Well this has to be the best muck diving I’ve done thus far, even better than Anilao! I did 18 dives over 5 days at the beginning of July with Bastianos, and could have easily stayed for another week. This was followed by 5 more days in Bangka and 2 in Bunekan (more on that separately). I’m already booked to return (to Lembeh, not Bastianos) next March for a 10 day macro workshop.
Photos here: Lembeh (July 2022)
(I have to say I am loving the Sony 90mm + SMC-1 combo)
Critter wise there were quite a few firsts for me (after two trips to Anilao, plus Puerto Galera, Mabul/Kalapai, Malapascua), most of which I don’t know the names of. Some highlights were mimic octopus, hairy algae shrimp, tiger shrimp, shaun the sheep nudis (both variations), bobtail squids, pygmy seahorses (there was a fan at Nudi Falls which had 7 or 8!), squat lobsters, ghost and leaf pipefishes, humpback prawns, skeleton shrimps, pipe horses (tons of them tangled together), a tiny yellow shrimp/bug thing, cockatoo waspfish, hairy frogfish, painted frogfish, mandarin fish, juvenile batfish, juvenile barramundi, juvenile sweetlip, the clownfish tongue parasite. Plus a ton of nudis, a ton of shrimps & crabs, and a ton of things with eggs. Only thing I requested but didn’t see was harlequin shrimp.
Logistically this is one of the easiest muck dives from Singapore. Scoot now has direct flights again and there is no longer any testing requirements if you’re triple vaxxed. From Manado airport to Bastianos Lembeh was a little over an hour by car then a short 5min boat ride.
Bastianos Lembeh is really the former Froggies Lembeh. The two are owned by brother (Bastianos) & sister (Froggies) and the sister took over as the brother did not want to invest in renovations. Apparently almost everything broke/is in need of maintenance after two years of covid…
Bastianos-but-really-Froggies is ok-ish but not really luxurious by any means. The rooms are spacious and clean and the ones on the water are a short walk away from the dive deck/camera room without many stairs. Shower worked great with good pressure and instant hot water. Lots of mosquitos and spiders in the room tho due to the open nature of the bungalows (there is a big gap of open space between the roof and the walls in the bathroom). The AC was barely able to cool the room during the day when the sun is out, but was sufficient at night. There is no wifi in the rooms, only weak-okish signal in the restaurant. You do get good 4G signal here.
Facilities wise there was not much as they are still barely open - the pool & camera room were both under renovation and the restaurant (which unfortunately is up a fair number of stairs) is quite basic. No bar, no spa yet. Very limited drink options - coke and beer. Only instant coffee. I think food was buffet style pre-covid but now it is individually served - no menu, no options to order, no room to make requests (other than vegetarian or not). Half the time I was the only guest and I requested no fried foods - but was ignored. The chef is quite skilled and the food is tasty. However there is a big issue with the food quantity- every lunch & dinner I had to ask for more - there is no way someone diving 4x a day will leave not hungry (and I am a pretty small person). You can only book full-board and I would much prefer if they just separate it and let us order off a menu. As it were half the time when I asked for more they say they are out and it makes you feel kind of bad, but I wasn’t about to go hungry on vacation.
Mina is the resort manager (altho she is moving to Bangka soon) and she is quite good. She and Barney who is the marine biologist/underwater photographer that works across the 3 resorts rebuilding the house reefs ate with me, which was nice when I was the only guest. Every time I had issues she made sure it was addressed asap. It is a noticeable difference vs Bastianos Bangka and Bastianos Bunekan. She also had 4 very cute cats at the resort.
I had Raffy as my dive guide the entire time. There was another group of 4 guests with me the first 2 days and I paid for the private guide fee for those 2 days, which was a very reasonable EUR55/day (same regardless of how many dives you did, which for me at 4x 80-90min dives/day was a pretty good deal, compared to Anilao&PG where it was $40/dive (60min) for a private guide). I actually booked a private guide for 4 days but they only charged me for 2 since I was the only guest for the other 2 days, without me having to ask which was really nice. Raffy is a great spotter and found a ton of stuff, normally by the time I finished taking photos of one thing he already had something else lined up. Very little downtime / waiting around, which was great. What’s even more amazing is I just have to tell them what I want to see the next day and they know exactly where to go to find it (special orders that delivered include pgymys and shaun the sheep nudies). Barney dived with us a few times also when he’s not working on the house reef and showed me a bunch of really interesting stuff, plus some funky ways to handle the marine life including picking up sea snakes by the tail (which he says is harmless).
Conditions were super easy with barely any current. We didn’t see many other boats, occasionally one other at the same site. Water was 28C most of the time and I was in a 3mm+vest and always freezing by the end - the guides dived with a 5mm but everyone was cold when we came up, especially on the night dives. They do 2 dives in the morning at 8am, afternoon dive at 2.30-3pm, and night dive at 6-6.30pm. When I come back I will be diving dry. Day dives are capped at 90min and night dives at 60min - that’s a lot of time underwater! There is a lot of trash underwater and my ears did start to itch by the end, which stopped after 2 days in the clear waters of Bangka.
Service was very good - they set up everything for you every dive, wash everything for you at the end of the day, and even insisted on carrying my (very heavy) camera to and from the room for me every day. Nitrox was a consistent 31%. When I had issues with my housing leaking Barney took the time to take everything apart for me and clean/dry everything. If not for the food I wouldn’t mind going back because the staff is A+.
The only downside of this trip is is ruined me for the one I just finished, which was a 10 day liveaboard to the Visayas. Every macro dive felt a bit underwhelming compared to Lembeh. I think it's the density of critters / how fast the guides find them that's the biggest standout difference, vs Anilao, PG, Dauin, etc. Plus zero current and mostly sandy bottoms just make for more enjoyable macro hunting.
