Have any regions of Bali been especially good/bad for diving in Oct. 2024?

[JonnieB]

I will throw this out there... First time in SE Asia, want warm, calm water, only two dives a day, see another side of life in this area?

Instead of northeast Bali, finish diving at Padang Bai and take a fast boat to Gili Air. The boat ride versus a car trip on a crazy truck-infested highway will take you two hours instead of four to five. The water is warm and current minimal most of the time. Although the coral will not be like Menjangan, you will see tons of life including more turtles than you can imagine, sharks, fish galore, and all the usual macro suspects. The dive shops usually do one dive, come in, and then repeat. If you decided to add a third dive, you would only be gone a short time and your wife would not be bored on shore.

Topside Gili Air is magical...at least I think so. There are no cars or motorbikes- only bicycles. The beaches are white sand, and the snorkeling and SUP opportunities are awesome. There are a number of restaurants and bars, but not enough going on to attract the real party crowd. It is by far my favorite place to take my friends and family who come to visit.

Do some googling and see what you think

Delete.

 

[Centrals]

Padang Bai + Gili Air(there are two more islands nearby) is an excellent idea for any first time visitor in SE Asia.
The ferry terminal is within walking distance from the center of Padang Bai.

 

[rcaqua]

Delete.

Plus one for Gili Air, very enjoyable. Dived with Gili Air divers, stayed at Vyaana resort, and loved the warung called ZZZ! Lots of turtles, reef sharks, the occasional octopus etc.

 

[frogfish]

I do think that Menjangan/ Pemuteran are worth a visit : they are very nice in my opinion and less crowded than other areas of Bali. Plus the walls are very healthy at Menjangan (beautiful corals), and there is decent macro (but not as rich as Tulamben)

I do agree it is a long trip from Denpasar (4h +), but you could also fly into Banyuwangi (direct from Jakarta), take the ferry to Gilimanuk and then it is less than 30' drive. Then travel to Tulamben and onwards to Padangbai...

 

[Wisnu]

In the past, we enjoyed our own Bali diving safari; combined with non-diving activities too. We rented a car from airport then travelled along the coast counter clock and stop at Padang Bai (diving N. Penida, padang bai and G. tepekong), Tulamben (covering Tulamben, kubu, melasti, seraya and amed), puri jati, pemuteran (not my fav), teluk terima (menjangan and secret bay) then cross the island back to Denpasar/airport. Travelling time less tan 2 hours to recah next location. You can add gili air trip from Padang bai and return to padang bai as I dont think boat from Gili to amed is back in operation. However, not all site were excellent. The last trip was in 2019, disappointed with Puri Jati and secret bai - but this sites are known for hit and miss).
You can do the same thing but for first timer, let diveshop to handle all for you. They can arrange everything and even you dont have to carry your gear.

 

[justinthedeeps]

My wife and I are making our first dive trip to Bali in October 2024. My wife has always had Bali on her bucket list, and she is not open to liveaboards so our diving will have to be land-based. We will have 20 days on the island, and are planning to hit three main regions for diving: (1) Permuteran/Mejangan, (2) Tulamben/Amed, and (3) Nusa Penida/Tepekong (using Candidasa as a base).

My question is: have any of these areas been especially good (or bad) recently, in terms of marine life and diving conditions? This is our first foray into Southeast Asia so just looking for a good broad exposure to the best that Bali might have to offer, land-based.

You have 20 days, there is time for Menjangan. You might appreciate how romantically quieter it is versus the thronging cosmo holiday colonies that you will also visit. (And they are worth visiting too.)

One of the best wall/reef dives in Bali is indeed in Menjangan.

You will appreciate the more traditional entry you found there, once you see the scene at the Liberty Wreck etc

 

[cetacean]

@nippurmagnum

Bali is great, which is why so many people here will give you solid recommendations for diving the island. The other reason people like it is because it's fairly cheap, which also means there will be trade-offs in where you stay, the service, etc. (there are high end resorts - but most don't necessarily cater to divers).

Slightly different suggestion:
Take a look at Wakatobi Dive Resort. Likely the most comforable "dive resort" In Indonesia. It's a fairly short flight from Bali (regularly scheduled flights, chartered by the resort itself). The resort is great, very good food, and excellent dive staff (and the water is never rough in the region...)

It also has all the same critters you will find while diving in Bali (except for the Mola Mola, which is season dependent), the water is warmer, The diving is as good or better, the coral is in much better shape, and the resort setting is nicer than almost anything you can find in Bali.

Bali has amazing cultural experiences - so combine the two. Either start your trip or end your trip by diving Wakatobi, spend the rest of the time in Bali.

We experienced this first hand when my wife (having about ~120 dives) wanted to try diving in Indonesia. We spent a week in Wakatobi and a week in Bali - we've been back to Wakatobi 5 times since.

 

[EmmCee66]

Would appreciat

You can skip the northwest because it's basically dublicative, it doesn't really have anything that you wouldn't see along the west coast in Tulamben/Amed and south in Padang Bai. It's also a bit of a trek to get there...about half a day each way so a day of your trip is wasted on transportation. There used to be a reason to go NW because of the macro at Secret Bay in Gilimanuk, but reports over the past few years is that dredging and development have negatively affected the marine life.

You don't give your dive rating or experience level, however, there is diving for everyone in Tulamben/Amed and Padang Bai. The diving is easy in both places...mostly shore diving. There is also diving by small boats in both places to local dive sites 10-20 minutes away. For diving the south, be prepared for water temps of anywhere between 18-28 degrees depending on the divesite, so it's important to have appropriate exposure protection (including a hoodie). If you would like more specific reccos on dive shops, sites, or other matters PM me. (Going back to Bali for another two months in a week.

Would appreciate any advice novice divers going to Bali for the first time in September thinking of staying South and not trekking to the NW

 

[Centrals]

Gili Islands - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Fast ferry from couple of places in Bali.
Gili Island is better if you are into partying.

Nusa Lembongan - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Another option.

 

[cetacean]

Would appreciat

Would appreciate any advice novice divers going to Bali for the first time in September thinking of staying South and not trekking to the NW

@EmmCee66

People are both likely confusing you and possibly misunderstanding what you are actuallly asking.

If you are referring to Menjangan, Gilimanuk, and Permuteran as the "NW" then yes, it's not worth the trek for a first time visit. There is some good diving in this region (although not quite as good as it once was), but it takes a committment to get there.

However, you also mentioned "staying South" which would imply Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and possibly sites like Padang Bai, etc. These are great dive areas. For someone with limited diving experience (based on your profile), yes - it makes sense to "stay south." There is plenty of good diving in the region. However, these are also the most popular dive areas of Bali (and often crowded) so you may be on boats with 10+ other divers. Good to get this kind of experience, however not why many experienced divers come to Bali for.

Depending on how long you are planning to stay in Bali, consider a couple of days diving Bali's "North" (or more correctly, Northeast) coast. The Liberty wreck is worth diving (numerous times), and the life around it is incredible. This entire coast is a unique area, and one of the main reasons many experienced divers return to Bali as often as they do.

Many people plan "diving safaris" for Bali, because there are a number of interesting regions to dive. This does require changing your hotel, etc. because the distances make it inconvenient to dive from one location.

So yes, if you were going to pick one region to dive (and diving Bali for the first time), "stay south." However, if you want to see why Bali has as many diving fans as it does, try another region as well (I would suggest the "north" because of sites like the Liberty wreck).