Suggestions for upscale resort/villas in Tulamben ?

[redstrom]

Wife and I will be in Bali for the first time for 12 days in September this year. Plan to stay on the south of the island for half the time and in Tulamben the other half to do some diving.

Any suggestions for a good/upscale resort in or around Tulamben? I've heard of TWD, Scuba Seraya, Mimpi, Tauch-Terminal but not sure how to distinguish between them.

Although we plan to do most of the sightseeing during the first half of the trip. I'd be interested to know if there are any "must-sees or doos" in Bali that are easier to reach from Tulamben vs. the south of the island?

Grateful for any tips or suggestions
Thanks
-Rik

 

[OnTheSpot]

Hi Rik,

Have a look at Tulamben Dive Terminal. The resort offers excellent accommodation and spa facilities yet still has a small friendly feeling to it.

If you feel like burning some calories, you can climb Gunung Agung or the smaller Mt. Seraya. Or there's river rafting, a luxurious golf course (set inside a volcanic crater!), mountain tours, traditional markets and cookery classes.

Have a look at Bali's highest waterfall in the nearby town of Les. Slightly further afield, is the spring baths water palace of Amlapura, Tirta Gangga in the east of Bali.

Have a fantastic trip.

 

[xariatay]

Mimpi & Tauch Terminal looked more upscale from the outside, their prices too... Hope u r not expecting 6* comforts...

 

[highdesert]

VILLA MARKISA - PRIVATE BEACH BUNGALOWS - DIVE RESORT - BALI :: Home

 

[ScubaduoAdventures]

Recommend Scuba Seraya very highly. You can get one of there small villas which are very nice. They have a black sand beach which you can easily shore dive from for some great Macro Critter diving and they will take you by boat just a short distance away to dive the Liberty Wreck and the other dive sites instead of having to walk over all the rocks to shore dive out in front of some of the other resorts.
The service was great and the restaurant was good.

 

[redstrom]

Thanks for the tips guys. Much appreciated! Will get crackin doing some research this weekend.

 

[donsilcock]

Hi Rik, I have spent quite a lot of time in the Tulamben area over the last 6 years or so and have stayed at Tauch Terminal, Mimpi & Scuba Seraya - all are good but I would not describe them as "upscale"...

If you are looking for some luxury, then Villa Markisa is the way to go - it's next door to Scuba Seraya and looks very nice. I have not stayed there myself, but know one of the owners and will be visiting the place in December. I have described all this on the Seraya Secrets page on my site:

Diving Bali: Seraya Secrets near Tulamben | Indo-Pacific Images

Also, as you will be in Tulamben check out my pages on Tulamben Bay:

Diving Bali: Tulamben Bay | Indo-Pacific Images

And the Liberty Wreck - Tulamben's most famous underwater attraction:

Diving Bali: The Liberty Wreck at Tulamben | Indo-Pacific Images

Hope this helps - send me a pm at don.silcock@gmail.com if you have any other questions.

Don

 

[vladimir]

Hi Rik, I have spent quite a lot of time in the Tulamben area over the last 6 years or so and have stayed at Tauch Terminal, Mimpi & Scuba Seraya - all are good but I would not describe them as "upscale"...

Thanks Don--I look forward to your review of Villa Markisa.

Any suggestions for a good/upscale resort in or around Tulamben? I've heard of TWD, Scuba Seraya, Mimpi, Tauch-Terminal but not sure how to distinguish between them.

Upscale is relative, of course, and usually luxury is commensurate with price. In April I stayed at the Four Seasons for $910 a night; of course, everything was impeccable. Well, everything but the diving access, which was hours away (I went to Penida). In March, I stayed at Mimpi Tulamben, and I can highly recommend it. My oceanfront villa was $170 a night. For that I got large air-conditioned sleeping quarters, an outdoor bathroom (that was mosquito-free) and shower, a landscaped courtyard and an outdoor cushioned lounging area steps from the shore. I ate almost exclusively at the resort's restaurant and the food was good. Again, you usually get what you pay for, so the quality and choice didn't rival the Four Seasons, but entrees were $4, not $22, and they didn't bring them to your room.

The divemaster was tolerant of my solo diving--perhaps because there were very few divers there (early March was still rainy season, though the weather was fine and the visibiility okay). The diving right out front was pretty nice, and I did most of my dives there. I walked along the beach the 50-75 meters to the Liberty Wreck for a few dives, and took an outrigger canoe to a couple of dives.

 

[lofish]

we stated at tauch terminal in April, i would say it is a good resort, but i dont think i will dive with them again.

when we checked in, the room's a/c was not working. we talked to the managers a few times since 4pm, guess what, at 9pm they decided to rent a room for us at a resort nearby. so we moved at 9pm. That room only costed them $30, At the end, they only gave us $20 off for all that. Other than that, everything is good. One thing that plesantly surprised me is that the resort has their own backup generator, power outage is not unusual in the area, mind you.

Diving.. they run 5 dives a day from 8 to 6.... but the biggest problem I see is that they only want to get as many divers out as possible and I dont like the ratio between DM & divers. I talked to a few guests and they all felt the same. So i decided to hire my own dm afterward for $10 more a dive, that way i know i can enjoy more.

If i go back to the same area for diving, i am pretty sure that i will try different resort.

We also stayed at the mimpi menjangan for a week, which was wonderful. All the staffs there were super-friendly. I paid a bit more for diving but i had my own boat and DM for every dive day. And imagine seeing mola mola in menjangan!!!!

I also took the advantage of baliscuba's anniversary sale, and did some dives in nusa penida. I was lucky that one of the days i dived with them was the first day after fullmoon, and there were over 10 mantas in manta point at the same time. For the days i dived with them, i felt that the operation was very efficient and professional. Oh, and molamola in crystal bay too

While staying in sanur, i joined blue seaon bali for a day trip to padang bai. The dive was ok. But the worst thing is that after we got on the boat, they forgot the 1st aid kit, we had to wait over an hr for that and the washroom on the boat was not working.

 

[redstrom]

Thanks again. Donsilcock -looking forward to check out your pages.

I understand accommodations varies. We have the fortune to stay for free during our first week in Bali so we can afford to splurge a little the second week. The wife would appreciate a indoor bathroom/shower plus spa options. I'm perfectly happy as long as there's an a/c in the bedroom and the bar is well stocked! Scubaseraya, Mimpi and Tauch all seem to fit the bill.