Alternative to Gili T in winter

[NauticalNick]

Any reason to not do Nusa (Lembongan/Penida)? I was there over Christmas last year and thought it was great despite viz being "uncharacteristically mixed" for that time of year. Manta point didn't have great viz but I thought all of the other sites on the north side of the islands were great. Some decent current but nothing that can't be managed and as I think others said, the water is a little colder than one might expect but I coincidentally was looking at my dive log this morning, (maybe wishing I was back? lol) and the coldest temperature recorded on my DC was 23C.

 

[TheRedBeanPanda]

Any reason to not do Nusa (Lembongan/Penida)?

Same reasoning as Padang Bai. If the area around Bali / Lombok had generally favorable conditions in winter, I could just as well stick to Gili T. So far I got pretty mixed answers from different people about the weather / viz etc. (some people experienced nonstop rain basically in Jan / Feb) and it seems to be quite a gamble so I think I should explore alterantives farther away where it's high or shoulder season.
Which Nusa did you stay at? I was on Lembongan and had a bit of a crappy dive shop so that tainted my experience a bit

 

[NauticalNick]

Same reasoning as Padang Bai. If the area around Bali / Lombok had generally favorable conditions in winter, I could just as well stick to Gili T. So far I got pretty mixed answers from different people about the weather / viz etc. (some people experienced nonstop rain basically in Jan / Feb) and it seems to be quite a gamble so I think I should explore alterantives farther away where it's high or shoulder season.
Which Nusa did you stay at? I was on Lembongan and had a bit of a crappy dive shop so that tainted my experience a bit

I stayed at Lembongan which I really enjoyed. Seemed like a good "in-between" Bali and Penida which is maybe a bit more off the beaten path in terms of infrastructure than I was looking for at the time. Dove with Blue Corner Dive (second time) and really enjoyed my time with them. I was one of the least experienced divers there but I thought the DM's were great and the dive shop overall had great service. They were more than happy to take suggestions on dive sites while providing up to the minute conditions to make the best decisions. Many other dive shops I had been to were very strict with "this is the schedule". Given I was less experienced than the rest of the group, they swapped me to a 15L so that I could last the full hour with everyone else (embarrassing, I know) rather than having to surface at 40 minutes. They also stored my gear for me inside overnight and picked me up / dropped me off at my hotel every day which was nice. They run a marine conservation course out of the dive shop so there are some people there doing study which really contributes to an atmosphere of people who really love the ocean for lack of a better description.

One thing of note is they didn't have nitrox (apparently a tough time getting O2 on the island at the time so I don't think it was an issue specific to that dive shop) although it wasn't really required for any of our dives.

 

[TheRedBeanPanda]

I stayed at Lembongan which I really enjoyed. Seemed like a good "in-between" Bali and Penida which is maybe a bit more off the beaten path in terms of infrastructure than I was looking for at the time. Dove with Blue Corner Dive (second time) and really enjoyed my time with them. I was one of the least experienced divers there but I thought the DM's were great and the dive shop overall had great service. They were more than happy to take suggestions on dive sites while providing up to the minute conditions to make the best decisions. Many other dive shops I had been to were very strict with "this is the schedule". Given I was less experienced than the rest of the group, they swapped me to a 15L so that I could last the full hour with everyone else (embarrassing, I know) rather than having to surface at 40 minutes. They also stored my gear for me inside overnight and picked me up / dropped me off at my hotel every day which was nice. They run a marine conservation course out of the dive shop so there are some people there doing study which really contributes to an atmosphere of people who really love the ocean for lack of a better description.

One thing of note is they didn't have nitrox (apparently a tough time getting O2 on the island at the time so I don't think it was an issue specific to that dive shop) although it wasn't really required for any of our dives.

Ah yes I was looking at that one but ended up going with another shop because my buddy was already diving with them and they were cheaper, especially for him with his own gear. It was the first and only time that I did not specifically ask to see their equipment etc. and just signed. Lesson learned, will *never* do that again
Great to hear that Blue Corner was so accomodating! I'll remember that if I ever get back there =)
Also it's not embarassing to have less experience, we all have to start somewhere! The only thing that might be embarassing would be to have tons of dives under your belt and still be a crappy and inconsiderate diver