Typically most people fly to Sorong from Manado, so by tacking on a visit to Lembeh you won't have to make any additional flights and there are variety of levels of accommodation at Lembeh both on the mainland and island. It doesn't matter where you stay as all sites are close to most resorts and everyone dives the same places, but they limit the number of dive boats to three per site so it doesn't get over crowded. I go every year for several weeks to Lembeh.
Dive Lembeh with Two Fish Divers - dive Lembeh Straits, muck diving capital of the world has a small dive resort on Lembeh Island as well as the main resort on Bunaken. Opo is the main dive guide at Two Fish Divers Lembeh and is excellent and very experienced (more than 9000 dives). Plus he is very outgoing (many of the guides are very shy) and great fun and plays guitar and sings at night.
Night dives at Lembeh are great fun. All the big nudibranchs come out to hunt. We regularly see 8 inch long (measured) Spanish Dancer nudibranchs (
Hexabranchus sanguineus) at Lembeh at night at the dive site called Pantai Parigi. We saw a crab spawning one night. It is a nice shallow spot off Lembeh Island that is a good spot for night diving. I recommend doing as many night dives as possible.
If you look under ledges and in caves at night you will see bunches of ringed pipefish (
Doryrhamphus dactyliophorus).
Be sure to bring a good small light for daytime use.
I highly recommend this guide book for Lembeh and Raja Ampat
Reef Fish Identification, Tropical Pacific
Paul Humann • Ned Deloach • Gerald Allen • Roger Steene (you can find it for about US$30)
Many of the photos are taken at Lembeh (you will come to recognize the black sand bottom of the Lembeh Strait)
Don't forget to save some local Indonesia money to pay your international departure tax. Check on actual amount when you arrive. It will be less than US$10. After checking in, you turn around and will see a counter just before you go up the stairs to the departure lounge. You pay the tax there in Rupiah cash. I don't know about domestic taxes. Departure taxes in Indonesia are different at every airport.
