First Time In Bali - July

[afieldofblue]

Hello all,
My wife and I are going back to Indonesia for the 5th time in two years, we do like diving there.

We are arriving in Bali this time - a place where we've actually never dived - we were supposed to do so last year (Menjagan) but a volcano got in the way...

Our favorite places so far have been Raja Ampat (3 visits) and North Komodo - but the budget is too tight to make it back to Komodo this time, so Bali it will be.

I must say I'm a little apprehensive, as videos watched online make it seem very crowded, and wanted to ask for advice on places to check out for people more into fish than macro/coral.

I really don't think we'll be doing manta dives as we've seen a lot already and the molamola dives look a little too crowded for our taste. We'll be heading to Central Raja Ampat after this for a little "off season" diving like last August.

So I'm thinking of going to Lembongan, and maybe Tulamben / Amed as well. We'll probably have 7 to 10 days- and have already been to Bali twice on land.

What we're looking for is a relaxed place with nice diving, not too crowded - We're also thinking of doing a PADI rescue course if we can afford it.

Thanks for your help!

ben

 

[Bali-Freak]

videos watched online make it seem very crowded

Most of the year it's fine, but you are coming at the start of the super-busy season. Try to come as early in July as possible because the numbers of divers build from July through August and September.

We're also thinking of doing a PADI rescue course

Do it. Sacrifice dive trips if you have to. In my opinion every diver should aim to take this course. It'll make you better prepared to help your wife if she gets into trouble, and a lot of it is about self-rescue too (and avoiding getting into problems in the first place).

more into fish than macro/coral.

Try to include Nusa Penida as it has masses of fish though it may be hard to find operators who don't include Manta Or Mola trips at that time of year.

Hope it helps. Enjoy ...

 

[afieldofblue]

Thanks Bali-Freak.

We'll be hitting high season full on, unfortunately arriving on July 13th.

We're pretty motivated for the rescue course, as we're also planning on taking the Padi DMT next time we can schedule a full month of training, or entering the French system and going for level 3 directly -

Initially our plan was to do a Komodo - Raja trip like we did last August but airfare to Labuan Bajo, even on Lion Air, is ridiculous, and this trip is already heavy ticket-wise since we're doing a Paris - Japan - Bali - Raja4 -Japan - Paris... had to go see the family in Japan and trying to make it work with the diving+rescue - ouch...

So Bali it will be. Is Lembongan a little more quiet than say Amed/Tulamben or is it basically all the same?

 

[FT]

Nusa Lembongan is a pleasant quiet place. Easy to walk to restaurants, snorkelling, some modest temples to look at when you're not diving. I would imagine that the dive ops will be all about the mola-mola at that time of year, so write to the folks you might be interested in and see if they are willing to take you to the full variety of fascinating sites on NL and NP.

Amed is more like a string of different villages and beaches with a fair hoof to get from one to the next. Tulamben -- I hesitate to judge it on the basis of two dives, but it didn't seem nearly as fishy as NL/NP.

NL - a 30-minute boat ride from Sanur. Amed or Tulamben - two to three hours by road. Is that a consideration?

If your focus is a PADI rescue course, then sure the quality of the dive centre's instruction has to be your priority. Let that decide for you?

 

[Tippytoes12]

Lemony is quite lovely life island , it's getting busier all the time but it's great. On no account think of staying in Sanur and taking day boats. It's far better to stay in Lembomgan. We love diving in Bali...we have stayed in Tauch Tulamben right beside the Liberty Wreck and have had superb diving , before and after the daytrippers.

 

[Padi_Master_Instructor]

Hi Ben, Great idea of coming to Nusa Lembonga. The diving here is stunning and there will just be very healthy reefs. We organise dive trips around Nusa Lembongan, Ceningan and Nusa Penida. When you are over in juli there will be mola mola all over the place and also on divesites where it will be less crowded. Have a look on our website and don't hessitate if you have any questions.
Happy diving,
Bastiaan
www.scubacenterasia.com

 

[Thrawn7]

I dived Menjangan/Tulamben in December. There was hardly any fish in Menjangan.. beautiful corals on the wall.

Tulamben had an OK amount of fish. Not really any big stuff or serious schooling fish.

 

[Luko]

I'm a parisian based Bali fan too, been diving there every year for the 5 past years. I am not even counting the times I dived Indonesia in the last 15 years...

Bali in july/august, you'll hear more french speaking than in Paris, every year my daughters bumps into someone from her school... You have to know that Lembongan, Amed and Pemuteran are the places where most of the french people are staying. You know what to do to avoid the usual french whining about almost everything...
Lembongan is a fine place and more dive oriented whereas Amed and Pemuteran are catering more to the tourist/open water kind of diver.

Even though Tulamben Liberty spot is crowded at certain times, I think Tulamben is better for a strictly dive oriented trip , there are less people staying in Tulamben than in Amed for instance, it is very calm indeed at night time. And so goes Padang Bai as well, which is also a good base for diving to Nusa Penida and great for Molamola, in fact I would state the best place for spotting Molamola is Amuk Bay (Gili Mimpang/Gili Tepekong) diveable from Padang Bai.

I would recommend two places :
- Tulamben where they allow you a private guide for no surcharge at some dive operations like Liberty dive centre, so that you can build up your diving everyday without any constraints, just you and your guide.
- Geko dive who's the best dive center in Padang Bai, it's french owned but they've been there for a longtime not a newcomer : contact Cedric.
- If you select Lembongan, I used to go to Twofish and liked the dive centre, however the management changed, I don't know how this is now but if it sticks to 2fish customer oriented philosophy, it should be good.

 

[dirtfarmer]

You know what to do to avoid the usual french whining about almost everything...

I don't know this technique... I wouldn't be using it on french whining but my millennial employee's.

 

[Cali_diver]

If you don't want crowded diving do not go to Lembongan. I have been twice and both times (one in July and one in October) it was a mad house of inexperienced divers. Everyone, including discover divers, on the island goes to the same 2 spots to see the mantas and the mola molas. If you do go you will probably need to set up something private if you don't want to go to those sites. FYI the boats can't get out when its low tide so if its low tide in the morning then dive boats have to wait, so some dive days start late.

Tulamben is only really crowded at the wreck, but all the other sites are great for critters. Padang Bai and Gili Mimpang/Gili Tepekong are nice as well.