Diving conditions in Bali in mid November

[Vigfus]

We went there in November a few years ago and the land side weather was nice. Pretty much every day had some short heavy showers, but then it was sunny again. We stayed with Tulamben wreck divers (200m from the Liberty wreck) and liked the staff, the area and the owner so much we extended our stay up in Tulamben. Visibility was Ok. We do however like muck diving and of course asked for dive sites that would cater for that.

Best Regards,
Vigfus

 

[zivva]

Still unlucky with mola mola so far but we spotted a thresher shark this morning at crystal bay, coming quite close not more than 15m away... apparently it is a quite rare encounter.

Lucky to see one swimming indeed.

We are more used to see them attached to long lines in the area or lying on the beach in Nusa Penida east coast ...

Spotted it the same day you were diving with Helen ?

 

[Luko]

Lucky to see one swimming indeed.

We are more used to see them attached to long lines in the area or lying on the beach in Nusa Penida east coast ...

Spotted it the same day you were diving with Helen ?

Nope, that was two days afterwards Aug 19th with TwoFish (Catur) Crystal Bay morning dive, we were the further out though not that deep (the thresher was slightly above us around 20m).

 

[BCD Lembongan]

I have to say I have been impressed with Lembongan dive sites, they deserve more than just the usual manta or mola mola hunt. The coral coverage in SD or ToyaPakeh is simply amazing

Glad you got to experience some more sights than just Manta/ Crystal Bay!! Lembongan's best kept secrets are at the sights that are rarely visited... enough to keep things interesting for many, MANY dives

 

[pughio83]

Hi guys,
quick couple of questions re NL/NP diving and staying there if anyone has got the time? It seems you guys know quite a lot about the diving there and the island. I am stating on NL for 9days before heading to ubud for 5N, and i am staying/diving with Twofish there. I dived with them in N.sulawesi and was impressed so thought i would try them out. so my questions are:

1)are there any dive sites i should perhaps try and request more than others - obviously crystal bay is well known and i desperately want to see mola2, but divers en mass can be a bit frustrating, and people who have dived an area a lot generally know of other less visited but often great dive sites.

2)i usually dive in the rash guard and shorts, or a thermal 3mm top. the waters around Bali sound like they maybe a bit chilly? i dont get cold easily but was wondering whether i am nuts diving there without a 3mm suit?

3) My gf is OW only and will do her AOW there - is it crazy to think maybe after 5 days of diving she could perhaps look at blue corner or crystal bay or are the currents to risky there mkost of the time?

4)Can anyone recommend any good restaurants to check out there? I dont mind is cheap or expensive as long as good food lol!!

Some of the q's may be a bit daft but i would appreciate the info!

 

[JohnN]

4)Can anyone recommend any good restaurants to check out there? I dont mind is cheap or expensive as long as good food lol!!

In the Ubud area, I would enthusiastically recommend Mozaic. This is a very high end restaurant for Bali (where you can comfortably find dinner for US$ 7) and will set you back US$100-US$125 each (with wine) but is really exceptionally interesting food. My wife and I have been to every other "gourmet" restaurant in/about Ubud and they just don't compare (and we keep going back to Mozaic)

Also in Ubud, Babi Guling at Ibu Oka. The other extreme, roast suckling pig (if you can get your head around eating pork in a Muslim country), maybe US$7, full of locals great fun, finger licking good -- just tell them to go light on the Sambal (trust me on this one)

 

[Luko]

Hi guys,
quick couple of questions re NL/NP diving and staying there if anyone has got the time? It seems you guys know quite a lot about the diving there and the island. I am stating on NL for 9days before heading to ubud for 5N, and i am staying/diving with Twofish there. I dived with them in N.sulawesi and was impressed so thought i would try them out. so my questions are:

1)are there any dive sites i should perhaps try and request more than others - obviously crystal bay is well known and i desperately want to see mola2, but divers en mass can be a bit frustrating, and people who have dived an area a lot generally know of other less visited but often great dive sites.

2)i usually dive in the rash guard and shorts, or a thermal 3mm top. the waters around Bali sound like they maybe a bit chilly? i dont get cold easily but was wondering whether i am nuts diving there without a 3mm suit?

3) My gf is OW only and will do her AOW there - is it crazy to think maybe after 5 days of diving she could perhaps look at blue corner or crystal bay or are the currents to risky there mkost of the time?

4)Can anyone recommend any good restaurants to check out there? I dont mind is cheap or expensive as long as good food lol!!

Some of the q's may be a bit daft but i would appreciate the info!

