Tanjung Bira · South Sulawesi
Freediving in Tanjung Bira
Freedive Sulawesi teaches the courses at Tevana House Reef, the property next door. You sleep and eat at Seascapes, on the cliff above Bara Beach, and walk over for your sessions.
Freedivers and a training buoy in open water, from the air.
- 3 daysfor Level 1, the beginner course
- 15 mthe depth Level 1 trains to
- 17 mwhere the school’s reef drops off into blue
- Mar to Decthe months the school teaches
Two businesses, one trip
Freedive Sulawesi teaches. Seascapes is your room and your table.
The school, led by instructor Sjenade Williams, runs every course and every session and issues every certification. Where a session meets, when it starts and whether it goes ahead are hers to decide.
Seascapes gives you the room, breakfast on the deck and dinner after a day in the water. We do not take course bookings or set course prices. Sjenade teaches in English, Bahasa Indonesia and Dutch.
The line
Freediving is trained on a rope hung from a buoy. Here are the depths Freedive Sulawesi trains to, set against the reef Sjenade Williams teaches on.
There is always some current there, she says, and it changes with the moon and the tide. Each night on the strip at the end of this page shows its moon.
Course depths as the school states them. Reef figures from Sjenade Williams.
- 0 mThe surface and the buoy. The school’s line is 150 m out from Tevana.
- 15 mLevel 1 trains to here: three days, two ocean sessions, no experience needed.
- 17 mThe drop-off. Sjenade’s reef falls away here, and past it, she says, is deep blue.
- 24 to 30 mLevel 2 trains in this band: four days, three ocean sessions, after Level 1.
- BelowOpen water. She puts visibility on her sites at 20 to 40 m, more at Kambing, and says it follows the wind: less on a west wind, more on an east one.
What the school teaches
Levels, dates and prices are Freedive Sulawesi’s. Ask Sjenade which certification a course carries before you pay.
Level 1
- Length
- 3 days
- Ocean sessions
- 2
- Trains to
- 15 m
Complete beginners. The school states you need only be reasonably comfortable in the water and able to swim.
Level 2
- Length
- 4 days
- Ocean sessions
- 3
- Trains to
- 24 to 30 m
The next step, and Level 1 comes first. Whether a card from another school counts is the school’s call.
Half-day fun freedives
- Length
- Half a day
- Level
- Any
For freedivers who want time in the water rather than a course. At least two people.
Freediving for the Reef
- Length
- 8 days
Freediving together with coral restoration, alongside the levels rather than a faster way through them.
Specialities
- Format
- Add-on
Turtle ecology, marine biology, and breathwork and yoga.
Two calendars
Freedive Sulawesi teachesThe school
Dry season on this coastOwner, who lives in Bira
They overlap, and they are not the same thing: one is the school’s teaching season, the other is the weather. Whether a session runs on the day is the instructor’s call.
Freediving or scuba
One breath
Very little kit: a mask, fins, and a wetsuit for long sessions. You train on the line with an instructor and a buddy, at Tevana House Reef.
On a tank
Time at depth, by boat, with a local SSI dive operator that goes to more than fifteen sites around Bira. See diving and snorkelling.
Doing both in one trip? Let the instructor and the dive operator plan the order between them.
Between sessions
Breakfast on the deck comes with every room, and the kitchen is open late enough for a long day in the water.
Open 7 in the morning until 9 at night, and until 10 on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Seascapes has three rooms. If your course dates are fixed, book your nights first: see the rooms.
Freediving questions
- Can you learn to freedive in Tanjung Bira?
- Yes. Freedive Sulawesi, an independent school led by instructor Sjenade Williams, teaches at Tevana House Reef in Tanjung Bira. Level 1 takes three days with two ocean sessions and trains to 15 metres. Level 2 takes four days with three ocean sessions, trains to between 24 and 30 metres, and comes after Level 1.
- Where do the sessions happen?
- With Freedive Sulawesi at Tevana House Reef, where the school is based. Guests staying at Seascapes walk over. Where a session meets, and when, is the school’s call.
- Do I need any experience?
- No. Level 1 is for complete beginners. The school states that you only need to be reasonably comfortable in the water and able to swim.
- Does Seascapes book the courses?
- No. Book courses with Freedive Sulawesi directly, through freedivesulawesi.com or WhatsApp +62 812 8780 4608. Seascapes takes the room bookings.
- When does the school teach?
- From March to December. The dry season on this coast is April to November, a separate calendar from the school’s.
- Which languages does the school teach in?
- English, Bahasa Indonesia and Dutch.
- How do I get to Tanjung Bira?
- Fly into Makassar (UPG), then about 5 to 6 hours by car. A private car from Makassar costs Rp 1,000,000 one way for the whole car, and you can add it when you book your room. See getting here.
Book the nights around your course
Three rooms on the cliff over Bara Beach, breakfast included, from Rp 1.2 million a night.