Just wanted to post a writeup of the honeymoon to give this thread some closure.
1. Diving in Nusa Lembongan.
We dove with World Diving and stayed at their newest luxury bungalows, Pondok Frangipani. Those bungalows exceeded my expectations! Very modern and luxurious! The diving was great. 2 dives per trip, with a little banana wrapped lunch snack during surface intervals. Highlights include mola molas and manta rays. Pure luck with the mola molas!
2. Diving in Gili Trawangan
We dove with Big Bubble Dive Center and stayed at their air conditioned bungalows. On the outside it looked alright, it was very simple inside. A bed, some shelving, and a spartan bathroom. Since the island is all eco-friendly, the water is pumped into a water tower overnight and gravity drained to the bathrooms for use. It kinda smelled and was cold in the morning (heated up later on!) I had no problem with this, but the wife wanted more luxurious accommodations next time. Diving was first class. We did two single trip dives per day. Our dive guides were very friendly and helpful. After each dive, we would sit together and go over the dive and go through the fish/creature ID book to determine what we all saw that dive. We also did a night dive after taking the course. Very fun!
3. Getting around
Getting around Nusa Lembongan required the rental of a scooter. I ride motorcycles, so it was a piece of cake. For $6/day, it was nothing. There are no motor vehicles in Gili Trawangan, so we used a horse cart to lug our stuff from the Scoot Cruise dropoff point on the beach to the dive center. During our stay, we just walked around. Getting around the islands and back to Bali, we took the Scoot Cruise. It wasn’t the cheapest option, but it was somewhat punctual and safe. The trip to the Gili’s was rather long via boat, and the waves were really rough during our trip. Sitting at the front of the boat is not fun! If you are only there to dive in the Gili’s, flying to Lombok via a local airline (like Garuda) may be easier.
4. The rest
Food was inexpensive and amazing. We had a great experience at the restaurants for a fraction of what we would pay at home, and LOVED the street food at the market in the evenings. You will grow to love Bintang, since it is the same price as a fruit juice. Alcohol and foreign beers are relatively expensive due to the high import tax. We also spent a fun week traveling around Bali with an Indonesian friend. Ubud, Seminyak, Kuta and Uluwatu were amazing places to visit!
