Bali

[neve]

Sure, I'm always glad to make new diving friends!

Gili Selang sounds a bit scary (the current; I get sick if the current is too strong). BTW, I must warn you that I'm a new diver, I got certified in January so I may be more of a pest to you than a good dive buddy. I haven't logged nearly as many dives as you have!

I'll be doing my AOW with Chris. I will let you know my plans closer to the date.

Thanks for the offer! Small world, huh?

 

[neve]

I got my AOW certification! Sorry I didn't get to meet you, Erwin. I think you went a day earlier than me. I did meet your buddy Hengky, though. He was at Chris's shop when I went there for BC fitting.

Tulamben was simply divine! I saw a pygmy seahorse! That was the major highlight of my trip. I also saw huge schools of jacks and barracudas and some mantis shrimps. There were plenty of giant pufferfish too... and huge groupers. I love the Liberty wreck... I will definitely visit again one day (but not during a full moon! The waves knocked me around a bit). I'd highly recommend a dive trip to Tulamben with Bali Scuba

 

[Erwin Kodiat]

Yes, I've heard about you from Christ. Probably next time we have a chance to meet and dive together. Congratulate on your AOW certification.

 

[Bfwolf]

I've recently completed the coursework and confined water sessions for the Open Water Diver certification, but I am travelling to SE Asia in less than a week and would like to do my open-water dives there. My first stop is Bali, so I figure that's where I'll do them. Does anybody have any recommendations for a company to do referral dives with? Also, I was planning on staying in Kuta, but I can be flexible if I need to; is there a better place to stay for the 2 days I'll need to do my open-water dives?

Finally, I saw one person on this thread mention haggling. Is it really appropriate to haggle with dive shop operators in Bali for something like this? I'm going to be traveling on the cheap and would love to save some money, but I of course want to go with a reputable dive company. Safety first!

Thanks,
Brian

 

[neve]

Hi Bfwolf,

As I mentioned before,

Bali Scuba (click here to go to their website) is very good. I was very impressed by their professionalism and genuine friendliness. Their equipment was also top-rate and well-maintained.

I did my AOW with Chris, he speaks English and Indonesian. The other two students were American and German, and they were also happy with the service. There are also other instructor: Simon who is British, and David who speaks English and Indonesian.

As for price, Bali Scuba has a fixed price list so haggling is not recommended.

The only thing I didn't like was the resort (Paradise Tulamben)they put me in Tulamben. It was a very basic lodge and the food was not as good as I would have liked it to be.

I ventured to the resort just next door to Paradise and had lunch there. It was much nicer than Paradise and the food is 1000 times better! The resort was called Mature (Matahari Tulamben Resort).

Good luck with your certification and drop me an email if you need more info.


neve

 

[Erwin Kodiat]

Hi guys,
I want to introduce a new good site in Bali. For those who never heard about Gili Selang, you should give it a try. It has a beautiful soft coral between 7-15 meters depth. I never saw such beautiful coral reef in Bali.
This site situated on the easternmost part of Bali island which faced Lombok Strait. That's the reason sometimes the current here is unpredictable and quite strong. One time I saw a river-like current where schools of jackfish jumps out one by one like in the white water and the rest of them strugglingly swam fighting the current. For your information, I'm talking about 50 centimeters jack fishes.
Besides that, the last time I dove there I encounter 8 (eight) hammerhead sharks and also 3 two-meters white tip sharks. However, the temperature could be freezing in such tropical water (down to 23 degree Celcius). Unfortunately, on the subsequent dives, I didn't find any sharks there. But still, the soft coral amazed me!
To get there, you could have various access, but to the best of my knowledge, from Diver's Cafe, Jemeluk Beach, Amed is the most appropriate way to go there. This small dive shop along with a restaurant runs by a local Balinese divemaster who is knowledgeable about all dive sites in Amed area and Gili Selang.
If you want to have a better accomodation, a friend of mine who run a dive shop in Sanur will be more than glad to arrange a trip to that most beautiful soft coral in Bali. Just give me a private message to contact them, otherwise my message will be considered as an advertisement.

Regards,

 

[Erwin Kodiat]

Brian, congratulation on your OW certification. Hope you like Bali and enjoy scuba diving here. For your upcoming trip, you should try Nusa Penida and Menjangan ...

 

[hengky]

Congratulations..I heard from Simon - Bali Scuba instructor that you finished your Open Water course very well. Sorry that we could not companying you in the last 2 dives. We hope you enjoyed your stay in Bali. We dive together in your next trip to Bali, like Erwin said...still a lot good dive sites in Bali...worth to see...Esspecially Gili Selang.
For me Gili Selang is the best dive site in Bali. Wonderful....


Best regards,

Hengky
( Kuta - Bali )

 

[seabass]

I am going to be in bali in August, does anyone have any suggestions for resorts, huts, hotels or whatever to stay at during that time?

 

[Erwin Kodiat]

Depend on the dive sites you want to visit and the standard you have. I will give you some suggestion about all dive sites here in Bali.
If you are beginner then the best place to visit would be Tulamben and Menjangan island.
If you think yourself capable of handling strong drift (sometimes up, down, even swirling) then Nusa Penida, Gili Tepekong and Gili Selang would be your best choice. If you like photography then Tulamben Coral Garden (in front of Paradise) and Secret Bay is the best place to go.
Menjangan island and Secret Bay is located on the west, so the nearest good accomodation is Lovina, you can find a wide range of hotel there, but I will suggest Sol Lovina (medium) or Angsoka (low).
Tulamben has its own divers accomodation range from low to high rate, you can pick amongst Diver's Paradise, Mimpi Resort, Tauch Terminal.
To visit Gili Tepekong and Gili Selang, you can stay at Candi Dasa or just stay at Kuta and book a trip by boat from many dive shop available there, it is also good choice to dive Nusa Penida.
You can consult my friend, Simon A. Gilbert, who is knowledgeable about accomodation and characteristics of each dive site in Bali, you can reach him by email.
If you have further question, don't hesitate to ask me.