Bali Questions

[Luko]

We have stayed and dived three times in Tulamben. By far the best guides are in Liberty Dive Resort.

As much as I'd recommand LDC for plenty of reasons incl the freedom of schedule, I don't feel you could say the best guides in Tulamben are LDC's anymore : now the best guides are either freelancers like Ajiex Dharma, Darmada, Komang Agus or have setup/run new operations like Yansu Suartana.
But it's true LDC stiil have the best guides that haven't gone freelance (yet) like Wayan John or Nyoman Cois and they will fulfill all your needs for your first trips in Tulamben.

 

[matts1w]

As much as I'd recommand LDC for plenty of reasons incl the freedom of schedule, I don't feel you could say the best guides in Tulamben are LDC's anymore : now the best guides are either freelancers like Ajiex Dharma, Darmada, Komang Agus or have setup/run new operations like Yansu Suartana.
But it's true LDC stiil have the best guides that haven't gone freelance (yet) like Wayan John or Nyoman Cois and they will fulfill all your needs for your first trips in Tulamben.

I will second Wayan John at LDC... He keeps me very busy every dive and is a pretty bada$$ photographer himself.

 

[ystrout]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

We booked 7 nights at Toyabali resort and plan to dive every day. We're going to book the 4 additional days we're in the country soon. I'm guessing we'll stay in the middle of the island for the first 2 days then near the surf spots on the other side for our last 2 days.

I'll also book the dives soon. The dives at your own pace sound really nice. One thing I don't like about vacation diving is the strict schedule that can come with it.

Does anyone know if you can rent tanks/weights and dive by yourself? After 4 to 5 days with guides, I figure we'll want to do the last couple days on the Liberty by ourselves just relaxing and doing a few sporadic dives on the Liberty or other reefs we can walk to.

 

[matts1w]

Does anyone know if you can rent tanks/weights and dive by yourself? After 4 to 5 days with guides, I figure we'll want to do the last couple days on the Liberty by ourselves just relaxing and doing a few sporadic dives on the Liberty or other reefs we can walk to.

I pasted this from another post I made a while back...still relevant.

Diving without a guide in Tulamben doesn't really happen as things are a bit more complex than simply walking around town with a tank and deciding to walk into the water anywhere ya want. The dive sites, entry points, and reefs are "owned" by people and communities as are the platforms, parking, rinses, air you breath, soil you walk on, view, security, etc... As with all things in Indonesia, especially when you are not local, policy and prices are very...ummmm...fluid. Dive guides work for you as much above water as below. Besides, without a good guide you will wonder why so many of us rave about Tulamben diving. With a good guide you will quickly see why Bali is World class. Just clearly communicate with you guide how you want to dive and he will get it....