My wife and I just secured reservations for a 12 day cruise in Raja Ampat this December. Since this trip is Sarong-Sarong, we realized we could go through Denpasar just about as easily as through Jakarta. That means we could squeeze in a week or so of diving in Bali on the way to Sarong! So I browsed all the threads on this site and decided Pedang Bai looked worth investigating. A little over a year ago we did a liveaboard cruise through Komodo, and on the way we got in a week's worth of diving in Tulamben.
While we were in Tulamben, we stayed at Liberty Dive Resort. It was great! But I remember that when we checked in we told them we would need only tanks and weights and we distinctly did NOT want a guide. That lead to 15 minutes worth of argument, but we finally won. But during the following week I noticed that we were absolutely the only people around without a guide. And the more I watched other groups, the more convinced I became that it was essential not to have a minder along. At Drop-Off, in my mind the best dive site around Tulamben, the guides would take their charges down in 15' of water over bare sand, then swim them over the bare sand toward the wall. By the time they got there, it was time to turn around and head back. My wife and I would surface swim to the wall, which wasn't far, then get our whole dive over some amazing topography. We would never have seen any of it if we had been with a guide.
In looking at Pedang Bai, I saw some people recommending Geko Dive Shop. So I wrote to them last night to see if they would rent me tanks and weights. Here's what I got back:
"Thank you for your email. The Geko Dive Team would love to dive with you. We only rent tanks and equipment out to established dive businesses on Bali. We do want to help, but we find that renting tanks out to divers who have no experience of the local dive sites, their currents, their safe entry and exit point is counter productive. Diving Tulamben is a totally different beast than diving the sites on the sides of the Lombok strait. Number of dives done elsewhere does not help with knowing the local sites.
On the other hand, we would be happy to have you dive with one of our guides this December." Blah...blah...blah. Followed by a price list for all the services they offer...including Open Water courses!
So now what? Is Padang Bai the wrong place to go? We did dive off Nusa Penida on our Komodo trip so I know there is a certain amount (ahem!) of current there in the Labok strait. It was awesome! But if we can't go on our own I would just as soon skip diving Bali and go straight to Sarong. Is there another dive operation I should investigate, or should I be looking at another area altogether? We did Tulamben fairly thoroughly last trip so I would like something different this time. Any pointers would be very much appreciated. But please don't lecture me about why I should have a guide. I've heard it all before.
Bruce
While we were in Tulamben, we stayed at Liberty Dive Resort. It was great! But I remember that when we checked in we told them we would need only tanks and weights and we distinctly did NOT want a guide. That lead to 15 minutes worth of argument, but we finally won. But during the following week I noticed that we were absolutely the only people around without a guide. And the more I watched other groups, the more convinced I became that it was essential not to have a minder along. At Drop-Off, in my mind the best dive site around Tulamben, the guides would take their charges down in 15' of water over bare sand, then swim them over the bare sand toward the wall. By the time they got there, it was time to turn around and head back. My wife and I would surface swim to the wall, which wasn't far, then get our whole dive over some amazing topography. We would never have seen any of it if we had been with a guide.
In looking at Pedang Bai, I saw some people recommending Geko Dive Shop. So I wrote to them last night to see if they would rent me tanks and weights. Here's what I got back:
"Thank you for your email. The Geko Dive Team would love to dive with you. We only rent tanks and equipment out to established dive businesses on Bali. We do want to help, but we find that renting tanks out to divers who have no experience of the local dive sites, their currents, their safe entry and exit point is counter productive. Diving Tulamben is a totally different beast than diving the sites on the sides of the Lombok strait. Number of dives done elsewhere does not help with knowing the local sites.
On the other hand, we would be happy to have you dive with one of our guides this December." Blah...blah...blah. Followed by a price list for all the services they offer...including Open Water courses!
So now what? Is Padang Bai the wrong place to go? We did dive off Nusa Penida on our Komodo trip so I know there is a certain amount (ahem!) of current there in the Labok strait. It was awesome! But if we can't go on our own I would just as soon skip diving Bali and go straight to Sarong. Is there another dive operation I should investigate, or should I be looking at another area altogether? We did Tulamben fairly thoroughly last trip so I would like something different this time. Any pointers would be very much appreciated. But please don't lecture me about why I should have a guide. I've heard it all before.
Bruce
