first time in Bali

[71%]

Guys,

Pardon me, how big is bali? it seems travel to one destination are far....eg menjangan took 4 hour... Am i right tat most destination we are traveling by car?

The price should be alright... it all depend on which type of accomodation. I'm planing to look for 20US type....

Cheer

frogfish once bubbled...
Geko are based in Padangbai which is about one hour and a half by car from the airport. You can ask them to pick you up or alternatively rent a car (you need an international license though).

when we stayed at Kubu in July, we payed 45 US for the room including breakfast and taxes (not sure if it is a good price)

 

[Snoopy]

71%

Bali is a very very big place. with many trunk roads thru hilly areas. The distance between dive spots may not be great by measures, but having to slow down to manage the corners, slopes and other traffic, can take time. From Sanur to Tulemban is about 2 - 3 hrs, Padang Bay is somewhere in between. Tulemban to Menjanan is about the same time also. take the opportunity to have a drive-by sight see of the local lifestyle & markets etc etc.

A typial room with fan & cold showers is about Rp60,000 (US$8). Unless you are aiming for super luxury, most divers I have met takes this cheaper alternative. In tulemban, I stayed at Paradise resort that has about this price. The cool night breeze is comfortable at about 22 - 24 deg C, no need for A/C. In the day time, I am under the sun anyway.

For my dives in Mejanan, we based ourselves in Louviena (near Singharaj). About the same cost of accomodation, with nice open air resturants & bars near the black sandy beach.

Hoped this helps

 

[Shanghai Manta]

71%

Frogfish is accurate. USD 45 is a good negotiated price for Kubu Bali but there are many options to suit all pockets. Candi Dasa is DEFINITELY peferable to Padang Bai. More , and better, of everything (I'm not talking about diving of course).

Check out this forum for options and opinions : http://www.balitravelforum.com

Snoopy's advice is right - make sure you use your travel days to actually do some sight-seeing on the way !

A thumb test on my map sees Bali as roughly 150 kms by 100 kms (please don't take that as gospel) ! It is very mountainous and THAT should be taken into account when travelling after diving (there are diver's who have developed DCS after going over the mountains - 800 to 2000+ metres high - straight after diving).

I would still recommend staying and diving the East coast - there is very little in the North, I was very unimpressed with Menjangan (although it does get regular good write-ups).
Lovina in a more 'happening place' - my wife and I stayed in Permuteran (very nice holiday villas and isolated, although a LOT closer to Menjangan).

Hiring a car and driver day by day works out a lot cheaper than hiring a car for a wekk and driving yourself, make sure you get a driver who knows the roads and sights - check out the forum mentioned above for recommendations and prices.
There are also 'buses' that cover the island for peanuts.

Have fun - dive safe !
Kevin

 

[71%]

Hi guys...

Thanks for all the help...

I have contacted Geko dive, they offer me 5 dive in two day and include accomodation, transfer, full gear, lunch, drink, DM and govt tax for USD195 per person. Offer fair?

Shanghai manta

since u dive with Geko dive, was wondering are u staying at one fixed place (accommodation)? Do u hv time to travel ard or sightseeing? My impression is travel few hour to dive and few hour back to resort... it seems do not hv much time to do sightseeing. Where can i get car rental and driver? airport?

Snoopy

Thanks for your help... but i think i will get aircon & hot water type of accommodation. cause my wife want it.

Cheer

Shanghai Manta once bubbled...
71%

Frogfish is accurate. USD 45 is a good negotiated price for Kubu Bali but there are many options to suit all pockets. Candi Dasa is DEFINITELY peferable to Padang Bai. More , and better, of everything (I'm not talking about diving of course).

Check out this forum for options and opinions : http://www.balitravelforum.com

Snoopy's advice is right - make sure you use your travel days to actually do some sight-seeing on the way !

A thumb test on my map sees Bali as roughly 150 kms by 100 kms (please don't take that as gospel) ! It is very mountainous and THAT should be taken into account when travelling after diving (there are diver's who have developed DCS after going over the mountains - 800 to 2000+ metres high - straight after diving).

I would still recommend staying and diving the East coast - there is very little in the North, I was very unimpressed with Menjangan (although it does get regular good write-ups).
Lovina in a more 'happening place' - my wife and I stayed in Permuteran (very nice holiday villas and isolated, although a LOT closer to Menjangan).

