Bali March 8-17. Tips?

[NYCcowgirl]

Hey Bali experts - Luko, matts1w - I have a small conundrum. I'm headed over in 2 weeks and will be staying in Tulamben at a friend's place. She will dive with me the first couple of days but then has to go back to work so I'll be on my own for 5-6 days. She has a local guide who is evidently a very good macro spotter. I'm an instructor and a photographer so the idea of diving 1 on 1 & setting my own schedule is VERY appealing.

However, as much as I enjoy photography & relaxing with a book topside, this is still my vacation and I am a social creature at heart. The folks at Two Fish have offered a credit and I am considering doing 2 or 3 days with them, mostly in order to have the opportunity to meet / talk fish / drink beers with other dive tourists.

So, oh wise ones, please speak to me of Two Fish (boats, group size, etc) and if you think it's worth it to switch things up. Thanks in advance for any advice & happy bubbles to all!

 

[Luko]

Is it valid with any of Twofish operations in Bali : Amed or Lembongan?

Twofish Lembongan was one of my fav ops on the island, that's a good way to go go diving Nusa Penida, they have small speedboats max 6 divers I think.
I used to like them very much when Laurent was in charge some year ago (he used to cook bread as well, he's now back in France owning a foodtruck), after that it went a bit downhill with some kiwi dude -I think- not that interested in customer service, but they have new managers since, so it may be worth a try.

I also dived with 2fish Amed, they were very serviceable, flexible, they agreed to organize diving on Gili Selang just for me but the problem is Amed itself. Since they have guides from Sulawesi they tend to be more interested in local macro than wide.
That said I wouldn't dive Tulamben with TwoFish.

 

[Manneca]

I dived Amed with TwoFish. Bayu was my guide. I'm a small critter person, so it was great. That said, the water was rough and I have difficulty with shore entries. They were doing tech training and used their one boat for the tech diver. So, we did one morning shore dive (with and extra person to help me in the water) and used the boat in the afternoon.

I can't speak to how social it is. There are only a few villas. We ate lunch and dinner in town so really didn't mingle with the guests. At Lembongan, the staff (at least in my experience; it may be different now) would gather and sing and have a beer or two; guests could join in if they wanted to. It depends on the guests.

I love the Bunaken/Manado guides that Two Fish has had. I have gathered that there is some unhappiness among them.

I don't know why someone wouldn't dive Tulamben with Two Fish.

There is one boat. We wound up hiring Bayu as our guide. So, it was just two of us. Basically, tech training gets first dibs on the single boat. We had a car in the morning and drove to the dive site. Folks set up the tanks, we got in the water, dived, got out. Until we worked out having the boat in the afternoon, we would then drive to the second dive site, set up gear, go in, dive, come out.

I'm planning to go back in November.

 

[NYCcowgirl]

Is it valid with any of Twofish operations in Bali : Amed or Lembongan?

Twofish Lembongan was one of my fav ops on the island, that's a good way to go go diving Nusa Penida, they have small speedboats max 6 divers I think.
I used to like them very much when Laurent was in charge some year ago (he used to cook bread as well, he's now back in France owning a foodtruck), after that it went a bit downhill with some kiwi dude -I think- not that interested in customer service, but they have new managers since, so it may be worth a try.

I also dived with 2fish Amed, they were very serviceable, flexible, they agreed to organize diving on Gili Selang just for me but the problem is Amed itself. Since they have guides from Sulawesi they tend to be more interested in local macro than wide.
That said I wouldn't dive Tulamben with TwoFish.

Interesting. I am a major macro fan - my previous stay with Two Fish was 2 weeks in Lembeh & I actually ended up doing more dives than originally planned for my package because I loved it so much. My guide found me a pygmy squid smaller than the nail on my pinky finger one day.

I actually did a couple of dives on Lembongan when I was in Bali the first time - highly disappointing. Rough conditions, major surge, saw mostly rocks. I could probably only be convinced to go back during the mola "season."

Very curious about Selang - what was your experience? Did you see anything great that made it worth the trip? Awful currents?

 

[NYCcowgirl]

I dived Amed with TwoFish. Bayu was my guide. I'm a small critter person, so it was great. That said, the water was rough and I have difficulty with shore entries. They were doing tech training and used their one boat for the tech diver. So, we did one morning shore dive (with and extra person to help me in the water) and used the boat in the afternoon.

I can't speak to how social it is. There are only a few villas. We ate lunch and dinner in town so really didn't mingle with the guests. At Lembongan, the staff (at least in my experience; it may be different now) would gather and sing and have a beer or two; guests could join in if they wanted to. It depends on the guests.

I love the Bunaken/Manado guides that Two Fish has had. I have gathered that there is some unhappiness among them.

I don't know why someone wouldn't dive Tulamben with Two Fish.

