Question Lembeh or Tulamben?

[vivyung]

Hi fellow divers!!

Sorry if this topic has been discussed before...I can't seem to find the correct thread.

I've recently returned from a dive trip in Tulamben, mainly for the macro and I was blown away! I'm trying to plan my next trip now and am torn between going back there or trying a new destination, like Lembeh?

The only thing that I found difficult in Tulamben was the current, which made uw macro photography a little difficult to manage (I'm a newbie ^^), many of my photos turned out looking like nudis with messy hair haha.

Would Lembeh Strait have less current as opposed to Tulamben?

Thank you all in advance!!

 

[Centrals]

Hi fellow divers!!

Sorry if this topic has been discussed before...I can't seem to find the correct thread.

I've recently returned from a dive trip in Tulamben, mainly for the macro and I was blown away! I'm trying to plan my next trip now and am torn between going back there or trying a new destination, like Lembeh?

The only thing that I found difficult in Tulamben was the current, which made uw macro photography a little difficult to manage (I'm a newbie ^^), many of my photos turned out looking like nudis with messy hair haha.

Would Lembeh Strait have less current as opposed to Tulamben?

Thank you all in advance!!

Lembeh. PERIOD.

 

[hedonist222]

There was raging current for at least 4 days in a row at Melasti and one day at Bulakan in tulamben in November of 2024.
The melasti currents were very bad. Pointer stabbed deep into the sand kind of bad. I called two out of the 9 dives at melasti.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I dove Tulamben but it was only a few dives through the resort so limited experience and I wasn’t overly impressed. I am at Lembeh right now and it has been amazing. I would gladly return and hope to in the future. Easy dives with little to no current. That plus the quality/quantity of macro make it a photographer’s paradise. I don’t carry a camera but absolutely loved it. And the resort too. NAD Lembeh. Got to love the personal attention and 2 to 1 diver/guide ratio. The food has been consistently good and plenty of it. Beds comfortable and views amazing.

From our bungalow…

View attachment 890098

I think that is the same cabin that I was in.

 

[cetacean]

Mimpi Resort. We enjoyed the resort and everyone was very nice but the dive guide either wasn’t good at spotting or there wasn’t that much to show. The only critters I even recall beyond the usual seen most everywhere were an electric clam and a white frog fish.

On just the first day here we had three octopus, including mimic and long arm plus a blue ring the next day. I especially like that the guide writes the names down for each critter.

View attachment 890107

You had a terrible guide in Bali.

The area is full of interesting nudis, other critters, and in the late afternoon, cleaning behavior by shrimps, etc.

Lembeh is very good - your experience in Tulamben is not indicative of the region.

 

[Centrals]

@vivyung
Anilao will certainly save you money and time if you are looking for different country.

 

[JonnieB]

Here are a few pictures from our trip diving with NAD-Lembeh last week.

View attachment 890111View attachment 890112View attachment 890113

These are also in Tulamben.

 

[JonnieB]

You had a terrible guide in Bali.

The area is full of interesting nudis, other critters, and in the late afternoon, cleaning behavior by shrimps, etc.

Lembeh is very good - your experience in Tulamben is not indicative of the region.

Agree. My impression of Mimpi is more about the resort, with an outside dive op attached. If people want luxury accommodations in Tulamben Mimpi is one place I recommend; but I don't recommend people dive with their shop.

 

[JonnieB]

There was raging current for at least 4 days in a row at Melasti and one day at Bulakan in tulamben in November of 2024.
The melasti currents were very bad. Pointer stabbed deep into the sand kind of bad. I called two out of the 9 dives at melasti.

When in November...it's the start of the rainy season. That being said, during dry season, I've experienced a few of those crawling using the pointer sticks dives in Tulamber/Amed. Then the next day nothing.

 

[JonnieB]

On the critters side except for flamboyant cuttlefish that are very rare in Tulamben (only a few sightings last year) and the Bobbit worm I cannot remember more critters in Lembeh I have yet to see in Tulamben, reversely I can name a few that I saw in Tulamben but didn't see in Lembeh.

A friend of mine, who's a published UW photographer, was pissed at my amateur pics and video of a Hairy Octopus found at Cantik Point. He dived Lembeh multiple times without finding this "grail"

 

[chillyinCanada]

A friend of mine, who's a published UW photographer, was pissed at my amateur pics and video of a Hairy Octopus found at Cantik Point. He dived Lembeh multiple times without finding this "grail"

I've only ever seen one and it was at the dugong dive at Bangka, not Lembeh.