Diving in North Bali (near Lovina)?

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SueG

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I'll be traveling to Bali in a couple of weeks w/ some non-diving friends. We're staying in Lovina at the Adirama Beach Hotel and will be sightseeing most of the time. But, I would like to sneak away from the group to do some diving. I'm also considering staying a little longer than the rest of the group, so I can have some dedicated diving time. Does anyone have any recommendations for dive operators out of Northern Bali (near Lovina)? Not sure if there's shore diving or just boat diving, but I'm up for either. And, if I do stick around after the rest of the group heads out, is there a better place to stay/dive than Lovina?

I'm doing a lot of research on the internet and have an Indonesia travel book, but I'd like to get some first-hand advice too.

Thanks in advance.
 
HI,

We dove with Spice Dive in Lovina because we had used them years before over near Candidasa ...We were happy with them both times.

Lovina is an OK place to 'set up camp' as you can go east to Tulamben and Ahmed or west to Menjangan but if you're staying longer than the rest of the group, you may want to relocate closer to the place you want to dive for a day or two.
 
We dove with a small operation in lovina called Wisnu( also called lovina dive), their DMs are very familiar with areas around like PJ, Menjangan Island and Secret Bay and price was good. Menjangan was really good, with both big and small stuff, while I found PJ a bit boring as it is just famous for Mimic Octopus (I saw it 3 times in 4 dives). PJ & Secret Bay are shore diving while Menjangan is boat diving. It was around 35min of boat ride from the jetty besides Mimpi resort to Menjangan Island but the scenery was good and on the way you can see some of Java's eastern most volcanoes.
 
PJ's & Secret Bay are great for muck diving (strange creatures, mostly smallish). There are no pretty coral reef areas, just sand bottom. Menjangan has a good variety of marine life along with corals, sponges, etc.
 
Thanks for the input! It sounds like Menjangan is a must. I'll put that first on my list. Hopefully, I'll find time to explore some of the other places too.

How is the transportation there? Is it easiest to rent a car? (Can you rent a car there?) Or is public transportation OK?

Thanks again!
 
SueG:
Thanks for the input! It sounds like Menjangan is a must. I'll put that first on my list. Hopefully, I'll find time to explore some of the other places too.

How is the transportation there? Is it easiest to rent a car? (Can you rent a car there?) Or is public transportation OK?

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Menjangan is nice - I dove with spice dive too - good shop. They transport you from Lovina to Menjangan. Also consider Tulemben. It's beautiful.

I have not been diving in Ahmed. If you can slip away to Padang bai it is very worth while to dive with Absolute Scuba (great shop) and visit Manta Point. Perhaps you will get to swim with Manta!

Transport in bali is easy. Tourist shuttles are the easiest form of "public transportation." There should be plenty of shuttles in Lovina, just ask around.
Otherwise it is easy to rent a car with a driver - I think $30 - $35 was the daily rate for a car last summer but I'm not sure. Price is always negotiable.

Enjoy!
 
If you were to drive a car yourself you will need an "International Driver License" available from the various Auto Clubs, like the AAA in the US.

More countries are now requiring this so always check for the current regulations.

I enjoyed taking the minibuses, one has a chance to meet the local people.
 
SueG:
Thanks for the input! It sounds like Menjangan is a must. I'll put that first on my list. Hopefully, I'll find time to explore some of the other places too.

How is the transportation there? Is it easiest to rent a car? (Can you rent a car there?) Or is public transportation OK?

Thanks again!
Click to expand...
You will love Menjangan if you like Pygmy seahorse. We saw more than 30 of them in just one dive (Denise & Bargibanti). Coral garden is very beautiful and you can find thousands of Garden Eel in a sandy slope. We also saw grey reef shark and Jackfish.
Current can be fierce though, I spent more than a minute to climb up the ladder of the diveboat...the current was so fierce I could hardly raise my fins up.
 
kkfok, u r scaring me! Thanks for the info tho! 30 pygmy seahorses on a dive?! That is incredible, I m really glad to be heading to Menjangan...
 
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