Coral Eye is the new sister resort to Siladen Island Resort, and is located just around the corner from Siladen, relatively speaking, on Bangka Island, just off the tip of northern Sulawesi. The buzz around this new boutique resort in the snorkeling community has been huge, and had it not been for my busy schedule, I would have paid Coral Eye a visit much sooner. After waiting the better part of a year for my opportune moment to jump on a plane and jet off to Manado, I have now finally been able to see what all the chatter that I’d been inundated with was really all about.
As many of you have already visited Siladen as part of one of our snorkeling safaris that stops in North Sulawesi, I don’t think I need to elaborate too much on what this means in terms of service, the food, the accommodation, and, of course, the snorkeling at Coral Eye. If you haven’t had the pleasure of visiting Siladen yet, you will have no doubt heard of this award-winning resort’s outstanding reputation. As one of Indonesia’s oldest and most well-regarded resorts, Siladen sets the tone for other resorts to follow. Now, with over twenty years of experience behind the Siladen/Coral Eye team, this new resort could very well be the resort that raises the bar a notch higher when it comes to the entire experience.
Coal Eye is on the southwestern edge of a little island called Banka, just thirty minutes from the mainland of Sulawesi. We access the resort via a one-hour drive from the Manado Airport, followed by a thirty-minute boat ride in one of the resort’s comfortable boats. Alternatively, as Siladen is just ‘around the corner’ from Coral Eye, we can also access it via a boat ride from Siladen Resort with a stop to snorkel along the way.
While it may look like Coral Eye and Siladen are quite close together as they both rest off the northern tip of Sulawesi, the coral reefs and marine life are entirely different. Where Siladen and the Bunaken National Park area is predominately made up of hard coral plateaus and walls draped in soft corals and sea fans, Banka Island and the surrounding area are more similar to the reefs around central and southern Raja Ampat as they tend to be sloping reefs carpeted in a mixture of soft corals, sponges, sea fans, and some larger hard coral bommies.
Where marine life is concerned, there are quite a few similarities in that the reefs are teeming with colorful reef fish of all shapes and sizes. We found several large cuttlefish, two of which were hanging around on the house reef for the duration of our stay. We also had a very exciting snorkel around the pillars of a large cement pier, which was teeming with life. Each piling was a reef of its own with soft corals, sponges, sea fans, and for some weird reason, a ton of mating nudibranchs! Swirling around the pilings was a dense mass of silversides (an anchovy-like fish) that were in constant motion as the predatory jacks hunted them. The primary difference between the Bunaken area and the Banka area is that there are far fewer turtles around Banka, whereas Bunaken is teeming with them. That being said, when compared to Bunaken, every destination has far fewer turtles than Bunaken, which is like the Mecca for green sea turtles!
The resort itself is just incredible, and on the expansive beachfront property, you’ll find many great spaces. Still, the most noticeable and most visited area is the spacious central building, complete with cozy corners to read or relax in, a central communal dining table to meet new snorkelers, and a breezy lofted lounge to admire the tranquil scenery from. Along the white sand beach, you’ll find the garden and beach villas nestled amongst the tropical vegetation. These brand-new villas are exquisite, and I have no hesitation in saying that they are the nicest rooms at any of the resorts we use. No detail was left out!
The food, curated by their Italian-trained chef, will tantalize your palate the same way the reefs tantalize your eyes. The à la carte menus are carefully assembled to not only fill you up before your next snorkeling adventure but also excite you with the new smells and flavors that fuse traditional Italian dishes with the spices and herbs of Indonesia. For those with food allergies or other dietary restrictions, the chef knows how to create dishes that cater to your needs while also ensuring they are delicious.
All in all, Coral Eye isn’t just a resort — it’s a splash zone of comfort, adventure, and mouthwatering cuisine. Whether you’re indulging in the reef fish or just soaking up the serenity from your villa’s balcony, one thing’s for sure. Once you’ve experienced Coral Eye’s magic, you’ll be dreaming of soft corals and seaside siestas long after you’ve packed your bags and settled back at home.
We will be running a number of different tours to Coral Eye with varying iteneraries starting in 2026. Here’s a look at our current lineup of tours that include Coral Eye.
2026 & 2027 Tours
