Kevster
Contributor
Brief Trip Report North Bali Jan 2010
My 1st visit to North Bali & 1st time in Bali during the rainy season.
1 night Kuta Febris hotel ($45) was very good value in a good location.
Next day I hired a private driver ($60) to take the 4hr journey to Pemuteran in North Bali
3 nights in Aneka Bagus hotel ($45/night) Hotel was average and would not stay there again. Would recommend the local home stay at the dive Op I used for a good budget option.
I dove with Jubaya Dive ($70 for 2 dives).
Menjangan Island -2 dives at Eel garden & Mangrove Pt .
Was picked up from hotel and journey took about 10 mins to reach the harbour. Boat journey to Menj Isl took about 30 mins.
Eel garden was fantastic. Really colourful with nice coral, large fans and decent fish life. Also some decent macro. Viss was 10-15m.
During the surface interval it started to rain and did not stop. The 2nd dive at Mangrove point was in thunderstorm conditions. Underwater it was very gloomy, almost like a night dive. Very average dive due to the conditions.
Secret Bay 2 dives
Took about 20 mins to drive to the dive site. I was pleasantly surprised how clean the beach & dive site was. I was expecting lots of trash/rubbish on the beach & in the water. Max depth was about 10m. Viss was about 4-5m. Was a little cold , temp dropped to 26 C in a few spots. Good macro life. Several octopus, lots of catfish, small seahorse, sea moths, scorpion fish, sea snakes, eels, cuttlefish, leaf fish, lots of orange flatworms, Banggai Cardinalfish but no Nudis.
I then travelled to Bali Nibbana resort ($55/night) near Lovina for 3 nights. This hotel is really nice, highly recommended. It has a great pool setting. It is very close to the PJ dive site, about 2 mins drive
I dove with Wisnu dive center. They were ok. $70 for 2 dives. Only myself & 2 guides in the water.
Puri Jati
PJ was disappointing. Conditions were poor. Viss was about 4 m at a depth of 9m, & about 2-3 m in the shallows. There was surge and not a lot of critters.
Highlights , Octopus, couple of Nudis, couple of snake eels, sea moth, mantis shrimp, flounders. No Mimics. Not as good as secret bay in terms of critters. I think the heavy rain & waves was the reason PJ was not great. Prob better during the dry season.
The weather in general was overcast/rainy. Heavy rain during 1 day. Not much blue sky.
Summary.
I was really impressed with Menjangan Isl. Eel garden has fantastic corals, fans & good fish life. Prob the best reef dive I have done in Bali. Unfortunately the viss was average/poor. Would definitely recommend a few days at Menjangan during the dry season.
Secret bay was ok for a couple of dives, PJ was disappointing.
Bali in rainy season
Pros
Hardly any tourists compare to peak season
Hotel rates are discounted & availability is no problem
Cons
Weather & diving conditions are not great.
My 1st visit to North Bali & 1st time in Bali during the rainy season.
1 night Kuta Febris hotel ($45) was very good value in a good location.
Next day I hired a private driver ($60) to take the 4hr journey to Pemuteran in North Bali
3 nights in Aneka Bagus hotel ($45/night) Hotel was average and would not stay there again. Would recommend the local home stay at the dive Op I used for a good budget option.
I dove with Jubaya Dive ($70 for 2 dives).
Menjangan Island -2 dives at Eel garden & Mangrove Pt .
Was picked up from hotel and journey took about 10 mins to reach the harbour. Boat journey to Menj Isl took about 30 mins.
Eel garden was fantastic. Really colourful with nice coral, large fans and decent fish life. Also some decent macro. Viss was 10-15m.
During the surface interval it started to rain and did not stop. The 2nd dive at Mangrove point was in thunderstorm conditions. Underwater it was very gloomy, almost like a night dive. Very average dive due to the conditions.
Secret Bay 2 dives
Took about 20 mins to drive to the dive site. I was pleasantly surprised how clean the beach & dive site was. I was expecting lots of trash/rubbish on the beach & in the water. Max depth was about 10m. Viss was about 4-5m. Was a little cold , temp dropped to 26 C in a few spots. Good macro life. Several octopus, lots of catfish, small seahorse, sea moths, scorpion fish, sea snakes, eels, cuttlefish, leaf fish, lots of orange flatworms, Banggai Cardinalfish but no Nudis.
I then travelled to Bali Nibbana resort ($55/night) near Lovina for 3 nights. This hotel is really nice, highly recommended. It has a great pool setting. It is very close to the PJ dive site, about 2 mins drive
I dove with Wisnu dive center. They were ok. $70 for 2 dives. Only myself & 2 guides in the water.
Puri Jati
PJ was disappointing. Conditions were poor. Viss was about 4 m at a depth of 9m, & about 2-3 m in the shallows. There was surge and not a lot of critters.
Highlights , Octopus, couple of Nudis, couple of snake eels, sea moth, mantis shrimp, flounders. No Mimics. Not as good as secret bay in terms of critters. I think the heavy rain & waves was the reason PJ was not great. Prob better during the dry season.
The weather in general was overcast/rainy. Heavy rain during 1 day. Not much blue sky.
Summary.
I was really impressed with Menjangan Isl. Eel garden has fantastic corals, fans & good fish life. Prob the best reef dive I have done in Bali. Unfortunately the viss was average/poor. Would definitely recommend a few days at Menjangan during the dry season.
Secret bay was ok for a couple of dives, PJ was disappointing.
Bali in rainy season
Pros
Hardly any tourists compare to peak season
Hotel rates are discounted & availability is no problem
Cons
Weather & diving conditions are not great.
