North and west Bali diving

[billt4sf]

Does anyone have direct experience with diving areas around Bali other than Padang Bai and Amed / Tulamben?

We live in Bali and sometimes we are looking for a few days to see other parts of the island. Is it worth our while to try diving in Lovina, Pemuteran, Menjangan or other areas of the island?

As we are (ahem) older, we do need aircon, nice accommodations, and we don't carry our gear any more.

Thanks,

Bill

 

[Lorenzoid]

You know I was in Pemuteran/Menjangan and Lovina last year and asked whether YOU knew anything yet about these areas. The Adi Assri resort in Pemuteran looked lovely. Being cheap, we stayed at a nearby guesthouse, Taruna, which was still very nice by our standards--aircon, outdoor shower, nice pool, etc. I can highly recommend Sea Rovers (Paul Turley). On our drive from Pemuteran to Tulamben, we stopped at Lovina for lunch and then did one dive at Puri Jati, which we had read was a renowned muck site. In discussing our poor PJ experience after the trip, a few SBers opined that it has gone downhill due to pollution or agricultural runoff or overfishing or something like that. But why don't you, who has the time to check these places out, take one for the team and post some reviews? The swanky, serene Zen resort at PJ looked like it might be right up your alley.

 

[Luko]

Does anyone have direct experience with diving areas around Bali other than Padang Bai and Amed / Tulamben?

Me again...
I guess you mean from Secret bay to Puri Jati.

I dived Secret bay, Pemuteran and Menjangan 5 years ago. That was with Paul Turley's operation as well, which was at the time located within the Adi Assri resort.
AA is a good resort, lovely seaview bungalows and pool, they just didn't know how to cook fried eggs... had to send them back twice until my wife prevented me to go directly to the kitchen. Food didn't look spectacular at the hotel but it didn't matter since the small restaurants around were quite good especially for the Ayam Betutu which is the local specialty in this muslim area of Bali.

I have anything but praises to say about SeaRovers dive centre. The problem is more about the diving itself.
Menjangan may have had fish... but times ago, they have gone AWOL since, also it's basically wall diving which I find a little bit tiresome. Let's not talk about the island itself which has become a tourist crowd dump.
Pemuteran area around the Adi Assri hotel (Napoleon reef etc.), well if you don't have any expectations, you can dive this place otherwise you'll be longing for Tulamben.
Secret bay was quite good macrowise but sooooo cold, around the 20-21C mark... and well, be prepared for black sand diving, don't expect something else. I've heard that due to a new ferry terminal Secret bay is no more what it used to be.
So I am not sure the area is worth the ride... of course if you're living in Bali with time to spare, it might be different.

I tried a few times to dive Puri Jati with no success, I also stumbled across a dive operation who thought they didn't have to take my wishes into consideration. It ended badly...
Anyways, from the feedback I had, Tulamben black sand areas is much much better with a good dive guide.
btw, I had the chance (read misfortune) to meet someone at Zen resort, from the lobby it looked like the last chance resort where everybody end up their lives bored to death. I think I would go mad staying more than two hours..

 

[Lorenzoid]

Paul is no longer recommending Secret Bay because he believes the diving was adversely impacted by the new ferry terminal. He still lists it on the web site as an option, but he strongly dissuaded us from diving there.

. . .
AA is a good resort, lovely seaview bungalows and pool, they just didn't know how to cook fried eggs... had to send them back twice until my wife prevented me to go directly to the kitchen...

Indonesians just don't seem to understand how Westerners prefer their fried eggs cooked. We had to do the same dance everywhere we stayed, carefully explaining how the yellow part should be liquid, etc. One would think that after serving thousands of western tourists, they would learn. They must think we are either crazy or very demanding.

 

[bqualls]

Overall Bill, I really enjoyed our trip to the northern part of Bali. We did this 6 years ago so things have changed-- how much i don't know. Secret Bay was nice, but didn't compare to Seraya. PJ was worth it if only for the solitude and playful coconut Octo that I still have vivid memories of. Menjangen walls were ok, but I remember the Lunch on the Menjangen overlook (breath taking)more than the walls.
In fact, by and large I remember things above the water in the north more than below. We stayed at Amertha Bali Villas and would recommend them highly-- the location between the mountains(hills?) and the sea is memorable. YMMV