One week Manado

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Hi all

I am going to manado in March 2016.
I like advice where to stay ?

7 Days.

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if you are going to shoot macro, just proceed directly to Lembeh, you will get more critters per minute.
 
Tasik Ria is a good option for Manado. You can dive Bunaken and Lembeh from there
 
If you're ready to book flights go with Garuda. They now have direct flights from Bali to Manado (no longer transiting in Makassar).
 
Would be hard to advise if you don't say more about what you expect :
- what kind of trip : single or buddies diving, family, ...
- which comfort you need? pool, beach, more international feel or local style.
- Do you prefer staying all time in the resort or do you enjoy going out for dinner?
- what do you like in diving or what are your main criteria : macro, corals, visibility, no current, dive sites closeby, would you be ok for driving 2hrs for getting to the divespot, etc.

You see there are lots of options in North Sulawesi, mainland more or less near to downtown (Murex, Tasik Ria, etc.) more or less secluded islands (Bunaken, Siladen, Bangka) or freaky critters heaven (Lembeh) .
 
- what kind of trip : single

- beach ( with some comfort )

- staying all time in the resort

- : macro, corals

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Simple answer to your simply stated requirements = Bangka - Try Blue Bay Divers, Coral Eye, Murex OR if you have the $$$'s Gangga.

PS do some homework/ research next time before you throw up a simple question. There is so so much good info here on SB if you just looked.
 
Hi fellow divers!

Greetings from AquaMarine Diving - Bali.
North Sulawesi is a great location to enjoy a nice variety of dives. We organize trips to North Sulawesi for our clients regularly.

North Sulawesi is known for these 3 areas: Manado/Bunaken, Lembeh Strait and Bangka.
The highlights for Manado/Bunaken are Coral walls and deep walls. Amazing underwater marine bio-diversity. Sharks, tunas, barracudas, reef fishes. Lembeh Strait's and its shallow black sandy bottom is a worldwide famous muck site; you can find a rich selection of frogfish, octopus, nudibranchs, shrimp, seahorses, pipefish, and so on. And Bangka archipelago maybe less famous but equally interesting offers outstanding pinnacles sorrounded by snappers, surgeon fish, fusiliers, batfish, angelfish and Red-tooth triggerfish.

If you are not keen to fly in to Manado with a domestic flight from Jakarta or Bali, there is a direct flight from Singapore with Silk Air.

There used to be a Liveaboard in the area, Ocean Rover, but now the vessel focuses on Komodo and Raja Ampat.
Which leaves many Land-based options for different budgets and different styles to suit everyone.
In general even though the Resorts in the area are numerous, our clients tend to book repeatedly with NAD Lembeh, coming back every year. Of course the free accommodation upgrade offered by AquaMarine offers a great add-on. :wink:

But the best way to book your dream trip, is to be on the look out for special offers. Quick example; on our monthly Beyond Bali eNewsletter for April issue, we have Kasawari Lembeh Resort offering 40% off! Surely other offers will be available out there for March 2016.

The best of luck and enjoy North Sulawesi!
Ms. Manon Meertens - Dive Travel Consultant - Indonesia
 
Just returned from Tasik Ria. Very quiet resort, food is good but lots of the same, and not immune from causing Bali belli. I like wall dives and great vis. lots of that at Bunaken, house reef so-so for odd critters, but they do a day trip to Lembeh, true muck diving, not very pretty, but see amazingly strange creatures. Bianca is wall to wall Mandarin fish and Bangka cardinal fish, other sites have frogfish, moth fish, stone etc etc. Even pygmy sea horses. Nudibranchs of every clour!
I was there about 5 years ago, and the photographers have beaten the reefs up a bit, seems touching and lying all over the coral is "OK". Because the traffic in North Sulawesi is heavy, the trip to Lembeh takes about 2hours 30 minutes makes for a long day. Perhaps the better option is to split the trip some at Manado and some at Bitung. There are other trips available by speed boat to more distant Islands, I will do next time, perhaps they will be in better condition since they are dived less frequently.
I have no experience with any other operators in the area. By the way I took the Singapore airline/Silk Air route:)
 
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