Bali Diving Advice - Short Timeline!

[tangfish]

Hi All,

I'm hoping that I can get some good advice here on Bali and surrounding area. I just booked a last-minute trip there, and will arrive in Bali on the 27th, staying through December 6th. With just 9ish days on my hands, what do you guys recommend I do?

I will be bringing all the photography gear, so I want to make the most of the opportunity. Should I cram it all into a Komodo liveaboard? Can I even book one on this short of notice? Or, is the local Bali-based diving really good too? Is there something in-between, like maybe part of the time on Bali and a shorter LOB?

I've done Bunaken and Lembeh before, as well as a bunch of other places in that general part of the world (Sipadan, Visayas, Thailand, etc.). I'm really looking for great photo opportunities but at the same time would not like the trip to be a mad rush the entire time.

I'm not traveling on a tight budget, and would rather have a more comfortable setup that accommodates lots of expensive photo gear needs than stretch my buck as far as it'll go. To me, the time is the most limited asset in supply.

Advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[jcclink]

You probably don't have enough time to do a Komodo trip. From Bali they're usually 9-10 days. Bali has some great muck diving if you're interested in small stuff. Secret Bay, Puri Jati, Tulamben, Seraya, Amed. For more reef diving try Menjangan Island or Nusa Penida. I would suggest contacting Aqua Marine Diving- Bali. Very professional, great guides & custom itineraries.

 

[kathydee]

Bali has some beautiful diving, but that is the rainy season so in some places vis might be down or you may hit weather.

Bali isnot Lembeh or Sipian (I've been both places) but it's still quite nice. If you are not on a budget I'd probably go for the Safari which is a tour around the island to various dive sites. I've never done it so don't have the shop contact, but I have been diving out of Padangbai, Tulemben, Serya, Menjangan, and Nusa Penida - it's all nice. My concern is season.

For top side fun, visit Ubud with your last day & get a massage from Wyan at Body Works on Hanuman street near the market ;-).

 

[Madacub]

I will be bringing all the photography gear, so I want to make the most of the opportunity. Should I cram it all into a Komodo liveaboard? Can I even book one on this short of notice? Or, is the local Bali-based diving really good too? Is there something in-between, like maybe part of the time on Bali and a shorter LOB?

I'm not traveling on a tight budget, and would rather have a more comfortable setup that accommodates lots of expensive photo gear needs than stretch my buck as far as it'll go. To me, the time is the most limited asset in supply.

If you've already got your ticket, you're committed, don't worry! Yes, the Bali diving is really good. I had a little more time than you so I did a Komodo trip and several days in Bali. But that was in Aug. There are shorter LOBs - but since you say you don't want to rush about, I would recommend just Bali. One question though - In Bali & in Japan, I did not notice camera rinse tanks on the boats. What is the norm in those parts?

I stayed at the Watergarden hotel in Candidasa - not expensive, but certainly not cheap either. I'd strongly recommend them, if you want peace & quiet. (No internet, but a couple of cafes nearby)

You probably don't have enough time to do a Komodo trip. From Bali they're usually 9-10 days. Bali has some great muck diving if you're interested in small stuff. Secret Bay, Puri Jati, Tulamben, Seraya, Amed. For more reef diving try Menjangan Island or Nusa Penida. I would suggest contacting Aqua Marine Diving- Bali. Very professional, great guides & custom itineraries.

Agreed with all the above. Plus Padangbai for another diving location as KathyDee mentioned. AquaMarine did all my diving and accommodation and transit arrangements - well recommended, just tell them what you want, they worked with me pretty patiently. One more thing, even if you have only 9ish days, Tulamben is worth a good 2.

 

[tangfish]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I will look into these options. So far, I have gotten recommendations to check out AquaMarine and Absolute Scuba, so I'll start by contacting these two operators. I definitely want to stay away from outfits that crank out and cater to OW certs and have larger groups. If shore diving is doable then I'll be doing a fair amount of that. We're very self sufficient divers.

