Bali help

[1nfinite]

Hi I am travelling to Bali in mid September for a weeks diving & not sure best place to go.

Stuck between Padang Bai - Gekko divers or Lembongan 2 Fish divers.

Im thinking Gekko might be better as can do a USAT Liberty dive & other places, although I should imagine the trips would be longer.

Lembongan they say is not always possible for 3rd dive & night dives tide dependant.

Any help appreciated.

 

[Dan]

It depends on what you want to see. If you want to see the manta & Mola Mola, then obviously Lembongan is better.

Since you'll be fortunate enough to stay in Bali for the whole freaking week, then get both, i.e., 3 days in Lembongan & 3 days in Tulamben.

I've done a whole week diving safari trip in Bali. We started from the northwest site, Gilimanuk (muck diving in Secret Bay), heading eastward to Menjangan, Pemuteran, Puri Jati, Kubu, Tulamben, going southward to Seraya, Padangbai, ended in Nusa Penida (Lembongan). We had a great trip.

Have a blast time in Bali! I'll be there a bit later in December after visiting Ambon, Banda & Raja Ampat in November.

 

[isihua]

Did 5 days of diving with Geko in Padangbai during early Aug.

I didn't request for any specific sites, but ended up going to Nusa Penida for 3 of the 5 days. (Saw a mola mola on my last day of diving.) The boat ride from PB to the Nusa Penida sites was okay, not too long but rather bumpy.

Agree that if you're planning to dive Liberty, it would make sense to spend a day or 2 at Tulamben as u would be able to start your dive before it gets crowded.

 

[charlier]

Split the difference between Padang Bai and Tulamben. An easy solution is 3 days in Padang Bai, with a day or two at Nusa Penida with Geko Dive and 2 days at Tulamben. Overall, you will probably have a better experience with this plan. Geko can easily arrange a pickup at the airport and you can return to the airport after your stay or Tulamben. Or you can flip the trip, either way works. You will have a wonderful time diving in Bali and experience many outstanding dive sites.

 

[Dan]

If you dive in USS Liberty early enough (leaving the beach around 5:30 AM), you may see school of bumphead parrotfish & brown-marbled grouper going out for breakfast.

 

[Adelaar Cruises]

If you stay in Padang bai and do the liberty wreck it will be approximately 1 hour drive in each direction. Our guests did a day trip up and stayed the whole day. The dive operator (ZEN) had an agreement with a local resort so they were able to sit in the restaurant and use the showers, but just be aware it makes for a long day.

 

[1nfinite]

Cheers guys for the helpful posts & lovely photo Dan.

I think ill stick with Geko, seem to have a good variety & prefer to stay in one place for the week.

 

[billt4sf]

Yeah, if it were me, with just one week I'd stay in one place. I like Geko, however if you have 50 - 100 dives like your profile says, be aware that diving off Padang Bai via boat trip is in the channel off of Bali and there can be currents, surge, and 1 hour boat trips each way. Amed / Tulamben diving is typically current-free and usually shore diving.

- Bill

 

[richdrogpa]

If you dive in USS Liberty early enough (leaving the beach around 5:30 AM), you may see school of bumphead parrotfish & brown-marbled grouper going out for breakfast.

Nice pics. I probably saw the same grouper on my mornings USAT Liberty dives. Have quite a few pics of him, too. And plenty of bumpheads... And yes, early morning dives on the wreck are awesome... Absolutely agree!!!

 

[richdrogpa]

I second what Dan_T said.

Get to Bali, head to Tulamben from the airport, do 8-10-12 dives on Nitrox for 2 days there, the third day transfer to Lembongan and dive for the next 3-4 days the Penida sites. You get more dives, you see more variety and I think have more fun... I did the Tulamben for 6 days with Liberty Dive Resort (20 dives, I took it easy) and now I'm in Lembongan with World Diving, did two dives today, have 12 more scheduled. Yeah, you are limited to two daily dives on Lembongan, that's true. That's why you go to Tulamben first and dive like crazy for a few days, so later two dives a day are just about right... LOL

I dived around Padang Bai 5 years ago, in addition to Lembongan and Tulamben. Loved it. But the other two sites were much more fun. Just my honest 2 pennies