Lembeh in february. Which resort would you recommend and why?

[AlMitch]

There is a lot of tiny life in the water and much of that life tries to bite/ sting you! So I would definitely recommend as a minimum a 1/2mm full suit to save you from the wee tiny stingers.

Also the diving is very slow and steady so you tend to get cold quicker as you are moving far less.

 

[matts1w]

I too eat the local cuisine... love it all, but after 3 weeks I really start to crave a good fattening, bad for you western meal!!! I usually feel horrible after I eat it, but it is a necessary evil! That being said Indonesia has some amazing food, especially compared to many other top dive locales in the world.

When I am here in Jakarta I constantly crave good western food, especially Mexican food. The moment I head "home" to Florida, all I think about is deng deng bolado, rendang and soto Betawi. I am convinced my body is simply wired to crave what I cannot have… Except for Bintang…I never crave Bintang.

 

[pelan-pelan]

There is a lot of tiny life in the water and much of that life tries to bite/ sting you! So I would definitely recommend as a minimum a 1/2mm full suit to save you from the wee tiny stingers.

Also the diving is very slow and steady so you tend to get cold quicker as you are moving far less.

Spot on. I always use a tropical full suit. Then relax and enjoy your dives. Dawn dives can be a bit cooler.

If you want to see anything in particular, tell your guides at the start of your stay. Also, tell them how long you like to stay in the water and any depth preference. My experience of guides at NAD and Divers Lodge is that they listen to you and do their best (usually successful) to help but as always: critters, weather and visibility permitting.

Food - tell them at the start what you like to eat. Tell them if there is a dish you particularly like. Do try the local food, which they will almost certainly down-spice for you, and do let them know if you want to try the true spice-level Minahassan food.

The staff value your comments. Whatever you want, please let them know. If you need to eat pizza every day then email them in advance so that they can get them in. And if you have a must-see critter, then email that request too. Sometimes tides, locations etc need a bit of planning to give optimal diving for you. They love to be able to greet a new guest with these things already "up and running".

And now I have 15 days to wait before I am out again. Mosquito repellent already purchased.

 

[Dan]

Just an additional question. I know that the rainy season is from November till February. My plan was to go there in February 2018. But alternativelly, I could go there in November as well. Could this make a difference in terms of climate and water visibility? Thank you.

I'm not sure if anyone has answer your additional question above. In this part of the world, you'll have 2 seasons, rainy season from October to April & dry season from April to October. Obviously, rains wash mud & trash to the sea, hence lower visibility. However, rainy season is also tropical fruit season. I crave for durian

FYI, I went to Lembeh Resort in November (the beginning of rainy season so visibility is still good). Many posters have mentioned about Lembeh Resort, so I won't repeat them.

 

[Indah]

Dan_T, I do not fully agree with your point of view about the seasons. The last 17 years we indeed had several times heavy rains causing floods in Bitung and at Lembeh Island during February. But during many years most of the days December, January and February brought very nice weather too. At the same time, we sometimes we can have a week with lots of rain in the so-called dry month of August. By the way, monsoon does not mean rain but wind-season. In general for this part of Indonesia the North-West monsoon is from November - March and the South-East from June - September. The same wind which brings dry air from Australia to South Sulawesi, brings rain to the Maluku Islands because it comes from Papua.
This explains that a slight difference in where the wind is coming from causes a big change in the weather.

 

[Frogfishman]

Hi NYCcowgirl:

Lots of decent info in this thread, so I'll try to add what is missing.

You have not mentioned Black Sand Dive Retreat, but for shore dives, you cannot find better in the strait. Calm, current-free, shallow and lots to see. We don't dive on anyone else's House Reef, but most resorts dive on ours. Our menu features both Western & Asian cuisine, with "heat" added on request and dietary restrictions catered to. Cold drinks / water & ice available. Dive time 75 min. on boat day dives, 90 min. on boat night dives and unlimited time on House Reef dives (we've had guests do 2 hrs +, keeping above 10 m). Most guides in Lembeh try to fulfill their guests' wish lists, it is just whether they're good enough, or lucky enough to find what you want.

Some other points:
Lembeh has great coral / sponge gardens, which many don't appreciate. Lembeh is not just muck diving. That said, there are not masses of schooling fish and few big fish / pelagics, so Bunaken / Raja Ampat is better for that stuff. But the scenery can be stunning and wide angle is a viable option.

There are no seasons any more. Rain falls year-round. If there are floods, they do happen in Jan / Feb, but the months of highest rainfall vary year to year. Sometimes it's March / April, sometimes June / July. Downpours rarely last long. But rain doesn't affect vis as much as plankton does in the strait.

On guide to guest ration. It is not just how many guests per guide. Take into account how many people are on the boat. Many resorts have 8 - 16 divers on one boat, so a LOT of sand can get kicked up, affecting, visibility and the pictures of everyone. Pile-ups on special critters still happen as well as line-ups if there is a Rhinopias or harlequin shrimp.

Hope this helps.

 

[Tippytoes12]

Couldn't agree more about Black Sand...went there last Feb and am going back in Feb 2018 for 10 whole days

 

[chillyinCanada]

Black Sand is an awesome place.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Lembeh Resort has been sold to Murex. It's my sincere hope that there has been no change in quality there, cuz I'll be there in mid March

 

[Mike Veitch]

Lembeh Resort has been sold to Murex. It's my sincere hope that there has been no change in quality there, cuz I'll be there in mid March

The Lembeh Resort dive centre has always been run by the Murex group as far as I know. Therefore, the dive centre will certainly be the same. I have not heard that they have now bought the hotel as well, I am sure it will be smooth if they have.