Indonesia / Bali / Komodo - diving tips

[JohnN]

A follow-up question - if I wanted to do some days on Tulamben and some on Lembongen (where so far I have seen recommendations for Big Fish and for World Diving) - would say 4-5 days in each be appropriate? Or more for one or the other? They seem fairly reachable from each other but as I understand it each has different attractions?

Sorry if these are dumb questions - although I have dived elsewhere in Indonesia a few years ago (Bunaken, Lembeh, Raja Ampat) I have never been in the Bali area before..

What are your interests? Frankly, the USS Liberty can hardly be considered a wreck anymore (although it still attracts hordes of divers with poor buoyancy skills. There can be (at least for me) some interesting life like frog fish that can be spotted, if the previous swarm of divers hasn't scared them off. For me, the attraction of Tulamben is the incredible macro life that lives in the black sand slopes. For me, four days is more than enough time to hit all the good spots.

If you're a fan of walls, Pemuteran to the North is quite nice. I would enthusiastically endorse Sea Rovers (small fast six-pac boats)

 

[divv]

Oh.. its really sad to hear that the wreck isn't really worth being considered a wreck because I really do love wrecks..
But I also enjoy reefs, walls and macro.. and frog fish! And I enjoy the weird and wonderful that can be found in the muck but I don't want to do muck exclusively..

I will look into Pemuteran and Sea Rovers, thanks.

 

[Tippytoes12]

My hubby and I have done nearly 600 dives each in nine years and we absolutely love diving in Bali. The prices are great , the food is brilliant and outside of the busy south the people are so lovely. Throw in excellent macro , the Liberty Wreck, the atmosphere of the Gills and mantas in
Lembongan and you have a wonderful wonderful trip for a great price.

 

[peterak]

Ditto on Sea Rovers. Their trips to Menjangan are great—topside Menjangan is really scenic, too, and topside Bali has great charm..

 

[Warmwater Wank]

Divv--No input for Lembongan but the answer would depend on what you like for your dives. I dive to take pics and find plenty to work with in Tulamben, wide angle to macro. There are several excellent muck sites close by and decent coral at sites like Coral Garden and the Dropoff. Staying in Tulamben means you can dive the wreck early morning or later in the afternoon and avoid any hordes.

I like that it's a short walk into town with some good, reasonably priced restaurants but if you want lot's of night life it's not the place. LDR is nicely kept up, has 3 pools and their restaurant is also good. I have no problem spending a couple weeks there when I go but others would. Like I said, it'll depend more on what you like for your dives.

Crap. Now I'll be thinking all day about not going back in May... // ww

 

[divv]

@ Warmwater LOL sorry about causing you to bang your head in frustration!!

Thanks to all for the contributions.. it looks like I will have to take a break from my "usual" Red Sea trip to explore Bali instead this year!!