Bali Dive shop request

[iamafish]

I don't recommend staying in Tulamben. It is much, much better to stay in Amed where there are an abundance of great resorts and restaurants and much more dramatic ocean vistas, especially if you have a car. We have just stayed at both Tulamben and Amed (and Candi Dasa) and Amed wins by a long shot, incomparably actually. It is so much better to stay in Amed and do a 20 minute trip to Tulamben, especially if simple things like high speed Internet access is important (Tauch Terminal Internet access was nearly impossible to use, the slowest ever). Amed has some modern (new) resorts with excellent WiFi in the rooms; Tulamben has terrible WiFi; and most resort in Tulamben don't have working WiFi in any of their rooms.

We stayed at a newish resort in Amed and the Internet access was fast and flawless, better than the best of Candi Dasa and far superior to anything in Tulamben. There are many great resorts and restaurants in Amed. PM if you need more info from a diver diving and diving and diving many sites and places Bali.

 

[dirtydave]

liberty dive Resort in Tulamben has plenty fast internet connection, decent restaurant, great people,,very close to Liberty wreck.Free nitrox, great rooms, i.ve stayed there many times, never been disappointed. ahmed sucks, IMO, dark dreary place, claustrophobic, although some of the newer resorts are nice. Dive spots in Ahmed are great but no Way i would stay there, especially when you can get a car for about $15 US PER DAY, SCOOTER $ 5 USD PER DAY. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[iamafish]

Where have you been in Amed?

Amed is much larger than Tulamben... There are 10 time more places to eat, drink and sleep (maybe 20 times more). Amed area is much bigger, cleaner, upscale, and with much, much better food. Some of the sunset views from the restaurants are spectacular. 10

When you were there, 10 or 20 years ago, LOL

I am here now and there is little comparison between Amed and Tulumben for eating and sleeping! We found great restaurants in Amed area and new, beautiful resorts. Tulamben is a tiny strip of a handful of restaurants and "oldish, moldy" resorts and none very good. We visited almost every resort in Tulamben and finally "escaped" to find many happy, smiling people, spending money and having a great time, in the many Amed villages all connected along the coast. Tulamben is an easy day trip (20 minutes one way) by car for diving.

Tulamben is like a backpacker destination compared to Amed. We saw many backpackers and low budget tourists in Tulamben and in Amed we found more people who enjoy dining and comfortable living, as well as diving.

Don't get me wrong. Tulamben has great diving! But the best way to enjoy it are 20 minute day trips from Amed, if you have a car. I don't recommend Amed very much for people without their own transportation.

 

[dirtydave]

Yeah I agree, Ahmed ahs more places to eat and drink. Has a co,pletey different feel than Tulamben. I spend about 8-10 weeks a year in Tulamben.. Get to know the people, undersatnad how real people in Bali live. Ahmed is full of "tourists", not divers. The local touts are agressive, the beach boys hustle the women for drinks and money, everybody is interested in chasing a buck.. The rods are ridiculously crowded, small, hiiy, winding. Yeah, if I want a decent meal it's twenty minutes away. Then I go back to a quiet, quant village where life is slow and easy.

I dont know which resorts you have been to. Tauch Terminal is "moldy"?, are you kidding? It's as nice as anything in the Ahmad. Better than Blue Moon even (which is very nice)! It's completely new and renovated. Liberty Dive Resort is nine nearly new and very nice rooms. Where the heck have you been staying? Wreck Divers has the in town hotel and it has new, very beautiful viillas less than five minutes from the village center. Joe's is nice, there is a brand new hotel just to the north of the village that was just completed in the Fall. Mati Hari's is undergoing renovation.. Emerald has undergone a complete renovation during the winter.. Scuba seraya and the place next to it are fantastic. I really think you ought to check out some of these resorts before you trash them.. Have you ever been to Sidhartha in Kubu? Worldclass and spectacular. Get out of Amed and see what you are missing. I think the diving in Ahmed is nice (excellent in fact) and dive there often with Bali Tours (they are an excellent outfit based in Ahmed) but I sure wouldn't want to spend vacation time hanging about there.

 

[iamafish]

I have checked out all the resorts you have mentioned in Tulamben. None are as nice as the resorts are in Amed. We stayed at the Tauch Terminal and the deluxe room smelled of sewage (my wife was choking on the smell that reeked out of the bathroom drain). The WiFi did not work most of the time over many days, and when it did work, it was so slow it was nearly unusable. The service was non-existant or terrible (depending on if you actually expect any room service), for example, you can't even pick up a phone and call for an extra towel since there are no phones in the room. So any request is a trip to the front lobby, which is not our idea of "great", sorry! We don't like broken WiFi, sewage smells, poor room service, etc. But many people don't care as they just like flopping off the back of the property and diving the Liberty Wreck, which is OK if you don't have a car (and little other choice).

