Bali or other Indonesia Trip Ideas Wanted

[leadweight]

On the last weekend of July, the Mermaid and I are arriving in Bali. We will be staying for three weeks. We are looking for trip ideas, other than liveaboards (because they are not hard to find and I rather the vacation not cost as much as a new 1000 cc motorcycle).

Background: We both have a lot of diving experience. I have been known to strap on a twin set at times. The Mermaid, I don't call her that for nothing, probably has gills hidden on her somewhere. We don't take pictures under water, so special photo facilities are not required, but we do like long dives. We are Nitrox certified, but we don't have to have it. She gets hot and likes AC (which could be a problem). Backpacker class accommodations don't work, but neither will the Shangri La or Four Seasons. We don't smoke, but it seems like every other diver does.

We don't have to stay in Bali any particular amount of time. If the great diving is somewhere else, we could be out of there the next day.

I see some posts about North Sulawesi. Is that where we should go? How do you get there from Bali?

Your ideas, even if slightly unconventional, are needed. Names of resorts that have easy direct booking, or reliable agents are especially helpful. Help me get wet in Indonesia.

-Ron

 

[TSandM]

Well, I don't know how you get there from Bali, but we did 10 days in Sulawesi last September. We did five days at Tasik Ria, diving the Bunaken National Park, and five days at Kunkungen Bay Resort, diving the Lembeh Straits. Both were fabulous experiences. Bunaken is walls, steep walls that fall off to 600 feet or more, in current, and with wonderful color and interesting macro life, and the shallow reefs are packed with fish and corals and sponges and crinoids. But if I had to pick one place to go back to, it would be KBR and the Lembeh Straits. The resort was beautiful and incredibly friendly, the food was wonderful, and the diving was diving I thoroughly enjoy. No current, nothing terribly deep, but tons of weird and wonderful life forms, some bizarre, like the rhinopias, and some of almost unearthly beauty, like the Banggai cardinalfish. And then there is the Mandarin Fish dive . . . I can't say enough good things about that diving experience. If you can reasonably get there from Bali, and if KBR is in your budget, I'd recommend it. I can't remember whether three or four dives were in the package, but unlimited diving on the house reef was permitted during the daytime, and the house reef is not to be dismissed. That's where we saw the cardinalfish, and I saw frogfish, ribbon eels, and other lovely things there.

 

[Indonesian_Diver]

All will depend on your time, budget, and what do you want to experience. If you let me know all of those three, I might be able to give you some suggestions.

S-

 

[leadweight]

All will depend on your time, budget, and what do you want to experience. If you let me know all of those three, I might be able to give you some suggestions.

S-

Time = 3 weeks in August.
Budget = Flexible, but I thought US$320 per person per day on a boat was too much and backpacker style is not enough.
Desired Experience = Great diving. Not interested in muck diving and prefer critters large enough to see without reading glasses, and up to the size where they blot out the sun. We don't take pictures, so drift dives where you can't linger are OK.

Please give me a "brain dump". It does not have to be right on target, I just need a couple of ideas.

 

[Leejnd]

I haven't yet been to Bali -- my trip is scheduled for September. But I've been doing massive amounts of research. So caveat emptor about any advice I give -- none of it is first-hand yet, it's all based on reading and research.

There are several areas around the island where you can do some decent diving...and it seems you can arrange a dive trip to at least somewhere from almost anywhere you stay. But from what I can tell, some of the best diving is going to be up at Menjangan Island, on the north shore of Bali. That's a bit far from the tourist regions where you'll find the most accommodations, but there are several nice places to stay right there, which seem to be pretty well dedicated to divers. I've chosen to stay at the Mimpi Menjangan Resort, which was recommended to me by someone in here. They have their own dive op, and they've been wonderful to work with so far -- they've put together a custom package for me that includes accommodations, dives, meals and transportation.

The other places in Bali where you'll find diving are Amed/Tulamben, along the east coast, and around Candi Dasa, on the south coast. Amed/Tulamben has the Liberty wreck, which I understand is a very easy wreck to dive, accessible right off the beach. I've read downsides to both areas, tho...Amed/Tulamben supposedly can get really overrun with other divers, and the vis is spotty. Candi Dasa area diving can get some wicked currents. Everything seems to point to Menjangan being the best overall.

Please remember that I haven't been to any of these places yet, so hopefully people with actual first-hand experience can either validate or dispute my findings. Good luck with your plans!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I haven't yet been to Bali -- my trip is scheduled for September. But I've been doing massive amounts of research. So caveat emptor about any advice I give -- none of it is first-hand yet, it's all based on reading and research.

There are several areas around the island where you can do some decent diving...and it seems you can arrange a dive trip to at least somewhere from almost anywhere you stay. But from what I can tell, some of the best diving is going to be up at Menjangan Island, on the north shore of Bali. That's a bit far from the tourist regions where you'll find the most accommodations, but there are several nice places to stay right there, which seem to be pretty well dedicated to divers. I've chosen to stay at the Mimpi Menjangan Resort, which was recommended to me by someone in here. They have their own dive op, and they've been wonderful to work with so far -- they've put together a custom package for me that includes accommodations, dives, meals and transportation.

