In October 2023 I traveled to alamBatu for a week’s diving holiday. This was my first time to Indonesia, and I combined a week at alamBatu with a week in Ubud for a yoga retreat. I chose alamBatu based on a personal recommendation from a friend, and as I haven’t seen any detailed reviews of this property on this board, I thought I would share my experiences.
I live on the West Coast of the United States, and found the best flight times and connections on EVA Air out of Seattle. My first choice was a One World airline partner, but the flight times and connections weren’t as favorable for my specific itinerary. The flights were on time and comfortable, and a driver from alamBatu was there to greet me as I emerged from the DPS airport. The airport was very crowded and it took about an hour to get the car out of the parking garage and the city. I was unprepared for the long car ride to alamBatu, and wished I had water and snacks with me for the ride. Upon request the driver did stop for a restroom break. As this was my first time in Indonesia, I was also unprepared for the chaotic traffic along the way – scooters, trucks, dogs, pedestrians – all along with the added element of the quickly darkening evening. I arrived at alamBatu nearly four hours later, a bit rattled but all was fine. I was warmly greeted, offered a drink, and my luggage was whisked away to my accommodation. The wonderful dive manager, Susan, came over to meet me and asked if I wanted to dive the next day. I told her my plan was to take a day to rest and relax after the long journey, and we agreed to meet the next day to discuss the week’s plans for diving. Dinner was already underway, but I was exhausted and chose to skip the meal and retire to my room.
I was in one of the bungalows located across the walking path and overlooking the pool area. The bungalow was spacious, clean, and beautiful, and also had a cozy outdoor area for with a table, chairs, and lounge. The beautifully decorated bathroom was outside, with an open air shower. The king bed was super comfortable, laden with cozy pillows and blankets. The air conditioning worked fine but I also kept the fan on throughout the day. I could hear the ocean waves throughout the night, and I slept incredibly well every night of my stay. There was a coffee station inside the room, so I could make a cup of coffee when I woke up every morning at 5:30 and take it with me to walk the grounds and watch the sunrise. There was enough space in my room to spread out my mat for mobility and stretching exercises prior to starting the day. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and the saltwater pool was incredibly lovely. Many guests spent hours lounging around outside under canopies and soaking in the pool. Almost all of the guests were couples from Germany or Switzerland, and only a few were divers.
I was on an “all in” package, which included all diving, spa treatments, excursions, and meals. Specialty drinks and alcohol were not included with the meals. Once I worked my way through the menu, I zeroed in on my favorite items: milkshakes, coconut water, and special juice blends. Unfortunately, these were not included in my meal plan, but each of these were probably somewhere around several euros. Alas, the curse of the solo traveler hit me with the excursions, as a minimum of two people were required for an excursion to go. I wasn’t too bothered by this though, as I was perfectly happy with the diving and spa to fill my days. Juices, infused water, homemade bread and rolls, lots of fresh fruit, and wonderful homemade jams and spreads were available first thing in the morning. This was more than enough to keep me satisfied throughout the entire morning of diving. The kitchen officially opened around 8 for a full breakfast, and one could also order a la carte from the menu all day. Dinner was served around 7:30pm outside on the oceanfront deck. I enjoyed a variety of salads, soups, and Indonesian fare for lunch, and I only attended two of the dinners, as I was content to take a milkshake to my room, read, and listen to the ocean. I found 7:30 to be too late for a full dinner, though it was beautifully presented under a canopy of twinkling lights. The dive guides joined the guests for dinner.
The dive center and staff were incredible. There was a very large covered area for organizing and storing your dive gear, loads of space for getting ready, and tanks were always kept filled with very clean water for rinsing gear. I did three dives a day, two in the morning and one in the afternoon, plus one night dive. Dive sites were very close by, with the farthest one being about 15-20 minutes away (I believe this was the Liberty wreck site). I was assigned my own dive guide for the week, which took me by surprise. I didn’t realize each guest was assigned their own guide! What a treat, and while my young guide was initially very shy, he warmed up to me quickly and we had a wonderful time exploring together. The diving was a nice mix of coral reef, much, and wreck. Very often it was just me and my guide on the boat. Occasionally other guests would join, but we all dived separately with our guides. I passed 500 dives on this trip, and I had so much fun finding new critters and exploring a new part of the world. Susan runs a wonderful dive operation and I was very impressed with the organization and cleanliness of the dive center. I also expected crowded dive sites, but only encountered other divers when we were closer to Tulamben and at the Liberty, and even then we only saw a few other several divers. Otherwise, my guide and I had the sites to ourselves, which was incredible.
