Covering N. Sulawesi

[highdesert]

Considering only which resorts 'cover' North Sulawesi best, without getting into specific pros and cons of each, Murex covers Bunaken and Manado from Murex Manado, Bangka from Murex Bangka, and Lembeh from their Lembeh Resort. I haven't stayed at all of them, but in terms of convenient coverage by one company, they seem to be in a good position.

 

[Luko]

And Luko, haven't you been there like 6 times??@!?- Bill

Yes, 5 times at Murex, one at another operation. And what do your marks suppose to mean? Do I like Bangka? Yes. Am I a bit perplex about their marketing evolution? Yes too.

 

[AlMitch]

I dont think you should worry about sticking with one single company for your time in N Sulawesi. All the resorts will bend over backwards to help you with transport from one to the other.

For Lembeh the budget options are:
NAD (great budget option, but the units are a bit on top of each other for),
Divers Lodge Lembeh (a tiny bit more expensive but very secluded and scenic bungalows, only issue is that they right at the southern point of Lembeh Island so a bit far away from the main action, but on the plus side you can dive the eastern side of Lembeh),
2 fish (not been there, but always gets good reviews),
and Froggies (not been there, but also gets really good reviews & they seem to have great bungalows).
If you can splash out a bit more cash Black Sands Dive Retreat is AMAZING! My personal favorite!

As for Bangka, definitely give Blue Bay Divers a look. It is a really beautiful and well run operation, yes it is a tad more rustic, but everything else is great. They also have a live aboard and do trips out to the northern most islands, which could be really interesting.
The other resort that has gotten some good reports is Coral Eye.



Pulisan Jungle Resort

 

[Wingy]

AlMitch makes some very good points re not having to stick with one op. I was on Bangka at Murex when the other two divers there at the time left for Bunaken so I rang my old friends at Froggies (they deserve the good feedback they get) who organised to pick me up from Murex's drop off point which is Manado airport - all done in a day. When I felt like id had enough of Bunaken Foggies manager Benny at the time put through a call to Bruce at Black Sands for me and organised transfer. This was in the pre froggies Lembeh days.

 

[billt4sf]

I am really getting confused about pricing in Lembeh.

Froggies, for example, lists prices for standard Bungalow during high season at 335 Euros. Is this for the Bungalow which holds two people, or is this per person? Then the diving is $297 for 10 dives (obviously per person). So I get about 2982 Euros for two people for a week.

That seems to be in the range of most resorts -- except Two Fish, which is around $1425 for a week, and I calculated Bastianos at $1,500. for a week.

Are there really such large differences, or am I miscalculating? I wrote off a few emails to try to get it squared away.


Thanks,

Bill

 

[Wisnu]

I am really getting confused about pricing in Lembeh.

Froggies, for example, lists prices for standard Bungalow during high season at 335 Euros. Is this for the Bungalow which holds two people, or is this per person? Then the diving is $297 for 10 dives (obviously per person). So I get about 2982 Euros for two people for a week.

That seems to be in the range of most resorts -- except Two Fish, which is around $1425 for a week, and I calculated Bastianos at $1,500. for a week.

Are there really such large differences, or am I miscalculating? I wrote off a few emails to try to get it squared away.


Thanks,

Bill

I checked froggies price for 2015 starting from Euro 40.25 per person per night for standard room for long stay. Or Euro 335 for 7 night high season plus Euro 297 for 10 dive total 632 per person.

 

[Wingy]

deleted

 

[billt4sf]

I checked froggies price for 2015 starting from Euro 40.25 per person per night for standard room for long stay. Or Euro 335 for 7 night high season plus Euro 297 for 10 dive total 632 per person.

yeah, I miscalculated. Thanks for setting me straight.

- Bill