Question Planning for Holiday in Indonesia July 2025

[Gibo69]

Hi all,
me and my wife we are looking at our next trip which is planned for July 2025.
After visiting Fiji and Maldives we would love to visit Indonesia finally !
Since we are more a kind of "Vacation Diver" type, we would like to avoid places with strong currents, (although Raja Ampat remains a dream sooner or later ).
Not enough experience yet to enjoy this type of dive.

Currently I am looking at North Sulawesi and I am leaning toward a 8 day stay (more or less) in each of the following places:

-Lembeh
-Bangka
-Bunaken

The main reasons for choosing these three places are, firstly, we would like to see three different dives environments and different type of dives, with different species of fishes, corals, etc.
Secondly we would prefer to spend the days diving, snorkelling and relaxing at the resorts instead of "spending" precious time by flying to other parts of Indonesia.

What you think ? My reasoning is good or not ?
About the main differences of the three places... do you agree that they offer almost three different types of environments ?

We are looking at resorts, and currently we are evaluating Siladen Resort, Coral Eye and Lembeh Resort.
One thing that "bother" me is that apparently at Siladen you cannot snorkelling from the resort beach, only during high tide.
Is that true ?
How about the other two resorts ?

Do you think 3+ weeks around there is "overkill" ?
Any suggestion or experience would be very welcome.

Thank you very much !

 

[matts1w]

Doing the Lembeh, Bangka, Bunaken "triangle" is very popular and certainly a great introduction to Indonesia. Each spot is unique, and you will find a number of opinions about which is better and how long one should stay at each. For instance, eight days in Bunaken is way too much for me, but I could easily do ten days in Lembeh. I really only enjoy muck diving anymore; walls and turtles are not my thing. Then again, I have numerous friends who think muck is a total snore fest... You get the idea.

Anyway, a number of the ops have resorts in all three locations and offer packages that are convenient and easy. Murex and Bastianos offer this option. I'm sure there are others. You might look into those.

Lastly, if you enjoyed Fiji and the Maldives, Raja Ampat or Komodo are certainly doable. Diving down the east side of Bali and concluding in Komodo would be a heck of a three+ week dive trip in Indonesia. Just sayin'...

 

[JonnieB]

That's a very popular itinerary for many divers. Another option is Bali...a week at Nusa Lobongan/Penida for sharks and rays, a week at Amed/Tulamben for walls, reefs, and macro, and maybe a few days at Purmuteran/Menjangan area. Personally I'd do a week on Lombongon and two weeks in Amed/Tulamben. You could also do a day of hiking the volcanoes or the nearby Alampura rice terraces.

 

[Centrals]

Gibo69.
Your plan is perfectly fine.
If you want to see certain unique culture then there is no better place than Torajaland in Sulawesi.

 

[Searcaigh]

North Sulawesi is a great choice for your first visit to Indonesia.

My advice is to look at Murex's "Passport to Paradise" which can be tailor made to add or reduce days at each of the three locations (Manado, Bangka and Lembeh).

Lembeh is predominantly muck diving, which you may or may not be interested in, but there are some unique critters there and definitely worth the visit.

Siladen is unfortunately a boat dive only location, whereas the other places mentioned have shore diving and for Bangka especially, snorkelling opportunities.

I only visited Siladen once back in 2015, and they did have fresh water issues, which I hope they have now resolved. It is a well run resort and the hospitality fantastic.

 

[Gibo69]

Thank you very much for your help and suggestions !
I will look into it, especially the Murex and Bastianos suggestions.

Thanks a lot.

 

[rmorgan]

We spent about three weeks on North Sulawesi islands a couple of months ago, staying at Bunaken Oasis, Murex Bangka, and Lembeh Resort.

The Bunaken diving is virtually all walls. Nice, healthy walls, of course, and many turtles. Bangka has some wild topography; canyons, swim-throughs, etc. We dove three days at Bangka and it wasn't enough; a week at Bunaken and it was enough diving, but not too much; and a week at Lembeh, which was barely enough but we saw all (well, many of) the things.

You likely know that in Lembeh, there is very little to do besides dive, and there is nothing to dive except muck, with a few interesting reefs. At LR, there is excellent food, lovely rooms, a nice pool, and a well-operated dive op. Bunaken Oasis is a jewel--gorgeous, large pool; remarkable restaurant, lovely cottages; very nice day boats--really, the entire package. And at all three, the staffs are terrific.

Because we did not stay at Murex Manado, we didn't qualify for the "Passport to Paradise," which is exclusive to the three Murex operations (Manado and Bangka are owned by the same family, who really opened up North Sulewesi diving; they also own the dive concession at LR). Nonetheless, we did have day boat transfers from Oasis to Bangka and Bangka to LR. We did not dive between Bunaken and Bangka, because the Ruang volcano erupted in the wee hours and things were dark and ashy; we dove twice between Bangka and LR, and it was great.

We agree that the three types of diving, and the quality of the resorts and their dive ops, makes North Sulewesi a great destination, and are already scheming a return. Not that you asked, but here's a batch of images from the three locations.

