Anyone stay at Mimpi Tulamben recently?

[JerryCan]

I will be heading to the Bali northcoast for a week next month.

I got my OW certification at Tulamben a few years back, plenty of resorts (other then Mimpi) offering good deals there, the diving was nice and easy but not so special.

This upcoming trip i will do a few PADI specialties then trips to Menjangan, i decided to stay in Pemuteran, prices are much more gentle there, a choice of dive centers, a (snorkable) house reef which hosts a well known coral reef restoration project, a turtle sanctuary.

I would agree with the earlier post, if you want to book upfront for both Mimpi resorts i would recommend visiting Tulamben BEFORE going to Menjangan.

 

[Leejnd]

I agree with your perspective on the tragedy of having to put up with a couple of days at "the-lesser-of-two-resorts" - let's keep this in perspective: having to "suffer" through a marginal meal or two is a small inconvenience in the bigger picture (i.e "another crappy day in paradise").

LOL - I like your "another crappy day in paradise" comment. The only real reason this concerns me at all is that I'm traveling with my Mom, who doesn't dive, so she'll be spending a lot more time at the resort than I will. I don't want her to feel like I dragged her to some low-rent joint out in the middle of nowhere just so I can get in some good diving, especially since there's really not much to do in the general vicinity. Just to make things a little sweeter there, I just sent an email to my Mimpi contact to upgrade our room at Tulamben from a patio room to a deluxe cottage. That oughta keep Mom happy.

What can you tell me about how you arranged your package with the Mimpi? Were they open to any combination of days at either resort that you wanted, or did they only offer some pre-defined combos?

I've been communicating with someone named Astawa at the Mimpi sales office. The email address is sales@mimpi.com. They do offer some pre-defined combos, but they are also willing to customize them for you. Mine is actually customized -- they have a Menjangan/Tulamben combo, 3 nights each place, but I altered mine to be 4 nights Menjangan, 2 nights Tulamben. Also, the package includes equipment, and I'm bringing mine, so they deducted that from the price.

Here's the link to their packages: http://www.mimpi.com/mimpi-packages.html

 

[Valwood1]

Everybody does seem to say the Liberty dive gets crowded with day-trippers by late morning, so being there early is wise - that's one of the reasons we figured it was worth going and staying at the Mimpi. But maybe one day diving there is enough though....hmmm.....

This is the understatement of the decade, at least if you're there on a weekend. I dove there on July 6th, operating out of near Amed. We started our first dive at about 9am, and there were not many people. We started our second about 11am, and there was a cast of thousands, so that manuevering around the wreck was actually a bit difficult. It was, by far, the most crowded dive site that I've ever seen.

Incidentally, the Liberty wreck is a beach entry off of a rocky beach, and requires a bit of caution. The wreck is very close (less than 100 yards, I guess), so it's not much of a swim. The dive itself is very good, with good viz and loads of marine life. I have been told that the dropoff also is a fine dive, but did not do that one.

The best way to get around Bali is by using individual drivers. There are loads of them, and they're not terribly expensive. I've driven all over Europe, Great Britain and Ireland, but I cannot imagine driving on Bali -- take Paris or anywhere in Italy, and make the drivers even crazier and add countless motorbikes that have no sense of lanes.

On another subject, if you go the to mother temple at Besakih, be prepared to (1) buy a sarong if you want to go in the temple (and even then, you cannot go many places in the complex if you are not Hindu), (2) probably pay a guide $25US, and (3) face an huge number of people selling postcards, flowers and who knows what else. It was the only occasion where I felt that I was being "tourist-gouged".

I'd also suggest getting some rupiahs. Not only with you feel rich (exchange rate is about 9,000 rupiah per dollar), but you'll actually need them. If you take any US currency, take ONLY very clean and crisp bills; even the hotel in Sanur (Parigata)would not take some hundreds that had a wrinkle.

Some friends took the "swim with dolphins" deal in Lovina, and said it was very disappointing -- in the ocean, lots of jukungs loaded (as much as you can load a jukung) with tourists chasing whatever dolphins were spotted, and never getting closer than fifty yards or so.

Bali is wonderful. The people are lovely, and it's really very inexpensive.

 

[Leejnd]

Wow, more great info!

This is the understatement of the decade, at least if you're there on a weekend. I dove there on July 6th, operating out of near Amed. We started our first dive at about 9am, and there were not many people. We started our second about 11am, and there was a cast of thousands, so that manuevering around the wreck was actually a bit difficult. It was, by far, the most crowded dive site that I've ever seen.

Yeah, I'd heard that about the Liberty, although I must say I'm a bit alarmed at the severity of it that you describe. I guess I'll make a point of getting up really early that day, so I can see it before the throngs arrive. I too have heard that the wall there is supposed to be an amazing dive. I hope that it's less busy than the Liberty!

Oh, and re the money: Another member in here (AlanWald) informed me that in his experience, the BEST exchange rate you'll get in Bali is from crisp, brand new 100 dollar bills. So I'm going to the bank to stock up on crisp Ben Franklins before I go.

Thanks for the skinny on the dolphin trip thing. My Mom loves looking at dolphins and asked me to look into that. I'll tell her it's best to skip it.

Oh, and as for getting around -- I've driven all over Europe, New Zealand (wrong side of the road! LOL!), Costa Rica, and various other exotic places -- but no way in HELL am I driving in Bali! I've got private drivers already arranged to transport me from resort to resort. Actually, the Mimpi is handling our transportation from our first place, out to Menjangan, then to Tulamben, and then on to Ubud. And our consolidator (from whom we purchased the airline tickets and the other hotels) are handling the transport to and from the airport. So we're all set!

 

[nwflyboy]

That's the problem with things that are great - they attract a lot of other people. Annoying people!

In my experience traveling, in many (but not all) cases you can beat the crowds by sleeping right near the attractions, and enjoy the place in the early morning before the busloads of day-trippers show up. By the time they get there, you can have moved on to someplace less famous. It sounds like the Liberty is yet another example.

I'm also hoping that we can dive the Liberty early enough to be gone and off to another dive site by the time the crowds from south Bali arrive.

I've already had the experience of being in the water with a hundred+ other divers, all trying to occupy too-small-a-space, literally bumping into each other - and this was a night dive, which made it even worse. I was afraid somebody was going to knock my mask off with a wayward kick. No thanks, don't need that again.

 

[opalobsidian]

My huband and I have driven in Bali each of our 8 years of visiting and never once had a problem. In fact, in all that time i have only seen one wreck in Bali, just a little fender bender. The drivers can be agressive, but are also quite aware. This year I even rented a motorbike and zipped around town on it. The other motorbikers, seeing immediately that I hadn't been raised on a motorcycle like most of them have been, were very courteous.

What took some getting used to is in Bali you don't wait for traffic to clear before entering it, you learn how to merge with it. Also realise no one hardly goes over around 30 mph at any time.

NOW ABOUT EXCHANGING CURRENCY....the money exchangers check your bills for the dates and reject some because they believe certain dates are counterfeit. Below is an excerpt from a travel site..

"If bringing 100 dollar bills, avoid series 1999 or below, you will have a problem using these bills as there are many counterfeit 100's from this series year. You might also find the same problem with all 50 dollar notes as well. Travels checks, Visa & Master card and ATM's are no problem"

We have had many 100 bills in perfect shape turned down for this reason, until finally we found one exchanger who would take them all regardless, but only if the boss lady was there.