the second dive too. See more photos and info on my manta rays at Gili Banta page.
Manta Ray over reef, Galley Rock, Gili Banta, Indonesia © [email protected]
Luckily the tides and current were on our side and our guide Alex knew exactly where to position us. He cautioned us we’d need to come up after 50 minutes rather than an hour and he was right – as if on cue the current went from nothing to strong within the three minutes we were doing our safety step and I was glad we were getting out.
As we finished up and prepared to ascend it started raining divers – about 20 of them coming from one of the luxury Komodo liveaboards. We exited feeling lucky that we’d both had the mantas to ourselves and not been fighting the current.
Sangeang Volcano
Bubble Reef, Sangeang Volcano, Indonesia © [email protected]
The other big attraction beyond the coastline at Kalimaya is Sangeang Volcano. Still active, Sangeang is a staple part of a lot of Komodo liveaboard itineraries for its dramatic topside appearance and the contrast underwater of black sand with colourful coral seemingly exploding from it.
Pook over Bubble Reef, Sangeang Volcano, Indonesia © [email protected]
We did a three dive day to make the 2 hours speedboat ride either way worth it. We visited three Sangeang classics – Bubble Reef, Black Magic and Tikno Reef. Bubble Reef is famous for – you guessed it – bubbles streaming up from the black sand created by the volcano. At certain parts of the reef you can feel the rocks are hot which are near the volcano’s vents.
Reef, yellow snappers and black sand, Tikno Reef, Sangeang Volcano, Indonesia © [email protected]
All three sites are quite big with a lot of different coral formations to explore. I’ve been here on virtually every Komodo liveaboard I’ve done and one of the nice things about being on the speedboat is that we could get much nearer to the shore on our safety stops and take in small, deserted beaches at the bottom of the volcano’s sheer slopes.
Reef, yellow snappers and black sand, Tikno Reef, Sangeang Volcano, Indonesia © [email protected]
Besides Sangeang and Gili Banta, you can also go see the Komodo Dragons at a location that’s away from the more popular viewing spots. This is also a couple of hours speedboat ride from the resort.
Kalimaya Dive Resort © [email protected]
The diving setup at Kalimaya
Kalimaya has a very nice spacious dive area. There’s a pleasantly large camera room with lots of space, and next to it a spacious outdoor gearing up area with benches, wetsuit racks and rinse tanks. Divers put on the wetsuits in the morning and walk along the jetty onto the dinghy, which then takes them out to one of the speedboats. Tanks, BCDs, regs and fins are already waiting on the boat. You’re asked to take your mask with you when you leave the boat but all the rest of your gear is brought back and rinsed for you.
Kalimaya Dive Resort © [email protected]
The speedboats have a small cabin and very small marine toilet area. They are OK for the short trips but not particularly comfortable for the hour long trips out to Sangeang and Gili Banta if the wind is up and waves bumpy. Definitely not recommended if you have a bad back. Note that we were there in late July / early August which is a windy time and it’s often much calmer – April/May and September/October are meant to be good.
Back roll entry off the boat, ladder exit from the water, and tanks changed on the boat during surface interval. Biscuits and fruit served as snacks but you can also ask the kitchen for hard boiled eggs or similar if you think you’ll be properly hungry while on the boat.
There is a basic rinse tank provided for cameras.
Kalimaya Dive Resort © [email protected]
Kalimaya Resort Acccomodation
It’s a bit of a trek to get to Kalimaya. It’s a two hour drive through interesting scenery and small villages from Bima airport. But you feel well rewarded on arrival. The resort is small with about five bungalows either side of the main restaurant area, all facing towards the sea which is literally 5 metres away.
Massage sala on the beach, Kalimaya Dive Resort © [email protected]
There’s a pleasant small beach within its own bay to wander up and down along with the long, well-built jetty. There is also a dedicated massage sala on the beach which is a nice touch.
Bungalow interior, Kalimaya Dive Resort © [email protected]
The detached bungalows are very pleasant, solidly built from wood with thatched roofs. They look very new, the result of extensive recent renovation apparently. The small terrace at the front of the bungalow opens directly into the bedroom area, and then behind it is the toilet and shower. The shower is partially open to the elements. There’s aircon in the bedroom but not the bathroom. There’s also a fridge and kettle. Water is free, with glass litre bottles left in the room and more readily available at the restaurant.
Bungalow bathroom, Kalimaya Dive Resort © [email protected]
The water pressure in the shower is just OK, good enough but you won’t be singing with joy. Similarly, the toilet would periodically stop flushing due to the way the septic system is set up. Apparently this is being renovated in January 2026 so may no longer be an issue soon.
Shower in bungalow, Kalimaya Dive Resort © [email protected]
There are some other rooms that have shared walls which can be a bit noisy, and there’s also a villa currently being renovated which will be perfect for families or groups of friends.
Swimming pool with the restaurant just behind, Kalimaya Dive Resort © [email protected]
Kalimaya Resort Restaurant And Food
The restaurant has several communal tables and also a swimming pool facing onto the beach with a seaview. There are a couple of hammocks and loungers and seating around the pool and just off it too.
Imran, head chef at Kalimaya Dive Resort © [email protected]
Thoughtfully prepared food is served up by the very personable chef Imran, with a fixed menu each day (tailored to dietary preferences, naturally). Lunch and dinner are typically Indonesian but the spice factor is left to you to decide with the array of sambal and other classic Indonesian condiments on the table. Breakfast is a choice of smoothie bowl, American breakfast, pancakes.
Goats on the beach at Kalimaya Dive Resort © [email protected]
There’s a snack served at 4pm. In short, you are unlikely to go hungry and the food leans toward being lean meat and lots of well-prepared vegetables, so you feel good on it too. There are chicken nuggets and french fries available to be cooked on demand if you have the munchies or unplacatable children. There are currently no cookies, chocolates, ice cream or anything else available to buy as snacks if you have a sweet tooth so bring your own if it’s important to you.
There is also no alcohol served at the resort due to local laws, but you can bring your own. A stop at an Alfamart (the local version of 7-11) on the way to the resort means you can get a case of beer. Anything more sophisticated you should bring with you before you fly in to Bima.
Sunset at Kalimaya Dive Resort © [email protected]
Kalimaya Future Plans
Apparently the resort will launch its own phinisi-style boat in January 2026 for day trips to Sangeang and Komodo, which will likely be much more comfortable than the speedboats. That should also mean the boat can explore more of Komodo, but will have to wait and see how it works out.
You can see Kalimaya’s official website at kalimayadiveresort.com.
