I will be diving in Bunaken National Park this July for probably a week or so. I know that there are resorts in both Bunaken Island and Manado. I know that both places offer some sound resorts and dive operators (from previous posts). Can anyone please let me know whether I shall stay in Bunaken Island or Manado? What is the main difference between my 2 choices? And also prices - as I do not want to spend extras if I don't have to.
Diving Bunaken
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pelan-pelan
Contributor
Depends what you are looking for.
We favour Manado-side because we also like to go into town, go up volcanoes, go to Tangkoko National Park (tarsier monkeys, black macacques, hornbills etc etc), go to Tomohon up in the highlands to the market, do scenery etc
as well as
diving walls (Bunaken island)
and doing macro/muck critters etc (Manado-side Poh-Poh and lumbalumba jetty)
We are happy to chill out on the boat ride over to Bunaken and see dolphins and pilot-whales, do some reading etc etc.
If you want to be away from it all, then go over to Bunaken.
Who to dive/stay with?
Manado-side we have dived with lumbalumba for 9 years and their new dive lodge is superb - the web-site is absolutely genuine, although in reality it may actually be rather more beautiful! The cottages are well-appointed with fridge, water-cooler, hot water showers. Personalised service - and some of their guides have been with them for years - still enthousiastic and immensely knowledgeable. Will pick you up at the airport etc etc. Welcoming, good food.
www.lumbalumbadiving.com
On Bunaken there are Froggies - search out Shiri's dive report from last summer and a number of other recommendations on this site. We've been across to Froggies and enjoyed a day there with Christiane and her staff. Welcoming, personalised and good food. Also there have been other recommendations on this site - I think I have Celebes divers recommended. They have web-sites.
If you want cattle-boat diving, please do not try any of the above!
We favour Manado-side because we also like to go into town, go up volcanoes, go to Tangkoko National Park (tarsier monkeys, black macacques, hornbills etc etc), go to Tomohon up in the highlands to the market, do scenery etc
as well as
diving walls (Bunaken island)
and doing macro/muck critters etc (Manado-side Poh-Poh and lumbalumba jetty)
We are happy to chill out on the boat ride over to Bunaken and see dolphins and pilot-whales, do some reading etc etc.
If you want to be away from it all, then go over to Bunaken.
Who to dive/stay with?
Manado-side we have dived with lumbalumba for 9 years and their new dive lodge is superb - the web-site is absolutely genuine, although in reality it may actually be rather more beautiful! The cottages are well-appointed with fridge, water-cooler, hot water showers. Personalised service - and some of their guides have been with them for years - still enthousiastic and immensely knowledgeable. Will pick you up at the airport etc etc. Welcoming, good food.
www.lumbalumbadiving.com
On Bunaken there are Froggies - search out Shiri's dive report from last summer and a number of other recommendations on this site. We've been across to Froggies and enjoyed a day there with Christiane and her staff. Welcoming, personalised and good food. Also there have been other recommendations on this site - I think I have Celebes divers recommended. They have web-sites.
If you want cattle-boat diving, please do not try any of the above!
pelan-pelan
Contributor
Read your post again. About prices.
Check out the web-sites for up to date prices. You should include food I think as Manado operations are out of town and Bunaken does not have much in the way of cafes.
After that, there will be very little expense - even if you do decide to go on trips and out for meals. Taxi into Manado will only cost a few dollars - you MUST have Indonesian rupiah. Also have some rupiah to tip the porters at the airport, they are genuinely helpful. Taxis, restaurants, market stalls are usually OK and hassle free on prices. Simple courtesy on your part plus a reasonable idea of what the price should be usually ensures happy and fair prices. We've never had trouble. One taxi driver once suggested a little too much for the fare (agree before set off or agree to use the meter), we just named the correct price and made to walk off - no problem, no argument, price settled. Sadly they do not expect visitors to even have mastered "Good morning" "Good afternoon" etc. If you use even just these words, the response is positive.
Warning - you will want to take currency to exchange for rupiah if you are getting out and about. Or if you are paying the dive operation cash. In which case ensure that USdollars are the most recent issue and are absolutely clean and new - not a crease or spot on them. The money changers and banks are very suspicious of the USD, and are happy to refuse. And if you pay the dive op in USD, they also have to double check that you are giving them clean notes. Alternatively, when you choose your dive op, do ask them about bringing clean European euros. Last summer they seemed to be a "safer" choice of currency to exchange. Suggest you ask your dive op how they would like to paid so that you take the necessary currency or card.
Do not worry about hidden expenses with the operators that are recommended on the board. Just read their web-sites carefully. It does not seem to be the way things are run in Manado to rip-off. Places like lumbalumba and Froggies will look after everything for you. Just ask them for what you need. At lumbalumba our side trips were sorted out for us while we dived and in fact our guide and driver was one of their senior dive guides. Bunaken island is very simple - so please ensure that you have everything you need with you - because the shops are a boat-ride away. Manado has supermarkets, pharmacies etc so it is an option if you do need to buy anything - within Indonesian limits.
Flights - Singapore Airlines and their short-haul sister Silk Air are very good. I think Silk Air fly Singapore/Manado every day and the transfer time from Sam Ratulangi airport (Manado) is about 35 - 40 mins to lumbalumba, and about an hour and a half to Bunaken depending on arrangements. Froggies web-site should have details. If you have any problems with timing connections it may help to know that Changi (Singapore) is a superb airport, quiet, clean, comfortable. We opt for long transit time at Changi to avoid missing connections. We use the transit time by taking their free coach tours of Singapore, shopping in the airport, having showers, resting in their club lounges and helping ourselves to free refreshments, going to the cinema, swimming and sun-bathing on the roof, walking round their gardens, getting massages, beauty treatments, listening to the live music - enough, OK! Book into the transit hotel either a day room or for an overnight if you need. Check out the web-site.
