Dive Trip in SE Asia for Beginner Divers

[iDreamOfBubbles]

Hello everybody, this is my first post here on ScubaBoard. My husband and 15 year-old son and I were just certified in August in Tioman, and are going to be returning to SE Asia late next June. We are all strong swimmers, and are looking for a nice enough place to stay where we can dive a lot. We will be flying into Singapore from Boston, and will be looking to catch a flight from there to our dive destination where we will stay for 9-10 days. We have a low to mid-budget, and we've been looking at some of the resorts in the Lembeh Strait (Black Sand Dive Retreat looks quite nice if anyone who's been there can tell us more about it). Bali seems like another good option, but we would want to avoid the dive safaris. We are open to anything really, just as long as the area isn't too overcrowded (heard that this can be a problem with Bali). Thanks in advance for your help.

[Quero]

Greetings from Southeast Asia, and welcome to ScubaBoard!

Are you saying that you don't want to return to Malaysia? I would recommend that you consider more Malaysia diving before you embark on a trip to Lembeh. You could go up to the Perhentians or Redang, for example. Both of those have nice reefs which are great for inexperienced divers. Alternatively, you could go to the Sipadan area, also in Malaysia, but off the coast of Borneo. There are some great mid-priced dive resorts there, and at that time of year would be in the dry season.

Lembeh is wonderful, but I would recommend that you save this destination until you're a bit more experienced. Lembeh is special in that it's what we call "muck" diving. In other words, the dive sites are in areas that are not known for coral reefs but rather for silty bottoms, and the stuff you see is small, so you need to be quite close to the bottom to see these animals. Unless all three of you have developed outstanding buoyancy control (which generally takes quite a number of dives), dive in perfect trim, and have developed the habit of doing frog kicks while you dive, you are likely to kick up clouds of silt while you're diving, which means you won't see anything anyway, and other divers will wish you weren't around.

If you are interested in North Sulawesi, I would suggest considering Bunaken instead of Lembeh. Some resorts have branches both at Bunaken and at Lembeh, but the (very enjoyable) Black Sand resort is Lembeh only (yes, I have stayed to both Bunaken and Lembeh--including at Black Sand--and I have sent my divers to both as well).

In June, if you're sure you don't want to return to Malaysia, I'd strongly recommend Bali to you, specifically the Tulamben area. There is a great variety of diving there, with a shallow wreck, some walls, patchy reefs, and plenty of unusual critters along with some bigger stuff like bumphead parrotfish. Another option would be somewhere in the Philippines.

[kathydee]

I second the recommendations of Bali Tulamben, or Sulawesi Bunakan.

In the Philippines, I think you will enjoy Apo Island or Alona Beach.

Sipadan is spectacular, but the cost is higher.

For details on budget travel, feel free to PM me.

[iDreamOfBubbles]

Thanks so much for the replies! I did some research on the Philippines, and found Atlantis Dive Resort Dumaguete, which seems like a great resort in a great area. Not sure if we would run into the same issues with kicking up silt as in Lembeh, but if anyone who's been there can comment on their experience that would be great.

[Quero]

If the Philippines is now on your short list for a late June visit, pay very close attention to the climate of the places that you are considering. The issue in the Philippines in June is the possibility of typhoons, which can occur at any time of year, but statistically happen most frequently during the rainy season from June to November. Parts of the Philippines (specifically the south) are practically typhoon free, but unfortunately, all of the dive destinations near Manila are subject to typhoons, sometimes more than one in a single year. But your idea of going to Dumaguete is a good one in consideration of typhoon weather. You can fly into Cebu from Singapore. From there you can get to the Bohol or Dumaguete areas for diving. They are pretty much typhoon-free, but even so, June is statistically the wettest month of the year. Both Apo Island and Alona are in that area, and there are other places there that might work for you as well, such as Moalboal and Cabilao.

[ocdiver1]

Have stayed at Atlantis Dumaguete twice...you really can't go wrong with them and you will love it there. Mainly macro/muck but more diverse options including day trip options to Apo/Siquijor/etc. Atlantis is a great diving operation.

[Luko]

Here are 3 uncrowded suggestions :
1- If you're looking for dirt cheap budget, Pulau Weh/Sumatra/indonesia could be an option both for lodging and diving cheaply, some currents and deep dives too but I have seen Open Water divers really enjoying their stay in this still "remote" destination, life can be very quiet while staring at turquoise seas.
(airport is Banda Aceh). I would recommend Rubiah Tirta divers on my part.
2- Northern Sulawesi is nice too, I would suggest Bangka over Bunaken, very nice corals, clear water but also some "Lembeh style" dives. (airport is Manado).
I would recommend Murex Bangka.
3- If you feel confident enough in your buoyancy and swimming skills, you could be happy trying Labuan Bajo/Flores/Indonesia for day trips to Komodo national park. I can assure you can dive Komodo and avoid ripping currents (Airport is Labuan Bajo).
There are a few options where you are directly located on the LBJ bay islands with a dive centre on premises of a cheap resort like Kanawa island's.
Otherwise check out Komodo Dive in Labuan Bajo.

[iDreamOfBubbles]

Here are 3 uncrowded suggestions :
1- If you're looking for dirt cheap budget, Pulau Weh/Sumatra/indonesia could be an option both for lodging and diving cheaply, some currents and deep dives too but I have seen Open Water divers really enjoying their stay in this still "remote" destination, life can be very quiet while staring at turquoise seas.
(airport is Banda Aceh). I would recommend Rubiah Tirta divers on my part.
2- Northern Sulawesi is nice too, I would suggest Bangka over Bunaken, very nice corals, clear water but also some "Lembeh style" dives. (airport is Manado).
I would recommend Murex Bangka.
3- If you feel confident enough in your buoyancy and swimming skills, you could be happy trying Labuan Bajo/Flores/Indonesia for day trips to Komodo national park. I can assure you can dive Komodo and avoid ripping currents (Airport is Labuan Bajo).
There are a few options where you are directly located on the LBJ bay islands with a dive centre on premises of a cheap resort like Kanawa island's.
Otherwise check out Komodo Dive in Labuan Bajo.

We don't really need dirt cheap, I'm fine spending the extra money on some place nicer such as Atlantis. We're perfectly fine staying at places with really basic accommodations, but on this particular trip we are actually looking for somewhere a bit nicer. Thank you so much for your recommendations though, I will definitely keep those in mind in the future. Thank you very much as well to Quero and ocdiver, your input is incredibly helpful. I assume the seas in Dumaguete get rather choppy during the rainy season, but I really like the idea of staying and diving with Atlantis. Everything I've heard about them is glowing.

[Luko]

We don't really need dirt cheap, I'm fine spending the extra money on some place nicer such as Atlantis. We're perfectly fine staying at places with really basic accommodations, but on this particular trip we are actually looking for somewhere a bit nicer.

Sorry my mistake, reading your post, I thought the stress was put on "low ...budget" and "just as long as the area isn't too overcrowded".
I was just trying to help selecting a destination with optimal weather in June (that's why I left the Phils aside), and a kind of remote feel, where you wouldn't have to dive with crowds.
Other than that, the destinations I proposed can match with almost any kind of budget (although it should be hard in Weh to find an accom for more than 30$ per night) and, for Komodo and Bangka, would top hand down most divespots in Asia.

[beaverdivers]

You will love SE Asia for diving. As mentioned, choose your destination based on climate. WAKATOBI is wonderful but might be out of your budget.