pughio83
Contributor
So this was my 5th time using Twofish, twice in lembeh, once bunaken and once lembongan. The trip was a last minute thing so we decided to have a week in Sanur where we could mix diving with some shopping and dining out in nice restaurants. We usually opt for dive resorts close to the key locations but this wasn't a pure diving trip like we normally would do. Flights via Qatar from Manchester Uk no problems, short lay over in Doha and an overnight stay in FM7 Hotel in Jakarta (again well priced and fantastic food), then following day flights with Air Asia for £75pp return including paying extra for 30kg dive gear - cheap as chips.
Twofish organised our airport pickup which was uneventful and our stay was at the Nesa in Sanur which was recommended via Twofish as a midrange option. We wanted this trip to be relatively cheap so elected for the lower cost accommodation. The 8 nights cost £200 for 2 ppl BnB. Room was clean with sat tv, fridge, AC and decent bathroom. We got a free upgrade to a cottage which was basically the same. Staff there friendly, breakfasts basic but tasted nice. Towels provided. Only annoyance was no safe in room so had to use reception safe. Location of Nes was amazing. Right in the centre of town near Hardy's supermarket, restaurants everywhere and shops. Taxis to most places costed v little or you could walk.
Twofish setup in Sanur was fine. The office is like a converted villa. There is a pool onsite and the staff there very friendly. We get on well with the managers and it was nice to see them again (previously from Lembeh). Now this diving trip was different in that it involved a lot more travelling as it was day safaris basically. We did 2 days in Tulamben, 1 day Amed, 2 days Padang Bai and 2 days Nusa Penida. Unfortunately there was a massive festival lasting most of the week which made the traffic pretty bad. In fact getting from the Twofish office to our hotel in the evening took 45mins. The travel to tulamben and amed generally was ok as the van was comfortable with AC and reclining chairs so I basically slept. I generally thought the operation went smoothly for most of it. We had fendley as our guide for the week who we knew from Lembeh. Very hard working, safety conscious and took care of our gear very well. If I had to be critical the only negatives were associated with the day trips to Nusa Penida. Although it was organised quite well, there was some confusion on which dive sites we were going to, as the boat was shared with another dive op and one of their guests got upset because the dive plan changed last minute. At this time of the year everybody wants to see mola and manta. So the boats were going to mainly manta point and crystal bay. Now I had originally said I didn't want to go to CB because there is too many divers and I never saw mola there before. That said when we arrived, we were advised that all the mola wee being seen at CB so I was happy to return. And indeed there was mola! We did do CB 3 times and to be fair only one dive had loads of divers, the other two was not bad for CB. One dive was only done at CB as the engines wouldnt allow going to the north coast. The other thing I guess to say is that I reckon it might be better to just meet down at the boats mid morning, rather than get up early and go to the twofish office, then go to the boats and wait an hour before getting on the boat. Its a new operation so im sure this kind of thing will get ironed out. But that's part and parcel of diving from Sanur to Penida. And you will never avoid the crowds unless you stay on Lembongan. But we knew this and so had no higher expectations. Most of this can be resolved if they have their own boat and once they get busier as they are new, this should happen naturally.
The diving was very good. Bali macro is excellent and one of the best places for nudis that i have been to. Although not Lembeh or Ambon level, its still excellent. Fendley did a great job and finding critters and although you dont get the local guide knowledge when you do day safaris, having an experienced lembeh guide certainly helps. Tulamben Liberty wreck is always good, melasti was our best macro dive and Padang Bai was pretty good too. Tons of free swimming frogfish at Padang Bai, Nudi-fest at Melasti plus Wunderpus, and Penida is always good. I had a one-on-one plus guide with a mola at 34m for 5mins, where is came over to approx 1m and floated over my head - wow. Japanese wreck i also thought was good. Seraya was very quiet but i am sure at other times (ie not just after a period of rough seas) it is hot.
The dive rates were very good, factoring in the repeat guest discounts. We could use Nitrox when we wanted. We loved the staff and overall it was a great trip. Yes i prefer resort diving but we had fair expectations from doing day trips and the food in Sanur is incredible, and even better in Ubud where we stayed the following week. Twofish dropped us in Ubud and managed to dry out our gear within the 24hrs. I would love to see Twofish expand and maybe go further east! Will wait and see. I think if you are looking at doing some day trip diving and need a good dive op, then Twofish can certainly provide what you need, and although different to their other setups, and newer so can improve further with time, i would recommend them.
