Lembongan- Best ops & boats for 1 wk Nov?

[divingkiwi]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of checking out Nusa Lembongan early November (and hoping for a little off season Mola Mola!)
I've done A LOT of reading on SB forum and also trawled TA for reviews, etc, but thought maybe you knowledgeable folks would be best to ask!

I'm a DM with around 550 dives, and have previously dived Tulamben around the same time last year with TWD- great op, had a fantastic time & realised that muck diving is far better than I previously thought ;-). Very tempting to just head back there, but should really try a new spot and Nusa Lembongan seems right for me from what I've read so far.

I'm narrowing it down, and so far these names seem to keep coming up:

2 fish (Lembongan); World Diving Lembongan; Blue Corner; Scubali/Bali Dive Academy.

Thoughts/ recommendations on the different Ops and their boats would be appreciated, as I'm having a hard time deciding!! Seems to be vessel type (speed/ size) may be key in accessing some of the tricker sites in the area?

I'll be travelling solo, and have my own gear. A package of 5 nights/ 8-10 dives, including Manta Point and Crystal Bay? weather permitting. Not looking for luxury, mid range preferred.The accommodation at 2 fish and World Diving looks most appealing at this stage. Bali Dive Academy seems not to have in-house accommodation, maybe this is a plus as their sole focus is on the diving? I did read a review saying they have quite flexible schedules at Bali Dive Academy, to avoid the crowds, maybe not such an issue off season in Nov... And Blue Corner looks as if it could be a little further from the centre of town in terms of restaurants choices for dinner, etc?

I'll probably add 1 or 2 nights off gassing in Ubud to round off a roughly 1 week Bali itinerary (I live in Cairns, so lucky we're so close!)

Any recommendations to help me solve my holiday plans much appreciated!

 

[gekodivebali]

The ops you've rounded down are all serious and I trust you'll be in good hands with either of these.
November this year should be nice since dry season started very late. Same goes for the mola-mola...
Enjoy your Bali holiday!

 

[charlier]

Hi all,
I'm narrowing it down, and so far these names seem to keep coming up:

2 fish (Lembongan); World Diving Lembongan; Blue Corner; Scubali/Bali Dive Academy. Any recommendations to help me solve my holiday plans much appreciated!

As a frequent visitor to Bali, call Laurent & Stephanie at TwoFish. The north side drift dives are wonderful and are frequently visited by Mola2. If you dive from the mainland, contact Cedric @ Geko Dive in Padang Bai. Have fun! cmr

 

[Wingy]

Scubali/Bali dive academy have been long time good service providers for me.

 

[Tippytoes12]

We have stayed and dived with both World Diving and Two Fish.

The boat WD use were a bit biigger and had a toilet on board. The rooms and pool area in WD were very slightly nicer , but with Two Fish you get a large cooked lunch back in the resort after lunch. Both shops had superb local dive guides and boat crew who know the area , the currents etc etc extremely well. As a DM you will know that these can be very tricky in Lembongan.We are just AOW but have about 300 dives each , we had no real problem in New Year this year.

We would dive with either shop again tomorrow given the chance.

Have a great trip

 

[pughio83]

TFD are an excellent ran op. I went there in November for a week with them. Made it to manta site once and saw 9 molas over the week. Their pool area is lovely and they are very safety conscientious but will make sure u have a great time and often u can help choose which sites u wanna go within reason. Laurent and steph there are lovely. Boat wise if the sea is high swells won't make manta sites but not sure of there other lembongan based ops would either. When u go make sure u book a meal at Indiana kenanga, it's mind blowing quality for the island! Enjoy

 

[matts1w]

I have always been pleased with my experiences at any of the Two-Fish centers, including Lembongan.

 

[divingkiwi]

Thanks so much everyone, 2 fish is sounding like the front runner so far!

 

[andrethediver]

2fish all the way, great place runs a top notch operation. Make sure you bring a 5mil suit at least with a hood, some of the sites are 70F or below while many others are 84F. I froze in my 3mil with lavacore and a hood on both Manta point and Manta bay sites.

 

[CajunDiva]

I highly recommend TwoFish. We spent a couple of weeks diving with them in both Lembeh and Bunaken - had a fantastic time. I'm sure this location is managed just as well...