Hi just got back from 6 days diving in Lembongan/Penida staying in Lembongan (POndok Baruna and TwoFish).

1- Toyapakeh and SD are great sites where coral coverage and density of coral fish is sometimes is amazing (reminded me at some places of Komodo).
2 Crystal Bay and sometimes Toyapakeh at the end of the channel can be chilly, I had 21-22C on some days. 5mm mandatory, northern Penida sites are normal (27C).
3- depends on the day, depens on the time of the day.
4- On Lembongan don't miss Indiana Kenanda (Chef Clément) expensive (about 50€ per person with a glass of wine) but really good (the raw sesame tuna, the coriander scallops as well as the poached pear with liquorice caramel are killers)/ Shoudl be worth double the price in a western city.
Otherwise I would state Pondok Baruna is probably the best indo restaurant around in Lembongan, you can also try Linda's for the MahiMahi satay but lots of disappointing restaurants/warungs for the rest.

 

[zivva]

1)are there any dive sites i should perhaps try and request more than others - obviously crystal bay is well known and i desperately want to see mola2, but divers en mass can be a bit frustrating, and people who have dived an area a lot generally know of other less visited but often great dive sites.

2)i usually dive in the rash guard and shorts, or a thermal 3mm top. the waters around Bali sound like they maybe a bit chilly? i dont get cold easily but was wondering whether i am nuts diving there without a 3mm suit?

3) My gf is OW only and will do her AOW there - is it crazy to think maybe after 5 days of diving she could perhaps look at blue corner or crystal bay or are the currents to risky there mkost of the time?

1 ) Crystal Bay and Manta Bay are super busy during summer as they are the closest from Bali + the main source of income for local snorkeling boat captains.
They get much more quiet off-season and you can actually just be by yourselft in November or February.

The best coral and aquatic life being - in my opinion, shared by most of the local guides - Mangrove Point, Toyapakeh, SD Point, Karang Sari & Batu Abah.
Crystal Bay being the most popular dive site. It's indeed a nice dive site but I'm really not sure its popularity is well diserved : it can be super nice (but not better than my favorites ...), just a good one, or a nightmare depending of conditions ... and number of people around. Some parts of Crystal Bay are severely damaged by brainless divers & their useless "guides" but most of the dive site remains vivid, specially the plateau above the drop-off wall.

2 ) Water temp varies depending the time of the year :
- 24° C on average between July & September (september being the colder) with thermoclines down to 15° C on many dive sites.
- 26° C on average the rest of the year with not so many freezing thermoclines.
Any case you may get cold without a suit. Local dive ops provide 5mm full wetsuits to their guests.

3 ) How many dive has she done yet ?

Crystal Bay is not an issue even for the less experienced divers when diving with experienced local ops that know the dive site and are used to conditions here.
Even shallow (from 5m to 20m), there is plenty to see from super small to bigger.

Blue Corner is more an issue : I doubt you find any local ops to bring an OW diver there unless she has already quite some experience in strong current. It's totally useless to get to BC to get low on air even before reaching the drop-off which is the main reason to dive here.

 

[pughio83]

Thanks guys for the advice. Really looking forward to the trip, as we are there for a while I'm sure I can check out all these sites. Not always the most famous dive site is the best one!! My gf has done 7 dives (literally ow only), with no current experience. She has impressed me so far but is unlikely to go to blue corner.
If there are thermoclines of 15C then wetsuit it will be. 24C is ok but below that....nah!

Thanks also for the restaurant info, I have heard Indiana Kannga recommended before, and also pondok baruna looks nice. What about the beach club at sandy bay or blue corner bar?

Anyways all the info much appreciated, this mola2 talk is getting me excited!

 

[zivva]

Thanks also for the restaurant info, I have heard Indiana Kannga recommended before, and also pondok baruna looks nice. What about the beach club at sandy bay or blue corner bar?

Anyways all the info much appreciated, this mola2 talk is getting me excited!

The Beach Club is one of the good spot but you go there more to have a drink during sunset and for its relaxed atmosphere than for the food (tasty but expensive fish barbecue). As an alternative you have all the small restaurants in the north of the island next to the Mangrove that serve cheap + really tasty & fresh fish barbecue. Just avoid the few ones serving sweetlips : nothing to eat, tasteless and they look so nice underwater !

For BC Bar : it's more a "busy" place (hey ! it's Nusa Lembongan, a pretty quiet island still) to have a drink, especially on friday nights. They also serve some good snacks. If you are in the 90s electro music you may appreciate the music more than I do !