Resort Comparisons in Lembeh

[Travelnsj]

Travelnsj,

Thanks for your response. I am very jealous of your travel schedule, by the way. For now, i'll just have to live vicariously through your trip reports

Don't be jealous....I spend a lot of money going to places that are really not worth the $$$$$....but I have found a few that are worth going back too

Also the Lembeh Resort has a nice Camera room. My trip report about Lembeh and Raja were posted in January.

Have you thought about taking an extra week and head to Sorong then up to the Kri or Sorido resort in Papua?....check it out...it is the finest diving I have done to date.

 

[AlanWald]

June July August is very busy in the North Sulawesi as Europeans get very long vacation and often take them in the summer. September should be OK Weather still good. From LAX via Singapore air the price goes down around Sept 7 or so, and back up again in April Do as many night dives as you can in Lembeh,. great fun and shallow and no big tidal change like at Bunaken Island.

 

[NudiHuntrs]

Travelnsj,

I definitely looked at your trip reports a while back. It seemed like such a pain to get to (so many travel days, not enough diving days) and then the dive staff takes Saturdays off.. It just seemed like a lot of $$$$, and not enough diving.


Alanwald,

Thanks! Good information about the airline tickets. I wonder if that holds true for travel originating in Hawaii.. To get the lowest cost flights, we have connected in Tokyo previously-- just seems so out of the way from Singapore or Indonesia. Ends up being a long flight, when it could be so much shorter-- I've looked at connecting in Manila, but the long layovers and extra expense to fly into indonesia, ruin the 4 hour savings in flight time. Funny, though, after a couple dives I forget all about the flights

 

[Indah]

Hello Alan,

what do you mean with weather still good? Actually July and August usually gives very strong winds from the South. The water temperature drops from the normal 28/29 degrees Celsius (84 F)to 26 Celsius (79 F). But I really think that the weather is quite good 12 months a year. For sure the diving is!
The tidal change is here maximum 1.80m (6 ft) but it is much easier to pick a dive site where there is hardly or any current.

Best regards, Rob

 

[Travelnsj]

Travelnsj,

I definitely looked at your trip reports a while back. It seemed like such a pain to get to (so many travel days, not enough diving days) and then the dive staff takes Saturdays off.. It just seemed like a lot of $$$$, and not enough diving.

You have a good point....but being you are already in Manado (the majority of the trip) it is not a long flight to Sorong. And yes the Saturday thing is a Seven Day Adventist day off. I must tell you the diving is the finest I have ever done....think about it.

 

[TeqP]

Do the resorts in Lembeh book up pretty far in advance?

I would recommend booking as early as possible. We are going to stay at KBR and Santika in late August - early Sept and KBR was booked for their cottage suites and traditional houses for our time frame.

Here is an older link to get everyone in the mood for some N. Sulawesi diving. After seeing the photos, all I think about is getting in the water.
Scuba Diving - The Magazine Divers Trust

Have a great trip.

 

[highdesert]

Travelnsj, I definitely looked at your trip reports a while back. It seemed like such a pain to get to (so many travel days, not enough diving days) and then the dive staff takes Saturdays off.. It just seemed like a lot of $$$$, and not enough diving.

If you don't need luxury, and just want to dive, you can get as good a deal (or better) doing a traditional liveaboard as you can going to one of the three resorts in RA ... and the boats dive on Saturday!

Songline Cruises of Indonesia: Yacht Charters - Pinisi Cruising - Dive Liveaboards - Adventure Sailing

 

[AlanWald]

Still Good weather meaning not the official rainy season (November -March) . I have been in Bunaken several times in September October and it was nice the whole time.

 

[jeremyl]

Anyone care to update this... perfect title for an ongoing thread and a great resource for people like me planning a trip. Need this link to show people all the choices... Lembeh Strait: Dive sites for muck diving in Northern Sulawesi, Indonesia. Description dive sites, maps of Lembeh, photos, dive operators (Zubi)
I am planning ~1wk next Aug/Sept. Dont need a pool... just a great crew/staff in a well run clean place with modern amenaties. For a comparison, pretty much everyone has an all inclusive, so this is what I found:

Kasawani $1840/7nts, 18 dives. + $122 nitrox.
Lembeh Resort $1600/7nts, 17 dives. +$130 nitrox.
KBR $1465/7nts, 18 dives. Nitrox $?
Divers Lodge $711/7nts, 12 dives. +$180 Unlimited boat dives. $3/nitrox fill
Two Fish $533/7nts, 12 dives (2008 prices). +$25/additional dive. Nitrox $?
NAD $735/7nts, 17 dives (2008 prices). $200 Nitrox
Bastianos $640/7nt, 17 dives (2008 prices). $180 Nitrox
Black Sands $1325/7nt 17 dives $85 Nitrox.

Most include all transfers and such. Additional dives are available with propotional costs (~$25-$50). Nite dives not included, but usually a day dive can be upgraded for $5 or so. All include all meals and tea/water/etc but no soft drinks or booze.

Based on my reading, I would probably pick KBR for high end and NAD if I wanted to save some bucks... but I would LOVE to hear comparisons of the various less expensive resorts. My only reason for picking NAD is the number of reviews. Lots of people have been to the other 2Fish, but since Lembeh is new for them not as many (and those reviews were not as flattering as the NAD reviews).

 

[mjh]

We just got back from Lembeh Resort and have a trip report listed at our site. They do say dives around 60min but we typically dove +80 minutes. As others have said great camera room. Both my wife and I pack cameras and we typically had a guide to ourselves. We had looked at Kasawani but it was full when we wanted to go. We met another couple who had been there and said very nice resort but the food was "horrible".

Lembeh house reef is fine for night dives and they do have a very good Mandarin dive from the shore, it is guided and capped at 4 people per night.