"Lembeh Outside"

[Liberty01]

I did about three trips to Bunaken and one to Bangka and Lembeh, the last about 5 years ago. I thought about going back to Lembeh and Bangka and read about d
the discovery of new dive sites at "Lembeh outside" that Lembeh dive shops go to regularly in addition to the dive sites in the Lembeh Strait.

Is Lembeh Outside worth the trip compared to other places?

Which dive resorts are best located to visit these dive sites?

Best regards,

Liberty

 

[Indah]

Diving along the South-West to South-East coast of Lembeh Island is a seasonal activity, with the best period being November to April. This area boasts stunning small islands, captivating walls, and picturesque coral gardens. Thanks to the absence of rivers on the 22-kilometer long Lembeh Island, the visibility is typically excellent.

Divers Lodge Lembeh has been conducting dives in this region since 2001. Our advantage lies in our proximity to the dive sites, as we are conveniently located at the western tip of Lembeh Island.

 

[Liberty01]

Diving along the South-West to South-East coast of Lembeh Island is a seasonal activity, with the best period being November to April. This area boasts stunning small islands, captivating walls, and picturesque coral gardens. Thanks to the absence of rivers on the 22-kilometer long Lembeh Island, the visibility is typically excellent.

Divers Lodge Lembeh has been conducting dives in this region since 2001. Our advantage lies in our proximity to the dive sites, as we are conveniently located at the western tip of Lembeh Island.

Thank you very much.

 

[pygmy_whaleshark]

I did about three trips to Bunaken and one to Bangka and Lembeh, the last about 5 years ago. I thought about going back to Lembeh and Bangka and read about d
the discovery of new dive sites at "Lembeh outside" that Lembeh dive shops go to regularly in addition to the dive sites in the Lembeh Strait.

Is Lembeh Outside worth the trip compared to other places?

Which dive resorts are best located to visit these dive sites?

Best regards,

Liberty

I just went to Lembeh early May, and inquired with 5-6 shops about this very diving. Most said they do it on and off, when enough people ask for it and with big surcharges. It wasn't worth the price IMO, I doubt there's anything so spectacular out there that you have to pay upwards of $80+ / dive to see it.

On another note, Lembeh itself sucked, compared to how it was 4-6 years ago. I'm definitely not coming back any time soon. My old TwoFish dive guide friend later txted me that Bangka has a ton of macro, so I'll probably check that out instead.

 

[Indah]

I just went to Lembeh early May, and inquired with 5-6 shops about this very diving. Most said they do it on and off, when enough people ask for it and with big surcharges. It wasn't worth the price IMO, I doubt there's anything so spectacular out there that you have to pay upwards of $80+ / dive to see it.

On another note, Lembeh itself sucked, compared to how it was 4-6 years ago. I'm definitely not coming back any time soon. My old TwoFish dive guide friend later txted me that Bangka has a ton of macro, so I'll probably check that out instead.

It appears that you did not inquire with us about this matter. We do not impose any surcharge for these trips. However, this year, the winds from the South began to intensify as early as May, which can sometimes make comfortable diving impossible. Could it be that you were simply unlucky during your dives in Lembeh Strait? Or perhaps your guides were not performing up to standard? Comparing experiences over a span of several years can be challenging. Expectations are often based on what is known as the peak-end experience.

 

[pygmy_whaleshark]

It appears that you did not inquire with us about this matter. We do not impose any surcharge for these trips. However, this year, the winds from the South began to intensify as early as May, which can sometimes make comfortable diving impossible. Could it be that you were simply unlucky during your dives in Lembeh Strait? Or perhaps your guides were not performing up to standard? Comparing experiences over a span of several years can be challenging. Expectations are often based on what is known as the peak-end experience.

Edit 2, now I know why I ruled out diving with you. First, your non-AC room rates are same or higher than I got at Cocotinos, NAD or Bastianos. Second, you force a group boat reservation, otherwise no guarantee of diving. That's no good for a solo diver like myself. And reserving my own boat is not cost effective.


And no I wasn't unlucky. I dived with a dive shop that is not exactly known for bad dive guides. The conditions were just crap, especially anywhere south of Serena island. Like twilight zone green with zero visibility and no interesting critters. North dive sites were decent, but nothing like what I was used to 5-7 years ago when I first went diving there.

Back then I'd see several frogfish and octopus on almost every single dive. Weird also that even mantis shrimp weren't out and about, they were all skittish and hiding in their holes. This time around, not a single coconut octopus in 15 dives, barely a few small mimic octopus, very few frogfish, mostly same 3-4 on a couple of sites. I spent some dives with zero photos taken.

I really think something changed in the environment. I actually noticed it already in August 2019 when I was there last time before covid. I admit that maybe for that one 3-4 week stretch around my trip, all critters suddenly vanished, and now they're all back, but that would be weird.

I asked my old dive guide who now works at Murex Bangka, he said they had no problems finding a lot more of them than what I saw.

Anyway, with the much higher prices everyone in Lembeh now charges, and the crazy airfare costs, it's just not worth going up there anymore. I can get more bang for the buck in Tulamben, or maybe I'll check out Ambon again. Haven't been there in a while.

