Another itinerary post - Bali

[UFOrb]

Hi there, I'm looking to pick some brains for advice on a reasonable Bali itinerary. We've pretty much decided on a 2 week trip to Bali in July, flying in from Bangkok after a week in Thailand. We may have my niece with me who'll be interested in completing an OW course. We will also have our young kids with us (1 & 4 years) so looking for decent mid-range accommodation, ideally with a pool.

Ideally the plan would include mainly shore diving / near-shore boat diving with surface intervals back at base and maybe 1 or 2 day trips for me (and possibly the Mrs). We're interested in a variety of diving, but less keen on muck dives. I'd also like some easy, close to beach snorkelling for my 4 year old (& me of course ).

My initial thoughts are:
Stay in Sanur for some beach time (maybe 2 nights), then travel up to PadangBai or CandiDasa for several days (is this a reasonable place for OW course?), then up to Amed for Tulamben etc, and possibly traveling to Gili Air from there. My current plan is to end with several days chillin in Sanur (and do Nusa Penida from there) before flying back.
Other thoughts are to reverse the itinerary and go to Gili Air (without researching, I assume OW courses are available?) from Sanur, OR possibly staying on Nusa Lembongan instead of Gili Air. - What's the boat trip from Sanur to Gili Air like?
I'm also a bit worried about trying to squeeze too much in having the littl'uns with us. I guess Tulamben/Amed could be done from CandiDasa as day trips or visa versa, so could just stay in one of those locations...
Also, would Nusa Penida be better done from PadangBai?

Any thoughts on this? I realise that there's not much scope for other Bali attractions in the schedule so may need to look at that! - it's the diving bug taking hold!

As an alternative I'm also thinking Panglao Island, Bohol in Phil may be an option but my wife's not keen on two flights from Bangkok (which I agree isn't ideal). Also, any thoughts on Puerto Galera at that time of year?

Many thanks in advance!!

 

[Lorenzoid]

My wife and I spent a couple of weeks in Bali last summer, doing a sort of loop around the island. Unlike you, we were all about muck diving. We started in Pemuteran in the northwest corner to dive Menjangan island, then over to Tulamben in the east, stopping on the way at Puri Jati (a renowned muck site), and finally a few days on Lembongan. If I were to arrange a Bali "dive safari" like this again, I would skip the northwest (and it sounds like you plan to skip it), and concentrate on the Tulamben/Amed area, and maybe visit Candidasa and Padang Bai as well. After that, instead of staying on Lembongan (we stayed at the Two Fish resort), I would do Nusa Penida as a day trip from Sanur or Padang Bai (obviously I'm not in a position to guess which is better). We were just not thrilled at all with Lembongan--trash everywhere, and crawling with non-diving backpacker types. As we were more interested in diving than laying on a beach, we did not visit the Gilis, either. Sanur is fine for a bit of beach, though I suspect it's a lot less quiet than it was back in the days when it earned the moniker "Snore." Still, a notch quieter than Kuta Beach on the chill scale.

 

[UFOrb]

As we were more interested in diving than laying on a beach, we did not visit the Gilis, either.

Hey Lorenzoid, thanks for your tips.
I was under the impression the diving & snorkelling around the Gilis is pretty good. I know it's a good place to see turtles. If it's not generally all that then we may well skip it and spend more time around Tulamben/ Amed & Padang Bai/ Candidasa. Hopefully someone else will be able to advise.

Btw, how was the diving around the north east & east coasts? From what I've read there's a good variety of easily accessible sites??

Sanur is mainly scheduled in to break up the travelling as it's not far from the airport but I'm sure we'll all enjoy the beach too. Definitely no plans to visit Kuta.

Cheers.

 

[Tippytoes12]

We have been to the Gilis many times and love it there. Manta on Gili Air has managers from the UK and have three types of accomodation , two pools and do single tank dives. The staff are fantastic and I have seen them babysit while parents are diving , the food great...there is also excellent snorkelling off the beach with semi pet turtles. We honestly believe that the diving is getting better and better. There are masses of turtles everywhere on the Gilis , fab for kids of all ages.

This is also Mola Mola season , you can either see them from the Padang Bai or Candidasa areas or stay on Lembongan. We have dived nad stayed with World Diving which we love but are hard core divers. Thee seem to be nice places yo stay in Padangbai and this might suit you better.

I have been to Panglao in Bohol which is great , but I so believe that Bali is better.

Thee are fast boats from Bali to the gilis that we have taken many times ....but flying to Lombok is cheaper and safer.

 

[billt4sf]

My wife and I have lived in Bali (in Ubud) for 7 months now and have dived around so I’ll tell you what I know.

June – Aug is the high season in Bali so you’ll get a lot of traffic going anywhere. I would definitely make your accommodation and diving reservations before arriving as many things sell out.

Amed and Tulamben seem like they’re always placid areas to dive in, they’re almost always shore dives and it’s fairly crowded – The Liberty is REALLY crowded but if you go EARLY in the morning it’s better and you can see the huge bumphead parrot fish. I have heard night dives are really good there but I haven’t been able to try this yet. The Liberty is really crowded and justly so – it’s a great dive. Other dives in the Amed are good – but not nearly as good as the Liberty. The Liberty is hella crowded though except for at sunrise.

I have seen people snorkeling in the Amed / Jemeluk area but I’m not sure how good it is. In any case it would be a nice day on the water I presume.

We have stayed at Kembali Bungalows in Jemeluk, which is OK but not four star. We have dived with Adventure Divers Bali, they do a great job and treat you well, they are located in Jemeluk. They get mostly day-trippers from the south. We always have a fun time diving with them. There are a few good restaurants in the Amed area and many just-regular ones. Lisa at Adventure Divers can give you a list.

