Question Help me decide between Tulamben and Nusa Lembongan

[CJS]

I'm planning a (covid delayed) trip to Komodo in October next year. On the way home through Bali I'm planning on diving a couple of days and tossing up between Tulamben and Nusa Lembongan. I have dived both before, some years ago. Seeking 'the wisdom of the tribe' on a few of questions:

1. If my days on Bali are the 23rd and 24th of October, am I too late to see Mola Mola or is there a reasonably good chance of seeing at least one over the course of a couple of days worth of diving?
2. Is a third, afternoon dive really a thing on Nusa Lembongan? Most shops seem to schedule two morning dives as the standard?
3. Has anyone been to either destination 'post-covid' and are you able to recommend an operator who made it through the lockdowns and re-emerged offering a good service.

On this trip I am travelling by myself. If I go to Nusa Lembongan Mola Mola will be the key objective.
Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Blackcrusader]

I was just in both places. I dove with Tamarind Divers in Lembongan and had Mola Mola at Crystal Bay. We decided as a group to do two dives at crystal bay on the same day and had mola on both dives. I stayed at Dinitah Resort which was walking distance to Tamarind but they do have a vehicle to pick you up. Yes only 2 dives a day were scheduled. Good dive shop to dive with I enjoyed it. I was with a buddy and as we were experienced were allowed to do some 75 minute dives. tamarinddivers@gmail.com for the Mola advice. Water Temp at Crystal bay was down to 22c I dove it in shorts and Tshirt but too cold for most other divers in 3mm and 5mm. Also strong currents so need to be aware not to get sucked out to sea lol.

Tulamben I stayed at Matahari Resort which has a fixed price for unlimited diving so doing 4 or 5 dives a day can be done. It's close to the Liberty Wreck around 400m away and has other good dive sites close by.

Either way you need to factor in traveling time to get to either place. Lembongan is pretty close by ferry.

 

[Luko]

I'm planning a (covid delayed) trip to Komodo in October next year. On the way home through Bali I'm planning on diving a couple of days and tossing up between Tulamben and Nusa Lembongan. I have dived both before, some years ago. Seeking 'the wisdom of the tribe' on a few of questions:

1. If my days on Bali are the 23rd and 24th of October, am I too late to see Mola Mola or is there a reasonably good chance of seeing at least one over the course of a couple of days worth of diving?
2. Is a third, afternoon dive really a thing on Nusa Lembongan? Most shops seem to schedule two morning dives as the standard?
3. Has anyone been to either destination 'post-covid' and are you able to recommend an operator who made it through the lockdowns and re-emerged offering a good service.

On this trip I am travelling by myself. If I go to Nusa Lembongan Mola Mola will be the key objective.
Thanks in advance for the help!

There are some chances Mola mola are still there in october.
Why don't you select Padang Bai, it checks all the boxes : it's located 1,5 hrs from the airport, they usually schedule dives on Nuda Penida a couple of times in the week, plus they have their own Mola mola spots (Mimpang, Tepekong which were to me as productive as the usual NP sites). On top of that you'll have guaranteed afternoon dives, mainly for macro opportunities.
I'd recommend Geko divers in Padang Bai who are running well their business.
In Tulamben, most of the reknown operators are alive and kicking : Liberty dive center is always a safe bet.

 

[Dan]

Geko divers & staying in Padangbai are good suggestions. Other dive operator that I went with in the last 12 years is Aquacat Bali, home - Dive Bali

 

[CJS]

I've never got around to staying and diving from Padang Bai, so that is a serious option; thanks for suggesting it!

 

[Blackcrusader]

Geko divers & staying in Padangbai are good suggestions. Other dive operator that I went with in the last 12 years is Aquacat Bali, home - Dive Bali

Someone recently wrote Geko Divers was now limiting dive times to 45 minutes.

 

[Tippytoes12]

We really like staying in Padang Bai as a time saving alternative to staying on Lembongan, which is also great.

 

[John Trecker]

Someone recently wrote Geko Divers was now limiting dive times to 45 minutes.

Is this true. For even muck. Or did you mean to say 145.

 

[Luko]

Is this true. For even muck. Or did you mean to say 145.

It's not. The poster above has a very approximative knowledge of Bali.
For example, check out JJMochi's report here : she did a couple of dives less than 45 minutes for specific reasons Trip Report - Bali & Komodo on Mermaid I
, some people like to interpret exceptions as general facts.

 

[gekodivebali]

This rumour about limiting dive time is indeed utter rubbish. There has never been and will never be any dive time limit for single tank users at Geko Dive. We do ask rebreather or multiple tanks divers to either use our private charter services or limit their runtime to 75 minutes when on a shared trip. This is done in order not to deteriorate recreational divers' experience.