Sulawesi - 3 weeks

[cozcharlie]

Seems like your Lembeh goals/budget might align with Divers Lodge Lembeh operated by board member @Indah . Just tagging him in this post to make sure he sees it .

 

[Pesty]

I am a novice diver with 30 this year and 100 overall so I dont have the experience of others but I do not understand the negative views of Bunaken. Went to Bangka and Bunaken in April and found both great. Some of the best in Bangka was really good but Bunaken was fantastic. Perhaps wall after wall is boring to some but not to me. Logistics of moving between them is not hard. They will organize a driver and boat. Stayed at Nomads in Bangka and Four Sisters in Bunaken. These are simple places and hardly the scale of Murex but hey they do diving and they know their sites!

 

[chillyinCanada]

I am a novice diver with 30 this year and 100 overall so I dont have the experience of others but I do not understand the negative views of Bunaken. Went to Bangka and Bunaken in April and found both great. Some of the best in Bangka was really good but Bunaken was fantastic. Perhaps wall after wall is boring to some but not to me. Logistics of moving between them is not hard. They will organize a driver and boat. Stayed at Nomads in Bangka and Four Sisters in Bunaken. These are simple places and hardly the scale of Murex but hey they do diving and they know their sites!

What did you think about Sahaung at Bangka?

 

[tridacna]

I am a novice diver with 30 this year and 100 overall so I dont have the experience of others but I do not understand the negative views of Bunaken. Went to Bangka and Bunaken in April and found both great. Some of the best in Bangka was really good but Bunaken was fantastic. Perhaps wall after wall is boring to some but not to me. Logistics of moving between them is not hard. They will organize a driver and boat. Stayed at Nomads in Bangka and Four Sisters in Bunaken. These are simple places and hardly the scale of Murex but hey they do diving and they know their sites!

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I just ran some numbers and found that there wasn't a significant (to me) difference between the two resorts (Murex Bangka and Nomads). I often disliked the food at Murex Bangka but when I was last there, they had their cooks learning from the chef at Lembeh. Hopefully that worked the way that it was supposed to do.

 

[Jay_Remi]

I just ran some numbers and found that there wasn't a significant (to me) difference between the two resorts (Murex Bangka and Nomads). I often disliked the food at Murex Bangka but when I was last there, they had their cooks learning from the chef at Lembeh. Hopefully that worked the way that it was supposed to do.

I was about to say the same thing. Nomads seems quite basic and yet the price for their accommodation is not significantly cheaper than Murex. I don't mind basic accommodation, but Nomad does not look good value for money from what I see. May I ask what your issues with the food were? I am quite leaning on Murex now, but your comment raised an alarm (food does matter! )

 

[Jay_Remi]

I am a novice diver with 30 this year and 100 overall so I dont have the experience of others but I do not understand the negative views of Bunaken. Went to Bangka and Bunaken in April and found both great. Some of the best in Bangka was really good but Bunaken was fantastic. Perhaps wall after wall is boring to some but not to me. Logistics of moving between them is not hard. They will organize a driver and boat. Stayed at Nomads in Bangka and Four Sisters in Bunaken. These are simple places and hardly the scale of Murex but hey they do diving and they know their sites!

That is the beauty of diving, we all have very different views on what a good dive is, and our interests may differ. I think I am going to skip Bunaken during this trip, but if i have extra days at the end, I will certainly dive there too. For me, the priority is Lembeh, and maybe 5 days in Bangka.

 

[Jay_Remi]

For those who dived in Bangka, how many dive sites are truly great in this area? I am planning to dive 3 to 4 times a day, hence wondering what the optimal duration stay in Bangka would be (I would have 7 days in Lembeh afterwards)

 

[chillyinCanada]

I was about to say the same thing. Nomads seems quite basic and yet the price for their accommodation is not significantly cheaper than Murex. I don't mind basic accommodation, but Nomad does not look good value for money from what I see. May I ask what your issues with the food were? I am quite leaning on Murex now, but your comment raised an alarm (food does matter! )

I couldn't tell for sure but Nomads didn't seem to have air conditioning.

As for the food at Murex, my first time it was like poor home cooking but that was probably because the kitchen was being worked on so the cooks were "making due". The next two times it was better because they had a new manager and he made efforts to source the best produce and also had a background of extensive experience of working on cruiseships. The last time was in 2018? 19? and there'd been a manager change again and things weren't up to par.

I wouldn't let that stop you, especially because of the training from Lembeh Resort chef. Check some more recent reviews as to the food.

 

[chillyinCanada]

For those who dived in Bangka, how many dive sites are truly great in this area? I am planning to dive 3 to 4 times a day, hence wondering what the optimal duration stay in Bangka would be (I would have 7 days in Lembeh afterwards)

You can't go by me because I would stay at Bangka for 3 weeks.

I like all of the dive sites but Sahaung is my favorite and I could dive it backwards and forwards and up and down, without becoming bored of it.