Hiring a car and driver day by day works out a lot cheaper than hiring a car for a wekk and driving yourself, make sure you get a driver who knows the roads and sights - check out the forum mentioned above for recommendations and prices.
There are also 'buses' that cover the island for peanuts.

Have fun - dive safe !
Kevin

 

[Snoopy]

71%

Hoped that you will enjoy your trip.

Car rental - got mine, a 1000cc suzuki 2 door with a driver for RP150,000. Car is for 24 hrs, the driver 10 hrs. Petrol costed me another 20-30,000Rp, depending on where you are heading. Soloon car cost more, never really checked the prices.

Have told the driver to skip the touristy shopping stuff for me and use the "backlane" as much as possible. I was treated to the sights & sound of the local lifestyle, that if left alone there, I might be lost forever amist the golden rice paddy fields and smiling villagers.

 

[juggernutt]

I also dived in Bali in August.
I dove with Geko and Tauch Terminal.

My experienced with Geko was really bad. Actually it was my first bad dive ever.
After my first dive I got headaches and felt really woozy. After vomiting...I was done for the day.
Nearly spoiled my diving vacation.
Still not sure what the reason was....was it me or maybe it was because the morning trip to padang bai was in a non airconditioned mini-van. Swallowing all the exhausts fumes from all the traffic and the van itself really messes you up.

Nearly stopped diving for the holiday...but was convinced by my friends to still participate in the planned AOWC.(i'd had no problem staying and enjoying the kuta nightlife)
But not with Geko this time, but with Tauch Terminal. It's on the whole otherside of the pricerange.
AOWC and one night stay in superdeluxe accomodation set me back...U$300!!!
But I got 3 dives in tulamban incl a nightdive and the next day a dive at Biaha.

Maybe it's unfair...but tauch terminal was excellent. The instructor was a local. Name Is Abi. A professional commercial diver and educated in the USA. He made it a great experience.
best thing about him, is that he truly loves diving and it's all fun for him. Totally unjaded.(If possible..ask for him. totally recommended)
Well you know how luckj is such a big factor in diving. Well we didn't have any.
Saw plenty of sharks, Baracudas, but not the Mola Mola or the giant Moray at Biaha.
Really pissed us off...everyone else saw them but us.
We saw a spanish dancer and a cuttlefish.

can't fault the guide....we were planning to deep dive to 28/30 meters. But a buddy couldn't handle a thermocline and kinda panicked. So we missed out on a Mola Mola at a cleaning station. J

But the dives is more than worth it...nightdive at Tulamben is excellent. An incredible experience. The coral garden was boring, but a buddy came eye2eye with a great barracuda.

Diving in tulamban...don't know why they don't do it. but why must you walk so far on the rocky beach!!
Why not just slowly swim to the dive area from the front of the hotel.(tauch Terminal) An easy walk and the short swim is easy to do..better than walking on the stones in total darkness.

A second thing....when you go to Biaha. Make sure you have a flashlight with you. ours forgot his and you just couldn't see the sharks that well in their caves.

third.....wear a fullsuit. The water in Bali is truly much colder than I expected. And in the seabreeze a 3 mm fullsuit is not hot at all.Esspecially when wet.

Anyway with just 25 dives ... I think I will get my chance at a big fish encounter. That's what the other divers in the group kept telling me anyway...
All of who have at least 100 dives.

 

[juggernutt]

To be fair with geko. Diving with Bob looks to be great fun...great guy. And a guy who really loves to dive.
And the equipment they had were good.(compared to tauch terminal) You even get your own divecomputers.

I think if you have experience diving, Geko is a good option. They can deliver the guides and equipment fro a good price.

The thing I didn't like about Geko....they kinda fumbled with the pricing. They advertised that the package was all in, but if they have to pick you up from Kuta or any place further than Karangsaem(padang bai area) there will be an extra charge.
I didn't like it...and to make it worse the car they used to pick me up was so old and broken down..yech.
Frankly you are much cheaper hiring a taxi for a whole day(200/300K)...than paying the extra fee they carge for the transport.

Anyway this is something you should consider when you compare prices. To be fair the diveschools in kuta charge higher because they must take you to the dive spots upnorth.

 

[71%]

Hi Juggernutt!

Thanks for your sharing!

Thank God u mentioned about the "mini van with no aircon" my wife is tat type of people whom easy to get car sick :whoa: .... Tat case i got to put "mode of transportation" into one of our consideration....

Shanghai manta

Any comment on geko dive transportation?

Thanks.

juggernutt once bubbled...
I also dived in Bali in August.
I dove with Geko and Tauch Terminal.

