Destination for beginner divers September

[Nicolas000]

Hi everybody !

This is my first post here, so let me present myself briefly. Nicolas, European, currently living near Pondicherry in South India. Started to dive las May and that was about the best trip I ever done. My girlfriend and I discovered the underwater world in Malaysia (Perhentian and Mabul/Sipadan) and well, made me feel like a child arriving in Wonderland :biggrin:

Now, my brother is planning to come to visit me in September and I thought that will be nice to make him discover diving too :cool2: !

Here's the deal:

We have 3 weeks, from mid September to early October of this year.
We are beginners, me with around 20 dives and my bro should pass his OW at home before coming. We have an (extendable) backpacker budget, not really regarding on comfort between dives (my most comfortable bed in 2 years was the one on the Mabul resort we stayed in, Seaventure :shocked2 and mostly interested in animals. Not much into cultural visit this time.

After some research I came with two ideas that I would like to submit to you:

First Bali.
Recommended for fist trip to Indonesia, nice Island, some great diving (Tulamben+Nusa Penida+ Menjangan as the highlights).
Problems: looks like a very good destination for mix diving/land trip and we don't want to visit anything, just want to see cool underwater sceneries. Moreover, it seems pretty busy in September, and we will have to plan/book everything before going, not quite the style of the house (but possible).
But then, there might be a nice option. We could insert a trip to Alor somewhere.

We could spend a week in Tulamben, eventually pass our AOW, then go to Alor for a long week and back to Bali for some last dives, around Menjangan. I think it's possible to organise day trip to Nusa Penida from Tulamben so we will not miss much of the Bali's diving while having spend some time on a more remote place like Alor, supposed to have some great diving and be much quieter than busy Bali.

Just one question here: on divetheworld.com, they do not recommend Alor for beginners, could you confirm that it is not a place for us to go?

Then there is the second option: forget Indonesia and go to Philippines, on Moalboal. Not the season, it will be quite alright. But here, I am wondering if there is enough to do for 3 weeks? And if the weather is not too bad, as my bro would appreciate some sun (here, it's above 37°C and I would be happy with anything fresher).

Ok guys, that's about it. Any suggestion is more than welcome. And if you've got good accommodation/dive center recommendation too

Thanks !

 

[Nicolas000]

Not much success here
Must have miss something

Finally decided to stick with Bali, will be quite a nice trip already. By spending 3 weeks there, we should have time to check most of the nice places.

Bali is very very well documented on the forum (thanks for that). I just have one question : where in the trip would you put the AOW course?

I thought about heading to Menjangan/Permuteran first, then Puri Jati, Tulamben, Amed, Padang Bay and finish by Nusa Lembongan. But Permuteran doesn't look like the place to pass the AOW...

Two options then: keep that plan and pass the AOW in Tulamben (but is that a good idea? Looks like there are quite some nice deep dive to do there?) or change the plan.

I do not wish to stop first at Lembongan as it seems that one of the unmissable Bali dive, Crystal Bay, looks pretty tough and might be much more enjoyable for us at the end of our stay. What do you think about Padang Bay, Amed, Tulamben, Permuteran, Puri Jati and finish by Nusa Lembongan? And in that scenario, would you pass the AOW at Padang Bay or Amed (goal still being to enjoy the most each dives)?

Would be super if you could help me sort that out

 

[Centrals]

If you still do not receive any response then I would suggest Philippines.
Enter the country through Cebu and then you can decide where you would like to go. Bohol, Dumaguette(Apo Island), Malapascua, Moalboal, Sogod Bay etc etc.

Sept is the peak season for Mola Mola in Bali but the dive tends to be deep and might encounter strong current.

Have a nice trip.

 

[MA]

or bunaken near manado in indonesia? nice diving, a lot of creatures too. relatively easy to get to and some good value resorts. Living colours?

