Bali vs. Lembeh vs. Mabul, sipadan etc. for muck diving

[LekicINC]

I will be in KL then in Bali. I was planning on just diving in Bali due to the ease of it and how cheap it is. Now, however, I am having second thoughts about being so close to these world class dive sites and not going. I have done muck diving, and really what I love is the weird creatures; so I wanna do some good muck dives. My girlfriend is not a certified diver, and its not sure if she will be. Something to keep in mind. its a 3 day trip in August (the diving part) Heres the breakdown:

Bali: about 400 dollars for 2 poeple doing 6 dives inluding transport and accomidation. Good muck diving, but not the best. Good other dive sites, but not the best. The best non diving activites. 400 dollars, 12 dives btwn 2 poeple.

Lembeh. Very expensive to get to. About 380 usd pp for roundtrip from Singapore. Then 275 for 1 diver, 1 non diver doing 6 dives at Nomad Adventure divers. AMAZING muck dives, bad other dives and not much to do for non divers. Comes out to about 1000 bucks for 6 dives for 1 person.

Sipadan and Mabul: Cheap to get to, but expensive to stay out. About 1000 for 5 dives for 1 person and accomidation for 2 people at Borneo Mabul resort. Amazing muck diving and other diving, nothing to do for non divers.

Whats your vote! P.S. If you have any other suggestions please let me know, or anything I should consider.

Thanks, Matt

 

[Zippsy]

I've been to all three places and I'd say, if your girlfriend isn't diving and you hope to marry her one day, go to Bali. The diving is very good and there is plenty for her to do there. If she does take up diving or you really don't care if she is enjoying herself, go to Lembeh. The magnificent diving and critters there are truly astounding and worth the cost and bother of getting a new girlfriend.

 

[LekicINC]

So lembeh for diving purporses is far and away better than Bali and is worth the money? Cause my girlfrien is willing to spend a couple days hanging out suntaning. Also, is it easy enough diving for her to learn there? Is there a cheap way to get from KL to Lembeh to Bali and back to Bali?

Thanks again.

 

[Wisnu]

Go to Bali - let her stay in bali enjoy surfing, suntaning and shopping; and you fly to Manado - there's direct flights to Manado from Bali- for diving in Lembeh.
At the end everybody happy - you find the amazing critters and she find new boyfriend

 

[pakman]

At the end everybody happy - you find the amazing critters and she find new boyfriend

:lol: :lol: good one wisnu

 

[LekicINC]

very funny everybody :shakehead but I happen to want to stay with my girlfriend. My girlfriend has no problem hanging out for 2 days on the beach reading. Then, we return to Bali, I do the things she wants to do (when I wish i was diving). I just want to know if Lembeh is worth the 1000 for 5 dives when its 200 for 5 at bali?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

... or do like I'm doing and go to both places ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[TSandM]

I can't compare with Bali, but Lembeh was utterly fantastic diving if you like to be sure that every single dive you will see something weird and wonderful. Frogfish, rhinopias, Pegasus sea moths, flying gurnards, Banggai cardinalfish, porcelain crabs . . . Take a look at the Indonesia pictures on our website (www.tsandm.com) to get some idea of what we saw in Lembeh. We dove with Eco Divers out of Kungkungen Bay Resort, and the dive guides would literally tell you, "We're going to swim down to this point and look at the "x", and then swim a little further to here where the "y" is." They knew the habitats of a ton of critters, and then every dive served up surprises, too. Lembeh was a fabulous experience.

 

[LekicINC]

Ok, so as I can tell from the posts and TSandM's lovely pictures, Lembeh is amazing. I guess my question is now, how much better is it than Bali for muck diving and weird creature like nudibranchs, pygmys, scorpionfish, small crab and shrimps etc.

 

[leadweight]

I must be diving in the wrong muck, those are some amazing critters TSandM.