Why Lembeh?

[Searcaigh]

Opposite Bangka on eh the "mainland" are some great muck sites.

This is one of my favourite shots from there

There was also some interesting wide angle opportunities

 

[hedonist222]

I did the same trip in 2015, that was the last time I was in N. Sulawesi.

We did extend it for a few more additional days when we got to Lembeh Resort, and then moved over to Siladen where we stayed with Ana and Miguel who used to run Lembeh Resort up until 2014.

I had some great dives off Manado on Murex's house reef.

Tulumben is only one flight from UAE to Bali it's really worth doing if you love macro, plus mainly shore diving ..... nice long dives

Since you've been to both Lembeh & Tulamben, how do you compare & contrast Lembeh to Tulamben.

 

[AlMitch]

Since you've been to both Lembeh & Tulamben, how do you compare & contrast Lembeh to Tulamben.

Just do both!
Lembeh is definitely better, especially in terms of shear diversity of everything. The one place Tulamben has a slight advantage would be the nudi diversity (this is my very vague opinion and has ZERO factual backing).
But you will not be disappointed with either.

 

[Luko]

Lembeh is definitely better, especially in terms of shear diversity of everything. The one place Tulamben has a slight advantage would be the nudi diversity (this is my very vague opinion and has ZERO factual backing).

Not sure about "global" biodiversity, it's hard to compare apples and pears since Tulamben has a more varied kind of bottom profiles hence different feeding grounds (pure black sand, green algae, lots of hydroids, coral gardens, walls, etc.) than Lembeh : Tulamben is probably the best spot for Nudibranchs, some nudis like the donut doto are almost endemic to Tulamben, but the shrimp variety is also big ( for instance I've never seen the ghost shrimp elsewhere than T'ben), More rhinopias sightings than Lembeh as well. I think Lembeh is better on the cephalopod species and since there is more critter pressure on a limited area, you'll be more likely to encounter behavior scenes.
Tulamben has the cleanest waters thanks to the great indonesian throughflow and the powerful Lombok strait, no debris lying on th floor like in Lembeh and a much better visibility.
Tulamben's bang for your buck ratio is probably one of the best in Indonesia. No overpriced accoms and fake snotty resorts like in Lembeh, excellent and cheap dive guides, private guiding is the rule in most of Tulamben operations, I find there are less divers on one spot, probably due to the fact there is no boat unloading 8 customers at a time. Add on top the balinese smooth feel plus the babi guling

 

[Searcaigh]

Since you've been to both Lembeh & Tulamben, how do you compare & contrast Lembeh to Tulamben.

You can't really.

Tulumben is cheaper for sure overall, but it's all shore diving, which is a plus or minus depending on how you look at it, but it's no limits time wise, last year most of our dives were 90+ minutes, and you won't get boat dives for that length of time except Anilao (Crystal Blue Resort) unless you're the only people on the boat.

Lembeh Resort is five star, and I love it for its luxury but it's not something I can afford every year. I do like the grab a tank and go for the house reef though.

 

[hedonist222]

Thanks searcaigh

I don't know how I feel about shore dives.

Are they any good?

Any reason Tulamben dives are generally shore?

 

[matts1w]

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Any reason Tulamben dives are generally shore?

The dive sites are like...30 meters from shore.

 

[Luko]

The dive sites are like...30 meters from shore.

...And the shore is like... 50m from the main road circling Bali.

(Think Bonaire)

 

[hedonist222]

The dive sites are like...30 meters from shore.

I'm trying to figure out the topography. Why aren't boat-dives prevalent then? Does depth quickly exceed recreational diving - right after the shore area?

...And the shore is like... 50m from the main road circling Bali.

(Think Bonaire)

I didn't get your point.

 

[Luko]

I'm trying to figure out the topography. Why aren't boat-dives prevalent then? Does depth quickly exceed recreational diving - right after the shore area?


I didn't get your point.

1- Ok.
I would state that Lembeh needs a boat to go to the dive spots because :
- half of the dives are on the other side of the strait or around islets.
- there is no road that allows access directly to the dive spots on the same side of the strait.
therefore all dive centers use boats for almost any of their dives, except for their housereef.

On the contrary if you look straight out of Tulamben's shores you will see the island of Lombok in the far distance -whenever the weather is clear- and in the midst there will be the very large Lombok strait which is probably 1500m deep or more, host to one of the wildest currents on the planet called the Great Indonesian Throughflow. This body of water is also called the "Wallace line" (Named after Alfred Wallace, naturalist of the XIXth century who discovered many of the South East Asian animal species) and runs so powerfully that it separates two distinct zoological zones, east and west of the Lombok strait. The idea is that eastern/western animals were stopped by this throughflow and could not get across to progress to further islands, it acts like a limit of their eco-system.

In other words so you won't go far out diving because it's too deep and too currenty.

2- Like wise Bonaire in the Caribbeans, it's easier and cheaper to climb into a car, follow the main road, stop at the dive spot, kit on the shore and go diving, than wait for all divers are ready to get into the boat, ride the boat to a spot located 5 miles away, wait for all divers to be back on the boat, etc.
Hence most of the dive shops don't have any necessity to own a boat to dive Tulamben, they will drive you to the spot whenever a guide and his customer wants to go back or stay on the dive site for another dive, it will be easy to arrange without any inconvenience for the remaining divers. .