Bali Dive ops / Liveaboards in june? Prices, who to look at?

[Tigerman]

Googling such things and searching forums turn up a lot more noise and bad websites than whats fun (and that does NOT only go for Bali), so I ask here where people tend to know things..

Im considering flying into Bali 2nd week of june, staying for about 2 weeks and mainly doing diving.
What is the price levels for daily diving or liveaboards in Bali like?
Is there any good (preferrably affordable) ops I should contact?

From what I gather, traveling around Bali is "interesting" by itself and Id like to dive more than one location, so ops that can make arrangements for that either by liveaboard or transit - maybe even with accomodation - is definetly of interest.

Id be flying in to Denpasar and Mantas, Mola Mola and Tulamben are all on the "to do list" if it turn out to be doable on my schedule (and budget).
Id be travelling with a big uw camera as well as my dive gear and I have a varied experience in varied climate and have nitrox and aow certs so experience is not an issue as long as we stay within the realms of recreational diving..

 

[Jpalcg]

Hi there,

You an go to Padangbai and do great diving there (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=476401). Gecko dive Bali ( http://www.lifesauntering.com/2014/02/geko-dive-bali-diving-in-padangbai.html ) is a solid operation that can also take you to dive in Amed and Tulanbem - you can find prices on their website. I really liked Padangbai as the food is great and there's plenty to do there for non-divers.

You can also go to Pemuteran (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=475649). I dived with Sea Rovers (http://www.lifesauntering.com/2014/02/diving-in-pemuteran-with-searovers.html)

Have fun in Bali

Cheers

Joao


www.lifesauntering.com

 

[Luko]

Bali has been abundantly commented, I'm a regular Bali diver, once a year. It's very easy to transfer from one location to another even with a heavy camera all kitted up, as I usually do. You simply charter your own car and driver and for not very much say 40-50USD any driver will be happy to go from one end of Bali to another in 3h... for 70USD you can charter the whole day and go visit Ubud for instance.
There is no liveaboard on Bali.

My choice is :
- Tulamben, check out Liberty dive resort, 3 dives a day with private guide and nitrox for free is somewhere in the 80USD range (which is an amazing price IMO). For me the dives are so interesting it needs a 4 days stay, some of the guides at LDC are just exceptional for finding weird and rare critters.
- Padang Bai for macro (rhinopias) and shark dives at Gekodive, very nice dive centre, good speedboats somewhere in the 100USD range for 3 dives a day. 3 full days stay would be good.
- Nusa Lembongan for blue water/great viz diving, mantas, molamola with a little chance and beautiful soft corals all the time. You need to take a speedboat to transfer I like Twofish divers, typically 2 morning dives with current, around 80USD for the 2 tank boatdives. You'll love the place at least 4 days.

If you're craving for additional diving days, I'd suggest Amed.

 

[Tigerman]

Thank you very much for the specifics
Gives me a bit of an idea of what to expect of expenses beyond the actual flight

 

[matts1w]

If I were you and was going to spend the money to come all the way to Bali and dive a liveaboard, I would find a way to buy one more short internal flight and hop over to Labuan Bajo, Flores and do a 5-6 day boat trip through the Komodo National Park- pretty much the best diving Indonesia has to offer. The flight will cost you about $200.00 USD.

My suggestion: Lembongan/Nusa Penida, Tulamben, and Komodo liveaboard.

 

[lamarpaulski]

Not diving related but you might find Ubud and the volcanic lake regions worth a side trip. Other poster is right about Komodo...really amazing diving. You will wish you had three weeks actually.

 

[EL Pistoffo]

If I were you and was going to spend the money to come all the way to Bali and dive a liveaboard, I would find a way to buy one more short internal flight and hop over to Labuan Bajo, Flores and do a 5-6 day boat trip through the Komodo National Park- pretty much the best diving Indonesia has to offer. The flight will cost you about $200.00 USD.

My suggestion: Lembongan/Nusa Penida, Tulamben, and Komodo liveaboard.

This would ultimately be my goal but my pocket isn't deep enough yet for Komodo, neither is my wife's dive experience I think but will hit up Komodo the next time around

 

[Maggie ILRA]

There is a liveaboard in Bali. Tauchen auf Bali mit dem besten Service den man sich wünschen kann mit Joe's Diving Bali in Tulamben.

 

[AquaMarineDiving Bali]

Hi Tigerman,

June is great for travelling to Bali! You can visit the island before the high season crowd arrives. And the weather is great not too hot nor humid and you avoid also the rainy season. In my opinion having a period of 2 weeks you wouldnt need to choose the North or the East for diving in Bali. With a Dive Safari you could try all kind of different dives... walls in Menjangan, critters in Puri Jati, wreck in Tulamben, sharks in Padangbai, Mantas in Nusa Penida! And much more... As for the accommodation, the good thing about Bali, is that we dont lack of hotels. And you can opt for different budgets, preferences (beachfront) and even styles (bungalows). And of course combine both fantastic diving and interesting on land activities (rafting, land tours, elephant ride...).

Well now you know who to contact if you want the best in customized itineraries.
See you!

 

[Tigerman]

I would not have time to do any landbased sightseeing if I make it over this year. I have only 2 weeks available where I can be away from work so Im gonna have to stick to those two weeks, sadly.
The option to take a local flight at $200.. $200 isnt much on its own but its all going into the big drain of travel with all the rest (and equates to a day or two of diving)