Tulamben ... how?

[mikeynl]

Hello, I'm just doing a DM Internship on Nusa Lembongan, and since this is not the best place for still photography with all the drift dives, and I can't usually bring my camera as I'm working, I'd like to finish off this trip to Indonesia with two days at Tulamben. I just can't decide how to dive there. What I really want is to do about 4 dives a day (one of them a night dive), and make some nice photos, and see some crazy critters and macro life (I get to see the mantas here all the time). Should I just join tours of a dive school? I often find that the dive guide go through sites too fast to leave you any time to do any nice photography. Or should I hire a dive guide? I saw one school who offered a guide including 5 dives for the day for 1.3m Rp, which is around 80 euro. Some people even suggested I just pay for some tanks and dive alone, as the sites are so full of people that you don't really need a buddy for safety reasons, as there will always be someone near by, though I have some serious doubts about that. A private guide would be perfect, anyone know of any good and affordable ones?

PS: I don't really have to see all the sites in Tulamben, and definitely wouldn't wanna travel to Amed for a dive. So the standard shore dives are good enough for me, and maybe a trip to Seraya Secrets (?)

 

[divewench1]

Even before you have completed your DM internship, you will be aware that you should never dive alone (unless trained and qualified to to so). Some of the dive centres in Tulamben will rent tanks and let you get on with dives long the shoreline, but this is usually reserved for buddy pairs.

I would suggest that you book with a dive centre who will give you a personal guide, so that you get the best shots of the marvelous critters to be found here. That way you get plenty of time to perfect your shots, plus the chance to learn the dive sites with local knowledge.

Many dive centres to choose from in Tulamben; I recommend the guys at Tulamben Wreck Divers.

Happy, safe diving.

 

[mikeynl]

Yes, I'm very aware that you should always dive with a buddy, that's why I was so surprised about that suggestion.

 

[Luko]

Liberty dive centre : nitrox + eagle eyed private guides for free. Ask Uji definitely one of the best spotters I have dived with.
3 dives a day is 80USD 4 dives a day incl.night is 115USD. they get you to Seraya for a little surcharge 5USD/trip.

 

[highdesert]

Ketut at MataHari. We did 4 dives a day, three days straight with him. Excellent spotter.

 

[Andreni]

Some time ago we dived with Matahari Tulamben Resort (Matahari Tulamben SCUBA Diving Resort Bali) and the value for money was really good. Had our own dive guide, could dive any time we wanted, the location was perfect and our guide found a lot of nice critters. Also the rooms are ok to stay a few days. A think the offer you saw could be from them and I really think it is a good one.

 

[Tippytoes12]

Hi there

My hubby and I hired a fair few private guides when we were first certified and they were wonderful to have. I cannot imagine a private guide being very expensive in Tulamben. On one trip I stayed and dived with Tauch Tulamben and had a guide to myself for most of the dives.

Good luck with the rest of your course

 

[jake11]

Great dive guides at Scuba Seraya!! Have fun!

 

[mikeynl]

Some time ago we dived with Matahari Tulamben Resort (Matahari Tulamben SCUBA Diving Resort Bali) and the value for money was really good. Had our own dive guide, could dive any time we wanted, the location was perfect and our guide found a lot of nice critters. Also the rooms are ok to stay a few days. A think the offer you saw could be from them and I really think it is a good one.

Andreni, that's exactly the school I was looking at. It's RP 1.300.000 for a private guide and up to 5 dives (including one night dive), which is around 80 euros, which divers here said was expensive, but it seems a bargain to me, especially as it means I can decide where to dive, and how long to stay where I want to make some photos. So booked it. Now I just need to finish off my DMT.

 

[Foxtrot16]

Liberty dive centre : nitrox + eagle eyed private guides for free. Ask Uji definitely one of the best spotters I have dived with.
3 dives a day is 80USD 4 dives a day incl.night is 115USD. they get you to Seraya for a little surcharge 5USD/trip.

I'll second that for Liberty Dive Resort and Uji, also Mega and Tis are excellent but all their guides are good. They don't have dive limits so you can take as long as you want and having a guide they will look for critters while you are taking your photos and will find them in half the time it takes you.

If you like macro then ask them to take you to Malasti

Hoping to go back there in Oct and I always stay at Liberty.

Karl