1)are there any dive sites i should perhaps try and request more than others - obviously crystal bay is well known and i desperately want to see mola2, but divers en mass can be a bit frustrating, and people who have dived an area a lot generally know of other less visited but often great dive sites.
2)i usually dive in the rash guard and shorts, or a thermal 3mm top. the waters around Bali sound like they maybe a bit chilly? i dont get cold easily but was wondering whether i am nuts diving there without a 3mm suit?
3) My gf is OW only and will do her AOW there - is it crazy to think maybe after 5 days of diving she could perhaps look at blue corner or crystal bay or are the currents to risky there mkost of the time?
1 ) Crystal Bay and Manta Bay are super busy during summer as they are the closest from Bali + the main source of income for local snorkeling boat captains.
They get much more quiet off-season and you can actually just be by yourselft in November or February.
The best coral and aquatic life being - in my opinion, shared by most of the local guides - Mangrove Point, Toyapakeh, SD Point, Karang Sari & Batu Abah.
Crystal Bay being the most popular dive site. It's indeed a nice dive site but I'm really not sure its popularity is well diserved : it can be super nice (but not better than my favorites ...), just a good one, or a nightmare depending of conditions ... and number of people around. Some parts of Crystal Bay are severely damaged by brainless divers & their useless "guides" but most of the dive site remains vivid, specially the plateau above the drop-off wall.
2 ) Water temp varies depending the time of the year :
- 24° C on average between July & September (september being the colder) with thermoclines down to 15° C on many dive sites.
- 26° C on average the rest of the year with not so many freezing thermoclines.
Any case you may get cold without a suit. Local dive ops provide 5mm full wetsuits to their guests.
3 ) How many dive has she done yet ?
Crystal Bay is not an issue even for the less experienced divers when diving with experienced local ops that know the dive site and are used to conditions here.
Even shallow (from 5m to 20m), there is plenty to see from super small to bigger.
Blue Corner is more an issue : I doubt you find any local ops to bring an OW diver there unless she has already quite some experience in strong current. It's totally useless to get to BC to get low on air even before reaching the drop-off which is the main reason to dive here.