Bali or Malapascua?

[waytallwhitey]

I'm considering both for my summer divecation, if you've been to both please ring and let me know your preference and the pros/cons of each.

Thanks!

 

[gekodivebali]

Sorry, haven't been to Malapascua... Can't go wrong with Bali though!

 

[Centrals]

Look at the size between Bali and Malapascua. You can walk around Malapascua in no time at all. All the dive sites around Malapascua are much closer than Bali because of that. There is no road journey to take if your resort is situated miles away from certain dive sites. Imagine you are staying around Sanur and you want to dive Tulamben or vice versa!
Both places are great. Bali has Mola Mola while the thrasher shark is the main drawing card at Malapascua.
However, it is far easier to get to Bali than Malapascua.

 

[Luko]

Been to both, probably not the best time to go to Malapascua. I also went in august and dived in 3-4m swell while on Monad schoals, can be quite scary on a traditional bangka...

Seriously I love the Phils but taken as an archpelago, and island hopping. Malapascua probably deserves 5 days to dive most of the spots while Bali offers diffferent locations each worth 5 days (Tulamben, Nusa Penida, Pemuteran/Menjangan, Amed, CandiDasa) and much more varied diving.

You should be better off planning your holidays in different Bali locations rather than spending the whole time at one place (even though the local operators will tell you to stay and dive all around from their place), teh boon is that from the differnt location you'll be able to see different places (for instance Lembongan is very different than Amed or Pemuteran).

My personal advice : skip Sanur, devoid of any charm.

Both places are great. Bali has Mola Mola while the thrasher shark is the main drawing card at Malapascua.

Bali can also provide thresher spotting ... been lucky enough to see one in Nusa Penida.

Lembongan Thresher shark by Luko Gecko, on Flickr

 

[Bubble Junky]

I'd go for Bali - in my opinion, the diving is much better. Malapascua has the threshers, which are cool, but not much besides. There are no schools of fish and the macro is average at best. Bali has more diversity and indeed, more fish ! Check out Big Fish on Lembongan, but as already mentioned, look to stay in a couple of different locations around Bali. I liked Padang Bai myself, and Tulamben is a must... If you do go to Malapascua, check out Evolution dive shop...

 

[LoveDivingInAsia]

I have been to both places and i basically travelled from Bali straight to Malapascua. I had some good dives around Bali and the diversity is huge. Underwater and on land. But when i arrived in Malapascua i was flashed. The people on the island are extremely friendly and everything is easy going. not many dive boats at the dive sites, small groups u diving in and a huge diversity of macro life. I combined my holiday with Moalboal, which is easy to reach from Malapascua.
I would highly recommend to go to malapascua, as the mass tourism has not arrived yet and for sure you will find it on bali.
I dived with Exotic divers Malapascua Exotic Island Dive and Beach Resort and the dive guides are amazing. But back to your question, do malapascua first and then Bali on ur next trip, or maybe you will be coming back to malapascua forever

 

[Hike]

I have been to both, they both have their strengths, but the weather would be safer in Bali (no typhoon season like Philippines). Last year we flew to Bali, dove Tulamben for three days then hopped a quick domestic flight to Komodo for a 4 night live aboard. It was a great trip. A couple of tips, if you dive the liberty wreck (in tulamben), do it as early as possible. We entered the water at 6:00am with the light coming up and it was a great dive. I used aquamarine in Bali, more expensive than others, but worth it. In Malapascua, I used Thresher Shark Divers, great op. Either will set up everything for you as a package with hotel, dives, etc

 

[supergaijin]

Bali has more infrastructure(pro) - more tourism (con).

Mlpscua has great atmosphere, laid back people, no aggressive touts, great variation of diving (but some is 'advanced' when the current is running.

My money on Mpascua. 2 weeks for me there is about right.

Some divers don't like visiting the same sites. These people often talk about 'doing Thailand' or 'doing the Great Barrier Reef'. In reality, diving the same site (even hours apart) provides a unique angle due to sunlight/current/profile etc. I quite enjoy diving 3-4 times on the same site for this reason; you get to 'know' the site and can modify your approach to make it better each time. I'm also in to u/w photos so I consider that when wanting to get the 'perfect shot'.

 

[waytallwhitey]

WoW! Thank you all so much! Still a lot to consider but since this may be my last year in Asia and I've done the PI twice I'm leaning towards Bali, but that can all change! I still have some time to decide, but this input is GREAT! Thanks again!

 

[Luko]

Bali has more infrastructure(pro) - more tourism (con).

Mlpscua has great atmosphere, laid back people, no aggressive touts, great variation of diving (but some is 'advanced' when the current is running.

A somehow flawed perception of pros and cons... you could have also added on :
Bali pros account : fantastic underwater variety, knowing both, I haven't seen in malapascua a variety of sites that would combine the muck you find on Seraya/Tulamben slopes with the blue water coral and fish life of Toyapakeh for instance. Bali dive opportunities are so huge that you can always find a site to dive on your own (that's the case for me even when I'm going in august peak season, even nearby the Liberty wreck).
Malapascua cons account : lots of boats on Monad schoal early morning, probably too many dive centers and not so many dive spots for this small island that was already hit by tourism 10 years ago.

In reality, diving the same site (even hours apart) provides a unique angle due to sunlight/current/profile etc. I quite enjoy diving 3-4 times on the same site for this reason; you get to 'know' the site and can modify your approach to make it better each time. I'm also in to u/w photos so I consider that when wanting to get the 'perfect shot'.

That's where I will agree, I've dived the same sites in Tulamben numerous times and that's where, as a published photographer, I prefer Bali hands down even though there are other divers.