hallboy
Contributor
Try celebes divers. Stay at least part of the time in the resort in Siladen.
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tarzana
Contributor
Hallboy,
I just wrote to Celebes divers and hope they can come up with a plan for me as I will only have a few days in Manado before my plane takes off again. LumbaLumba divers just wrote and told me that they were not in operation when I would be there due to New Years> Hope that is not the case for most of the resorts!
The resort in Siladen, is this the one operated by Celebes divers or another outfit?
tarzana
I just wrote to Celebes divers and hope they can come up with a plan for me as I will only have a few days in Manado before my plane takes off again. LumbaLumba divers just wrote and told me that they were not in operation when I would be there due to New Years> Hope that is not the case for most of the resorts!
The resort in Siladen, is this the one operated by Celebes divers or another outfit?
tarzana
pelan-pelan
Contributor
Sorry to hear lumbalumba couldn't help because of New Years. I didn't know they closed then - or it might be that they have got the place filled with family.
Alternatives - take a look at Murex. I think it is under new management, or another member of the family is running it now. They are between Manado and lumbalumba. Alternatively there is Thalassa diving at the Santika hotel which is up the coast the other side of Manado.
Alternatives - take a look at Murex. I think it is under new management, or another member of the family is running it now. They are between Manado and lumbalumba. Alternatively there is Thalassa diving at the Santika hotel which is up the coast the other side of Manado.
hallboy
Contributor
the resort in siladen is OLOng resort managed by CELebes divers. Great food on both. In MAnado ask to see the movies taht one of the managers ( a former biologist ) did about colors and camouflage.
Say hello for me to them; Theres no reason for them to remmber me, but i was there in 2004 and i asked to stay in siladen and be awaked ar 2 am to see the final of the UEFA soccer cup. Marseille ( my team ) lost; but in the morning i made my 100th dive and i saw a manta ( i do'nt remmber the name of the dive spot; but it was not a wall, a huge Napoleon was waiting for us under the boat and there were some bigs barraccudas around a big bush of white coral ( souvenir of old blast fishing?? lot of life at this place anyway; the only dive of that kind in bunaken on 18 dives)
PPS Dive 3 times a day, it's a medical prescription
Say hello for me to them; Theres no reason for them to remmber me, but i was there in 2004 and i asked to stay in siladen and be awaked ar 2 am to see the final of the UEFA soccer cup. Marseille ( my team ) lost; but in the morning i made my 100th dive and i saw a manta ( i do'nt remmber the name of the dive spot; but it was not a wall, a huge Napoleon was waiting for us under the boat and there were some bigs barraccudas around a big bush of white coral ( souvenir of old blast fishing?? lot of life at this place anyway; the only dive of that kind in bunaken on 18 dives)
PPS Dive 3 times a day, it's a medical prescription
bodiver13
Contributor
for diving in manado, u got a lot of options actually.
if u are more concern about safety and good boat, then ecodiver is better for you, they only dive 3 times/day max.
I dived with them, and really satisfied in term of professionalism and their boats are nice..
in the other hand if u go with other dive center, such as NDC then u got urself a cheaper rate, but boats are not as nice as ecodivers' and also rooms are below tasik ria (ecodiver), however just last year some NDC rooms had been renovated and they are as good as new, but just few of them.
In my experience, NDC guides are more 'fun' and providing, i dived with them 4-5 times a day.
If u decide to go with one of the dive center, u can also ask for them to arrange ur diving in lembeh, no need to change dive center...
this is my opinion, hopefully helping bit... IMHO...
Cheers,
Bodiver
if u are more concern about safety and good boat, then ecodiver is better for you, they only dive 3 times/day max.
I dived with them, and really satisfied in term of professionalism and their boats are nice..
in the other hand if u go with other dive center, such as NDC then u got urself a cheaper rate, but boats are not as nice as ecodivers' and also rooms are below tasik ria (ecodiver), however just last year some NDC rooms had been renovated and they are as good as new, but just few of them.
In my experience, NDC guides are more 'fun' and providing, i dived with them 4-5 times a day.
If u decide to go with one of the dive center, u can also ask for them to arrange ur diving in lembeh, no need to change dive center...
this is my opinion, hopefully helping bit... IMHO...
Cheers,
Bodiver
tarzana
Contributor
Bodiver13 and Hallboy,
Thanks for the info. i am in the process of getting quotes for all of these outfits. Great comments and info on all of them.
Hallboy, why is Ecodiver a "safer" outfit than NDC? Why are the rooms a drop down in your opinion from the ones at Ecodiver?
Frankly i will be coming from Kri in cottages that don't even have running water inside so anything will be a step up!! :>)
tarzana
Thanks for the info. i am in the process of getting quotes for all of these outfits. Great comments and info on all of them.
