Diving around Sulawesi - itinerary help please.

[coope08]

My husband and are planning two weeks diving in Indonesia in June. We were thinking of splitting the time between Bunaken Island (either Bunaken Cha Cha Resort or Kima Bajo Resort) and the Lembeh Strait (Kungkungan Bay Resort or Lembeh Resort). We wanted to possibly fit in a day or two of diving Bangka Island. We love corals and macro so that will be the focus. We don't like wreck diving and we don't care about the big critters (sharks, rays, etc.). We see plenty of that off the coast of FL.
We prefer hard coral over soft coral so that is why we were leaning towards spending more time at Bunaken rather than Bangka. My questions are around experiences at these resorts (open to other suggestions as well) and transferring between resorts. Do we take taxi's or will the resorts transfer between each other, etc.?
I would call us beginning divers. We have logged about 20 dives around Mexico (Cozumel, Cancun, Isla Muheres), the Florida Keys, and St. Lucia. We have never really been deep though - will that be required to enjoy Sulawesi? In Florida our dives were all around 25 feet. In Mexico we never really went deeper than 50 feet. I get vertigo easily so I am a little nervous to go much deeper. Any thoughts on staying shallow in Sulawesi? Thanks!

 

[highdesert]

There are some dives in Lembeh deeper than 50 feet. Having said that, there is so much of Lembeh that is 50 feet or less that I'm sure you could spend your dive time productively there. Consider also the possibility that as your dive count increases in Lembeh, with a relatively shallow, visible bottom in sight, you may well find your vertigo decreasing, or nonexistent.

As to the hard coral, make a point of diving Timur I & II on Bunaken. The top of the wall is probably 15-25 feet, and is a stunning hard coral garden. Try to do these dives in the morning, when the sun will really light them up. I can't think of (in my own experience) any dive on Bunaken that would require you to go deep purely for the sake of hard coral. Do let your dive guide know your depth preferences, and your interest in coral, up front; they may want to split you off from the rest of the group (your advantage!), or you may want to consider a private dive guide for some dives.

 

[coope08]

Thanks highdesert! Glad to know that depth would not be an issue. One other question my husband wanted me to throw out here. Is the coral better (healthier, more varieties, etc.) at Bunaken or Lombok? He read a lot about Lombok and thought maybe we should focus the trip on Bali/Lombok if the coral is better than Bunaken. He saw that there were muck diving opportunities in Bali as well. I am leaning towards Sulawesi as that was what I have been reading about out here on the forums. Any thoughts on Lombok vs. Bunaken would be extremely helpful. Thanks!

 

[Tippytoes12]

Hi there

We dived in Bunaken once and the Gilis twice last year and loved them both.

The coral in Bunaken is wonderful and is at relatively shallow depths. We stayed at Cha Cha and cannot say enough good things about it. The owners eat with the guests every night and the atmosphere is really really wonderful. The resort bungalows , food and location are all first class. It's not the cheapest of course , but it is worth every penny and more.We were picked up at the airport and taken to where the boat departs. The woners were very helpful with arranging onward transport , so I'm sure that it would not be a problem to transfer you to Lembeh.

As previous posters have said the best things in Bunaken are at shallow depths. We were in a group, never went below 18mts and we still saw wonderful things. There were families there at the same time as us , including a little 11 year old girl and she and the other relatively inexperienced divers were all absolutely fine. Currents were minimal and the guides were exceptionally good.So you should be fine with the amount of experience you have. All your gear is prepared for you , put on the boat and all you need do is get into it and roll off. The sites were never crowded and the groups small.

We also love the Gilis, but the coral is not nearly as good as in Bunaken. There is however very good fish life and lots and lots of turtles and many sharks. The islands though are incredibly beautiful, the beaches are alot better than Bunaken and there is a wonderful funky travellers vibe.The diving is also extremely easy.

If you are coming to dive in Indonesia for just two weeks from North America, I would just stay in Sulawesi, despite what I have just said about Lombok. Lombok is easily combined with say a Komodo trip which you can do in the future !

I hope that this is helpful.

Have a wonderful trip.

 

[instructorinasia]

Kima Bajo is based in Manado not on the Bunaken Island. But all resort in the area work well together to ensure that transfer for clients run smoothly. KBR is based on mainland sulawesi as well and Lembeh Resort is based on the Lembeh Island and so gets to enjoy great sunsets. Two weeks in the area is a good amount of time, i would also recommend to start with Bunaken then go to Lembeh

 

[coope08]

Thanks All,

I appreciate the feedback. Can you recommend any other good resorts in or around Bunaken Island? Has anyone stayed at Raja Laut Dive Resort or Bunaken Island Resort? I think we are going to go with Bunaken Cha Cha but wanted to ask before we commit. Thanks!

 

[Bali Diver]

@coope08 if you prefer tp stay in the shallow depth's.there is nothing wrong with that.do what you enjoy and feel best with.most life and colour on the reef is to 15m and at Bunaken you will have very nice diving at those depth's and indeed as highdesert states some very nice hard corals at Timur I & II ,just let your guide know what you want and even if it means following the guide at 15m and he is deeper with the rest,that's not a problem

 

[Bioteacher]

Last summer we spent 10 days at Black Sand dive resort in Lembah. It is well run and I would highly recommend them. It is an interesting trip across the island and Bruce made sure that we were well cared for. He was talking about trying to set up a package for people who wanted both sides of the island. You may want to contact him and see if he has suggestions. It is a family run resort. We definitely want to go back.

 

[jake11]

We did a 2 week trip in North Sulawesi a couple of years ago and split the time between Bunaken and Lembeh. We stayed at Tasik Ria Resort( if you decide on this ask for their newly upgraded villas) and KBR. I can not say enough good about KBR!!! Slick dive operation run by an excellent operations manager( Kaj) , awesome food, awesome service and a GREAT spa with all kinds of services! I agree that you should do Bunaken first then head to Lembeh! Have a great trip!

 

[DiveExploreIndonesia]

Like Intructorinasia suggested : Kima Bajo is a really nice operation for diving Bunaken, it can be combined with Lembeh resort , really nice resort as well. Transfer between Manado and Lembeh is easy to organize.
The depth will not be a problem in north Sulawesi and if you are into coral and macro it will be definitely better than Lombok.
Like everyone already said , 2 weeks is the right amount of time and Bunaken before Lembeh is a good choice.