After my last dive of the afternoon, I would retreat to the spa for a relaxing treatment. The spa area is up high on the resort grounds and is a beautiful open air space with a pond and water features. Massages, facials, scrubs and wraps, and flower baths are on offer.
I took a full day to dive Nusa Penida, which was flawlessly organized by alamBatu. A driver fetched me and my gear at 6am, and I arrived at the dock a couple of hours later. I was met by my guide from AquaMarine diving, who swiftly set up my gear and briefed me on the day ahead. I was a bit scared because I’ve heard of down currents at Crystal Bay, so my guide talked me through what to expect. The boat was packed with snorkelers and several divers. When we pulled up to Crystal Bay, we counted 19 boats. It was unbelievably crowded, with lots of people on the surface, and I was very nervous about all of the traffic. We dropped in, and our guide swam my buddy and I away from the crowds underwater. He asked us to wait around 20 meters while he went deeper, and within a few minutes, he was back and gesturing excitedly. We dropped a bit deeper to join him, and suddenly three mola mola drifted around us and stayed very close. We had nearly ten minutes with these mola, and we were completely mesmerized. Our guide started to gesture that it was time to leave, and once we turned around, we saw a huge line of divers approaching us. We drifted past the crowd and surfaced, and I could not believe our guide somehow led us to our own private mola viewing away from the masses of people. It was absolutely incredible and turned out to be one of my most favorite dives ever. The next dive with mantas was not great – it was incredibly crowded underwater and at the surface, and visibility was bad and there was also a lot of surge. I was not disappointed though, because no manta encounter can compare with the incredible encounters I’ve had at Socorro, and I found myself eventually ignoring the mantas that I couldn't see very well anyways, and concentrating on the reef. After a huge boxed lunch and a final drift dive along a beautiful reef loaded with turtles, we motored back and I was met by my driver for the transfer back to alamBatu. Overall, I was very impressed by AquaMarine and wouldn’t hesitate to book with them again.
On my last day, I was able to get in one dive before my transfer to Ubud for the next part of my vacation. Overall, I was extremely impressed with high quality accommodation, service, and diving at alamBatu and I was quite sad to leave. It turned out to be the perfect choice for me.
I live on the West Coast of the United States, and found the best flight times and connections on EVA Air out of Seattle. My first choice was a One World airline partner, but the flight times and connections weren’t as favorable for my specific itinerary. The flights were on time and comfortable, and a driver from alamBatu was there to greet me as I emerged from the DPS airport. The airport was very crowded and it took about an hour to get the car out of the parking garage and the city. I was unprepared for the long car ride to alamBatu, and wished I had water and snacks with me for the ride. Upon request the driver did stop for a restroom break. As this was my first time in Indonesia, I was also unprepared for the chaotic traffic along the way – scooters, trucks, dogs, pedestrians – all along with the added element of the quickly darkening evening. I arrived at alamBatu nearly four hours later, a bit rattled but all was fine. I was warmly greeted, offered a drink, and my luggage was whisked away to my accommodation. The wonderful dive manager, Susan, came over to meet me and asked if I wanted to dive the next day. I told her my plan was to take a day to rest and relax after the long journey, and we agreed to meet the next day to discuss the week’s plans for diving. Dinner was already underway, but I was exhausted and chose to skip the meal and retire to my room.
I was in one of the bungalows located across the walking path and overlooking the pool area. The bungalow was spacious, clean, and beautiful, and also had a cozy outdoor area for with a table, chairs, and lounge. The beautifully decorated bathroom was outside, with an open air shower. The king bed was super comfortable, laden with cozy pillows and blankets. The air conditioning worked fine but I also kept the fan on throughout the day. I could hear the ocean waves throughout the night, and I slept incredibly well every night of my stay. There was a coffee station inside the room, so I could make a cup of coffee when I woke up every morning at 5:30 and take it with me to walk the grounds and watch the sunrise. There was enough space in my room to spread out my mat for mobility and stretching exercises prior to starting the day. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and the saltwater pool was incredibly lovely. Many guests spent hours lounging around outside under canopies and soaking in the pool. Almost all of the guests were couples from Germany or Switzerland, and only a few were divers.
