Need Advice for South Lombok

[mrrworld]

Have a free five days in mid-October and thinking of diving South Lombok but all my internet research has me sufficiently confused as to what would be the best strategy. I want to dive Belongas Bay but the only place I've seen to stay is with Belongas Bay Lodge, which got some scathing reviews on Trip Advisor for too many divers on a boat, unsafe, etc. I looked at Kuta but that seems pretty far from Belongas Bay but lots of places to stay, maybe a small town to relax in at night, etc., which I kind of look for since eating at the same resort every night gets old and its nice to support the locals if possible. Another option would be to stay in Sekotong but than it looks like I am starting each day driving down to Belongas Bay. Doesn't look to far but I've seen enough Indonesian roads to know not to trust a map. Basically, I just want to dive with the least amount of hassle but both options seem to have their issues. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Michael

 

[chlorpheniramine]

I was at the Belongas Bay Lodge last year. If you stay there, go for the air-con room, it's not much more expensive, but a really massive improvement from the fan rooms. Great value for money.

We booked directly with the resort. Package price included breakfast, with lunch and dinner charged separately. It was odd, as we were given a menu to choose our breakfast from, while there was no choice for lunch - a simple local buffet of rice, vegetables and meat or fish. I can't recall the exact price, but lunch and dinner were somewhere in the region of 50,000 to 100,000rp each, which we found rather excessive for what we got. Bring your own snacks, there are no shops around.

As for the dive op, heh. No one checked our c-cards. No one asked for our level of experience. No one asked when our last dive was. The dive guide came on the first morning with some bedraggled disclaimer forms for us, realised he didn't have enough, and said he'd let us sign them the next morning. He never did. And our very first dive was at none other than The Magnet. We are all experienced and used to strong currents so it was ok, but the dive op's apparent lack of attention to safety left us amused. To the guide's credit, the pre-dive briefing was extremely detailed.

Tanks are filled at another resort and transported over daily along with daytrippers, so on some days the dives started late. We lost a dive on the first day as there were insufficient tanks.

We did see the hammerheads and mobulas so it was all good. And after making friends with the dive guide, he treated us to what was probably the most spectacular supper I've ever had.

 

[frogfish]

Chlorpheniramine, Thanks for the interesting summary - How long would you recommend to stay ?

 

[chlorpheniramine]

We went for 3 dives x 3 days and that was about right. There are basically only 3 sites worth diving - The Magnet, Cathedral and Gili Sera. Once you've seen the hammerheads and mobulas there isn't any more to look forward to.

 

[mrrworld]

Thanks. Any idea where the day trippers were coming from. Maybe I can get the best of both worlds, staying somewhere else but doing a few day trips in Belongas Bay.

 

[chlorpheniramine]

The daytrippers came from one of the other resorts run by DiveZone Lombok, though I can't recall which one. They did 2 dives, with lunch at the resort in between. You should probably ask the operator about the travel time and road conditions between the resorts if you're thinking of doing this. As I recall, on one day the tanks and daytrippers arrived after 10am.

 

[mrrworld]

Thanks again. I am leaning toward staying in Sekotong. The dive shop said it was a 45 minute ride to Belongas Bay and it looks alot closer and easier to get to then from Kuta area. Hope he is right!