3 days in Manado - Bunaken, Bangka or Lembeh?!

[kcat]

Hello, I need some advice deciding how to make the most of my very short time in Manado. I am going to Raja Ampat to do a liveaboard and have managed to squeeze in 3 days in Manado to do some diving and go to Tangkoko so not very much time at all to do it justice!!!

I can't decide between Bangka, Bunaken or Lembeh. I'm tempted to go to Lembeh to make the most of the critters but Bangka also sounds amazing for critters and then there are all the resorts on Bunaken that get rave reviews!! Can anyone make a recommendation of how I can possibly choose between them!? I have never dived Indo before so I'm looking for something that will complement liveaboard in RA well and also be a nice chilled out place to relax and get over the jetlag!!

Also if anyone has any tips about Tangkoko that would be great - are the afternoon trips out of the resorts any good or should we stay overnight in one of the homestays so we can do an early morning trip as well as an afternoon trip? I would really love to see the Black Crested Macaques...

 

[highdesert]

Of the three areas ... Bunaken, Bangka, and Lembeh ... it's my opinion that Bangka is the one most similar to Raja Ampat. If you want to complement RA, then I would suggest eliminating Bangka, only because I think it's the most similar to RA. That leaves you with the two extremes ... Bunaken and Lembeh. What's your pleasure??? Big walls with schooling reef fish, turtles, and hard coral, or an amazing array of bizarre critters scuttling around in the muck, mostly devoid of coral or any other "ornamentaion"? Go with your gut feeling ... there's really not a wrong choice, only different ones!

 

[Bali Diver]

3 days spent in Lembeh to see lots of critters,stay at Nad good free house reef also,and nice easy going place and then enjoy Raja with all the reefs and splender to enjoy qs well as other things

 

[kathydee]

You could probably do 2 in Bunakan and 1 in Lembeh if you can't make a decision

 

[instructorinasia]

I would say 3 days in Lembeh as it is totally different to the diving in Raja Ampat!

 

[joebubbles]

Kill two birds with one stone. You can stay in Lembeh and do a day dive at bangka. Personally, I think bangka too good to pass up.

 

[ocdiver1]

Go to Lembeh...also closest I believe to Tangkoko. You should be able to do an afternoon tour from there without having to spend the night.