There is one boat. We wound up hiring Bayu as our guide. So, it was just two of us. Basically, tech training gets first dibs on the single boat. We had a car in the morning and drove to the dive site. Folks set up the tanks, we got in the water, dived, got out. Until we worked out having the boat in the afternoon, we would then drive to the second dive site, set up gear, go in, dive, come out.

I'm planning to go back in November.

Yeah I love the macro as well - had a similar experience with the local staff at Two Fish Lembeh, they would hang out in the evenings and play guitar and chat. Great people.

Always good to hear others' experiences with a shop, thanks. I'm not too worried about shore entries but I know they can be a deterrent to some divers.

 

[Luko]

I don't know why someone wouldn't dive Tulamben with Two Fish

Because :
They’re 30 minutes car drive away from Tulamben
They don’t know as much as the local Tulamben guides where the hot critters are.
Guides from Tulamben usually cooperate and pass the word when they find something. They don’t with outsiders.

 

[Luko]

Interesting. I am a major macro fan - my previous stay with Two Fish was 2 weeks in Lembeh & I actually ended up doing more dives than originally planned for my package because I loved it so much. My guide found me a pygmy squid smaller than the nail on my pinky finger one day.

I actually did a couple of dives on Lembongan when I was in Bali the first time - highly disappointing. Rough conditions, major surge, saw mostly rocks. I could probably only be convinced to go back during the mola "season."

Very curious about Selang - what was your experience? Did you see anything great that made it worth the trip? Awful currents?

It’s ok diving Amed macro sites like Melasti Amed or Ghost bay but imo they’re second to the major Tulamben macro spots. And no one can guide you like a Tulamben guide.

Selang was a bit disappointing when i dived it. Not much current not the lush coral life I expected un that respect Toyapakeh or SD on Nusa Penida are much better.
(You dont dive lembongan you go there to dive Penida!)

 

[ACMe]

I live in the Amed area, and I have had only positive experiences with Two Fish Amed. I love macro, so I really appreciate Bayu's "Lembeh eyes" for spotting critters (and actually both IDing them and remembering them after the dive).

As has been mentioned, Two Fish is also one of the only dive ops in the area with a boat. While it's true that Tec courses have priority, I would say 85% of my dives with them have been by boat (often sharing with the Tec folks), including in the Tulamben area which is a quick 15-20 minute boat ride away. I generally find this to be quicker than gearing up from the shore in the chaos around the Liberty, but that depends a lot on timing. It's also less hassle as you can quickly move to your second dive, including sites like Emerald and Batu Niti (personal favorite) which seem to be more difficult to access from the shore (or are at least less frequently accessed--it's rare to encounter another group of divers).

A couple of added bonuses to staying at Two Fish is that it allows you to explore the rest of the Amed area, including sites with a bit more current like Bunatan (coral pinnacles at 10-20m, good chance to see reef sharks and the occasional eagle ray). If you stay at Two Fish, you can also walk straight out into the bay for night dives, which are particularly excellent in the muck. I've had dives there with dozens of octopuses (including mimics), bobtail squid, scorpionfish, frogfish, ghost pipefish, etc.

That's my two cents. I'm sure the Tulamben guides are also great, and Luko is probably in a better position to compare the two vis-a-vis one another.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I've had two stays with Absolute Scuba over the past 2 months.

The whole experience was great! Despite it not being their season, I still saw mola mola. Of course, the price to pay for the sightings was unseasonably cold water.

 

[NYCcowgirl]

I live in the Amed area, and I have had only positive experiences with Two Fish Amed. I love macro, so I really appreciate Bayu's "Lembeh eyes" for spotting critters (and actually both IDing them and remembering them after the dive).

As has been mentioned, Two Fish is also one of the only dive ops in the area with a boat. While it's true that Tec courses have priority, I would say 85% of my dives with them have been by boat (often sharing with the Tec folks), including in the Tulamben area which is a quick 15-20 minute boat ride away. I generally find this to be quicker than gearing up from the shore in the chaos around the Liberty, but that depends a lot on timing. It's also less hassle as you can quickly move to your second dive, including sites like Emerald and Batu Niti (personal favorite) which seem to be more difficult to access from the shore (or are at least less frequently accessed--it's rare to encounter another group of divers).

A couple of added bonuses to staying at Two Fish is that it allows you to explore the rest of the Amed area, including sites with a bit more current like Bunatan (coral pinnacles at 10-20m, good chance to see reef sharks and the occasional eagle ray). If you stay at Two Fish, you can also walk straight out into the bay for night dives, which are particularly excellent in the muck. I've had dives there with dozens of octopuses (including mimics), bobtail squid, scorpionfish, frogfish, ghost pipefish, etc.

That's my two cents. I'm sure the Tulamben guides are also great, and Luko is probably in a better position to compare the two vis-a-vis one another.

Oh wow, ok thanks for the info - did not realize it was quite that far between Amed & Tulamben. I guess I need to just wait until I get there & play it by ear.
I do love mucky night dives