Bunaken or Gangga or other in July?

[xariatay]

When we were at NAD Lembeh, we went to Bangka Island & another group went the following day. They would do the trip if there are enough divers interested (& willing to pay the extra charges). Oh btw, on our way to Bangka, in the Lembeh Straits, we met a pod of pilot whales!

 

[Mike Veitch]

yes, we run a 3 dive trip to either east Lembeh or Bangka, weather permitting.
There is a min and max amount of people and a surcharge as well.

Great day out though! Did east Lembeh just last week

 

[gee13]

If you want to dive in the Bangka Island area then staying on Gangga Island is really your only choice for quality lodging. Boats from Bunaken and Lembeh very rarely go to Bangka Island. In fact, I have never seen any boats from Lembeh and can't remember when I last saw a Bunaken/Manado based boat. On the other hand, Gangga has fast, comfortable boats that do go to Lembeh and Bunaken.

So if one is based at Gangga, then how long is the boat ride to Bunaken/Lembeh? Also how does Banka and Gangga diving compare to Lembeh and Bunaken diving? I understand Lembeh = Macro and Bunaken = Wall diving. Im thinking in comparison by * rating.

 

[SnappyTheDiver]

Boat ride from Gangga to Bunaken/Lembeh is less than an hour. They have very fast boats. Diving from Gangga is very different than Bunaken and Lembeh. There are several sites with surface and underwater pinnacles - Batu Gosoh, Sahaung, Batu Tiga, etc. Other sites such as Pulisan and aforementioned with extensive soft corals - not found in Lembeh or Bunaken. Extensive small creatures and some schooling fish at Sahaug. Personally, I like the diversity. Oh, not very frequent, but it does happen, I have dived twice with Dugongs at Alpha Omega on Bangka.

 

[neptun43]

I've been to Gangga in Nov 2009. Have a look on my website for information about my experience and links, if you understand a little German. Sorry I hadn't enough time yet to translate it for my English version.

 

[Wiggsy]

I agree with Tapas Bali - I've been to Siladen Island Resort and Spa and would agree that is equal to the standard of Gangga (which is one of my options I'm researching for next year!) Siladen is a fantastic place and I rank it very high. I would be interested in how the diving at Gangga compares with Siladen (I had read somewhere that, as it is not under Marine Park protection, fish are relatively scarcer at Gangga than Siladen..?) Bunaken is some of the most colourful and biodiverse diving I have ever seen.....does Gangga compare favourably? I would really like to consider Gangga followed by Lembeh Strait.