vimaldude
Contributor
Arrival:
We took Singapore Air from SFO to Singapore and then Silkair to Manado. You have to overnight at Singapore to make the connection (we used the Transit hotel at Changi Airport for 6 hours.. an overpriced and mediocre place but convenient )
The arrival process at Manado went smooth and we were out in ½ hour. The van from KBR was waiting for us. We used the ATM to get some IDR cash and a sim card for our phone at the airport. The sim cards here are quite cheap (about $0.70)
KBR Resort:
On arrival at the resort, we were given a welcome drink and some forms to fill out. Then, the manager, Ais, gave us a brief orientation on the resort. The first impression of the resort was very positive. The restaurant has a fine view of the Lembeh strait. The water here is very clear and we could see corals and fish down to about 10 ft from the restaurant patio (which is over water).
We stayed at traditional beach house No. T1. This is a family cottage with 2 bedrooms, a sitting area, a patio and attached bath. The master-bedroom has a king size bed and fantastic view of the strait. The second bedroom has 2 single beds and looks out over the garden. The sitting room also has great view of the strait. All rooms have A/C and fan (which were very welcome as we found the weather to be warm and humid (hey, we are from San Francisco what do you exepct ))
The resort has free wi-fi but it was spotty. It did work most of the time and the speed was adequate for browsing and making Skype calls.
The T1 cottage sits close to the restaurant and the dive shop so it was an ideal location. We found all other cottages to have equally good view but some of them sit close to the ground (ours was on stilts) and so may not have as good a view as T1.
Dive Shop:
The dive operations are run by Kaj and Barb, who are avid divers and great underwater photo/videographers. Later that evening, Barb gave us a very though briefing on the dive center, dive operations and introduced us to some of the guides.
The dive prep area is very well organized. There are large rinse tubs for equipment and separate rinse tanks for cameras. Dive briefings are held in 2 huts near the dock. There is a hanging hut to dry your equipment. There are 2 hot water showers just at the end of the dock. There is a well equipped camera room, setback in the garden area with both 220 and 110 v outlets available. I found their rental equipment to be in good condition (although we only rented fins).
Dive Operations:
You are assigned to a dive group for the duration of your stay. We had the same guide for all 4 days that we were there. Each dive guide has a maximum of 4 divers. They will take a max of 8 divers per boat. The dive sites are assigned the previous evening. They will also listen to your suggestions for a different dive site and will try to accommodate as far as they can.
The dive guides dont all speak English (or very little ). But they are knowledgeable about the dive sites and are able to find the smallest critters in the muck.
Dive Conditions:
We went in wet season but never saw any rain until the last day (and it lasted only ½ hr at that). The water temp was a balmy 83F and a 3mm was plenty warm. Visibility varied from 50-60ft down to 15-20ft depending upon the site. There was no current to speak of (but they can have current depending upon tides). Since this was a strait, there are no swells or waves here.
Entry is a back flip over the gunwale and exit using a ladder on the side of the boat.
The boats are relatively small with space of 1 tank per diver. Most dive sites are 5-6 mins away and they return to resort between each dive. The dive times are fixed at 8:15, 11:15 and 2:45. They also have a Mandarin dive at 4:45 and night dives on demand.
Dive profiles were usually 60-70ft/1hr. The diving here is easy enough for novices.
Dive Sites:
Lembeh diving is called Muck diving because the bottom is mostly fine black volcanic sand. There are some dive sites with corals but the interesting stuff is often found in the muck. The sand is very fine and can billow into a cloud at slightest finning. You need to have good buoyancy control here (or you will get angry stares from the photographers!!). Most of the critters here are very well camouflaged and need good eye to find them. A lot of them are also very small, so you need a macro lens for good photos.
There are over 50 dive sites in Lembeh strait so you wont be repeating a site. Most sites have a sloping profile but we did one wall dive also (called California Dreaming!)
Underwater:
We saw a number of fish and critters that we havent seen anywhere before. Frog fish are very common and come in a variety of shapes and colors. We saw black, purple, white and yellow frog fishes in addition to a very unusual hairy Frog fish. This critter had a lure on its fore head that it kept waving to attract prey!.
Other critters included the Bat Fish, dragonets, cuttlefish (including Flambouyant cuttlefish), black and blue ribbon eels, Lion Fish, flying gunards, different types of puffers, tiger shrimps, lots of different types of nudibranchs, sea-horses (including pygmy seahorses), ghost pipe fish and Octopuses.
