flexible critter dive guide in Manado?

[gabyne]

Hi guys,

coming back from Raja Ampat in October, I have about 28 hours stopover in Manado which I would love to use for a dive in front of MegaMall in the city. I heard there's great critter diving. Do you know if this is still possible (obviously, there is a lot of construction work going on which will damage the site eventually) and if there are some dive guides around who can be booked for one or two dives (two people) in advance? Is it possible to do a shallow dive there (due to the short stopover time)?

Thanks a lot,

Gaby

 

[AlanWald]

There are dive sites just north of the city that are sandy sloping and shallow. Also, south of the city, Popo is an excellent site which is also shallow. Last year some others saw the mimic octopus there. I missed it!!!

You just need to find a dive op that will take you there. I think those sites would be better than diving in front of the megamall.

At the Long Beach California Scuba show last weekend I spoke with the people from
Minahasa Lagoon Resort which is located a few minutes from Popo and they said they often go there. So try them.

Other dive ops located north of Manado and on Bunaken and other islands do go occasionally, but it is an hour boat ride for them. So you are better off taking a taxi to Minhassa Lagoon Resort if they will take you.

http://www.minahasalagoon.com/sito/ing/home.html

resort@minahasalagoon.com

 

[Indah]

Hello,

What about one day diving in Lembeh Strait? Best places for critters, possible to dive on nitrox with own boat and guide. And not much further from the airport than Manado.

Enjoy your stay around the Raja Empat islands!

 

[pelan-pelan]

Easy answer - the jetty of lumbalumba will yield a kaleidoscope of macro. And they are only a very short way from PoPo if you want to do that as well.

Just don't tread on the robust ghost pipefish when you stride in from the jetty. When we were looking for little stuff lumbalumba often gave us two guides and the clever bit was the snorkelling "spotter" on the surface, particularly at PoPo. Had us on to the hairy frogfish in a couple of minutes.

The team are great - we have known them for nearly ten years and they never lose their enthousiasm. Safety and eco-conscious. And the food and accommodation at their new lodge is super.

www.lumbalumbadiving.com

 

[gabyne]

Hello,

What about one day diving in Lembeh Strait? Best places for critters, possible to dive on nitrox with own boat and guide. And not much further from the airport than Manado.

Enjoy your stay around the Raja Empat islands!

This would be a good idea, basically. Unfortunately, the city hotel in Manado is already booked... Anyway, I've been to Lembeh last year for 9 days and I loved it and will definitely come back. I just thought I'll give muck diving in Manado Bay a chance when I'm there this time...

Thanks a lot anyway!

 

[opalobsidian]

Hi Gabyne!

If you are asking if there is still diving available at the Megamall site, yes there is, I was just there in late June. It's the closest I've ever been to a McDonald's during a dive! And yes, it's quite shallow. However, I didn't see that many critters, mostly snake-like things and lion fish. The site is surprisingly not trashy for being so close to town!

As far as a dive op that could take you out, I'm afraid I don't know of any. We dove with Thalassa, based at Hotel Santika, about 30 minutes from Manado. If you contact them, they may know of someone...?

Happy bubble trails!
Pamela