Bali Trip - Dive op/lodging and Komodo add-on advice needed

[billt4sf]

AFAIK, Bloo Lagoon is a set of individually-owned places, thus the quality varies depending in which exact room you get. Anyway we looked up there once and did not like it, though I have heard others that did.

- Bill

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[AlMitch]

I'm always a fan of Scuba Seraya in Tulamben. Nice and quiet, with your own guide and I enjoyed the boat rides out to the other sites rather than jumping in a van or riding shotgun on a motor bike.

 

[Luko]

Problem with Scuba Seraya is that they are further away driving but not walking distance from Tulamben village, which means you are clustered into your resort, it's a burden going out for dinner, buyng fruit or drinks from outside, or going yourself for snorkeling in Tulamben bay or on the wreck (no corals in front of Seraya, just a black sand slope pretty muck recalling TK2 in Lembeh for instance)..

Another hotel option very close to Liberty Dive centre and right on the beach is Ocean View. One of the best accomodations in Tulamben.

 

[AlMitch]

Ocean view looks great @Luko. Will definitely consider it for next time.

 

[howswedeofme]

Shockingly, the hubs is OK with the Komodo liveaboard! I never thought I'd see the day. Now, to book! Assuming the suite is available because @Luko sold it pretty convincingly

Is there a quality difference between Nam Air, Wings Abadi and Garuda for the flight from Denpasar to Labuan Bajo? There's a decent price difference but I'll pay more to fly with a more reputable carrier. I was leaning toward Garuda, which is the most expensive, since it is a SkyTeam Alliance airline and I am a pretty established Delta loyalist, but if there isn't much of a difference, saving $100pp might be worth it to go with someone else.

Now to decide if a 17.5 hour surface interval is close enough to 18 to take the 7:30 flight out the next morning... If not, anything fun to do on Labuan Bajo before the late afternoon flight?

 

[Luko]

Take Garuda, it's on time you can purchase the ticket online and they will allow you 43kgs checkin luggage for your diving stuff..
Wings is only 10kgs luggage allowance (you will have to pay about 2USD per additional k) -also a LionAir subsidiary-, depending on your extra luggage you may pay 20-30USD per pax additional one way, so you end up quite close to Garuda with a lame service and small propeller aircrafts.
My second choice would be Nam but I don't know whether you can purchase the tickets online from their site..THey-re also more friendly with dive equipment, I think you have a 30kg checkin policy incl. dive euipment..

You can easily take the 7:30 AM flight, that's what I did. Bring your computer that will tell your no flight time and just tell the guys on DDK not to push the dives on the last days, they will do accordingly. (remember the Nitrogen accumulation is more about dive length than depth).
Labuan Bajo is not that fun to stay during the day, I know only one good thing to do that is going on a beautiful beach on the bay islands (Bidadari mainly)

 

[howswedeofme]

My computer may do a 24 hour SI, I'll have to check. We did 18 after our trip to the Brac in May and it didn't go bonkers, so maybe not.

I planned to ask about the last day or skip the third dive if they do end up pushing it. Glad to know that they'll be accommodating! Thanks for the insight on baggage - that's a main reason I stay with Delta. 2 bags up to 70 lbs for anyone on my itinerary because of frequent flier status. Saves a lot of money in the end.

 

[bshort4]

Just returned from a trip to Komodo. Flew Garuda to Labuan Bajo because of the extra weight allowance for dive gear. I only had one check in bag at 23 kilos, a carry-on that was about 8 kilos plus a computer bag with a laptop and stuffed with batteries and other small crap. They checked in and weighed my checked bag and never batted a eye or say anything about diving gear. They did not weigh the carry-on at all. My carry-on was to big to go in the overhead so it was gate checked at the plane--no biggie. On the way back I flew Nam air. 20 kilo allowance only for checked bag--mine was again 23 kilos--they said nothing and checked in onto the plane. Again they never weighed the carry-on. Nam air flight was three hours late and I thought for sure it was going to be cancelled. When it landed I was surprised to see it was a Boeing 737-500 instead of the standard propeller planes used between Bali and Komodo. Big full sized overhead bins and a much shorter flight back to Bali and the price for the Nam air flight was about $45 cheaper than Garuda for the one way ticket back to Bali. But if I did it again I'd only use Garuda--all their flights left on time and there were more flights earlier in the day.

 

[howswedeofme]

Just returned from a trip to Komodo. Flew Garuda to Labuan Bajo because of the extra weight allowance for dive gear. I only had one check in bag at 23 kilos, a carry-on that was about 8 kilos plus a computer bag with a laptop and stuffed with batteries and other small crap. They checked in and weighed my checked bag and never batted a eye or say anything about diving gear. They did not weigh the carry-on at all. My carry-on was to big to go in the overhead so it was gate checked at the plane--no biggie. On the way back I flew Nam air. 20 kilo allowance only for checked bag--mine was again 23 kilos--they said nothing and checked in onto the plane. Again they never weighed the carry-on. Nam air flight was three hours late and I thought for sure it was going to be cancelled. When it landed I was surprised to see it was a Boeing 737-500 instead of the standard propeller planes used between Bali and Komodo. Big full sized overhead bins and a much shorter flight back to Bali and the price for the Nam air flight was about $45 cheaper than Garuda for the one way ticket back to Bali. But if I did it again I'd only use Garuda--all their flights left on time and there were more flights earlier in the day.

Thanks for the feedback - we are still working on our bookings but have our DDK liveaboard booker! I plan to get flights to LBJ with Garuda. I’d rather be on a smaller plane that’s on time. I hope you had a great time on Komodo!

 

[outofofficebrb]

@bshort4 What did you think of the diving?!