Budget Diver in Bukanen

[travel_bunny]

Hi all,
Was wondering if anyone can give me a recommendation on a budget package for the Bukanen/ Lembeh/ Bangka area in Manado? So far, I've done a bit of research and came across Two Fish Divers and Froggies. Have anyone stayed with them and have comments to share? Am very particular about the diver to instructor ratio.
Also, if I want to dive to Lembeh from Bukanen, should I use the same operator? Or separate ones? I assume that the good people at Bukanen are also familiar with the Lembeh area and vice versa?
Thanks for your help!

 

[AlanWald]

Two Fish has budget rooms at the main house and nice operation, They do have a small Lembeh operation (also with several budget rooms)

. Instruction is at the Bunaken Island site (the larger operation) but people are going back and forth to Lembeh all the time. So it is easy to coordinate transport. In fact you just throw your gear from Bunaken in Box (weights and tanks are already in Lembeh) and off you go. Do as many night dives as you can in Lembeh. It's easier than Bunaken because the tide does not out much from Lembeh Island so timing the dive is not a problem. We saw a crab spawning. Night diving is fun. Opo told me he prefers Lembeh.

Opo who runs the Lembeh operation is a dive guide who worked for Froggies for several years before coming to TwoFish.

Note that Froggies posts their prices in Euros and Two Fish in US Dollars (but you can pay in Euros or US Dollars Cash or Credit card or local currency). So Twofish is less expensive than Froggies. For example Two dives at Froggies is Euro 65,- (almost US$90) and at Twofish it is US $55. Two fish will give discounts for multiple dives and dive/accommodation package

I think the student to instructor ratio at either place will be low as Bunaken is not a place like Koh Tao or parts of Australia that has tons of students. I think it depends on how many people are there. You can email Nigel at TwoFish and ask.
"Nigel " <Info@TwoFishDivers.com>,


The students who I knew who got trained at Twofish when I was there seemed to be happy.

If you are doing open water, I suggest you do your Advanced at the same time. It's just a few extra more dives. A lot of dive operators will not let you go below 60 feet if you don't have Advanced. And do as many dives as you can after you get certified. After all, its the air fare that is the most expensive part of the trip and you are already there.

I have been four years in a row to Twofish and I met many people who knew me from the previous years. So there are many repeat customers.

In any case you will have a wonderful time. I have been diving with instructors (who there just to dive) with 40 years experience around the world who were seeing new things there. A baby whale shark was spotted off Bunaken last spring just before I got there. A rare but spectacular occurrence

It is a very peaceful friendly part of the world.

 

[red_barbarian]

I did 2+ weeks at Two Fish. Highly recommended. You have to push a little to get 4 dives a day in due to the long bottom times. Most days I got 4 hours of bottom time in, with a lot of the other op's you won't get to spend as much time down on each dive. They'll take you to new sites constantly, and the DM's are good. I was paired up with a DM about half the time as my only dive buddy, and on many dives it was just 2 of us. Once they get used to you they'll let you dive the profiles you want as long as you tell them ahead of time. You won't go wrong there. Send Nigel an email he was very responsive ahead of time with me about the whole experience and there were no surprises when I got there.

 

[Kevster]

Yep i agree. Dived at two fish a couple of times.
Nice place with great wall dives.
Very friendly place & would return if i head to Bukanen again

Now planning to spend 9 days in Lembeh. Ant recommendations. i am also looking at the low cost end. Nad lembeh & bastanios anyone..?

 

[AlanWald]

Regardless of who you dive with, tell your dive guides what you are interested in seeing and they will find it for you.

And bring a good Fish ID book, The best one for Fish in the Manado area that I have found (many of the photos are from Lembeh) is Reef Fish Identification
TROPICAL PACIFIC by by Gerald Allen, Roger Steene, Paul Humann, and Ned DeLoach

http://www.fishid.com/cgi-bin/shop.cgi?action=init&product=TPAC

 

[chocolate]

diving packages offered are pretty much the same, but there a some budget accomodations that you can probably save money on.

 

[tavarish]

Your are always welcome to check out the prices we have at Bastianos Dive Resorts at www.bastianos.com. I do belive that our prices is very much comparable with dive resorts with the same standard as us (most will say that we are a litle bit cheaper with a little higher standard actually).

We have a newly built resort in Lembeh (www.bastianoslembeh.com) with 4 standard rooms and 10 superior cottages. Our resort in Bunaken (www.bastianos.com)has been around for some years, but we keep the standard up. Therefor we have upgraded all the 2 rooms this year.

Some of the facilities we offer is massage (only Bunaken at the moment), bar, laundry, minimart, pool table and so on. We also have public high speed Internet connection (128 kbps) available for our guests at both locations. I belive we have the only public accessible Internet connection in Bunaken of this kind. We will also most probably install hot spots so that travelers with own laptops can connect from the.

Both of our resorts is managed by experienced european dive instructors, who together wit our local staff tried to make your stay as enjoyable and memorable as possible.

Hope to see you in Manado!

Cheers,
Sean - Manager at Bastianos, Bunaken.