Photos here: Lembeh (July 2022)
(I have to say I am loving the Sony 90mm + SMC-1 combo)
Critter wise there were quite a few firsts for me (after two trips to Anilao, plus Puerto Galera, Mabul/Kalapai, Malapascua), most of which I don’t know the names of. Some highlights were mimic octopus, hairy algae shrimp, tiger shrimp, shaun the sheep nudis (both variations), bobtail squids, pygmy seahorses (there was a fan at Nudi Falls which had 7 or 8!), squat lobsters, ghost and leaf pipefishes, humpback prawns, skeleton shrimps, pipe horses (tons of them tangled together), a tiny yellow shrimp/bug thing, cockatoo waspfish, hairy frogfish, painted frogfish, mandarin fish, juvenile batfish, juvenile barramundi, juvenile sweetlip, the clownfish tongue parasite. Plus a ton of nudis, a ton of shrimps & crabs, and a ton of things with eggs. Only thing I requested but didn’t see was harlequin shrimp.
Logistically this is one of the easiest muck dives from Singapore. Scoot now has direct flights again and there is no longer any testing requirements if you’re triple vaxxed. From Manado airport to Bastianos Lembeh was a little over an hour by car then a short 5min boat ride.
Bastianos Lembeh is really the former Froggies Lembeh. The two are owned by brother (Bastianos) & sister (Froggies) and the sister took over as the brother did not want to invest in renovations. Apparently almost everything broke/is in need of maintenance after two years of covid…
Bastianos-but-really-Froggies is ok-ish but not really luxurious by any means. The rooms are spacious and clean and the ones on the water are a short walk away from the dive deck/camera room without many stairs. Shower worked great with good pressure and instant hot water. Lots of mosquitos and spiders in the room tho due to the open nature of the bungalows (there is a big gap of open space between the roof and the walls in the bathroom). The AC was barely able to cool the room during the day when the sun is out, but was sufficient at night. There is no wifi in the rooms, only weak-okish signal in the restaurant. You do get good 4G signal here.
Facilities wise there was not much as they are still barely open - the pool & camera room were both under renovation and the restaurant (which unfortunately is up a fair number of stairs) is quite basic. No bar, no spa yet. Very limited drink options - coke and beer. Only instant coffee. I think food was buffet style pre-covid but now it is individually served - no menu, no options to order, no room to make requests (other than vegetarian or not). Half the time I was the only guest and I requested no fried foods - but was ignored. The chef is quite skilled and the food is tasty. However there is a big issue with the food quantity- every lunch & dinner I had to ask for more - there is no way someone diving 4x a day will leave not hungry (and I am a pretty small person). You can only book full-board and I would much prefer if they just separate it and let us order off a menu. As it were half the time when I asked for more they say they are out and it makes you feel kind of bad, but I wasn’t about to go hungry on vacation.
Mina is the resort manager (altho she is moving to Bangka soon) and she is quite good. She and Barney who is the marine biologist/underwater photographer that works across the 3 resorts rebuilding the house reefs ate with me, which was nice when I was the only guest. Every time I had issues she made sure it was addressed asap. It is a noticeable difference vs Bastianos Bangka and Bastianos Bunekan. She also had 4 very cute cats at the resort.
I had Raffy as my dive guide the entire time. There was another group of 4 guests with me the first 2 days and I paid for the private guide fee for those 2 days, which was a very reasonable EUR55/day (same regardless of how many dives you did, which for me at 4x 80-90min dives/day was a pretty good deal, compared to Anilao&PG where it was $40/dive (60min) for a private guide). I actually booked a private guide for 4 days but they only charged me for 2 since I was the only guest for the other 2 days, without me having to ask which was really nice. Raffy is a great spotter and found a ton of stuff, normally by the time I finished taking photos of one thing he already had something else lined up. Very little downtime / waiting around, which was great. What’s even more amazing is I just have to tell them what I want to see the next day and they know exactly where to go to find it (special orders that delivered include pgymys and shaun the sheep nudies). Barney dived with us a few times also when he’s not working on the house reef and showed me a bunch of really interesting stuff, plus some funky ways to handle the marine life including picking up sea snakes by the tail (which he says is harmless).
Conditions were super easy with barely any current. We didn’t see many other boats, occasionally one other at the same site. Water was 28C most of the time and I was in a 3mm+vest and always freezing by the end - the guides dived with a 5mm but everyone was cold when we came up, especially on the night dives. They do 2 dives in the morning at 8am, afternoon dive at 2.30-3pm, and night dive at 6-6.30pm. When I come back I will be diving dry. Day dives are capped at 90min and night dives at 60min - that’s a lot of time underwater! There is a lot of trash underwater and my ears did start to itch by the end, which stopped after 2 days in the clear waters of Bangka.
Service was very good - they set up everything for you every dive, wash everything for you at the end of the day, and even insisted on carrying my (very heavy) camera to and from the room for me every day. Nitrox was a consistent 31%. When I had issues with my housing leaking Barney took the time to take everything apart for me and clean/dry everything. If not for the food I wouldn’t mind going back because the staff is A+.
The only downside of this trip is is ruined me for the one I just finished, which was a 10 day liveaboard to the Visayas. Every macro dive felt a bit underwhelming compared to Lembeh. I think it's the density of critters / how fast the guides find them that's the biggest standout difference, vs Anilao, PG, Dauin, etc. Plus zero current and mostly sandy bottoms just make for more enjoyable macro hunting.