Manado and Bunaken do not have malaria problem. But ensure you have anti-mosquito lotion. We do not have food-problems there - but still take some anti-upset-stomach medicine just in case.
OK - so now you can book.
Check out the web-sites for up to date prices. You should include food I think as Manado operations are out of town and Bunaken does not have much in the way of cafes.
After that, there will be very little expense - even if you do decide to go on trips and out for meals. Taxi into Manado will only cost a few dollars - you MUST have Indonesian rupiah. Also have some rupiah to tip the porters at the airport, they are genuinely helpful. Taxis, restaurants, market stalls are usually OK and hassle free on prices. Simple courtesy on your part plus a reasonable idea of what the price should be usually ensures happy and fair prices. We've never had trouble. One taxi driver once suggested a little too much for the fare (agree before set off or agree to use the meter), we just named the correct price and made to walk off - no problem, no argument, price settled. Sadly they do not expect visitors to even have mastered "Good morning" "Good afternoon" etc. If you use even just these words, the response is positive.
Warning - you will want to take currency to exchange for rupiah if you are getting out and about. Or if you are paying the dive operation cash. In which case ensure that USdollars are the most recent issue and are absolutely clean and new - not a crease or spot on them. The money changers and banks are very suspicious of the USD, and are happy to refuse. And if you pay the dive op in USD, they also have to double check that you are giving them clean notes. Alternatively, when you choose your dive op, do ask them about bringing clean European euros. Last summer they seemed to be a "safer" choice of currency to exchange. Suggest you ask your dive op how they would like to paid so that you take the necessary currency or card.
Do not worry about hidden expenses with the operators that are recommended on the board. Just read their web-sites carefully. It does not seem to be the way things are run in Manado to rip-off. Places like lumbalumba and Froggies will look after everything for you. Just ask them for what you need. At lumbalumba our side trips were sorted out for us while we dived and in fact our guide and driver was one of their senior dive guides. Bunaken island is very simple - so please ensure that you have everything you need with you - because the shops are a boat-ride away. Manado has supermarkets, pharmacies etc so it is an option if you do need to buy anything - within Indonesian limits.
Flights - Singapore Airlines and their short-haul sister Silk Air are very good. I think Silk Air fly Singapore/Manado every day and the transfer time from Sam Ratulangi airport (Manado) is about 35 - 40 mins to lumbalumba, and about an hour and a half to Bunaken depending on arrangements. Froggies web-site should have details. If you have any problems with timing connections it may help to know that Changi (Singapore) is a superb airport, quiet, clean, comfortable. We opt for long transit time at Changi to avoid missing connections. We use the transit time by taking their free coach tours of Singapore, shopping in the airport, having showers, resting in their club lounges and helping ourselves to free refreshments, going to the cinema, swimming and sun-bathing on the roof, walking round their gardens, getting massages, beauty treatments, listening to the live music - enough, OK! Book into the transit hotel either a day room or for an overnight if you need. Check out the web-site.
Manado and Bunaken do not have malaria problem. But ensure you have anti-mosquito lotion. We do not have food-problems there - but still take some anti-upset-stomach medicine just in case.
OK - so now you can book.
pelan2 hit it on the head with the suggestion of a Manado-based resort if you want to alternate diving and land touring days. But I go to Manado for the diving. On my visit last month, I stayed Manado side but wished I had split my stay to include accommodations at Lembeh for half of the time and on an island--Bunaken or Siladen or Gangga--the other half of the time. The long boat rides out to the marine park were okay for a day or two, but as there are resorts with easier access, I would have been happier to be right there instead of an hour+ away by boat. in addition, going to dive Lembeh from Manado-based resorts is a hassle. Next time I go, it will involve some kind of split, for sure, and MUCH closer to the dive sites. I feel pretty certain of this even though the resort I was at was charming, the service superb, my dive guide excellent, and the food 4-star quality.
hallboy
Contributor
Celebes divers have resort
ne in Siladen ( THe only nice beach in Bunaken ) one Manado side.and you can go from one to the other just the way you want
ne in Siladen ( THe only nice beach in Bunaken ) one Manado side.and you can go from one to the other just the way you want
leeaf
Contributor
I was diving at Bunaken, Lembeh and Raja Ampat (liveaboard) in April and can highly recommend the area. All the above is good advice. I stayed at Santika Hotel in Manado and dived with Thalassa dive which is on the grounds of the hotel. The benefit was Santika is only 30 mins from Manado town, and they provide a free shuttle, and it is located directly opposite Bunaken so it is only a 10 min trip on the boat. I would rate Santika as 3.5 stars and the cost was US$75 per night for the room including a full breakfast buffet.
I also met a guy who raved about Froggies but you have to be prepared to 'rough it' a little more. They do not have running water and showers/toilets etc all use buckets.
Hope that helps and wherever you decide to stay I am sure you will enjoy the diving.
I also met a guy who raved about Froggies but you have to be prepared to 'rough it' a little more. They do not have running water and showers/toilets etc all use buckets.
Hope that helps and wherever you decide to stay I am sure you will enjoy the diving.
I stayed on the Bunaken island itself last year, with Bastianos (www.bastianos.com) and McDive Bunaken (www.mcdivebunaken.com). That was great! McDive was a bit cheaper, but Bastianos had better accommodation, food, service, etc.chocolate:
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