Hallboy, why is Ecodiver a "safer" outfit than NDC? Why are the rooms a drop down in your opinion from the ones at Ecodiver?
Frankly i will be coming from Kri in cottages that don't even have running water inside so anything will be a step up!! :>)
tarzana
hallboy
Contributor
You should ask that to bodiver: i just have no idea. By the way i think that from Siladen ( Onong resort) you can ask to go diving to bangka is lands ( north from bunaken) You should chek that.
And with Celebes ( on mainland and Siladen) just expect real nice wooden bungalows with hot water + A/C - lovely garden +pool in mainland; adorable beach and restaurant in Siladen- you don't feel yourself in an hotel and as you eat with the DM it's more like some form of a charming diving guesthouse. food is delicious. ASk for the Massimo's movies when in manado
And with Celebes ( on mainland and Siladen) just expect real nice wooden bungalows with hot water + A/C - lovely garden +pool in mainland; adorable beach and restaurant in Siladen- you don't feel yourself in an hotel and as you eat with the DM it's more like some form of a charming diving guesthouse. food is delicious. ASk for the Massimo's movies when in manado
I was at Manado last month. I stayed Manado side at Minahassa Lagoon Resort. It's an upscale place with nice facilities, big boats, great customer service. The main reason for staying there was to be at the area off Popo, (a cluster of dive sites recently rechristened Bethlehem [BEtter THan LEMbeh]).
As far as security goes, it feels safe. This probably has to to with the fact that the area is predominantly Christian and there doesn't seem to be much underlying animosity towards foreigners.
As for the diving, Bunaken walls are beautiful, Bethlehem is a real joy, and Lembeh is definitely a marvel to be experienced.
Next time I go, though, I'll split my time between Lembeh and one of the small islands rather than stay on Sulawesi, just because the boat rides and transfers to go elsewhere are so long.
As far as security goes, it feels safe. This probably has to to with the fact that the area is predominantly Christian and there doesn't seem to be much underlying animosity towards foreigners.
As for the diving, Bunaken walls are beautiful, Bethlehem is a real joy, and Lembeh is definitely a marvel to be experienced.
Next time I go, though, I'll split my time between Lembeh and one of the small islands rather than stay on Sulawesi, just because the boat rides and transfers to go elsewhere are so long.
JenM
Contributor
Tarzana, if you are still looking for a place you should definitely check out the Santika Hotel and Thalassa Divers, north of Manado and only about 10-20 minutes from all of the Bunaken sites. We were there in June05 loved it. The resort was very nice and the dive operation was superb. They are very flexible and they also do all-day trips south to Poopo and north to Bangka Island with a minimum of four divers.
What sold us on Santika/Thalassa was that they were so close to Bunaken without actually being in the marine park. They are so close that they usually come back to the resort between every dive, their boats were comfortable and their divemasters were really good and very safety conscious. They also have a "house" reef 3 minutes by boat away from their dock that is great for a quick afternoon or night dive with some nice coral and lots of interesting critters.
What sold us on Santika/Thalassa was that they were so close to Bunaken without actually being in the marine park. They are so close that they usually come back to the resort between every dive, their boats were comfortable and their divemasters were really good and very safety conscious. They also have a "house" reef 3 minutes by boat away from their dock that is great for a quick afternoon or night dive with some nice coral and lots of interesting critters.
bodiver13
Contributor
hey guys, sorry i wasn't able to view the website for 2 weeks, don't know why.. anybody has the same problem?
anyway, Tarzana, based on my experience with both NDC and Ecodiver;
NDC guides tends to be more flexible on stuffs like if u wanted to get more than 3 dives a day, dive deeper than ur max limit or other stuffs..
while ecodiver employs a more conservative diving, no more than 3 dives a day, can't do deeper dive than NDC.
I think both have good sides, depending on ur situation and what u want out of ur dive.
When i dive with people i don't know very well or big group, i tend to go with ecodiver, but when the group is small and especially if they are the kind of diver who push into the limit, then i go with NDC.
Either way, they are a good operator... and so are some others in that area..
just my 2 cents...
anyway, Tarzana, based on my experience with both NDC and Ecodiver;
NDC guides tends to be more flexible on stuffs like if u wanted to get more than 3 dives a day, dive deeper than ur max limit or other stuffs..
while ecodiver employs a more conservative diving, no more than 3 dives a day, can't do deeper dive than NDC.
I think both have good sides, depending on ur situation and what u want out of ur dive.
When i dive with people i don't know very well or big group, i tend to go with ecodiver, but when the group is small and especially if they are the kind of diver who push into the limit, then i go with NDC.
Either way, they are a good operator... and so are some others in that area..
just my 2 cents...
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