Manado Info

[Mr. Blues]

Thanks for the local info, rgo. I to am planning to go to North Sulawasi (this Christmas approx. 10th to 20th December) and how stable the local scene is has some bearing. The Foreign Office usually play it very safe so your sort of feed back is very helpful. It pays to look around various places to try and get a rounded view. Personally I have travelled a bit around Thailand, Laos, Burma and Cambodia...so I am not looking for safety guaranteed!
On the dive front the same names seem to come up...like the sound of Froggies and got a pleasant email reply...but I also love liveaboards to max my diving on this part of my hols...I like to be knackered at the end of my dive hol. Murex have nitrox, I believe and if this goes along with a bigger tank and nice substantail fills this may sway me. Or perhaps a bit of both...decisions decisions.
The idea of diving North Sulawasi gets me so excited I have to go and take a cold shower every time I research my hols... I have dived Similans a few times and enjoyed it but I know there is better around and this sounds like number one to me. I want to get there before the hoards arrive.........
PS Come and dive in the UK, rgo, and find out what cold really is!

Liveaboard? FWIW you might want to check out Thalassa's
package which combines liveaboard (MIMPI) and Santika based diving. You'll have a blast with whoever you decide.

 

[calypsonick]

On the diving issue, I'd suggest Froggies Divers (www.divefroggies.com) on Bunaken Island itself. It's run by Christine, a Swiss (if I'm not mistaken) who has tons of experience in the area and is one of the people who are active on the conservation programme there.

Hey, Sinners. I second rgo's suggestion. Although it is the only place my wife and I have gone diving in Indonesia, the 5 days we had were great!! We were there in October of last year. We brought our 2 year old and Christiane organized folks to take care of her for the couple of dives my wife and I went together.

Froggies is careful to dispose of waste in an ecologically friendly manner and staying on Bunaken island means the dive sites are only 5-15 min. by boat away. The house reef right in front of Froggies is sensational for night dives.
Check out their prices, they are quite economical.

Nick

 

[sharonle]

Ok I understand the question especially as an OZ all our consulate people have it for a warning, I asked eco dive people in Manado and he said it was fine. Also last year I traveled through East Indo, and I did get hassle in Lombok and I felt uncomfortable in Pointainak (spelling, sorry!) in Borneo. But everyone who had been to North Sulawesi felt that it was safe but did say there was trouble south sulawesi and central.
sharon

 

[Mantaman]

We went with Minahasa Prima Resort last year and had a fantastic dive trip. They are simple rather than exotic but the rooms are nice and the grounds are lovely and well maintained. Great staff and very accomodating.

When you go to Lembah Straits for a day trip, forget the muck diving. The reefs there are as pretty as I have seen anywhere. We called one "God's Aquarium." Diving in the muck (garbage dump) didnt do anything for me.

 

[rgo]

I suppose one thing that should be mentioned is that Indonesia on June 1 entered its presidential election campainging period. The election day itself will be July 5. A possible second round/run off pitting the top two (out of current 5) pairings will be in september. Embassies (particularly Western embassies) in Jakarta have upgraded or refreshed their travel cautionaries to the country. There are concerns that militants will take advantage of the politically "interesting" period to create trouble.
Liveaboards and dive resorts *knock on wood* should be isolated enough from any issue that comes up. But the embassies, although they err on the side of caution, wouldn't put travel advisories up for nothing.

 

[davidlkh]

Having been in Indonesia during elections, it can get violent. This is mainly in the major cities like Jakarta.

When out in Bunaken, Tulamben, Menjangan, Lembongan, Trawangan... these are tiny villages without even a stop sign. Chickens run around, goats bleep... a small sleepy village. Politics is not on their agenda as family matters and survival is a more pressing issue.

 

[davidlkh]

The problem with the mentioned muck (garbage dump) diving is that you have to go through the garbage to find the jewel. Quite a different type of diving compared to reef diving. Muck diving in Lembeh becomes something like a treasure hunt.

If you like the critters without the muck, then perhaps you should try Bangka which is not far away.

Other non muck critter dives would be Tulamben Bali. Sangalaki, Kalimantan, but most are there for the Manta, not the critters.

To me muck and reef dives are great, as long as I am not hurried along.

 

[Wolverine]

Well, I have been to Manado 3 times (before and after 9/11) and I have never encountered any animosity in the people. And diving is as outstanding as the first time I went 8 yrs ago. I would not really worry about the political issues in Manado though I would not advise heading to the southern part on Sulawesi. The last time I was out there was last June with Eco Divers. Great dive-resort with excellent dive boats. Apart from Bunaken, they also organise trips to Lembeh and the outer islands. Macro stuff is excellent but for big fish, you would need to have current. Sharks, barracudas and Napolean Wrasses are common sights when the current flows.

 

[IKA]

Hi, If you like staying on the Island..just go to Bunaken Island, one of the some diving centres there. try to TWO FISH DIVERS, their web. twofishdivers.com, Ok.

 

[Sodgaard]

Im currently evaluating the diving options around Manado on north Sulawesi.
We were considering eg. the Tasik Ria Eco Divers resort south of Manado. Any comments on this? Any slightly cheeper options still being a nice resort environment?

My wife has trouble enjoying the diving if there are to many factors of stress, eg. deep diving and high swells.
What difficulty level would you consider the dives here?
Are there also shore dives or are all boat dives?
What are the sea conditions usually like?

Thanks in advance.

Regards

Stephen