 

[Gibo69]

We spent about three weeks on North Sulawesi islands a couple of months ago, staying at Bunaken Oasis, Murex Bangka, and Lembeh Resort.

The Bunaken diving is virtually all walls. Nice, healthy walls, of course, and many turtles. Bangka has some wild topography; canyons, swim-throughs, etc. We dove three days at Bangka and it wasn't enough; a week at Bunaken and it was enough diving, but not too much; and a week at Lembeh, which was barely enough but we saw all (well, many of) the things.

You likely know that in Lembeh, there is very little to do besides dive, and there is nothing to dive except muck, with a few interesting reefs. At LR, there is excellent food, lovely rooms, a nice pool, and a well-operated dive op. Bunaken Oasis is a jewel--gorgeous, large pool; remarkable restaurant, lovely cottages; very nice day boats--really, the entire package. And at all three, the staffs are terrific.

Because we did not stay at Murex Manado, we didn't qualify for the "Passport to Paradise," which is exclusive to the three Murex operations (Manado and Bangka are owned by the same family, who really opened up North Sulewesi diving; they also own the dive concession at LR). Nonetheless, we did have day boat transfers from Oasis to Bangka and Bangka to LR. We did not dive between Bunaken and Bangka, because the Ruang volcano erupted in the wee hours and things were dark and ashy; we dove twice between Bangka and LR, and it was great.

We agree that the three types of diving, and the quality of the resorts and their dive ops, makes North Sulewesi a great destination, and are already scheming a return. Not that you asked, but here's a batch of images from the three locations.

Thank you very much for your detailed answer, very helpful !
Me and my wife, which is a biologist, looked at your images...man they are amazing!!
May I ask you what kind of "light" did you used for taking these pictures ? A flash or portable light ?

Thanks again
Regards.

 

[rmorgan]

Thank you very much for your detailed answer, very helpful !
Me and my wife, which is a biologist, looked at your images...man they are amazing!!
May I ask you what kind of "light" did you used for taking these pictures ? A flash or portable light ?

Thanks again
Regards.

My privilege, Gibo69, and thanks to you both. The pictures are lit with a pair of underwater strobes, a fairly standard underwater setup although, to the dismay of my in-house dive partner, a bit cumbersome. Have fun planning (and taking) your trip!

 

[cetacean]

Hi all,
me and my wife we are looking at our next trip which is planned for July 2025.
After visiting Fiji and Maldives we would love to visit Indonesia finally !
Since we are more a kind of "Vacation Diver" type, we would like to avoid places with strong currents, (although Raja Ampat remains a dream sooner or later ).
Not enough experience yet to enjoy this type of dive.

Currently I am looking at North Sulawesi and I am leaning toward a 8 day stay (more or less) in each of the following places:

-Lembeh
-Bangka
-Bunaken

The main reasons for choosing these three places are, firstly, we would like to see three different dives environments and different type of dives, with different species of fishes, corals, etc.
Secondly we would prefer to spend the days diving, snorkelling and relaxing at the resorts instead of "spending" precious time by flying to other parts of Indonesia.

What you think ? My reasoning is good or not ?
About the main differences of the three places... do you agree that they offer almost three different types of environments ?

We are looking at resorts, and currently we are evaluating Siladen Resort, Coral Eye and Lembeh Resort.
One thing that "bother" me is that apparently at Siladen you cannot snorkelling from the resort beach, only during high tide.
Is that true ?
How about the other two resorts ?

Do you think 3+ weeks around there is "overkill" ?
Any suggestion or experience would be very welcome.

Thank you very much !

@Gibo69

As others have stated, the "triangle" is a frequent plan for many who want to dive Indonesia for the first time.

If you are looking for the best resorts in each location, Siladen Resort is the most comfortable, and nicest resort in Bunaken. Similarly, Lembeh Resort is the nicest resort in Lembeh.

Snorkeling directly off of Siladen's beach is very hard because the coral comes almost completely to the surface - there just isn't room to get into the water. Having said this, it is a very short walk to their jetty, which will give you access to a really nice wall to snorkel (and dive). Although you can snorkel off of Lembeh Resort, the vis wouldn't be great...(not many people snorkel in Lembeh, and as others have said, Lembeh almost exclusively for serious divers - not much else to do in the area - although an afternoon or evening looking for tarsiers in the national park can be fun).

If you are willing to consider other locations in Indonesia, in the southeast corner of Sulawesi is Wakatobi - a world class dive (and snorkeling) resort. Easily accessible from Bali, it's better (more comfortable, better food, better snorkeling) that any of the other resorts mentioned. It also caters to (serious) divers and snorkelers equally, and you can snorkel the house reef easily from either the beach in front of the resort or the jetty that extends out to the wall (they also run snorkeling boats to several of their surrounding spots).

Wakatobi is a great destination for 10 days, paired with a stop in Bali either on the way in or out would give you the opportunity to visit two very interesting destinations (that are different culturally).

The area around Wakatobi is amazing, and the resort has become likely the most comfortable and well run dive resort in Indonesia (this is is somewhat subjective. Many people who have not been to Wakatobi will argue against this, but very few who have been there will disagree with this statement).