Bali in August - advice requested for dive bases and spots?

[ward]

Hi all,
I am going to Bali in August for 1 week, and am trying to determine the best base for some diving. I have been to and dove at the Gilis over 5 years ago, but never dived with a base on Bali. So far I've read about the north having been beautiful but apparently damaged, and that the east (candidasa and padang bay) may be good bases around that time of year, but that they're not very exciting towns / no beach. Couldn't find any recent posts on this on this board either. Any advise for a good diving base, dive club, and dive sites very welcome!
Thanks,
Ward

 

[JudyG]

It may be tough to base yourself in any one spot and access all the areas open to diving. You might be better to plan to spend a week in one area and then move on.

I highly recommend Scuba Seraya in the Tulamben area of Bali. It is a nice little resort with some great shore diving and the Liberty Wreck is a short boat ride away. There also some lovely reef dives around Scuba Seraya that tend to get overshadowed by the great muck diving and the Liberty, but I would make sure you take them in. SS can arrange excursions to other areas of Bali for diving, but I suspect you would be spending quite a bit of time in transit - the roads and traffic are pretty crazy.

For a comprehensive review of Scuba Seraya, feel free to surf into Awoosh.com which is my non-commercial website. There are slideshows and galleries, and the review I wrote for the resort can be found in the "Bigass Indonesia Group Trip Report" linked in the main directory. I am unable to link it here as I am an infrequent poster on Scubaboard (I am a regular on scubadiving.com D2D) and do not yet have enough posts here to allow linking to outside sites.

I hope this is helpful,

J.

 

[kathydee]

Lovina would be a good bet, except from what I have seen you are right the coral to the north (Menjangang) is damaged.

Many dive locations in Bali are in sleepy little towns which do lack night life. Your suggestion of candidasa and padang bay are quite good. This is a central location where you can dive all the way from Crystal Bay in Nusa Penida to Tulamben. I haven't spent time in Candidasa (others will know more) but from first impression passing through, it appears a very peaceful tourist center.

Padang Bai has a tourist strip and a vibrant town with plenty of local culture. Not quite the culture of Ubud but still plenty of temples and the like. There is a little beach very close to Padangbai called Blue Lagoon, certainly not post card perfect but nice for an afternoon snorkel. Padangbai, however does not have a resort feeling, rather just a little Bali seaside town. It's one of my favorites ;-). This location is better than Candidasa if you are traveling on a budget, but nicer accomodations exist too.

Another favorite among scuba divers is the very quiet area of Amed which I believe would have your beaches. Tulamben does give you access to good muck diving in Seraya but is very sleepy & has rock beaches that are not the best for lounging.

I should add that Tulamben is also a favorite of mine, I'll often stay up to a week there, but keep in mind that outside of the "resorts" the little "town" has basically two places to eat and not much more than a highway passing through a little collection of stores/dive shops. Many dive shops allow independant shore diving on the wreck and wall which is a bonus. It's a very peaceful place, if that is what you are looking for.

Sanur also attracts the scuba tourist. It is much more cosmopolitan but is not central to to diving the north.

Personally I think sticking with candidasa and padang bay is probably the best plan if you'd like topside & dive diversity. You could also split your time between Padangbai & Tulamben.

If you take the last day top side - it's fun to check out the culture in Ubud, great market, shopping and massages

Another option which many take-- is to book a Scuba safari which entails constant travel to new dive sites throughout your stay with a local guide but the cost is higher.

;-). Have fun!

 

[kkfok]

I would recommended Menjangan Island in the north west. Actually I found it better than Tulamben, with good corals and good mixture of macros and bigger stuff. Eel Garden is one of the best dive I have ever done.
I was there on October of 2008 and did a couple of dives there. I am wondering which site did you guys found the damaged coral.

 

[EcoSea]

For my money I would look at Tulamben as a base, very cheap to stay there and you can do trips to the other parts of the island. The wreck, the drop off, Scuba Serya and Amed offers a bit of everything, then I would do a trip over to Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembagan as you will be just before the start of Mola Mola season my bet is that you will see one if you go out over the course of a few days.

 

[Scuba Dive Asia]

Hello!
As soon as you leave the south of the island, it all becomes very quiet at night.
Some people like to stay in the Kuta, Legian area and then drive to Tulamben, Menjangang or Lovina every day; it is a long way away if you are planning to do a few days diving over your week there.
I would recommend to stay either in Tulamben (my favorite) and do a few days diving and sightseeing from there and then spend a day or two in Legian and have a bit of a party time. From Legian you can also plan a day diving to Nusa Penida. You will be there in the middle of the Mola Mola season And there are simply AMAZING creatures.
Do not hesitate to contact me for more info. I have lived in Bali and scuba dived there for 4 years non-stop.

 

[ward]

Thanks everyone. Two more questions:
- I now understand Manta Rays are to be seen at Manta Point, sounth of Nusa Penida. Do I need to be in/near Sanur to be able to dive there on a day trip, or do you know of dive operators in other towns that facilitate this?
- Do you advise pre-booking online, or will there be plenty accommodation available locally?

 

[jake11]

We stayed at Lotus Bungalows Resort in Candiasa last September and dove with Gangga Divers. They are based right on the resort. This is a wonderful resort with a great location! Gangga Divers is one of the best dive operations we have ever gone diving with. Their boats are spotless and their dive operation is precise! They handled everything from A to Z. Jan and Henri are a married couple who run the resort and they are fantastic! We saw 5 Mola Molas, many mantas and lots of other cool stuff while diving out of Padang Bai. One of their dive days included a trip to Tulamben. The resort is within walking distance of the small town with bars, shops, and restaurants. We had an all inclusive plan and the food was great right at the resort. You can get very inexpensive massages in your room as well. We had a bungalow right on the water and next to the pool. It was awesome! I can not say enough good things about our stay there!
Check it out! Have fun!

 

[Wisnu]

I second the recommendation of Tulamben - our favorite place; more choice for accommodations. Indeed no night life except night diving. You may see mola there if lucky. You can spend 1 week just for dive sites around the area - tulamben, alamanda, seraya, kubu, amed, gili selang. Most of DC there can also arrange day trip to manta point or other locations.

 

[Madacub]

Hi Ward, I was there last August. I stayed in Candidasa which was about 15 minutes from Padangbai which is where most of my diving was from. This is all in the south central area so very accessible for Manta Point and all the other dive sites. I wanted my hotel quiet, so I stayed away from Sanur & Kuta. Aquamarine diving made all the arrangements for the diving and hotel, and airport pick up & drop off. I would recommend them highly. Be sure to also go to Tulamben for a day or two - excellent diving there. Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions.