What is a day like diving from Nusa Lembongan Vs Labuan Bajo?

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I wouldn't say that... Uberscuba, Manta Rhei, Divine, Bajo dive club, FDC to name a few don't have any.
AFAIK only Red Whale, BlueMarlin and DDK (even though the latter don't use it anymore) have speed boats on top of their large slow boats.

Anyway I agree that Komodo is mostly a Liveaboard destination, other than that you'll miss half of the dive sites speedboat or not.

You are right Not every shop offers speedboats when I visited in Nov most of the shops that I passed by did.

We had 2 free days before jumping aboard our Liveaboard so we went day diving more just to get wet and double check our gear

We went with Blue Marlin. They were okay but I wasn't requiring guides to point out critters

The Staff were good and the DMT's were pretty on the ball (from my Pro perspective) We were able to get a second DMT with our group of 4 so escort the other couple up when they got low on gas (which dented the ego's of the other couple

Having yoru Pro card and not being a dick has advantages sometimes - They even applied the Pro discount to my non Pro wife which was nice
 
What is etched in my memory about Lembongan is wading through trash to board the boat.
 
Im doing my DMT at blue marlin Komodo ATM and know a few DMT’s at the other shops here in Labuan Bajo, happy to answer any question that you have.
 
If I were to do a DM course I would do it on Gili Air. There are loads of student divers so you will get masses of experience. Gili Air is not at all a wild party place, Lembongan is getting busier too. The water is warmer than in Lembongan or Penida, but as Im sure you know there are usually mantas and also Molas in season seen in Lembongan. For the widest possible variety of diving Padang Bai is very good, with the world class wreck and amazing macro in Tulamben and under the jetty in Padang Bai plus great local sites, as well as being. a quick 45 minute hop over to the Nusa Islands. But this will have fewer students and the shop will be less busy than Gili Air.
 
What is etched in my memory about Lembongan is wading through trash to board the boat.
STOP! LOL, are you serious? That's so awful to hear :vomit:

The water is warmer than in Lembongan or Penida, but as Im sure you know there are usually mantas and also Molas in season seen in Lembongan. For the widest possible variety of diving Padang Bai is very good, with the world class wreck and amazing macro in Tulamben and under the jetty in Padang Bai plus great local sites.
Thanks for the tips. I will be in Indonesia for 42 days (beginning April 9th) and then my husband and I will dive and travel for 12 more when he arrives mid May. We will mostly explore mainland Bali, Padang Bai was on my short list. I will look more into it!

So I am leaning towards two fish aka 2fish- they allow you to split your DMT time over two locations. They offer: Bunaken, Lembeh, Nusa Lembongan, Amed, South Lombok and Gili Air as two week choices.

I am considering Lembeh, Gili Air, Lembongan (maybe leave this for some fun dives when hubby arrives?), Lombok, and Bunaken. Any recommendations for the two choices? In any particular order? Does being there in Mid April-Mid May make you shy away or more motivated to one area? I am not too concerned with travel time/distance/cost, more about the diving quality/uniqueness.

My husband and I will most likely do a Komodo liveaboard and some diving on mainland bali. If we don't see mantas in Komodo, we will probably be more motivated to fit in an overnight in Nusa Lem/Penida.
 
We had 2 free days before jumping aboard our Liveaboard so we went day diving more just to get wet and double check our gear

Reco for Liveaboard you enjoyed from LBJ? or a day trip dive site you liked?
 
STOP! LOL, are you serious? That's so awful to hear :vomit:

Lembongan was the filthiest place I have dived. I have only been there once, and Lembongan, Bali and Labuan Bajo are pretty much the extent of my familiarity with that part of Indonesia, so better to ask others who have more familiarity with this region about the trash problem.
 
I am not too concerned with travel time/distance/cost, more about the diving quality/uniqueness.

Lembeh is very nuanced diving... small groups, mostly photogs, mostly very experienced, moving very slow looking for very small things in the sand. It is one of my favorite places in the world, but I would never want to teach a class there. Most instructors there will tell you they rarely ever teach at all.

Point is the best diving and the best divemaster experiences may not overlap. Why not be in an area where there are tons of students and instructors who teach every day? The students will welcome you on their fun dives and be thrilled you are part of their class. If you want a great divemaster class, go to where the students are. If you want great diving, go to great diving and skip the class.
 
I was in Lembongan for 6 nights just 3 weeks ago, for the first time in about 5 years. It’s way cleaner than it was ! The main beach used to be really really messy. It is now far far cleaner. The seaweed farmers have moved to the other side of the island, not sure if this has anything to do with it. But the dive shops do regular beach cleans. It’s still not perfect, the dive boat stopped on a few occasions to avoid rubbish in the water. Manta Point had no rubbish in the water when we were there, unfortunately it also had no mantas !
 
I am about to travel to Bali on 24th, day on 25th no diving then diving until 8 April. I was advised by a diver living in Bali on another numbers are way down. Can probably get a 3 day live aboard for Komodo on the cheap.

Anyway going to dive Tulamben and Ahmed and maybe Raja Ampat. My diver partner is an instructor who had dived Bali several times. The first dive shop advised if we are with their guide they allow 75 minute dives or 40 bar which ever comes first. Won't be 40 bar for me. If no guide we can dive to our hearts content. On the USS Liberty will not always require a guide and we will do some night dives there as well.
 

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