 

[Wisnu]

Nicolas
Your plan look good – I personally love Tulamben but with 3 weeks, it is nice to have Bali dive safari at your own pace. Pemuteran is good place to start including for AOW. There’s several nice DC – but for budget, you can check Jubawa homestay, they have a local instructor. You can stay at Pemuteran to cover the dive sites at pemuteran, menjangan island, secret bay and puri jati. Allocate at least 5 days there, 2 days for AOW and another 3 days for fun dives. Try secret bay (1 hour from pemuteran by car) – if you enjoy this site and your buddy does not complain you stir the sandy bottom – you may stop at Puri Jati on the way to Tulamben, and probably stay 1 night if you now love muck diving. If not, just skip it, go to Tulamben – plenty of choice incl. for budget. I’m not getting bore staying one week at Tulamben and still love wake-up early morning to meet my big fellows humphead parot fish leaving the wreck. Check my report here http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/indonesia/387238-another-bali-update-tulamben-menjangan-secret-bay-end-may-2011-a.htmlfor my recent trip.
Base in Tulamben, your coverage incl. kubu, seraya, batu kelebit, amed and gili selang assuming you love current now. You can move to amed for different ambient. Again, not difficult to get budget accommodation in Amed. If you lucky, not impossible to sight mola-mola while you stay at this area.
Next you can move to candi dasa or padang bai – I personally prefer padang bai than candi dasa. From here, you can dive tanjung sari, amuk bay (tepekong, mimpang and biaha) and cross to nusa penida and benoa either day trip or stay there for 1 or 2 nights – up to you.

 

[Nicolas000]

Thanks guys !

@ Centrals: Yes that was kind of the idea. But now that I dropped it and studied all the dive sites of Bali, I think I'm gonna get a little rigid on that one. However, I did not book the flight ticket yet so I guess I could read a few more threads about the region before choosing... Is there any other reasons than the Balinese current that make you suggest Philippine over Bali?

@ MA : I think am gonna let Sulawesi for another trip

@ Wisnu : Sure I did read your report Wisnu ! Amazing pics ! Tulamben seems the big favorite on the forum and I'll make sure we got at least 5 days there. I do love muck dive (Mabul was amazing) so Secret Bay and Puri Jati are on my to do list. But about my plan, am kinda looking towards the second one, starting from Padang Bay, Pemuteran seems a little expensive to spend it the time we need for the AOW (and I want to do the buoyancy control that looks nothing like a fun dive). What do you think about that? How are the dives around Padang Bay?

Last but not least, I understood that as September is still high season, I should book everything before coming, is it true? And how would you travel? Rent a car/motorbike (make sense if I don't book anything), take each time a taxi, ask the hotel to pick you up, take the bus? If their are buses everywhere and regularly I would not mind do that (I did took the bus in both Nepal and India, I doubt it could be any worth than that).

Thanks !

 

[Luko]

Secret Bay and Puri Jati are on my to do list.

Watch this out Nicolas, Puri Jati is not on every dive operator's program, especially in high season. That's what I learnt from sending mails to many dive centers, so if it's a must-do you probably need to stay nearby Puri Jati to ensure you can dive the area (Blue Season Bali manages a new dive op just in front of PJ).

 

[Wisnu]

Sure you can reverse by starting from padang bai. I did my rescue in pb. Costwise I ve not seen major different between pemuteran & pb. If you start from pemuteran, you ll add more than 30 dives on your logbook & more experience in handling current at NP.
Being local & familiar with bali I always rent a car but this not for evrybody. I notice you live in India, if you drive there then should be okay. It Give us more flexibility and may cut the diving cots. You'll pass PJ when driving to pemuteran from tulamben. Zen resort is not budget, nibbana is cheaper. Or you can stay at seririt not far from pj. Buy local sim card immediately you land in Bali. Will help you a lot specially if you have not make firm reservation. Possible to get accommodation in September but may not the most popular.

 

[jake11]

If you go to Padang Bai in September then you will have a chance of seeing mola molas! Very cool! There were some pretty strong currents when we were there so make sure you are comfortable with this. It was a combination of drift and wall diving when we were there in September of 2010. We also loved diving at Tulumben!

 

[buiszie]

Diving in Bali is great.
Around Lembongan, the Mola Molas at Crystal bay (only in the months july till september), Manta point and Blue corner.
Tulamben: Brillant wreck, i should find an accommodation in Tulamben and dive before everybody arrives there, between 10 and 13.00 it will looks like a supermarket.
Menjangan: my favorite, be careful when u dived there u dont cross the same day through bali to sanur.

I like to dive with:
1) crystal dive, sanur
2)joe's gone diving, sanur
3) blue corner divers, lembomgan