With a 3yr old AND a 11 month old in tow PLUS granny and gramps, you really want to go to a place that you know well and know what to expect.... so it was back to Scuba Seraya (SS) again. This was our third time here, so obviously we enjoy the place. I'm sure there are a few better places in Tulamben, but given the a fore mentioned kids we did not want to leave anything to chance.
SS is still very well maintained and well run. The staff are helpful and happy. You cant really fault the resort much at all. Airport pick-up and drop off smooth as silk, emails and reservations quick and detailed, all good.
Food is not bad.... after a week you will definitely be getting tired of it.... but no real complaints.
As I've mentioned in previous trip reports the only real "criticism" that I could give is that there is basically no upfront management. There is no happy manager coming to ask "how are things are going?" or "can we do anything for you?". You are basically left to yourself and if you need anything then you must ask...and in all honesty when you ask it gets done! So all I'm saying is it just lacks a bit of a heart or personality. Yes yes it is a minor quibble.
Onto the diving.... on the second day a BIG swell pulled through with nearly 6ft shore break crashing onto the rocks.... man this made for some interesting entries and exits into the water. A number of people got FLATTENED, which in my twisted view was hilarious!! But it actually was pretty intense and they actually cancelled the afternoon dives for two of the days because it got too dangerous. When we did go diving the DM's and dive crew were usually close by to help you out of the water and grab your gear from you asap. Often it was them that were getting pounded by the waves.
The waves obviously stirred up the water pretty badly and viz dropped off to 6-8m on most of the dives. As you will see in my pics there was a LOT of particles floating around. It was backscatter city! Luckily I dived the Liberty the day before the waves hit so the viz was ok. We spotted a shark cruise by and there was a friendly turtle hanging around. Liberty wreck is still a stunning dive, even though it is usually very crowded.
_DSC8863 by Angmo Al, on Flickr
The wife had a head cold and couldn't equalize, which was very sad for her, but it meant that I dived with my very own personal guide.
In terms of critters there were not as many as my previous two trips, but still more than enough to keep a macro lover like me firing away. There did seem to be a ton of harlequin shrimps around and I was very happy to see the two Rhino's. A pink paddleflap rhino and a red Weedy rhino and they were right next to one another. I'm guessing a previous dive group herded them together.
Rhino's passing by by Angmo Al, on Flickr
We didn't see any mimics or wonder octos unfortunately. If you have a second or two you can flip through my Flikr album of the trip here and you will get a brief glimpse into what was spotted.
Bali - Scuba Seraya - July 2016
On one of the days we organised a day trip to Ubud to do some sight seeing. SS let us use there big bus and organised a guide for us. It was a long drive but it was worth it. We stopped along the way at the Water Palace and then went to the "Sacred Monkey Forest" which was PACKED... with tourists.... I swear there were more tourists than monkeys! After that we had lunch and then of course we did some shopping.
After 3 trips to SS it definitely is time to see new places, but I still highly recommend this resort and I'm sure we will be back in the years to come. And the sunrises are still AMAZING!
_DSC8800 by Angmo Al, on Flickr
Anyone have any alternatives for us?
Our criteria are: 1) Must have AC 2) must come back to resort after each dive 3) must be in South East Asia
Thanks for reading.
SS is still very well maintained and well run. The staff are helpful and happy. You cant really fault the resort much at all. Airport pick-up and drop off smooth as silk, emails and reservations quick and detailed, all good.
Food is not bad.... after a week you will definitely be getting tired of it.... but no real complaints.
As I've mentioned in previous trip reports the only real "criticism" that I could give is that there is basically no upfront management. There is no happy manager coming to ask "how are things are going?" or "can we do anything for you?". You are basically left to yourself and if you need anything then you must ask...and in all honesty when you ask it gets done! So all I'm saying is it just lacks a bit of a heart or personality. Yes yes it is a minor quibble.
Onto the diving.... on the second day a BIG swell pulled through with nearly 6ft shore break crashing onto the rocks.... man this made for some interesting entries and exits into the water. A number of people got FLATTENED, which in my twisted view was hilarious!! But it actually was pretty intense and they actually cancelled the afternoon dives for two of the days because it got too dangerous. When we did go diving the DM's and dive crew were usually close by to help you out of the water and grab your gear from you asap. Often it was them that were getting pounded by the waves.
The waves obviously stirred up the water pretty badly and viz dropped off to 6-8m on most of the dives. As you will see in my pics there was a LOT of particles floating around. It was backscatter city! Luckily I dived the Liberty the day before the waves hit so the viz was ok. We spotted a shark cruise by and there was a friendly turtle hanging around. Liberty wreck is still a stunning dive, even though it is usually very crowded.
_DSC8863 by Angmo Al, on FlickrThe wife had a head cold and couldn't equalize, which was very sad for her, but it meant that I dived with my very own personal guide.
In terms of critters there were not as many as my previous two trips, but still more than enough to keep a macro lover like me firing away. There did seem to be a ton of harlequin shrimps around and I was very happy to see the two Rhino's. A pink paddleflap rhino and a red Weedy rhino and they were right next to one another. I'm guessing a previous dive group herded them together.
Rhino's passing by by Angmo Al, on FlickrWe didn't see any mimics or wonder octos unfortunately. If you have a second or two you can flip through my Flikr album of the trip here and you will get a brief glimpse into what was spotted.
Bali - Scuba Seraya - July 2016
On one of the days we organised a day trip to Ubud to do some sight seeing. SS let us use there big bus and organised a guide for us. It was a long drive but it was worth it. We stopped along the way at the Water Palace and then went to the "Sacred Monkey Forest" which was PACKED... with tourists.... I swear there were more tourists than monkeys! After that we had lunch and then of course we did some shopping.
After 3 trips to SS it definitely is time to see new places, but I still highly recommend this resort and I'm sure we will be back in the years to come. And the sunrises are still AMAZING!
_DSC8800 by Angmo Al, on FlickrAnyone have any alternatives for us?
Our criteria are: 1) Must have AC 2) must come back to resort after each dive 3) must be in South East Asia
Thanks for reading.