My experienced with Geko was really bad. Actually it was my first bad dive ever.
After my first dive I got headaches and felt really woozy. After vomiting...I was done for the day.
Nearly spoiled my diving vacation.
Still not sure what the reason was....was it me or maybe it was because the morning trip to padang bai was in a non airconditioned mini-van. Swallowing all the exhausts fumes from all the traffic and the van itself really messes you up.

Nearly stopped diving for the holiday...but was convinced by my friends to still participate in the planned AOWC.(i'd had no problem staying and enjoying the kuta nightlife)
But not with Geko this time, but with Tauch Terminal. It's on the whole otherside of the pricerange.
AOWC and one night stay in superdeluxe accomodation set me back...U$300!!!
But I got 3 dives in tulamban incl a nightdive and the next day a dive at Biaha.

Maybe it's unfair...but tauch terminal was excellent. The instructor was a local. Name Is Abi. A professional commercial diver and educated in the USA. He made it a great experience.
best thing about him, is that he truly loves diving and it's all fun for him. Totally unjaded.(If possible..ask for him. totally recommended)
Well you know how luckj is such a big factor in diving. Well we didn't have any.
Saw plenty of sharks, Baracudas, but not the Mola Mola or the giant Moray at Biaha.
Really pissed us off...everyone else saw them but us.
We saw a spanish dancer and a cuttlefish.

can't fault the guide....we were planning to deep dive to 28/30 meters. But a buddy couldn't handle a thermocline and kinda panicked. So we missed out on a Mola Mola at a cleaning station. J

But the dives is more than worth it...nightdive at Tulamben is excellent. An incredible experience. The coral garden was boring, but a buddy came eye2eye with a great barracuda.

Diving in tulamban...don't know why they don't do it. but why must you walk so far on the rocky beach!!
Why not just slowly swim to the dive area from the front of the hotel.(tauch Terminal) An easy walk and the short swim is easy to do..better than walking on the stones in total darkness.

A second thing....when you go to Biaha. Make sure you have a flashlight with you. ours forgot his and you just couldn't see the sharks that well in their caves.

third.....wear a fullsuit. The water in Bali is truly much colder than I expected. And in the seabreeze a 3 mm fullsuit is not hot at all.Esspecially when wet.

Anyway with just 25 dives ... I think I will get my chance at a big fish encounter. That's what the other divers in the group kept telling me anyway...
All of who have at least 100 dives.

 

[Bloop]

Another 40 hours till my flight tomorrow to Bali..

Hope I can get to see some Mola Mola and Mantas.

Well, no problem about transport for me as the dive centre is picking us up from the airport and sending us everywhere we go... even into Oberoi for dinner.. (you gotta know how to talk them into it!!)

I will post some reviews on the trip as we are going to quite a few places.... Tulamben, Padang Bai, Menjangan, Nusa Penida (not in order) etc...

New equipment and the sorts for my friends (I have my own )

Be back on the 15th....

 

[Shanghai Manta]

Sorry guys I've been away from the board for a few days.

I sympathise with Juggernutt for his experiences although I'm happy you got some great dives in. I would also thoroughly recommend the night dive on the USS Liberty Wreck at Tulamben.

Geko : We had clean, comfortable air-conditioned vans with a good English speaking driver. The vans are commissioned though don't think that should be an issue since most are in Bali. Bob is excellent and also of note ; there were only my wife and I on one day's diving and 5 divers at most so this is no cattle truck operation either.

BTW : Geko (in Padang Bai) is a 10 min fast boat (they have their own speedboat - many dive operations use the local boats which have no sun cover or safety equipment as they are merely comverted fishing boats that look like large canoes) trip from a number of great sites but a 1.5 hour drive from Tulamben.

Which is why we stayed up there when diving Tulamben, and moved down to the Padang Bai area later. Geko came to pick us up at our hotel - hence no long drive. Tauch Terminal are based in Tulamben.

When we dived Tulamben we had a five metre walk to the sea and then a 30 metre swim to the wreck ! The Tauch Terminal resort is located a fair way along the beach which is why Juggernutt had a longer walk / swim.

All the dive resorts will charge you extra if a long return drive is required to pick you up from your hotel (many people don't fix their hotels until they arrive).

From correspondence and first hand impressions I personally think Geko give great service at a very decent price and could not fault them in any way. Tauch Terminal seem to have a good reputation too although there is a noticable price differential.

Safe Diving
Kevin