Bali and Sulawesi
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Sorry, that web site I gave earlier should have been (http://gb.diving-on-sulawesi.com/gb/).
Funkyspelunker, I have been diving in the Philippines and many places in Indonesia, and I'd say Lembeh Straits are fairly unique. If you haven't already heard, the diving there is muck diving ie. you are diving on a dark sandy bottom and you will see a number of strange crittes (the diving is fairly shallow so you should be allowed +/- 75 min B/T). It's great for photography and there are other dive sites besides just the muck diving! It's a good combo with Bunaken. I guess it depends on your time and money. How are you getting from Cebu to Indonesia? If you are landing in Bali, there is a fair amount of diving to be done around there as RGO has explained! If Manado isn't out of the way, it's definitely worth a stop. If you have to choose between Bali and Manado, it would probably come down to personal preference. Manado is mostly just diving where as Bali offers more cultural and party potential.
Good luck!
Funkyspelunker, I have been diving in the Philippines and many places in Indonesia, and I'd say Lembeh Straits are fairly unique. If you haven't already heard, the diving there is muck diving ie. you are diving on a dark sandy bottom and you will see a number of strange crittes (the diving is fairly shallow so you should be allowed +/- 75 min B/T). It's great for photography and there are other dive sites besides just the muck diving! It's a good combo with Bunaken. I guess it depends on your time and money. How are you getting from Cebu to Indonesia? If you are landing in Bali, there is a fair amount of diving to be done around there as RGO has explained! If Manado isn't out of the way, it's definitely worth a stop. If you have to choose between Bali and Manado, it would probably come down to personal preference. Manado is mostly just diving where as Bali offers more cultural and party potential.
Good luck!
scubashooter
Contributor
I totally agree with Nemo about Lembeh. Lembeh Straits is critter photography heaven. A few areas near Bunaken are also very nice. There are 2 big "luxury" resorts on the straits and a few other "basic" resorts. The most similar site in the Philippines to Lembeh are Basura in Anilao and the Dumaguette pier. But Lembeh is an area of macro critters whereas these places are just one site. The scale is just different.
I have dived both Bali and Manado and I find that Manado has more to offer than Bali. In terms of critters, you get the whole spectrum from pelagics to muck critters. Night dives on the walls are spectecular, with lots of invertebrates covering the walls. Have seen sharks (black and white tips), maori wrasses, barracudas when the current is running and loads of unusual macro stuff. You will most likely see something new every dive.
I have only been to the sites around Bunaken and not to Bali but I must say that East Timor has a lot to offer compared to Manado/Bunaken.
Although the Bunaken currents, which could get you whipping pretty darned fast at times, allowed you to cover more area and in turn allow you to see more fish, they made it hard for the macro lover to stop and check out little slower moving critters. You had to hit the tides right for a calm dive, which turned out to be only about 1 in 2 of the 7 dives I did there.
As for Timor, on the other hand, we dont have the same ripper currents but do have a lot of untouched corals and tons of the little critters. Our challenge here is, with all the coral, youve got to sneak up on the critters before they go hiding in all the nooks and crannies.
So, if you are in Bali, party hardy and do your shopping there, but come over to Timor for some dang good diving.
Nick
Although the Bunaken currents, which could get you whipping pretty darned fast at times, allowed you to cover more area and in turn allow you to see more fish, they made it hard for the macro lover to stop and check out little slower moving critters. You had to hit the tides right for a calm dive, which turned out to be only about 1 in 2 of the 7 dives I did there.
As for Timor, on the other hand, we dont have the same ripper currents but do have a lot of untouched corals and tons of the little critters. Our challenge here is, with all the coral, youve got to sneak up on the critters before they go hiding in all the nooks and crannies.
So, if you are in Bali, party hardy and do your shopping there, but come over to Timor for some dang good diving.
Nick
tangfish
Contributor
Nemo, you seem to know quite a bit about Manado, so what are the conditions going to be like during the beginning of July? I'll be in Indonesia the first two weeks of July, and I notice that this is in Monsoon season, I get seasick easily and don't necessarily want to be out in the rough seas when the winds are high, are there more protected areas? About muck diving, I am from Seattle and the vis here right now is about 10 feet if that. Now I don't know if 'muck' diving is similar to the 'murk' diving here, but I really don't care to go to where the vis is less. So would I like Bunaken more?
Calypsonick, I am curious to know more about diving in Timor, what airport do you fly to from Bali? Also, are we talking about E. Timor or just the island of Timor? Sorry, not too sharp on the geography over there.
BTW, I'll have 2 weeks in Philippines around Cebu before heading to Indo, so I'm having my cake and eating it too!
Calypsonick, I am curious to know more about diving in Timor, what airport do you fly to from Bali? Also, are we talking about E. Timor or just the island of Timor? Sorry, not too sharp on the geography over there.
BTW, I'll have 2 weeks in Philippines around Cebu before heading to Indo, so I'm having my cake and eating it too!
Funkyspelunker,
Good you asked, I should have been more precise it is East Timor and not West Timor. You can grab a daily Merpati flight from Denpasar, Bali for around $250 round trip to Dili, East Timor.
There are also several flights in from Darwin, Australia if that route is better for you, but that will cost in the $400/round trip range.
We have an informal club going here in East Timor and our website has a bit of information on diving here. You can check it out at:
www.TimorDivers.net
Nick
Good you asked, I should have been more precise it is East Timor and not West Timor. You can grab a daily Merpati flight from Denpasar, Bali for around $250 round trip to Dili, East Timor.
There are also several flights in from Darwin, Australia if that route is better for you, but that will cost in the $400/round trip range.
We have an informal club going here in East Timor and our website has a bit of information on diving here. You can check it out at:
www.TimorDivers.net
Nick
tangfish
Contributor
OK, I see Dili on the map, I'm definitley interested, but where is Merpati? Is that an airline or a place? Also, what are the prices like for general living and dives in E. Timor? It'd be nice to see another country on my travels.
tangfish
Contributor
ah, okay thats an airline like I suspected, sorry!
Hi funkyspelunker
If you spend some time in Bali you should definetely take some time to go over to the Gili's on Lombok. They say Lombok is Bali from 10 years ago. Much more quiet, beautifull nature and very nice diving.
Merpati has 5 flights a day, the last one leaving bali at 17.00 or 17.30, you pay 237 000 rp and it's only a 20 min flight.
From the airport in Lombok to go to the gilis it will take you about 1,5 hour
The diving is good, cheap and easy. You get to see reefsharks, ribbon eels, ... on sharkpoint, mantis shrimp, leaffish, ... on gili air, lots and lots of green and hawksbill turtles (once I saw 14 turtles in one dive!).
THe closest divesite is a 5 min boat ride and the furthest about 25 mins. No long car/boattrips like you have in bali which makes it so cheap to dive.
There's a lot to find on the internet
If you spend some time in Bali you should definetely take some time to go over to the Gili's on Lombok. They say Lombok is Bali from 10 years ago. Much more quiet, beautifull nature and very nice diving.
Merpati has 5 flights a day, the last one leaving bali at 17.00 or 17.30, you pay 237 000 rp and it's only a 20 min flight.
From the airport in Lombok to go to the gilis it will take you about 1,5 hour
The diving is good, cheap and easy. You get to see reefsharks, ribbon eels, ... on sharkpoint, mantis shrimp, leaffish, ... on gili air, lots and lots of green and hawksbill turtles (once I saw 14 turtles in one dive!).
THe closest divesite is a 5 min boat ride and the furthest about 25 mins. No long car/boattrips like you have in bali which makes it so cheap to dive.
There's a lot to find on the internet
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