Will post some pics shortly
Twofish organised our airport pickup which was uneventful and our stay was at the Nesa in Sanur which was recommended via Twofish as a midrange option. We wanted this trip to be relatively cheap so elected for the lower cost accommodation. The 8 nights cost £200 for 2 ppl BnB. Room was clean with sat tv, fridge, AC and decent bathroom. We got a free upgrade to a cottage which was basically the same. Staff there friendly, breakfasts basic but tasted nice. Towels provided. Only annoyance was no safe in room so had to use reception safe. Location of Nes was amazing. Right in the centre of town near Hardy's supermarket, restaurants everywhere and shops. Taxis to most places costed v little or you could walk.
Twofish setup in Sanur was fine. The office is like a converted villa. There is a pool onsite and the staff there very friendly. We get on well with the managers and it was nice to see them again (previously from Lembeh). Now this diving trip was different in that it involved a lot more travelling as it was day safaris basically. We did 2 days in Tulamben, 1 day Amed, 2 days Padang Bai and 2 days Nusa Penida. Unfortunately there was a massive festival lasting most of the week which made the traffic pretty bad. In fact getting from the Twofish office to our hotel in the evening took 45mins. The travel to tulamben and amed generally was ok as the van was comfortable with AC and reclining chairs so I basically slept. I generally thought the operation went smoothly for most of it. We had fendley as our guide for the week who we knew from Lembeh. Very hard working, safety conscious and took care of our gear very well. If I had to be critical the only negatives were associated with the day trips to Nusa Penida. Although it was organised quite well, there was some confusion on which dive sites we were going to, as the boat was shared with another dive op and one of their guests got upset because the dive plan changed last minute. At this time of the year everybody wants to see mola and manta. So the boats were going to mainly manta point and crystal bay. Now I had originally said I didn't want to go to CB because there is too many divers and I never saw mola there before. That said when we arrived, we were advised that all the mola wee being seen at CB so I was happy to return. And indeed there was mola! We did do CB 3 times and to be fair only one dive had loads of divers, the other two was not bad for CB. One dive was only done at CB as the engines wouldnt allow going to the north coast. The other thing I guess to say is that I reckon it might be better to just meet down at the boats mid morning, rather than get up early and go to the twofish office, then go to the boats and wait an hour before getting on the boat. Its a new operation so im sure this kind of thing will get ironed out. But that's part and parcel of diving from Sanur to Penida. And you will never avoid the crowds unless you stay on Lembongan. But we knew this and so had no higher expectations. Most of this can be resolved if they have their own boat and once they get busier as they are new, this should happen naturally.
The diving was very good. Bali macro is excellent and one of the best places for nudis that i have been to. Although not Lembeh or Ambon level, its still excellent. Fendley did a great job and finding critters and although you dont get the local guide knowledge when you do day safaris, having an experienced lembeh guide certainly helps. Tulamben Liberty wreck is always good, melasti was our best macro dive and Padang Bai was pretty good too. Tons of free swimming frogfish at Padang Bai, Nudi-fest at Melasti plus Wunderpus, and Penida is always good. I had a one-on-one plus guide with a mola at 34m for 5mins, where is came over to approx 1m and floated over my head - wow. Japanese wreck i also thought was good. Seraya was very quiet but i am sure at other times (ie not just after a period of rough seas) it is hot.
The dive rates were very good, factoring in the repeat guest discounts. We could use Nitrox when we wanted. We loved the staff and overall it was a great trip. Yes i prefer resort diving but we had fair expectations from doing day trips and the food in Sanur is incredible, and even better in Ubud where we stayed the following week. Twofish dropped us in Ubud and managed to dry out our gear within the 24hrs. I would love to see Twofish expand and maybe go further east! Will wait and see. I think if you are looking at doing some day trip diving and need a good dive op, then Twofish can certainly provide what you need, and although different to their other setups, and newer so can improve further with time, i would recommend them.
Will post some pics shortly
