Help with Bali/Komodo trip planning

[cephalopod2]

Hey Jeremyl,
This thread has some relevant posts (including a bunch of us discussing Menjangan): Bali-one week-Recommendations for where to stay and dive - end of Feb. (after Phuket) [Archive] - ScubaBoard .

IMO the question is what kind of diving you want to focus on. Tulamben is great for muck (exotic macro) plus the wreck (some bigger stuff, coral, wreckscape, more macro). If you like muck diving, IMO it is a must. From the limited amount I saw of Menjangan, it offers mostly wall/slope reef diving. It's ca. 3.5 hrs from Sanur and has natural hot springs nearby. In Menjangan you can get to Secret Bay for muck diving but it's a drive. Nusa Penida (for which you would likely stay on Nusa Lembongan) is primarily drift diving over sloping reefs (plus close access to manta point). The topsides of each are all quite different as well, if that is a consideration.

You can dive Manta Point (Nusa Penida) from many locations, including Sanur, Padangbai and Tulamben. The trip is longest and therefore most expensive from Tulamben. You will dive Manta Alley (another cleaning station) from Mermaid I.

Looks like you have a half week at the start (after Ubud) and a full week post LOB. You might want to consider diving Lembongan/Penida first (from either Sanur or Lembongan), and leaving the final week for Tulamben. That pairs Ubud with the closer dive area (Lembongan), decreasing commuting. Trying to do Tulamben and Lembongan in the same week will be pulling you in two different directions - more commuting. If you want to try to do two locations in one week, Tulamben and Menjangan could work (you can pass Tulamben en route to Menjangan). If you do head to Menjangan I would definitely arrange to some touring on the drive there and/or back as you can see a lot of Bali that way, especially if you return through the interior.

I have dived Lembongan from both Sanur and Lembongan. If you had a week, I would take a fast boat to Lembongan and be based there. If you only had a few days after Ubud, I would likely try to do it from Sanur to maximize dive time (relocating to Lembongan and back does take time), but be aware even when diving with the same company, your dive group and DM may change every day.

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[weeksd]

Check out mermaid liveaboards trips from bali-bali. No internal indonesia flights needed. I have been on both mermaid 1 and 2 many times. Excellent boats and crews. Mermaid 1 is 9 day trips and mermaid 2 is 7 day trips. Same route but more time in komodo park on mermaid 1. You need at least a 7 day trip for komodo as it is a large area with many sites. As far as airlines check out if you have any overnights while in transit which is a cost in time and money. Check korean air also.

 

[jeremyl]

Thanks Natasha. I will look into

Lembongan for the 1/2 week. I like the idea of less travel. Topside activity would be nice for both before and after LOB. Before I will be with a friend. After I will be solo so having some stuff to do and people around is nice. I get a sense that Menjangan has a little less to do topside. As for what to see, I do love the much. Have camera/love small things. But I am equally happy on drifts, love corals & the big stuff. If there is enough to keep me busy for the week diving Tulamben I would think to do that for my after week. So I would probably choose between 1/2 week Sanur + 1 wk Tulamben OR 1/2 wk Tulamben + 1wk Nusa Lembongan. I would be more swayed by the healthy of the reef & marine activity than the type of diving. If overall one area (Tulamben, Lembongan, Menjangan) were more healthy/active/varied/etc I would choose that area for my 1wk and then figure out which to spend the 1/2wk.​

 

[mhofman]

Living in Northern Ca. myself we have done the trip to bali and from there throughout eastern indo a number of times (like 6 or 8) if you want you're welcome to respond and I can give you my phone number if you want to call and chat about.

 

[Quero]

I'm late to the party having just arrived today from a Raja Ampat liveaboard. My first suggestion before I saw Jeremy's post #53 was to suggest Lembongan for the first half week. I think a few days there is sufficient, and it's good "practice" for the currents at Komodo anyway. One of the fastest current dives I've ever been on was at the dive site called Mangrove on Lembongan--my bubbles were shooting out ahead of me! What a wild ride.

