Need some help choosing a dive destination

[jd950]

My diving family of four would like to take a two week dive trip in August. My family has never dived outside of Mexico, Hawaii and the Caribbean and we would like to go someplace more exotic. We can take up to two weeks and can go in July and early to mid August. I have enough mileage rewards built up that we can go to some distant dive detonations, so long as Cathay Pacific, British Airways or American Airlines fly there.

None of us are novice divers with each of us having done somewhere between 75 and 200 dives including boat dives and shore dives.

I am an avid photographer, and although I enjoy macro stuff as well as larger things, others in my family would get quickly bored with too much muck and macro, so I need to find someplace with nice reefs and fish and even some big stuff like sharks or mantas would be nice.

Someplace that has things to see above water would be great. We might do a week of diving and a week on land or mix up diving and land days over the two weeks. We can't afford a liveaboard on this trip.

We don’t care a lot about nightlife, although it would be nice if there were a couple places to get a beer and at least a few restaurants to choose from. I was thinking of maybe Bali in August in the hope of seeing Mola Mola, but am looking for suggestions from you folks who know these areas. We could also delay the trip until late December if that would get better weather or interesting things to see.

We like diving on our own and with small groups and not cattle boats or “volume” dive ops.

I appreciate any suggestions for destinations and dive ops and hope I have provided enough details to make it easy.

 

[pughio83]

Bali would be excellent choice. Plenty to do inland ir temples, zoo, bird park, volcano climbs, restaurants, etc plus excellent diving. August is the start of mola mola season at Nusa lembongan/penida, though last yr it didn't really get going until mid September. But they should around in August for sure, but so will the tourists! However lembongan also offers manta rays and some fantastic healthy reefs with plenty of fish. You could couple a week in lembongan (there are beaches, restaurants and plenty dive sites plus very laid back unlike southern Bali), with a week in tulumben which will provide you with liberty wreck and macro sites. Or do 4days at each place the. Go to ubud for few nights. Very cheap to hire a driver through your hotel to tour all over Bali seeing the sights!! highly recommend bebek tepi sawah as a potential place to stay in ubud, truly beautiful and well priced. For Nusa lembongan I recommend twofish divers and tulumben there is a mixture though I did day trip there from lembongan with twofish.

You could also consider the gilli islands and southern Lombok? Gilli islands offer ok to good diving but no mola and few manta, but beaches are better. Komodo islands could offer you macro and big fish diving and you can see the dragons inland, and stay on land infact, though unsure if August is a good time there!

Food for thought

 

[Will Rogers]

Pughio offers excellent suggestions. We spent a month with kids in Indonesia last May/June. Diving was in Komodo and Wakatobi; Bali was great for exploration. If diving is the primary focus, I think the options above would be best. Perhaps a quick pop over to Komodo. One certainty. If this is your first dive trip outside of the Caribbean/Hawaii, you will have your world rocked.

Have fun!

 

[boggie708]

I came back from Bali a few days ago, it is a perfect place for great diving and above water attractions as well. Did 6 days of diving, 3 Nusa Penida, 2 Padang Bai and 1 Tulamben, plus 2 days of sightseeing, but there is more to see there. Sanur has lots of dive shops and it is a quiet city with plenty of restaurants and hotels to choose from. Dove with Diving Indo (diving-indo.com) there was max. 6 divers on the boat, excellent operator.

 

[Tippytoes12]

Hi there

I would fully agree with the previous posters, Bali is a wonderful destination.However do stay as clos to the dive sites as you can. My hubby and I love Lembongan and have seen manta on every dive we did on manta point. But do stay on Lembongan itself as coming out on a day trip is not half as good. The area around the Liberty wreck is also fantastic.

Best fishes x

 

[Wisnu]

Bali is the perfect place for first timer. You can join Bali diving safari or rent a car with driver to travel around bali and dive secret bay gili manuk, menjangan island, puri jati, lovina, kubu, tulamben, amed, candi dasa, padang bai, and other non diving attarctions. Put nusa lembongan at the end. This is the way we - same with you, a family of four - travel in bali, but being local, I have no problem to self drive.
With a small group of four, basically you will get your own guide, at least one guide.

 

[alcina]

+1 for Bali. Only dived there once - Tulamben area - and loved it. Can't wait to go back.

Don't eat at the toursit restaurants, find the warungs and enjoy bliss!!

 

[jim_gate]

Best spot for diving is Lembongen island Bali. From Sanur it is 45 minute boat ride. The Manta Point dive is the most popular and comes recommended.

 

[jd950]

I want to thank everyone who replied. It has been helpful. It looks like a trip to Indonesia will probably be delayed until summer of 2014 in order to insure we can take a long enough trip, and I will need to stick to the Caribbean until then, but I will still use the information you have provided.