As far as where to stay and what to do at night, what's a good compromise? Seems like most of the nightlife is in Kuta or Seminyak, but diving is done out of Pedang Bai and Tulamben. Is it possible to stay in a nice place with good access to diving and nightlife, or are they mutually exclusive?

 

[Madacub]

Hi Calvin, Tulamben is very good for shore diving. With Aquamarine, sometimes there were 6 in our group, sometimes I had the divemaster to myself. No open water certifications while I was there. If you stay in Kuta or Seminyak, Padangbai is a fair haul away. But you could dive from Sanur, which is closer I think, (probably not as good as Padangbai, I'm not sure). Watch out for the traffic in that area. Bali is a fairly large island as dive islands go, so you could end up spending a lot of time driving about in land transport. Myself, I don't need the nightlife so I would stay near the dive locations, maybe 2-3 nights in the northwest, 2 nights at Tulamben and the rest in Candidasa. In your case, do you want to dive 2 dives a day or 3? That may determine where you stay. 3 dives a day plus long drives may or may not be what you want. Sorry I can't help more. I'm sure you could get specific questions like drive times, nightlife, morning pick up times, evening drop off times etc very easily from Absolute or Aquamarine. Have fun!

 

[tangfish]

Judging by what I'm hearing I'm going to stay in Padang Bai for part of the time and Tulamben for part of the time. I'd like to get in as much diving as possible. Then if there's time I'll swing down to do a day of diving off of Nusa Penida and get my fill of nightlife in the process, then fly out. Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm leaning toward one of the dive operators who's been very responsive and flexible.

 

[Leejnd]

Don't know if you have already cemented your plans, but if not, I did a similar Bali trip a couple years ago, moving from place to place. This whole trip was a compromise - I was traveling with my mother, a non-diver, so I tried to stay at places where she'd have something to do, and I could go diving.

The challenge was, as you noted, finding a place where there is both diving AND land-based things to do, both day and night. The majority of the "action" is in Kuta/Seminyak, but the diving is far away from there.

We started out staying in Tuban, which is a decent compromise - it's a bit of a haul to get to Padang Bai for the diving, but it was doable, and it was in the tourist zone for Ma. We stayed at the Hotel Santika - an EXCELLENT choice! Great pool, fronting on a fabulous beach, plenty of shopping & restaurants nearby. I dove with Aquamarine, who did an overall fantastic job. They picked me up every morning at the hotel in a van and delivered me right to the boat at Padang Bai. We did some trips out to Nusa Penida, as well as some local Padang Bai dives. Yeah, it was a bit more transit time than I'd have liked, but we really loved our hotel, and enjoyed the local area. Next time, however, I might consider staying in Padang Bai. Quieter, and no long transit to the boat...but then we'd miss out on the fun of the tourist zone.

Next we headed out to the Mimpi resort at Mejangan Island. This was some of the best diving I've ever done - lionfish galore!!! The resort was really beautiful, and it's centered on diving, with their own on-site dive op, who also did a great job. Downside: not much for Mom to do, and no night life at all. She did find things to do during the day - the resort itself is gorgeous, with several pools and an onsite natural-springs hot tub. The dive op took her snorkeling, and the resort offered a couple of private-guided excursions, which she took while I dived.

We were supposed to go next to the Mimpi at Tulamben, but I got hit with Bali-belly and ended up spending the next couple of days in bed, so we just stayed at Menjangan. I do really regret missing Tulamben, but I had so many great dives in the other places that I'm okay with it.

We also went to Ubud for a few days of spa treatments, shopping and cultural experiences (NOT to be missed!).

I hope this helps!

 

[tangfish]

Thanks to everyone here who helped me out on the Bali plan. I had a wonderful time there and thought I'd share this article I wrote about my experience there, for other people looking to plan a dive trip to Bali.

 

[matts1w]

I enjoyed your writing, and you pics are sick. Thanks.