Lembeh is famous for its octopi (wunderpuss, longarm, blue-ringed etc). We saw Wunderpuss and Longarm octopi on 2 different dives but were not able to see the blue ring (sigh!). We also were not fortunate to see the star gazer fish.
The trick to diving Lembeh is to go slow and look closely. Have patience, as you will be swimming over an expanse of black sand for 5-10 minutes before you see a critter. Follow your guide as he will be able to spot that frog fish that you thought was a piece of log!.
Overall, I enjoyed diving Lembeh as we got to see things we cant see anywhere else and it was very easy diving. But I didnt find it that exceptional that we will return. I am sure we missed a lot of creatures but you need to stay for a longer time to see them all.
Mandarin Dive:
KBR does an evening dive nearby to see Mandarin Fish. These are very colorful and elusive fish that only come out at dusk for mating. We go down to about 24ft near a lot of stagehorn coral rubble and wait for the fish to make an appearance. They dont disappoint. We saw about 10 Mandarins in 45 minutes. We were able to observe their mating dance a number of times. The mandarins here were quite big (larger than the ones we saw in Philippines). This is a must dive!
Food etc:
The KBR restaurant serves its meals from a menu. They dont cook the dish until you order it. There are specials each day in addition to the fixed menu. The menu is extensive with Indonesian, American and Mexican dishes. The soups and salads are really good as are the main dishes. They serve a dish of fresh fruit each morning with breakfast.
The service was great. The servers were always smiling and willing to accommodate our requests. We had requested veg food for my wife and they made a different dish for her everyday. Our rooms were cleaned each day with fresh linens and a turndown in the evening.
We did use their spa service for massage and it was good. The pool area is lovely. The gardens are nicely landscaped.
Final Thoughts:
KBR is a great dive resort. Kaj and Barb run a very smooth operation (dont miss their photo and video presentations in the evenings., Kaj has tons of exceptional videos of critters in Lembeh that you will rarely see..). I would rate KBR as one of the top dive resorts that I have visited, both in terms of comfort, service and dive operations.
We took Singapore Air from SFO to Singapore and then Silkair to Manado. You have to overnight at Singapore to make the connection (we used the Transit hotel at Changi Airport for 6 hours.. an overpriced and mediocre place but convenient )
The arrival process at Manado went smooth and we were out in ½ hour. The van from KBR was waiting for us. We used the ATM to get some IDR cash and a sim card for our phone at the airport. The sim cards here are quite cheap (about $0.70)
KBR Resort:
On arrival at the resort, we were given a welcome drink and some forms to fill out. Then, the manager, Ais, gave us a brief orientation on the resort. The first impression of the resort was very positive. The restaurant has a fine view of the Lembeh strait. The water here is very clear and we could see corals and fish down to about 10 ft from the restaurant patio (which is over water).
We stayed at traditional beach house No. T1. This is a family cottage with 2 bedrooms, a sitting area, a patio and attached bath. The master-bedroom has a king size bed and fantastic view of the strait. The second bedroom has 2 single beds and looks out over the garden. The sitting room also has great view of the strait. All rooms have A/C and fan (which were very welcome as we found the weather to be warm and humid (hey, we are from San Francisco what do you exepct ))
The resort has free wi-fi but it was spotty. It did work most of the time and the speed was adequate for browsing and making Skype calls.
The T1 cottage sits close to the restaurant and the dive shop so it was an ideal location. We found all other cottages to have equally good view but some of them sit close to the ground (ours was on stilts) and so may not have as good a view as T1.
Dive Shop:
The dive operations are run by Kaj and Barb, who are avid divers and great underwater photo/videographers. Later that evening, Barb gave us a very though briefing on the dive center, dive operations and introduced us to some of the guides.
The dive prep area is very well organized. There are large rinse tubs for equipment and separate rinse tanks for cameras. Dive briefings are held in 2 huts near the dock. There is a hanging hut to dry your equipment. There are 2 hot water showers just at the end of the dock. There is a well equipped camera room, setback in the garden area with both 220 and 110 v outlets available. I found their rental equipment to be in good condition (although we only rented fins).