You will take a ferry over to Lembongan, probably from Sanur. I like the Scoot Boat company, but there are others. In keeping with the class of liveaboard you have selected, I'd suggest something mid-priced like Oka 7 near the village so that you can wander around and eat at different places. I've got a few favorite dive ops there. Then for after the cruise, you can head up to [-]Lembongan[/-] Tulamben for the muck and wreck, which is so different from what you will do in Komodo that it will be a nice change of pace. I've got a couple of favorite resorts and operators there, too. Let me know if you'd like additional input.

 

[jeremyl]

Hey Marcia, Thanks for the info - although I am a little confused. You say do a few days in Lembongan (a few is enough) and then to do the week after LOB in Lembongan. Maybe some travel fatigue? Anyway, I was leaning towards Sanur for 1/2 week and then over to Ubud. In fact I booked 2 nts Ubud at Tengal Sari (they only have 2nts avail for my dates). So I have from June 1 @ 2p DPS -> June 7 to fill. My travel buddy wants just ~4days diving and the rest touristing. Her Bday is June 2 so we want to play and do the night-life scene. Is Sanur a good base for this or should we maybe stay somewhere else for a couple nights, then over to Sanur (or ???) for diving and then to Ubud? I say Sanur v/s the boat over to Lembongan just since we want to mix tourism with diving more easily.

For hotel, cheaper is better (diving on Mermaid is a bit of a splurge, so we want to make up for it with good value hotel - Ari Putri was suggested).

 

[Quero]

Hey Marcia, Thanks for the info - although I am a little confused. You say do a few days in Lembongan (a few is enough) and then to do the week after LOB in Lembongan. Maybe some travel fatigue? Anyway, I was leaning towards Sanur for 1/2 week and then over to Ubud. In fact I booked 2 nts Ubud at Tengal Sari (they only have 2nts avail for my dates). So I have from June 1 @ 2p DPS -> June 7 to fill. My travel buddy wants just ~4days diving and the rest touristing. Her Bday is June 2 so we want to play and do the night-life scene. Is Sanur a good base for this or should we maybe stay somewhere else for a couple nights, then over to Sanur (or ???) for diving and then to Ubud? I say Sanur v/s the boat over to Lembongan just since we want to mix tourism with diving more easily.

For hotel, cheaper is better (diving on Mermaid is a bit of a splurge, so we want to make up for it with good value hotel - Ari Putri was suggested).

Oh :blush:
That was a typo. Should have read...

you can head up to [-]Lembongan[/-] Tulamben for the muck and wreck

If cheaper really is better, I know where you can stay at Tulamben for free, as long as you dive with the op that owns the tent! For night life, it's either Kuta for the bars an that sort of scene, or maybe you'd like the Gilis.

 

[Mantra]

Sanur is a great base. Stay well clear of the horrible tourist tragedy at Kuta! If you are after a good dive operator at Sanur, Bali Scuba did very well by us.

We recently got our ow at Tulamben. Fun dives with a massive school of trevally, garden eels, some great nudis, the wreck, etc. Very easy diving, which is why they take complete noobs like us there, I guess.

If I might suggest a cool place to stay in ubud: Artini 1 cottages. Cheap as chips and part of a family compound (the Artini family own half of ubud, but this one is their home). Very atmospheric. Use the dollars you save for a degustation meal at Mozaic - at Michelin 4 stars it's one of the highest ranked restaurants in SE Asia for a good reason.

Wings air are super easy to book online, which is more than can be said for some of the other local carriers. We never had a problem with them. Expect delays, though, of course - as with any smallish carrier in Asia.

 

[Mantra]

Ah, sorry. I just read you were after nightlife. Sanur is pretty sleepy after dark, bar a couple of pubs. Kuta is where you can go if hordes of sunburned drunken Aussie twenty somethings vomiting onto overpowered speakers is your thing. Fun bonus: a beach that is half brown sand, half washed up plastic refuse. Erk. Sorry. It's up there with khao San road in Bangkok for me in terms of just how massively us whiteys can destroy a good thing.

 

[jeremyl]

Thanks. I will do some reading and see if Kuta is right for our night-life scene. Just want that for a day or two to celebrate my friends Bday. Is it easy to get there (looks like ~10miles)? What I would really look for is someplace nice to hang out for 6 days with some diving, easy access to good touristy things, a nice beach, and a bit of nightlife.

Quero, I'll hit you up via email on loding/dive-ops once we decide on where to stay (still sounds likely to be Sanur). Thanks all!