indonesia trip; starting questions

[sonar]

Hi everybody,

I am slowly developping new plans for trip of a month. Indonesia is high on my list of possible destinations. I am looking for 2 or 3 destinations that are relative close to bali and combine a few criteria:

- awesome diving
- nightlife (but not prostitution destinations). Dont need khuta-like parties but some bars, maybe a club and some restaurants. i prefer a young crowd (i am 28)
- affordable (no live-a-boards)
- would love to visit komodo
- I like macro but would love to see mantas, whalesharks or other big stuff
- backpack style
- I enjoy action packed dives with strong currents, some dangers and lots of adrenalin. Any specific sites?
- I have some friends who live in bali but arent into diving; how is diving there? I know it's popular but is it because it's crowded or because it's truly amazing?

budgetwise I have a few questions as well;

- how much is a dive usually? (incl. rental gear)
- whats a nice budget for a month without diving? Simple accomodation (clean, a van, no pool or any additional things), local food with every now and then something more expensive, too much local beer and some small trips to local sights. travelling with public transport etc.

about me; i am from the netherlands, i am a DM with about 100 dives or so (i don't consider myself a true dive'master'). i dove in Mexico, Thailand, Borneo, Cambodia and did my DM in Philipinnes. i will probably do my trip in march. april or november (wanna skip the winter but budget and workwise march could be difficult) Whats the best season?

Thank you in advance; I will be reading a lot in this section from now on

 

[joesgonediving]

Hi Sonar,

Hope I can answer most of your questions.

First of all, diving in Bali is absolutely brilliant - but maybe I am prejudiced as we are about to open our dive center here ;-)

The variety of dive sites is immense here. If you want more action packed dives, the Nusa Penida area is great for that, as well as the islands around Candidasa (Gili Biaha, Gili Tepekong and Gili Mimpang). My personal favourite remains Manta Point on Nusa Penida. This is not so much for the currents, but for the beautiful mantas. Amazing dives where you just hover in the water at 5 metres depth and watch the Mantas coming by. No guarantee they are always there of course, but so far we have been very lucky and always seen groups of mantas. If you are going in the right season (June - November, but you can be lucky during other times) you will often find Mola Molas around Nusa Penida as well. For great macro dives Seraya and Puri Jati are great, they are more muck diving sites.

You can view a description of the dive sites on our website: Joe's Gone Diving

If you like a place with nightlife you will have to stay in the South of the island, like Seminyak or Sanur. Sanur is a bit more quiet than Seminyak but has plenty of good restaurants and enough bars and if you are really keen on a great night out it takes you only 20 minutes by taxi in the evening to go to places like Kuta (about 7-8 USD).

The cost of diving in Bali varies a lot as it is mainly driven by how far it is by boat and what is actually included in the price. The amount of petrol needed has a big impact on the price. As an indication, our cheapest dives cost US$75 for 2 dives, equipment rental is an additional $15. This would include dive insurance, lunch, towels and free transfers to hotels etc. Prices will come down if you make more dives or book dive packages. But I know that if you for example went to a dive center in Tulamben where you would mainly do shore dives on the Liberty Wreck close to the dive center, the rates for dives will be lower. They will have unlimited diving on the wreck for example.

We have always done a dive safari of a couple of days as it is almost impossible to dive the entire island from one place because of the distance. You basically tour around the island and get to see all the best dive spots. If you do a safari of about 5 days and after that do day dive trips from one location you will be able to see a lot. Most dive centers offer tailored made safaris, you can often also indicate you prefer budget accommodation.

Budget for a month without diving: simple accommodation is possible for about 10-15 USD a night including breakfast, cheaper if you stay at the same place longer. Beers cost about 1.70 USD, public transport is very cheap. Local food will cost you about 2-3 USD, more expensive food 7-8 USD for a main course. So life is pretty cheap here.

And finally, I am realising my posting is becoming rather long, the best season is normally from April/May till December, but you can dive on Bali all year round, the visibility just tends to be less in the rainy season.

Anyway, happy to answer any other questions you might have and have fun with all the planning. You definitely won't be disappointed when you dive on Bali.

 

[Wisnu]

Pulau Weh, Aceh - nice ambient, mostly cater budget traveler, no nightlife but good night diving at gapang house reef where reside Lumba-lumba, owned and managed by very nice dutch couple Ton and Marjan. Diving is not expensive - approx. euro 16/boat dive. If you like strong current and wanna a superman - you'll get it. If you like lazy easy diving; you'll have it.

Bali - as explain above by other poster; but I prefer to stay at the location for cheaper diving and not to waste time for travelling. What I will do, stay 3 days at pemuteran/menjangan area then move to Tulamben for another 3-4 days then move candi dasa or padang bai or lembongan for another 3-4 days stay.
Typically no nightlife at good dive sites. Stay few days at main touris area if you want to rest a while for night life. You can use south of bali as your hub to reach another diving destinations such as Lombok, Komodo, Manado.

Lombok - can be reached from padang bai by speed boat - diving at gili island is not the best but many people love the ambient. You may have busy night there.

Manado for Bunaken, bangka and Lembeh - 2 weeks are okay. There's lot f report in this forum about this area. Plenty choice of budget accommodations.

From Manado you go to Sorong for Raja Ampat - Most people use LOB - more and more affordable land dive center are growing but still not very cheap.

all would take more than 1 month - but if you still have time, you can also look other area such as Derawan, Sangalaki, Banda, alor, wakatobi area ect.

Budget - it is possible for you to "survive" with 60 - 120 USD for accommodation, meals, and 3 dives. If no diving, many backpackers survive USD 15 - 25 / day.

 

[BLUESEASONBALI]

Hi Sonar,

Bali is for sure the place you want to be if your looking to get everything on your list from the different style of diving to the different lifestyles, somebody with your dive credentials will really be able to get the best out of Bali.

For information on what Safaris we offer here in Bali where you can custom design you trip please take a look at

Blue Season Bali Safaris

As far as the best time to dive, it totally depends on the style of diving you want to do. Quiet season (Jan - April) is of course a great time to come when you will have small dive groups if not 1:1 with the dive guide or if that not your style and you want to come see the world famous Mola Mola at Nusa Penida then September time is ideal.

 

[tangfish]

Hi sonar,

I echo the others' advice to stick to Bali. Truly fantastic diving there, and I think one of the few places where you'll get to scratch the itch for diving AND nightlife.

I know that you don't want to do Kuta but there are some nicer places there that aren't overly-douchey. Mostly lounges, stay away from the nightclubs as they are like Senor Frogs.

I wrote a guide on diving around Bali, if you're interested you can find it here.

Best of luck to you and enjoy Indonesia!