This a very late post for a diving trip I have done in November 2009.
This is a short version of my longer reports in my blog which also has some (not very good pictures) at Malene's ploufs journal
I organized these holidays myself, buying the plane ticket directly online from Singapour Airlines and booking a bungalow at the 2 dive centers by emails.
It is relatively easy to go there (regular airlines from Singapour to get to Manado, and then a taxi and a small boat – if you are on one of the islands of the area – which are both organised by all dive centers.
I had been in Sulawesi before (in May 2008) and love it so much that I knew that I would go back! That time I had spent 4-5 days in Bangka, an island in the north, and 1 week in Bunaken, an island west of Manado bay.
This time I spend first one week in Bunaken and then another in Pulisan.
In Bunaken, I went back to Froggies that I had really appreciated last time. But this resort has been sold by the previous owner. I was a bit worried of the changes, as many people who had know the resort under Christiane’s management were.
The dive operation is the same: one guide for one to three divers, one boat for 2 guides max. There is no time limit. You just need to go surface with 30 bars in your tank. The normal schedule is one dive in the morning and one in the afternoon with a return to the resort for lunch. But it is very flexible. You can do one extra dive earlier in the morning, a dusk dive or a night dive. This is never a problem to the team, even if you are the only diver. The difference is that some of the very good guides have left, replaced by less motivated ones. I was lucky to dive with Jimmy (with whom I had dive the previous time) and who is excellent, enthusiastic and a very friendly.
Bunken is famous for its walls. They are huge and covered with corals. The fauna is rich and varied. It goes from the very small, like Pontohi seahorse (3 mm tall), Orang-Outang crabs, nudibranchs of all kinds, to big stuff like tuna or white tips sharks. There is a lot to see and the size of schools of fish, like pyramid butterfly or blue triggerfish, is awesome.
I’ve seen some posts here where people seemed disappointed in Bunaken. But for me, it was my second visit and was glad I went back and plan to return again. I would only maybe would choose another time of the year, in May for example, when the visibility is better.
My second week was in Pulisan. It is on the mainland, in on the east side of the tip of North Sulawesi, not far from Lembeh Strait. I had chosen this place because it offers different kind of dives than Bunaken.
The dive organisation was not as good as Froggies. Pulisan Jungle Resort is in fact NOT 100% diving oriented. The manager of the resort and the dive center were surprised that I wanted to dive every day! I also found the guides not as good or as motivated that in Bunaken. It is a real shame because the dive sites are really good. From Pulisan, you can reach Bangka island with beautiful corals and reefs, you can also reach Lembeh and its muck-dives. And the local dives are really interesting too.
These sites are a mix of muck and small coral reefs. Visibility is not always great but with time to explore and/or a good guide, they are actually of very good quality. There is no big stuff but so much of macro stuff, bizarre stuff and also small reef fish like clown fish, yellow snappers, etc. that it does not really matter. Until then, I thought my kind of dive was clear water with lots of coral, but now I know better and really enjoy this type of dives...So much that I am going 10 days in Lembeh next May!
This is a short version of my longer reports in my blog which also has some (not very good pictures) at Malene's ploufs journal
I organized these holidays myself, buying the plane ticket directly online from Singapour Airlines and booking a bungalow at the 2 dive centers by emails.
It is relatively easy to go there (regular airlines from Singapour to get to Manado, and then a taxi and a small boat – if you are on one of the islands of the area – which are both organised by all dive centers.
I had been in Sulawesi before (in May 2008) and love it so much that I knew that I would go back! That time I had spent 4-5 days in Bangka, an island in the north, and 1 week in Bunaken, an island west of Manado bay.
This time I spend first one week in Bunaken and then another in Pulisan.
In Bunaken, I went back to Froggies that I had really appreciated last time. But this resort has been sold by the previous owner. I was a bit worried of the changes, as many people who had know the resort under Christiane’s management were.
The dive operation is the same: one guide for one to three divers, one boat for 2 guides max. There is no time limit. You just need to go surface with 30 bars in your tank. The normal schedule is one dive in the morning and one in the afternoon with a return to the resort for lunch. But it is very flexible. You can do one extra dive earlier in the morning, a dusk dive or a night dive. This is never a problem to the team, even if you are the only diver. The difference is that some of the very good guides have left, replaced by less motivated ones. I was lucky to dive with Jimmy (with whom I had dive the previous time) and who is excellent, enthusiastic and a very friendly.
Bunken is famous for its walls. They are huge and covered with corals. The fauna is rich and varied. It goes from the very small, like Pontohi seahorse (3 mm tall), Orang-Outang crabs, nudibranchs of all kinds, to big stuff like tuna or white tips sharks. There is a lot to see and the size of schools of fish, like pyramid butterfly or blue triggerfish, is awesome.
I’ve seen some posts here where people seemed disappointed in Bunaken. But for me, it was my second visit and was glad I went back and plan to return again. I would only maybe would choose another time of the year, in May for example, when the visibility is better.
My second week was in Pulisan. It is on the mainland, in on the east side of the tip of North Sulawesi, not far from Lembeh Strait. I had chosen this place because it offers different kind of dives than Bunaken.
The dive organisation was not as good as Froggies. Pulisan Jungle Resort is in fact NOT 100% diving oriented. The manager of the resort and the dive center were surprised that I wanted to dive every day! I also found the guides not as good or as motivated that in Bunaken. It is a real shame because the dive sites are really good. From Pulisan, you can reach Bangka island with beautiful corals and reefs, you can also reach Lembeh and its muck-dives. And the local dives are really interesting too.
These sites are a mix of muck and small coral reefs. Visibility is not always great but with time to explore and/or a good guide, they are actually of very good quality. There is no big stuff but so much of macro stuff, bizarre stuff and also small reef fish like clown fish, yellow snappers, etc. that it does not really matter. Until then, I thought my kind of dive was clear water with lots of coral, but now I know better and really enjoy this type of dives...So much that I am going 10 days in Lembeh next May!
) and it seems to me that my small APN (Olympus Tough 6000) is quite independent... 
