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DH and I are considering a trip. We have contacted all the operators on the main North Sulawesi site and they have mostly gotten back to us. There seems to be a huge difference in the resorts themselves and in the dive prices (though they all look like they are similar).
I would appreciate any information anyone has on diving/staying there. We do not need luxury, but do want a Western bathroom & shower. We are both photographers (for fun!) and so need a photo friendly area/resort.
Hi alcina,
I've just come back from Bunaken after an almost four month stay there. On my website http://www.bunaken-klaus.de (German) I will soon give informations for divers about all I experienced and found out about dive centers and accomodations on the island. I experienced three divecenters and I think in Living Colours Dive Resort you will find your wishes fullfilled, specially as photographer. The owner is a photographer too and also his dive guides are very clever in assisting you underwater. Living Colours is one of only few Dive Centers on the island where you have electricity 24 hours for charging your equipment.
Sometimes the resort is fully booked. So I would advice you to book in advance. You can contact the owner Jaakko directly: info@livingcoloursdiving.com or HP +62 812 4306063. For further questions you can also contact me.
regards neptun43
Great resort, friendly staff, particularly the chef and good diving.
The dive site "Sachiko" is great first thing in the morning (sunrise or earlier) we went very deep and saw a school of huge ocean tuna passing at about 60m, one came up to 40m to have a look at us, passing by three times.
DH and I are considering a trip. We have contacted all the operators on the main North Sulawesi site and they have mostly gotten back to us. There seems to be a huge difference in the resorts themselves and in the dive prices (though they all look like they are similar).
I would appreciate any information anyone has on diving/staying there. We do not need luxury, but do want a Western bathroom & shower. We are both photographers (for fun!) and so need a photo friendly area/resort.
Alcina,
Just in case you haven't seen it, check out this excellent trip report posted in the trip reports section at Digitaldiver.net.
You will have to decide what type of accomodations you want too. There are small island "eco" style bungalows at Gangka and Bangka resorts,bigger hotels like Santika and Tasik Ria, small ops like Murex and the others mentioned. Most will have continental bathrooms. Tasik Ria's Eco Divers are very camera friendly with rinse tanks and work area on their dive boat. I can't remember if Thalassa 10 from Santika had them.
I go to Manado twice a year but now exclusively go to the Lembeh Straits for the macro life. It can be done from Manado but not worth the travel each day. It is better done via liveaboard or at either resorts that are situated on the straits. Both are VERY camera friendly resorts. Lembeh is newer and has nitrox and a nice house reef and is generally cheaper, whereas Kungkungan has better food but is slightly more expensive. Eco divers has just taken over management so I'll see how that goes soon.
I have been to Santika twice in the last two years. Resort is nice. Rooms are Western, have AC, and even telephones. Food is the weak point at the resort. The diving operation is Thalassa which is run by Simone. They are good and I have enjoyed the diving with them. Small groups and the dive guides are very good at finding the critters. I hear that Tasik Ria is very nice and has better food. I am going to check them out on my next trip.
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Originally Posted by alcina
