Candidasa or Amed for diving, snorkeling, food and activities

[comollusk]

Hey all,


Hoping to get some expert advice from all of you Bali experts. I’ve searched this forum and tripadvisor front and back and read all pertinent threads, but still having trouble finalizing our decision as to where to go.


First, some background. We are 2 youngish couples made up of 3 experienced divers (1 non-diver) and we all 4 enjoy snorkeling. We would like convenience to dive sites, snorkeling sites without a boat, beautiful beaches and ocean front views, great local food and drinking spots (not necessarily backpacker partier spots), and access to inland activities. We will likely only dive 2 tanks per day most days so we can do other things, which is why diving convenience is important so we’re not spending too much time transporting around. Our budget is midrange, but we appreciate good value, so higher end is not a problem if it truly is substantially better. Obviously we’re looking for everything, but expect there to be tradeoffs.


We are thinking 5 nights in either Candidasa or Amed, then 5 nights on Nusa Lembongan. So the question is Candidasa or Amed and what are the tradeoffs? It seems Candidasa has some very good diving nearby, but it would be a treck to get up to the Liberty and other northern dive sites that we cannot miss. Is the diving and shore accessed snorkling so much better up there that we should just stay there? It seems that Candidasa area may have more choices for convenient dining and drinking places with some restaurants giving free transport, how is it trying to get around the Amed area to try different places without a vehicle? Is the cab situation there still non-existent at night like I’m reading and do any restaurants give transport?


Any suggestions for hotels in all 3 areas that are convenient for diving? We’d rather not have to take a taxi every morning to the dive shop. Do the dive boats pick up at the various hotels or should we stay walking distance to whichever dive shop we choose? On Lembongan, it seems all of the dive shops are in the Jungut Batu area. Is it inconvenient to dive from further south which may have nicer beaches? Is there non-boat snorkeling anywhere on Lembongan close to any hotels? As beginner/intermediate surfers, is there a better area to stay to access these breaks?


I know this is a lot of questions, but we’re so excited to get to this part of the world for the 1st time and really want to maximize our adventure, so thank you in advance for any and all input you have to help us with our decisions.


Devin

 

[lamarpaulski]

I spent some time on Bali last year and loved it. I think the diving on the USS Liberty was pretty great...early morning and night dives especially. Shore dives. Certainly could 'do' much of this place in 2-3 days. The diving was easy too and we were not really affected by strong currents. Despite it being a popular spot, the sea life on the Liberty is diverse and profuse. The night dive included an encounter with a very large eel, Bumphead Parrotfish and an enormous sleeping Napolean ? Wrasse. The guide/Dms will point out a lot you would miss on your own so use them. The snorkeling there and nearby is pretty good but there is little else to do topside in that area and the "beaches" are rounded volcanic cobblestone, not sand, for the most part. We found the inland cultural center of Ubud, nearby temples and the higher volcanic region to be very beautiful, interesting and exotic. I think you would regret not visiting that area for a day or two. Taxis and transports were very reasonable btw...wouldn't drive there myself. Escapes Unlimited travel agency provided us an excellent driver and guide at very reasonable costs during our 9 days there. It was nice to be met at the airport and the advice provided by them was excellent. After Bali we went to Komodo for the best diving i have yet experienced. (More expensive too) Bali is great but since you have come so far there are world-class diving places very nearby - just something to think about too. Took us almost three weeks. You may regret not giving yourself a bit more time.

 

[Sideways]

We did Candidasa/Tulamben last April. Trip report here....If you have any other question, don't hesitate to ask



.http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/indonesia/457236-trip-report-bali-wakatobi-4-26-13-a.html

 

[comollusk]

Sideways (no merlot!) , i did read your trip report and i looked very closely at Bambu and we're definitely considering it if we stay in Candidasa. Thank you for a great report. Very informative.

Lamar, did you do a live aboard on Komodo or land-based? I would love to do a live aboard but we do have 1 non diver among us. What's it like on Komodo with regard to topside activities, food, beaches, bars, etc? It was pretty high on my list before choosing the other locations but I felt our non diver might not enjoy it as much as say Lembongan. Also, I was thinking of Ubud and the volcano trip as afternoon trips after diving in the a.m., or as things to do on non-diving days while we were in Amed or Candidasa. They look to be just a couple hours away from these areas. Is that true? I do wish we could stay longer than just 10 days, but we're stopping off in Hong Kong for 3 nights on our way back to the US to see our friends' new lives teaching there and 2 weeks is the most time we can take off work at 1 time.

 

[TheWartHog]

Have you considered the Gili Islands? It seems to suit your requirements and from there there is a direct boat to Nusa Lembongan. Boats leave for the Gili Islands from Bali.

Diving, snorkelling, beaches, good food and bars. Gili Trawangan is known as the 'party island', loads of backpackers though there are lovely quiet spots around, Gili Air less so but still good bars and restaurant and Gili Meno is quieter still.

I think that most (if not all) dive shops offer 1 tank dives up to 3 times a day (plus night dives) as the dive sites are all very close and the non-diver can snorkel from the boat whilst you're diving. Snorkelling from the beaches as well.

Good luck