murex-manado/lembeh resort

[dna77054]

Looks like I am finally going to take that dream vacation. All of september, 7 days at Sipidan, 3 days in the jungle, and then 7-11 days in North Sulawesi. So for those who have been, what are you experiences/opinion of

Lembeh resort?

Murex (Manado-Bunaken) dive resort?

 

[scubashooter]

Lembeh Resort is nice but the air is a bit stagnant in Nov due to the location of the resort on the leeward side. Fortunately they have a/c in the rooms. Nice housereef.
Murex is a nice resort with good dive guides and decent accomodations. The food is ok. Good value for money.

 

[AlanWald]

Looks like I am finally going to take that dream vacation. All of september, 7 days at Sipidan, 3 days in the jungle, and then 7-11 days in North Sulawesi. So for those who have been, what are you experiences/opinion of

Lembeh resort?

Murex (Manado-Bunaken) dive resort?

How are you getting from Borneo (Sipidan) to Manado?

Last year (Setember/October 2004) I took a Malaysian Airlines flight from Kota Kinabalu in Borneo to Manado. But I heard they had cancelled that flight because it wasn't very full. I just looked that the Malaysia web site and they no longer list Manado as a desination.

This was the flight I took

Malaysia Airlines flight #MH 869/ KUL/MDC via Kota Kinabalu
Malaysia Airlines flight #MH 868/ MDC/KUL via Kota Kinabalu

KUL is the code for Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Malaysia
(great well planned, spacious new airport, the best big airport I have ever been to)
MDC is the code for Manado, North Sulawesi.

 

[Rickg]

Looks like I am finally going to take that dream vacation. All of september, 7 days at Sipidan, 3 days in the jungle, and then 7-11 days in North Sulawesi. So for those who have been, what are you experiences/opinion of

Lembeh resort?

Murex (Manado-Bunaken) dive resort?

dna77074,

Here is link to my trip report from our visit there last year.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=85481&highlight=rickg

Rickg

 

[Deano2]

Hi DNA,

I am just back from N. Sulawesi. I spent 17 days there and had a great time. The diving is easy and the water was warm. I was lucky to see lots of pelagic fish due to a cold water upwelling (including a good 10 minute snorkel with a pod of dolphins). The small stuff is also there in good quantities and the landscapes are impressive as well. You won't regret going unless you have a hick-up along the way. The people are also friendly and it's very safe. 50/50 Christian and Muslim. Good people there.

I stayed at Santika and dived with Thalassa. September is a transition month so the weather should be good and your chances of seeing alot of amazing reef life is good as well as avoiding any crowds unless you happen to hit it during a Japanese holiday week. Don't worry though there are 50 some dive sites there and the boats avoid each other. I went last year in August as well and stayed part of the time at the Lembeh Resort. The diving was good but I found the resort to be a bit isolated for my taste. But then again i was a single. If you're a photogrpaher and going with a significant other or at least another, you should be good. KBR has remodelled and was looking good when I was there this year and I heard they added a pool. Not sure if thats true but it's also an option. I have couple of trip reports if you are interested. Just drop me a mail.

Deano2

 

[davidlkh]

Was in Lembeh Resort Nov 2004. I thought it was great.
Both above water and below.
Hotel staff was attentive and the dive guides trained by Bruce was superb.

In terms of MUREX, I have never been with them. But I get very mixed feed back regarding that outfit. Some love it, some hate it.

 

[Vie]

I had a good experience with Murex years ago—nice, basic resort. Very nice people.

 

[dna77054]

How are you getting from Borneo (Sipidan) to Manado?

.

A dive travel agency has put together the trip. They has us going from

Kota K to Kul to Sin (Singapore), overnight there, and then to Manado the next day.

Sulawesi had always been peaceful, but the the bombings today I might cancel the whole trip and spend a month in Honduras instead.

 

[dna77054]

Hi DNA,

I am just back from N. Sulawesi. I spent 17 days there and had a great time. The diving is easy and the water was warm. I was lucky to see lots of pelagic fish due to a cold water upwelling (including a good 10 minute snorkel with a pod of dolphins). The small stuff is also there in good quantities and the landscapes are impressive as well. You won't regret going unless you have a hick-up along the way. The people are also friendly and it's very safe. 50/50 Christian and Muslim. Good people there.

I stayed at Santika and dived with Thalassa. September is a transition month so the weather should be good and your chances of seeing alot of amazing reef life is good as well as avoiding any crowds unless you happen to hit it during a Japanese holiday week. Don't worry though there are 50 some dive sites there and the boats avoid each other. I went last year in August as well and stayed part of the time at the Lembeh Resort. The diving was good but I found the resort to be a bit isolated for my taste. But then again i was a single. If you're a photogrpaher and going with a significant other or at least another, you should be good. KBR has remodelled and was looking good when I was there this year and I heard they added a pool. Not sure if thats true but it's also an option. I have couple of trip reports if you are interested. Just drop me a mail.

Deano2

Deano2, thanks for the info. Santika/Thalassa is also on my short list. They just quoted me 7 nights, 10 dives, breakfast and lunch, in a "regular" room for $530. From the website the resort looks great, and also a lot closer to the dive sites than Murex. I am sure I would want to add on a few more dives though. Did you have a package? Was adding extra dives much trouble. HOw many dives could you do a day? Is there the possiblity of 3-4 dives a day with Thalassa?

Thanks Mike (dna)

 

[Valentino]

A dive travel agency has put together the trip. They has us going from

Kota K to Kul to Sin (Singapore), overnight there, and then to Manado the next day.

Sulawesi had always been peaceful, but the the bombings today I might cancel the whole trip and spend a month in Honduras instead.

Last month I was in Sulawesi for nearly 4 weeks and made over 50 dives. Went diving at Bunaken, Lembeh and Sangih islands (each location for about a week).
At Bunaken and Lembeh I dived with Sulawesi Dive Quest (better known as SDQ). This is a simple diveoperator located on both Bunaken and Lembeh island. At the time of my stay it was extremely quiet.

At Sangih islands I went diving with the liveaboard of Murex. Murex is one of the better known dive operators in N-Sulawesi. It was a lot bigger, busier and more professional.

If you prefer the hussle and bussle of a bigger operator, then Murex is definately the one to choose.

You also mentioned the recent bomb scare in Sulawesi. This happened in Central Sulawesi, far, far, far away from Manado region. Violence in this region has been going on for years and years due to power struggles between Christians and Muslims. Manado region IS safe to stay. It would be a shame if you were to cancel a trip to N-Sulawesi.

Regards,

Valentino