We are booking our very 1st trip to the Coral Triangle going to N Sulawesi and looking at the Murex Passport; will be there with our teens who have about 60 dives under their belts, so interested in the house reefs as well as the boat dives (kids nitrox certified, but still JR certification). We are staying Monday-2wks-Monday and trying to decide how to divide up resorts. Thinking Manado 5 nights, 5 nights in Bangka, then we have 4 more nights to either move locations from oceanside to hillside in Bangka, back to Manado, or try Lembah pending availability. We love awesome creatures and are excited about beautiful coral but have never been muck diving and aren't sure if we want to try it or not. We want to dive as much as possible but will be doing the Hillside and Tangkoko reserve. Thanks so much for any input!
North Sulawesi/Murex 1st time this July!
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I just returned from this exact same trip and it was amazing, one of the best of my life. We did 5 nights Manado and 5 nights Bangka, and also did the Highlands and Tangkoko tours. My friends only stayed at Lembeh for 2 nights but I stayed for 7. Manado has gorgeous walls and sooo many huge and friendly turtles, but the boat rides were typically 30 min each way over to Bunaken. Bangka had the prettiest location - secluded, a nice beach, short boat rides, and not much trash. The diving at Bangka was beautiful - loads of gorgeous coral, very fishy, and some macro as well. We also did the blackwater dive at Bangka. And then on to Lembeh - while we were at first taken aback by the industrial feeling of Lembeh Strait (and all the trash), it was my favorite of the trip. The macro was amazing and if you love awesome critters, then you should really give it a try! The reefs at Lembeh were gorgeous as well. Every day, they ask if you'd like to do sand, rubble, coral, or a mix. Overall an incredible trip that I will definitely repeat!
Oh my gosh what a helpful reply!! I am SO excited!!! Do you think we should reverse the order/adjust nights at each place? (we have 5 nights in the beginning before beach front on manado available, then it’s available for 7 nights) ? For example, 5 nights lembeh, 6 nights bangka, 3 nights manado? Hillside is available longer in bangka but we like the idea of oceanfront so if teens are tired they are more enticed to join us in the water!
Our teens have mostly done shore diving in Curacao/Bonaire but we did a few boat dives to show them a bit of what it’s like. Thank you!
+1 for Murex's Passport to Paradise, I did this with my daughter back in 2015 when they first started this programme.
I last dived with Murex at Bangka in 2022 post Covid as Indonesia was just opening up and it was great, the new bungalows on the hillside are superb, and a lot of new construction was happening as the owner was investing back into this location at the time.
The diving around Bangka is a mix of macro and wide angle, I really must return there.
I last dived with Murex at Bangka in 2022 post Covid as Indonesia was just opening up and it was great, the new bungalows on the hillside are superb, and a lot of new construction was happening as the owner was investing back into this location at the time.
The diving around Bangka is a mix of macro and wide angle, I really must return there.
OctopusSneakers
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I did the passport to paradise trip in November 2023, we did 3 nights in Lembeh, 2 nights in Bangka and 5 nights in Manado.
I had never been muck diving before and really enjoyed the diving in Lembeh. Some of the sights were searching over sandy bottoms for things, but the majority were little coral gardens or walls, and lots of fun weird stuff to see. The Lembeh resort is lovely, though between jetlag, and my early bird biological clock I struggled with the length and formality of dinners (coursed dinners that don't start until 7 or 7:30.... I was falling asleep in my soup- all other resorts are buffet for all meals). My favorite dive of the trip was on the transit day between Lembeh and Bangka (Batu Petang if I recall correctly).
Murex Bangka has redone their clubhouse since I was there and I believe added the oceanfront rooms that match the newer hillside rooms. I had too little time in Bangka (we only had two nights, one full day in Bangka) and so will be making sure to go back! The diving around Bangka is really interesting geology- lots of pinaccles and interesting rock formations- which creates great places for creatures to tuck themselves in. House reef in Bangka was more tide dependent than the other two resorts.
Murex Manado was great, as others said, boat rides to Bunaken are around 30 min. Lots of wall dives, you will lose count of turtles. These are nice easy dives, a little bit of current along the walls, but pick your depth and it'll gently push you along at a speed just right for either turtle watching or spotting nudibranchs. And schools of fish using the current.
I had never been muck diving before and really enjoyed the diving in Lembeh. Some of the sights were searching over sandy bottoms for things, but the majority were little coral gardens or walls, and lots of fun weird stuff to see. The Lembeh resort is lovely, though between jetlag, and my early bird biological clock I struggled with the length and formality of dinners (coursed dinners that don't start until 7 or 7:30.... I was falling asleep in my soup- all other resorts are buffet for all meals). My favorite dive of the trip was on the transit day between Lembeh and Bangka (Batu Petang if I recall correctly).
Murex Bangka has redone their clubhouse since I was there and I believe added the oceanfront rooms that match the newer hillside rooms. I had too little time in Bangka (we only had two nights, one full day in Bangka) and so will be making sure to go back! The diving around Bangka is really interesting geology- lots of pinaccles and interesting rock formations- which creates great places for creatures to tuck themselves in. House reef in Bangka was more tide dependent than the other two resorts.
Murex Manado was great, as others said, boat rides to Bunaken are around 30 min. Lots of wall dives, you will lose count of turtles. These are nice easy dives, a little bit of current along the walls, but pick your depth and it'll gently push you along at a speed just right for either turtle watching or spotting nudibranchs. And schools of fish using the current.
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