 

[Indah]

T

Edit 2, now I know why I ruled out diving with you. First, your non-AC room rates are same or higher than I got at Cocotinos, NAD or Bastianos. Second, you force a group boat reservation, otherwise no guarantee of diving. That's no good for a solo diver like myself. And reserving my own boat is not cost effective.


And no I wasn't unlucky. I dived with NAD, not exactly known for bad dive guides. The conditions were just crap, especially anywhere south of Serena island. Like twilight zone green with zero visibility and no interesting critters. North dive sites were decent, but nothing like what I was used to 5-7 years ago when I first went diving there.

Back then I'd see several frogfish and octopus on almost every single dive. Weird also that even mantis shrimp weren't out and about, they were all skittish and hiding in their holes. This time around, not a single coconut octopus in 15 dives, barely a few small mimic octopus, very few frogfish, mostly same 3-4 on a couple of sites. I spent some dives with zero photos taken.

I really think something changed in the environment. I actually noticed it already in August 2019 when I was there last time before covid. I admit that maybe for that one 3-4 week stretch around my trip, all critters suddenly vanished, and now they're all back, but that would be weird.

I asked my old dive guide who now works at Murex Bangka, he said they had no problems finding a lot more of them than what I saw.

Anyway, with the much higher prices everyone in Lembeh now charges, and the crazy airfare costs, it's just not worth going up there anymore. I can get more bang for the buck in Tulamben, or maybe I'll check out Ambon again. Haven't been there in a while.

Thank you for your response. I understand your viewpoint. If you're only comparing rates of accommodations with air conditioning, you will indeed find prices lower than ours when traveling solo. However, this is comparing our spacious bungalows to much smaller rooms in shared buildings. Given Divers Lodge Lembeh's location, air conditioning isn't a priority for most of our guests. We offer bungalows for IDR 875,000 (USD 59) per person, based on single occupancy.
As for private boats, based on our experience of over 20 years diving in Lembeh Strait, we are committed to offering only the best service. Our guests value the freedom to create their own schedules, without having to accommodate others. They have the flexibility to decide their meal times and dive duration, and can dive wherever and whenever they wish. They also appreciate not having to wait for others, rush, or queue for their turn to take a photo. Is it expensive? Let's consider an example: a private boat and guide for a single diver, 3 dives plus 1 night-dive, all with Nitrox, cost IDR 3,660,000 (USD 229). For more details, please visit: Prices and Booking - Divers Lodge Lembeh - Lembeh Strait
We are sorry to hear that your experience at Lembeh did not meet your expectations. However, we do not observe an overall degradation of the underwater life.

 

[cetacean]

@pygmy_whaleshark
I won't try to tell you Lembeh is "as good as it once was..." - my first trip there was close to 20 years ago, Nudi Falls was really a place where nudis would fall down from the short wall on a fairly consistent basis during a dive.

However, having dived Lembeh both 2 years ago and last year, your comment about octopus sightings seems "off." I still see numerous coconut octopus throughout the spring, summer has never been a great time to see them "out and about."

BTW - if you want macro, Ambon or Alor is very good, but for bang for the buck, Anilao is easily the best maco location available at the moment.

 

[rad_rhino]

+1 for Divers Lodge Lembeh! My wife and I stayed for a few days at the beginning of 2021 and had a really excellent experience. We honestly were not bothered by the lack of AC in the bungalow, and combined with the super tasty meals and incredible diving we really could not have been happier. My only complaint was that the cookie jars in the chill space were way too accessible, and I ate way more cookies than I needed.

 

[pygmy_whaleshark]

@pygmy_whaleshark
I won't try to tell you Lembeh is "as good as it once was..." - my first trip there was close to 20 years ago, Nudi Falls was really a place where nudis would fall down from the short wall on a fairly consistent basis during a dive.

However, having dived Lembeh both 2 years ago and last year, your comment about octopus sightings seems "off." I still see numerous coconut octopus throughout the spring, summer has never been a great time to see them "out and about."

BTW - if you want macro, Ambon or Alor is very good, but for bang for the buck, Anilao is easily the best maco location available at the moment.

Maybe they're very particular about the month / moon cycle. All other times I've been there was in early / mid August and I'd see tons of them ...like almost on every dive. If I don't see a single one over 15 dives with some of the best guides in the business, that tells me either climate change is affecting their seasonal patterns, or they migrated. My friend dive guide in Bangka claims there are plenty over there, so maybe the conditions in the straight itself are affecting it.

I have been to Alor, it's ok, not worth the hassle in retrospect. I spent 6 days there and that was enough for me. The dive shop told me their muck diving is hit and miss, they were not raving about loads of critters and how I should definitely check it out.

I almost went back to Ambon this time around, but the flight schedules were horrible, and it was a choice of either one overpriced resort, or a reasonably priced dive shop that doesn't have Nitrox. I may still give them a try now that I'm done with Lembeh for a while.

Good thing is Tulamben has been awesome last 2 years and still the best deal for muck diving.