Dive Operations:
You are assigned to a dive group for the duration of your stay. We had the same guide for all 4 days that we were there. Each dive guide has a maximum of 4 divers. They will take a max of 8 divers per boat. The dive sites are assigned the previous evening. They will also listen to your suggestions for a different dive site and will try to accommodate as far as they can.
The dive guides dont all speak English (or very little ). But they are knowledgeable about the dive sites and are able to find the smallest critters in the muck.
Dive Conditions:
We went in wet season but never saw any rain until the last day (and it lasted only ½ hr at that). The water temp was a balmy 83F and a 3mm was plenty warm. Visibility varied from 50-60ft down to 15-20ft depending upon the site. There was no current to speak of (but they can have current depending upon tides). Since this was a strait, there are no swells or waves here.
Entry is a back flip over the gunwale and exit using a ladder on the side of the boat.
The boats are relatively small with space of 1 tank per diver. Most dive sites are 5-6 mins away and they return to resort between each dive. The dive times are fixed at 8:15, 11:15 and 2:45. They also have a Mandarin dive at 4:45 and night dives on demand.
Dive profiles were usually 60-70ft/1hr. The diving here is easy enough for novices.
Dive Sites:
Lembeh diving is called Muck diving because the bottom is mostly fine black volcanic sand. There are some dive sites with corals but the interesting stuff is often found in the muck. The sand is very fine and can billow into a cloud at slightest finning. You need to have good buoyancy control here (or you will get angry stares from the photographers!!). Most of the critters here are very well camouflaged and need good eye to find them. A lot of them are also very small, so you need a macro lens for good photos.
There are over 50 dive sites in Lembeh strait so you wont be repeating a site. Most sites have a sloping profile but we did one wall dive also (called California Dreaming!)
Underwater:
We saw a number of fish and critters that we havent seen anywhere before. Frog fish are very common and come in a variety of shapes and colors. We saw black, purple, white and yellow frog fishes in addition to a very unusual hairy Frog fish. This critter had a lure on its fore head that it kept waving to attract prey!.
Other critters included the Bat Fish, dragonets, cuttlefish (including Flambouyant cuttlefish), black and blue ribbon eels, Lion Fish, flying gunards, different types of puffers, tiger shrimps, lots of different types of nudibranchs, sea-horses (including pygmy seahorses), ghost pipe fish and Octopuses.
Lembeh is famous for its octopi (wunderpuss, longarm, blue-ringed etc). We saw Wunderpuss and Longarm octopi on 2 different dives but were not able to see the blue ring (sigh!). We also were not fortunate to see the star gazer fish.
The trick to diving Lembeh is to go slow and look closely. Have patience, as you will be swimming over an expanse of black sand for 5-10 minutes before you see a critter. Follow your guide as he will be able to spot that frog fish that you thought was a piece of log!.
Overall, I enjoyed diving Lembeh as we got to see things we cant see anywhere else and it was very easy diving. But I didnt find it that exceptional that we will return. I am sure we missed a lot of creatures but you need to stay for a longer time to see them all.
Mandarin Dive:
KBR does an evening dive nearby to see Mandarin Fish. These are very colorful and elusive fish that only come out at dusk for mating. We go down to about 24ft near a lot of stagehorn coral rubble and wait for the fish to make an appearance. They dont disappoint. We saw about 10 Mandarins in 45 minutes. We were able to observe their mating dance a number of times. The mandarins here were quite big (larger than the ones we saw in Philippines). This is a must dive!
Food etc:
The KBR restaurant serves its meals from a menu. They dont cook the dish until you order it. There are specials each day in addition to the fixed menu. The menu is extensive with Indonesian, American and Mexican dishes. The soups and salads are really good as are the main dishes. They serve a dish of fresh fruit each morning with breakfast.
The service was great. The servers were always smiling and willing to accommodate our requests. We had requested veg food for my wife and they made a different dish for her everyday. Our rooms were cleaned each day with fresh linens and a turndown in the evening.
We did use their spa service for massage and it was good. The pool area is lovely. The gardens are nicely landscaped.
Final Thoughts:
KBR is a great dive resort. Kaj and Barb run a very smooth operation (dont miss their photo and video presentations in the evenings., Kaj has tons of exceptional videos of critters in Lembeh that you will rarely see..). I would rate KBR as one of the top dive resorts that I have visited, both in terms of comfort, service and dive operations.
