How many days in Lembeh and Gangha?

I'm planning a trip to Sulawesi (a week in Bali, too) for July,2009 and and trying to figure out our itinerary. So far I've planned 4 nights in Singapore, 4 nights in Toraja(hopefully we will get to attend a funeral there), 5 nights at Lembeh (Kasawari Resort), 6 nights at Gangga Island Resort and then 5 nights in Ubud and 2 nights in Tulamben. We were considering going up to Permiteran, Bali, but I'm thinking of cancelling that part unless someone tells me it's a "must see". We have the option of a 6th night at Lembeh. We've never done muck diving and don't know how many days we'd enjoy doing it. Any thoughts about this and/or the rest of the itinerary?
Thanks.

This is kind of a tough question. One that you won't really know the answer to until you've been there. But I love Lembeh and the unusual critters that you will find there. Do you like to find very unusual creatures? Do you think you will enjoy hunting for small animals that are very well camouflaged? If so then 6 nights is your way to go.
Even though I can't understand it, there are some people I have met that didn't like Lembeh (they probably didn't stick near the guide). We just came back from a week in Lembeh and I wish we could have stayed for another week.

Been to Lembeh twice . Its my fav dive location.
5 nights will be ok.
If you have a spare day consider staying in the highlands outside Mando and climb one of th e volcanos. 1st time i went to bunaken i stayed 2 nights in the highlands. was great . I would cut back the number of nights in Singapore
i have dived with several people who did not like Lembeh. they went back to bangka after 2 days. The diving in lembeh is really exciting but viss is bad, less than 10m and there is a lot of rubbish at some of the sites. Its definitely not blue water reef diving.

Kevster's right. We did five days in Lembeh and were enthralled, and if I were going to go back to Indonesia, I would skip Bunaken and just do Lembeh. But in some ways it reminded me of home . . . dark, silty bottoms, marginal viz, and very well-camouflaged sea life. But oh, that sea life! The weird and the wonderful live in the bottom of the Lembeh straits, and the diving for them is extremely easy.

I was mistaken. We're only spending 3 nights (2 1/2 days)in Singapore before going to Sulawesi. The zoo, night safari and and orchid garden interest me a lot. Also the fort. Can you give me more info about the volcano hike near Manado (name of volcano, is it a difficult climb--we're not really mountain climbers--, good place to stay, other things to do in the area, etc.). Would one night there be enough to get a feel for the area?

Do as many night dives as you can at Lembeh. It's great fun. You will see lots of unexpected things, have seen 5 foot octopus, a crab spawning and a stargazer eel that shot up out of the sand into the water between the legs of the dive guide. Pretty funny. Also the false fire urchins out walking around. They are very fast and you will see lots of juvenile bangaai cardinal fish among the urchin spines. At night look under ledges and in caves for small groups of the very pretty ring tailed pipefish

You can schedule on the non-diving day (pre-flight day) your mountain/highlands or national park trip (your dive operation can book you into a homestay just outside the park entrance, and a local guide can take you for dusk and dawn forest hikes to see birds and the tiny tariser primate.

Last December my TA talked me into going to Lembeh for 5 nites on my way to Raja Ampat, I am not a Muck diver!....I was going to be bored with Lembeh.....I'm going back to Lembeh in October for 7 nites!.....Of course on my way to Raja!

There are 3 volcanoes. The one i did was called Lokon.
I stayed in a really strange hotel at the foot of the volcano. The hotel was amazing and rubbish at the same time. There were no other guests there. The grounds were amazing , huge huge gardens, pool ,amazing setting at the foot of the volcano. The service was faulty towers like. There was no staff around. The food was bad and took ages but it was an enjoyable experience.
From the hotel i walked up the volcano in about 2 hrs. I just followed the old lava path. it was really nice, not too steep but you will need water and decent footwear. Its not a hard climb. Just a decent walk. You need to be a bit fit and active and you will be ok. There was no one else around, it was so quiet. There were only a couple of spots that you had to climb a 5 ft wall of mud/ash. The volcano is live and once you get to the crater you can see steam/smoke . The crater is not at the top of the volcano but in a saddle less than 1/2 way up. I will try to post some photos later if you are interested. I stayed 2 nights. Its best to climb 1st thing in the morning when it is cool.1 night would be enough but there are a few other things to do in the highlands. Would recommend 1 night.

Just did a net search the name of the hotel is LOKON BOUTIQUE RESORT. Check out the photos on the net. The gardens are amazing.

Thanks for the info. We're thinking about spending 2 days in highlands area between our Lembeh and Gangga Resort trips (or maybe it makes more sense to go to the highlands after both places, especially since we wouldn't be able to dive the last day at Gannga due to flight. Any suggestions on places to stay in the highlands area?

Toraja is fantastic. We walked from Mamasa to Toraja last year. Get yourself a guide and have a day's walking up in the highlands. About the funerals - it is a good idea to have a black shirt - this is respectful and correct. Do not wear red or yellow, they have bad connotations and can cause offence although your delightful hosts will probably not say anything. Be aware that water buffalo will be slaughtered in front of you - they take a pride in doing it with one blow of the knife but some people find this shocking although I do not know how they think their steak arrives on their plates at home.

Volcano walks in the highlands - not that difficult. Contact your dive resort - almost certainly they offer these quite normally. You do not need to stay up there. Tomohon is worth a visit. It is the main town up in the highlands with a flourishing market. It is quite a metropolis in a Minnehasan way! A romantic hotel is the Gardenia. We went there some years ago and I believe it is still under the same management.

An alternative is Tangkoko National Park to see the tarsiers and black macacques. You can stay in a simple hostel overnight and make several walks (guides are provided) into the park.

Comments about Lembeh here are spot on. Enjoy!