Help! Menjangan or Bangka?

[Ceak]

Hi,

I'd like to take my girlfriend to a location with easy diving, good viz and amazing colors so she can complete the OWD course and fall in love with diving!

I've narrowed it down to either 3-4 days in Pemuteran/Menjangan possibly staying at Adi Assri or 3-4 days in Bangka staying and diving with Blue Bay Divers. I know my gf would love to see turtles and I really wouldn't mind seeying a shark or manta (since we're going to Lembeh afterwards, small weird critters wouln't have to be the main attraction here).

Please help us choose between the two and feel free to propose alternative lodging or locations.

Thanks!

 

[joebubbles]

I came back less than four weeks ago from Lembeh and Bangka. I actually stayed in Lembeh (Lembeh Lodge) and took two boat trips to Bangka. On one of my trips to Bangka we spotted a pod of Pilot whales and when we were close to the dive site we spotted a pod of dolphins. I have attached a link that includes a video clip of the close encounter with the Pilot Whales. They sort of look like dolphins on steroids. The diving at bangka was fantastic. The viz was great, very healthy coral and teaming with fish. It was a wonderful complement to diving Lembeh. Another place you can check out on Bangka is Murex. They are the only place on the island tha has aircon. I was given a tour of the place during a surface interval. Please check my photos and video. The photo set also include some pics from Sogod Bay, Philippines which I also dived on this trip for a total of 30 dives. Enjoy!
Sogod Bay Lembeh Bangka Island - a set on Flickr

 

[kkfok]

I have been to both Bangka and Menjangan. My experience with Bangka was 5 years ago when I stayed in Gangga and I did 6 dives in area around Bangka. Underwater of Bangka was really beautiful, with lots of hard and soft corals. Visibility was high and current can be very fierce. However from my experiece it is more of macro side (pygmy, frogfish, nudi, mandarin fish...) and I never saw a shark or other pelagics.

I did 3 dives in Menjangan last year and it was really fantastic, with both big stuff and small stuff. There were lots of hard coral and visibility was high. We saw lots of pygmy seahorse,
garden eels, various kind of gobies, emperor shrimps and at the same time we also found grey reef sharks and school of jacks. It was really beautiful. Please be warned that current can be very fierce.

 

[xariatay]

When we did Bangka in Nov 2007, the current was quite fierce, viz wasn't too fantastic - 15m? Oh, we had been warned that current might be fierce at Bangka...
I would rate Menjangan as more beautiful than Bangka (there was more colour), viz was much better 20m-30m, current was minimum. Altho the pilot whales along the way from Lembeh was memorable...
My hubby took his AOW at Lembeh, he had 1 on 1 instruction, although the viz wasn't that great, he felt more comfortable with the gentle slopes of Lembeh, than having to deal with the "bottomless" wall dives...

 

[SnappyTheDiver]

For beauty it is Bangka - at least if you do sites such as Sahung, Batu Tiga (pinnacle), Batu Gosoh, or on the N. Sulawesi Coast (Pulisan - aka Batu Mundi). All of these sights have great soft corals. Current can occur but is not that often or an issue. I dive these areas three or four times a year.

Note. Blue Bay Divers is rustic. If you can afford it I would stay at Gangga Island.

 

[Ceak]

Wow nice pics Joebubbles!

We do need to cut down on the costs a bit and I don't mind rustic infact I kinda like it!

Maybe the plan could be 3-4 days in Pemuteran/Menjangan then add the extra days in Lembeh. We're looking at either Lembeh Resort or NAD if the budget is tight. We really want to explore Tangkoko reserve so we'll probably spend a night or two at Pulisan Beach Resort, a VERY rustic place who apparently goes out to Bankga, not sure if they run a good op or not though...

I really wish budget or time wasn't an issue, Bangka/Gangga really seem like paradise islands and staying there would be awesome...

 

[chewie999]

I don't know whether staying in Lembeh would be the best choice to get your girlfriend "fall in love with diving".

If it were up to me, then I would choose to stay in Menado and have her do the OW dives in Bunaken. Afterwards, you can do day trips to Bangka from Menado. Menado diving is better than Menjangan.