Where to stay in Padang Bai?

[ocdiver1]

Beji Bay Resort Beji Bay Resort (Padangbai, Bali) - Hotel Reviews - TripAdvisor (was previously the Mustaki Sari)

Thanks divewench...Beji Bay was who was I referring to. Would be my first choice on a budget for PB

 

[dirtfarmer]

Definitely try out No Name cafe for eating. Homemade pasta and desserts are excellent!

 

[Antaboga]

Have you asked OK divers for accommodations? I am pretty sure they are building their own rooms in the back. Just not sure if they are done yet.

Has anyone every stayed at Bloo Lagoon? Just wondering how it is.

 

[divewench1]

Have you asked OK divers for accommodations? I am pretty sure they are building their own rooms in the back. Just not sure if they are done yet.

Rooms should be ready by summer this year I believe. At the moment they are still putting their divers in the accommodation at Puri Rai. Their new pool and restaurant (The Colonial) are open at the dive centre, and receiving great reviews already, well done Radka and her team

 

[btonthemove]

Have you asked OK divers for accommodations? I am pretty sure they are building their own rooms in the back. Just not sure if they are done yet.

Has anyone every stayed at Bloo Lagoon? Just wondering how it is.

We stayed at Bloo lagoon a couple of years ago and is just lovely. Self contained open plan individual houses with great restaurant and pool-i screamed in fright using the slide. I don't think any are airconditioned but a fan is sufficient. Padang bai has both a mosque and temples and they do call to prayer from early morning to late at night. Ferry announcements are also really loud so take ear plugs. Dive the jetty -fantastic for frog fish but watch out for the extremly large trigger fish. Where did you stay in Tulamben? I'll be there Easter.

 

[charlier]

I think that the resident trigger fish next to the jetty must smell fear after they see my wife. Last time, the larger of the two trigger fish aggressively chased my wife. As she moved away along the bottom, I casually watched the action. The trigger fish just ignored me. Earlier that day, we experienced serious down and up currents at G. Tepekong. At about 6m, one of my diving partners SMB rapidly sank below him. We were a bit farther away from the rocks. Here within seconds, wife and I went from 6 m to ~13 m and then rapidly up again. I had to grab her had at about 3 m and drag her back to about 6m depth. I've been at the site many times, but this is the first time I experienced such rapidly changing conditions.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Were the triggerfish nesting? If so, they haveca cone shaped area that they protect. Small end of cone at nest a growing larger as it rises in water column. All you have to do is keep yourself out of their cone protection area or uf they're already chasing you, get out of the cone by swimming out/away or counter intuitively, down (but logically away from the nest)

 

[charlier]

+ 1 for a cone shaped area around their nest. I guess this triggerfish did not get the memo. Finning close to the bottom, directly away from the trigger fish did not deter aggressive behavior. My personal feeling is that trigger fish come from a proud tradition of Balinese warriors that bedeviled the Dutch for many years.

 

[Mantra]

We've actually ended up staying in Tulamben and just doing two day trips down for the jetty. Did see the white/pink RHINOPIA and a number of other wonderful things. They say the jetty is not the dive it once was, but my goodness it was a target rich environment! Did 6 dives in it total. Wonderful microclimates.

And yeah. I thought it was my guide tugging on my fin. But nope. That damn triggerfish. The poor chap. He must spend all day every day entertaining visitors. And yeah. He was quite persistent.

Thanks all for the recommendations!!! We will be back in a few months and may well base ourselves in Padang Bai next time around. Hopefully this thread will be useful to many others.

 

[btonthemove]

Hi where did you stay in Tulamen? That trigger fish only ever went for my dive guide in the 4 dives I did there last year. I thought it was hilarious. I get attacked by anenome fish-they can get a mouth full of hair and try to rip it out! But that's Lembeh, not Bali