Amed is nothing like you described. Yes, there are tourists, but there are also great divers and dive centers there. Amed is much better than Tulamben for anyone who prefers a higher standard of rooms and great place to eat, and has a car. If you have no car and just want to dive Tulamben, and food is not so important and resort quality is not very important, then obviously stay there...... we have higher expectations, sorry.

I have stayed in Tulamben and have visited (almost) every resort you mentioned and, personally, we found the best resorts in Amed heads-and-shoulders above the best in Tulamben. I could easy name names, but I'm not posting to promote certain dive centers and resorts. I am simply telling you that I am a diver currently situated in Amed and came here after staying in Tulamben, very disappointed in the quality of service in the resorts, WiFi, and food there.

OBTW, in Tulamben, independent DMs hassled us on the street (begging us to dive with them and even followed us to local restaurants begging us to dive with them) and touts troubled us at nearly every turn, they even sell on the beach next to the Liberty Wreck. We never experienced this aggressive behavior in Amed. We have been here for nearly three weeks, BTW, this month.

We are in Tulamben (diving) and Amed (diving, eating and sleeping) now and what you describe is nothing like our experience! There is no point in continuing the debate in public, especially since you said "go to Tulamben and leave Amed" as if I have not been (LOL) there or any resorts you mentioned. Have been to most all of them, either staying there, having dinner or visiting the rooms checking out the WiFi and quality of the rooms, bathtubs, beds, etc , ROTFL.

Good Luck and Happy Diving. (Glad you are happy in Tulamben, but not us! We day trip for the Liberty Wreck from Amed and are very happy doing so and will not change our minds. We love Amed so much.)

PS: If any diver reads this and want to know our opinions on the best resorts and dive centers in the area, please PM !!

 

[dirtydave]

Instead of badmouthing resorts and being masty amd argumentative lets just get together and dive.I will be in Tulamben from middle of June through the end of August, except forr times travelling to Menjangen etc

 

[Magrone]

Amazing how much opinions and experiences can differ even by travelers who seem to know both places well. I guess it all depends on the individual's preferred flavor.

 

[lycan69]

Actually, being to both places before, I would lean towards Amed as a nicer place.

But that's just my 2 cents.

I have checked out all the resorts you have mentioned in Tulamben. None are as nice as the resorts are in Amed. We stayed at the Tauch Terminal and the deluxe room smelled of sewage (my wife was choking on the smell that reeked out of the bathroom drain). The WiFi did not work most of the time over many days, and when it did work, it was so slow it was nearly unusable. The service was non-existant or terrible (depending on if you actually expect any room service), for example, you can't even pick up a phone and call for an extra towel since there are no phones in the room. So any request is a trip to the front lobby, which is not our idea of "great", sorry! We don't like broken WiFi, sewage smells, poor room service, etc. But many people don't care as they just like flopping off the back of the property and diving the Liberty Wreck, which is OK if you don't have a car (and little other choice).

Amed is nothing like you described. Yes, there are tourists, but there are also great divers and dive centers there. Amed is much better than Tulamben for anyone who prefers a higher standard of rooms and great place to eat, and has a car. If you have no car and just want to dive Tulamben, and food is not so important and resort quality is not very important, then obviously stay there...... we have higher expectations, sorry.

I have stayed in Tulamben and have visited (almost) every resort you mentioned and, personally, we found the best resorts in Amed heads-and-shoulders above the best in Tulamben. I could easy name names, but I'm not posting to promote certain dive centers and resorts. I am simply telling you that I am a diver currently situated in Amed and came here after staying in Tulamben, very disappointed in the quality of service in the resorts, WiFi, and food there.

OBTW, in Tulamben, independent DMs hassled us on the street (begging us to dive with them and even followed us to local restaurants begging us to dive with them) and touts troubled us at nearly every turn, they even sell on the beach next to the Liberty Wreck. We never experienced this aggressive behavior in Amed. We have been here for nearly three weeks, BTW, this month.

We are in Tulamben (diving) and Amed (diving, eating and sleeping) now and what you describe is nothing like our experience! There is no point in continuing the debate in public, especially since you said "go to Tulamben and leave Amed" as if I have not been (LOL) there or any resorts you mentioned. Have been to most all of them, either staying there, having dinner or visiting the rooms checking out the WiFi and quality of the rooms, bathtubs, beds, etc , ROTFL.

Good Luck and Happy Diving. (Glad you are happy in Tulamben, but not us! We day trip for the Liberty Wreck from Amed and are very happy doing so and will not change our minds. We love Amed so much.)

PS: If any diver reads this and want to know our opinions on the best resorts and dive centers in the area, please PM !!