The other places in Bali where you'll find diving are Amed/Tulamben, along the east coast, and around Candi Dasa, on the south coast. Amed/Tulamben has the Liberty wreck, which I understand is a very easy wreck to dive, accessible right off the beach. I've read downsides to both areas, tho...Amed/Tulamben supposedly can get really overrun with other divers, and the vis is spotty. Candi Dasa area diving can get some wicked currents. Everything seems to point to Menjangan being the best overall.

Please remember that I haven't been to any of these places yet, so hopefully people with actual first-hand experience can either validate or dispute my findings. Good luck with your plans!

Pretty accurate from my experiences there five years ago ... and we're going back next March to refresh our memories.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[reubencahn]

But if I had to pick one place to go back to, it would be KBR and the Lembeh Straits. The resort was beautiful and incredibly friendly, the food was wonderful, and the diving was diving I thoroughly enjoy. No current, nothing terribly deep, but tons of weird and wonderful life forms, some bizarre, like the rhinopias, and some of almost unearthly beauty, like the Banggai cardinalfish. And then there is the Mandarin Fish dive . . . I can't say enough good things about that diving experience. If you can reasonably get there from Bali, and if KBR is in your budget, I'd recommend it. I can't remember whether three or four dives were in the package, but unlimited diving on the house reef was permitted during the daytime, and the house reef is not to be dismissed. That's where we saw the cardinalfish, and I saw frogfish, ribbon eels, and other lovely things there.

I'll echo all of TSandM's comments about KBR and Lembeh and add that you can get there easily from Bali. There's a Garuda flight and there may be others. In my view, this is really someplace you shouldn't miss.

Though we've been through Bali twice, we've done no diving there. But friends whom we trust highly recommend diving Nusa Penida (they stayed at Nusa Lembongan). Also, be sure to spend some time on land in Bali. It's definitely worth it.

 

[Indonesian_Diver]

I would second everyone's commens.

However, the drift dive will be in Nusa Penida.

As LeeAnn mentioned, you can pretty much work with a Dive Operator and they will arrange everything for you. If you want to get any recommendation of Dive Operator in Bali. My buddy runs dive operation in Sanur, Bali. So, I can recommend him, just PM me.

But, if you want to dive outside Bali. I would strongly suggest to go to Bunaken, Sulawesi. You'll have fun there. So, pretty much my suggestion would be:

- stay 7-8 days in Bunaken (Manado resort), 6 days diving and 2 days sight seeing. You will be able to see the smallest monkey (Tarsius) in the world and rain forest at Tangkoko Hill. You have to travel around 5 hours from Manado.
Also, if you want to see or buy and handicrafts, you can tell your guide to drive you on the way back to the resort area.
- 5-6 days do Dive Safari in Bali. This dive safari will cover out skirt of Bali island. pretty much what LeeAnne mentioned above.
- The remaining days, I would spend with sight-seeing in Bali island. You can go to Bedugul, Volcano Agung (Mount Agung), Besakih, Tampak Siring, Tanah Lot, etc. There are so many bungalow in the middle of padi field that you can stay for the night. Very romantic and peaceful. Also, you might want to check out (go in and out) some of 5 stars hotel in Kuta or Nusa Dua area. You'll be amazed how fancy they are. At the same time you might be able to go shopping around Kuta and Seminyak. Don;t forget to go out for good seafood. Also, in Bali there are so many art performance.

If you want more info, just PM me. I have few place descriptions on my website that you can take a look.

Cheers,
S-

 

[vladimir]

I was at Mimpi Menjangan in 2000. The diving was good, the villas were very nice (garden, outdoor sitting area, natural spring fed hot tub all within your private villa), and the setting was relatively secluded and picturesque, with volcanos looming over the resort. It is far from the crowds and traffic of Kuta, Sanur, etc.

Lembeh is a great trip for photographers and lovers of the exotic. I was there in '05. You will come home with great pictures and will see some really cool fauna. If you jump in without a divemaster, however, you might wonder why you traveled half-way around the world to look at muck punctuated with occasional trash.

Komodo would be my first choice if I had to pick one Indonesian destination (of the ones I've been to.) I did a ten day cruise on the Kararu Explorer in '05 and the diversity of the diving was unparalleled. Muck dives, beautiful coral reefs, volcanic sand slopes, lots of fish, pelagics, sharks (some, not a lot) and probably the best snorkeling in the world. The boat is OK, a little musty and a little beamy, but roomy and pretty comfortable.

Edit: It looks like they have a new boat at Kararu: http://www.kararu.com/index.html

 

[Valwood1]

You might check out a local Balinese dive club at www.kapalselam.org It's a fine website, with loads of information on dive spots in Bali and environs. One of the members responded graciously to me when I made an email inquiry, and I gather that the club is delighted to be helpful to visiting divers.

I'm arriving Bali on July 3, diving in the Tulamben area for a few days, and then doing a liveaboard in the Komodo area. The latter isn't cheap ($320/day is about right, unfortunately), but the area has some of the best sites.

Good luck.

Bill