I was on an “all in” package, which included all diving, spa treatments, excursions, and meals. Specialty drinks and alcohol were not included with the meals. Once I worked my way through the menu, I zeroed in on my favorite items: milkshakes, coconut water, and special juice blends. Unfortunately, these were not included in my meal plan, but each of these were probably somewhere around several euros. Alas, the curse of the solo traveler hit me with the excursions, as a minimum of two people were required for an excursion to go. I wasn’t too bothered by this though, as I was perfectly happy with the diving and spa to fill my days. Juices, infused water, homemade bread and rolls, lots of fresh fruit, and wonderful homemade jams and spreads were available first thing in the morning. This was more than enough to keep me satisfied throughout the entire morning of diving. The kitchen officially opened around 8 for a full breakfast, and one could also order a la carte from the menu all day. Dinner was served around 7:30pm outside on the oceanfront deck. I enjoyed a variety of salads, soups, and Indonesian fare for lunch, and I only attended two of the dinners, as I was content to take a milkshake to my room, read, and listen to the ocean. I found 7:30 to be too late for a full dinner, though it was beautifully presented under a canopy of twinkling lights. The dive guides joined the guests for dinner.
The dive center and staff were incredible. There was a very large covered area for organizing and storing your dive gear, loads of space for getting ready, and tanks were always kept filled with very clean water for rinsing gear. I did three dives a day, two in the morning and one in the afternoon, plus one night dive. Dive sites were very close by, with the farthest one being about 15-20 minutes away (I believe this was the Liberty wreck site). I was assigned my own dive guide for the week, which took me by surprise. I didn’t realize each guest was assigned their own guide! What a treat, and while my young guide was initially very shy, he warmed up to me quickly and we had a wonderful time exploring together. The diving was a nice mix of coral reef, much, and wreck. Very often it was just me and my guide on the boat. Occasionally other guests would join, but we all dived separately with our guides. I passed 500 dives on this trip, and I had so much fun finding new critters and exploring a new part of the world. Susan runs a wonderful dive operation and I was very impressed with the organization and cleanliness of the dive center. I also expected crowded dive sites, but only encountered other divers when we were closer to Tulamben and at the Liberty, and even then we only saw a few other several divers. Otherwise, my guide and I had the sites to ourselves, which was incredible.
After my last dive of the afternoon, I would retreat to the spa for a relaxing treatment. The spa area is up high on the resort grounds and is a beautiful open air space with a pond and water features. Massages, facials, scrubs and wraps, and flower baths are on offer.
I took a full day to dive Nusa Penida, which was flawlessly organized by alamBatu. A driver fetched me and my gear at 6am, and I arrived at the dock a couple of hours later. I was met by my guide from AquaMarine diving, who swiftly set up my gear and briefed me on the day ahead. I was a bit scared because I’ve heard of down currents at Crystal Bay, so my guide talked me through what to expect. The boat was packed with snorkelers and several divers. When we pulled up to Crystal Bay, we counted 19 boats. It was unbelievably crowded, with lots of people on the surface, and I was very nervous about all of the traffic. We dropped in, and our guide swam my buddy and I away from the crowds underwater. He asked us to wait around 20 meters while he went deeper, and within a few minutes, he was back and gesturing excitedly. We dropped a bit deeper to join him, and suddenly three mola mola drifted around us and stayed very close. We had nearly ten minutes with these mola, and we were completely mesmerized. Our guide started to gesture that it was time to leave, and once we turned around, we saw a huge line of divers approaching us. We drifted past the crowd and surfaced, and I could not believe our guide somehow led us to our own private mola viewing away from the masses of people. It was absolutely incredible and turned out to be one of my most favorite dives ever. The next dive with mantas was not great – it was incredibly crowded underwater and at the surface, and visibility was bad and there was also a lot of surge. I was not disappointed though, because no manta encounter can compare with the incredible encounters I’ve had at Socorro, and I found myself eventually ignoring the mantas that I couldn't see very well anyways, and concentrating on the reef. After a huge boxed lunch and a final drift dive along a beautiful reef loaded with turtles, we motored back and I was met by my driver for the transfer back to alamBatu. Overall, I was very impressed by AquaMarine and wouldn’t hesitate to book with them again.
On my last day, I was able to get in one dive before my transfer to Ubud for the next part of my vacation. Overall, I was extremely impressed with high quality accommodation, service, and diving at alamBatu and I was quite sad to leave. It turned out to be the perfect choice for me.