Padang Bai has better diving IMHO but it’s more work – currents and boat trips. Nusa Penida is one of our favorite places to dive, great corals! It’s about a 45 min boat trip from Padang Bai. There is also the possibility of seeing mantas (year-round?) and mola-mola in season – though typically you have to go 30m or more for these.

We dive with Geko Divers (as do many on this forum) and we have stayed with OK Divers which Geko can set up for you, but has to be paid in advance. OK is OK – not four star, call it 3 ½. There are lots of accommodations in Candi Dasa (we loved Rama Candi Dasa!), which is about a 20 minute ride from Padang Bai plus maybe more depending on traffic. Padang Bai itself is not much to look at but there is a great restaurant in Candidasa – Vincent’s. We like it so much it’s a draw for us to go back.

We love our situation in Ubud. We live on a no cars road just outside town, in 10 minutes we can walk to good restaurants or shopping. We try to stay out of town proper during tourist season J. It’s a very quiet, peaceful place, great massages! Bali has a number of colorful celebrations, if you’re lucky you can see one or two.

People ask me about the weather in Bali, and I tell them that there are three types of weather on any given day: warm and humid (a great time for a dip in the pool), hot and humid (a wonderful time for a dip in the pool), and warm rain (our favorite time for a dip in the pool).

Hope this helps.

Bill

 

[matts1w]

Seriously, if an Open Water class is part of your trip...as are little kids needing beach time, you want to be in Gili Air. It is great for new divers, enough to keep advanced divers happy, and perfect for families with kids. There are a number of bungalows with pools, good restaurants, and awesome dive shops with great staff. My favorite is Blue Marine Dive Center. The owners and staff truly get it. They are awesome.

 

[UFOrb]

We have been to the Gilis many times and love it there. Manta on Gili Air has managers from the UK and have three types of accomodation , two pools and do single tank dives. The staff are fantastic and I have seen them babysit while parents are diving , the food great...there is also excellent snorkelling off the beach with semi pet turtles. We honestly believe that the diving is getting better and better. There are masses of turtles everywhere on the Gilis , fab for kids of all ages.

This is also Mola Mola season , you can either see them from the Padang Bai or Candidasa areas or stay on Lembongan. We have dived nad stayed with World Diving which we love but are hard core divers. Thee seem to be nice places yo stay in Padangbai and this might suit you better.

HI Tippytoes,
Thank you, that's really good to know.
Manta resort looks fantastic! I'd love to be able to watch turtles with my 4 year old...
I think we might now go in May instead of July as flights & accommodation is cheaper, but I believe this is too early for the Mola Molas unfortunately. Another time!

When you say flying is safer than the boats, I take it there are a lot of accidents then? I was thinking of catching the boat from Amed, and then the boat back to Sanur. Is that a bad idea?

 

[UFOrb]

Seriously, if an Open Water class is part of your trip...as are little kids needing beach time, you want to be in Gili Air. It is great for new divers, enough to keep advanced divers happy, and perfect for families with kids. There are a number of bungalows with pools, good restaurants, and awesome dive shops with great staff. My favorite is Blue Marine Dive Center. The owners and staff truly get it. They are awesome.

Thank for the info matts1w...I'm now convinced we should include time on Gili Air, even if my niece doesn't come with us. I'll check out Blue Marine dive center.

Cheers.

 

[UFOrb]

People ask me about the weather in Bali, and I tell them that there are three types of weather on any given day: warm and humid (a great time for a dip in the pool), hot and humid (a wonderful time for a dip in the pool), and warm rain (our favorite time for a dip in the pool).

Hi Bill, in Bali for a year! You lucky things!

Thanks for the tips. We're actually thinking of going in May instead of July now. Do you know if its significantly less busy at that time, and do you know what the weathers like? From some research May seems like a pretty good time to visit (dry & calm)?? It seems to be the wrong time for Mola Molas though sadly.

When you say the Liberty gets crowded, do you mean people getting in each others way or is it well-managed? Is the Liberty likely to be less crowded in May than July?

Cheers.

 

[billt4sf]

Hi Bill, in Bali for a year! You lucky things!

Thanks for the tips. We're actually thinking of going in May instead of July now. Do you know if its significantly less busy at that time, and do you know what the weathers like? From some research May seems like a pretty good time to visit (dry & calm)?? It seems to be the wrong time for Mola Molas though sadly.

When you say the Liberty gets crowded, do you mean people getting in each others way or is it well-managed? Is the Liberty likely to be less crowded in May than July?

Cheers.

ha ha "Managed" and "Indonesia" don't go together. Actually that's not quite true -- they do get it done. But there's no limit on the number of divers they'll allow to go there. (Having said that, I don't think I actually bumped into anyone more than once or twice -- it's a very large and spread-out wreck.) If you go at sunrise, there will be others there but it's not a problem. If you go in May, there will be others there but not as many. And less traffic around the island, less competition for everything -- so yeah, I would do that if you can.

Not sure about mola-mola season - ask Cedric at Geko. The chances you'll see them are not great anyway, even in season.

I saw your earlier comment about boats -- yeah there are problems from time to time. You will be in a developing country, there is not the sense of safety that we are accustomed to. There was an explosion on one of the Padang Bai / Gili boats several months ago and several tourists were killed. It's not unusual, for example, to see people smoking, even near fuel. That's why I would be careful about which dive operators I choose. I want boats with safety equipment, and radios and someone to call (and a westerner on board). I do not fly budget airlines in a developing country - the country with the worst air safety record. I want cars with good tires and working seat belts. Still the most likely accident is probably a car accident.

- Bill