bali diving end of march

[helarno]

Finbob, most of your concerns would be dealt with by following the advice above. If you want to dive the Liberty wreck, probably best to spend a couple of nights at least in Tulamben. Diver centers that are frequently recommended on this board include Liberty Wreck Divers and Matahari. Luko mentioned a few other good dive operations in the Tulamben area in another thread in this forum. Most should be fairly close to the sea and would only be a short walk at most. Some are right on the beach.

Carrying tanks and equipment is a weird one in Tulamben. It almost seems like there is a local mafia of old ladies that you must use to carry your equipment. The dive guides aren't allowed to carry your gear even a few meters and there have been reports that you will have to pay the porter fee even if you carry all the gear yourself. Whether it is really some local mafia or just the dive centers contributing back to the local economy, I don't know. Never really asked. Just get used to the idea that these little old ladies (usually) will pile 1-2 sets of gear (BCD+tank) on their heads and just walk off merrily.

In Bali, it is probably easiest to just research where you want to dive, then pick a dive resort/center in the area. Don't try to pick a single location and use that as a base to dive all the different locations - you just waste hours stuck in traffic. Once you've had your fill of diving in that location, just move on to the next dive location/resort.

 

[finbob]

Helarno, thank you for your response, advice and calming concerns.
I am in the process of planning a 10-day trip this October. Certainly 4- Nights at Tulamben. I would dive the Liberty Wreck at sunrise and at night. I love night dives. I assume they would carry the tank into the sea where I can manage it, or even use boat dives? What dive outfit would you recommend? Nice place to stay?

I will follow your advice and move rather than trying to drive around.

Where else would you or others recommend for diving? Where would you spend the next 6-Nights?
Thanks!!

 

[Luko]

Carrying tanks and equipment is a weird one in Tulamben. It almost seems like there is a local mafia of old ladies that you must use to carry your equipment. The dive guides aren't allowed to carry your gear even a few meters and there have been reports that you will have to pay the porter fee even if you carry all the gear yourself. Whether it is really some local mafia or just the dive centers contributing back to the local economy, I don't know. Never really asked. Just get used to the idea that these little old ladies (usually) will pile 1-2 sets of gear (BCD+tank) on their heads and just walk off merrily.

Do you remember those places in the Philippines or even Komodo where you pay a hefty amount for a so called Marine Park and you don't know whose pockets the money is going into while you see more and more fishermen pulling out fish from the sea, while the harbor infrastructure has not evolved since 10 years (take that Labuan Bajo!),

This is true in Tulamben the ladies are carryiing the tanks and that's a mandatory fee you have to pay, in return in Tulamben the community of ladies get the money right from the customer. There are scheduled "turns" for carrying tanks and it's not rare that the lady who carried your tank the day before is the woman you have dealt for a one hour Balinese massage.

Leave away thoughts about ladies being exploited by shady mafiosi, it's how a small community tries to get some money. I dived Tulamben 20 years ago the ladies were already there as a couple of hotels were built and only few divers splashing around the Liberty wreck.
I think it's a really good thing that a community arranges to get money directly from tourists bypassing a larger organization where a leak in the collected funds always happen. The devil may not be where you're looking first.

 

[finbob]

Luko, thank you - I understand.
Where else would you dive in Bali for the remainder 5 Nights?

Bob

 

[helarno]

I assume they would carry the tank into the sea where I can manage it, or even use boat dives? What dive outfit would you recommend? Nice place to stay?

...

Where else would you or others recommend for diving? Where would you spend the next 6-Nights?
Thanks!!

Most times I went, you geared up right on the beach and then walked into the water, so it was a really short walk. (Put on the fins in the water of course) However, if the surf is rough on that day, it can be a challenge to get in/out at certain sites. Hazy memory says that the USAT Liberty site didn't have really bad surf/waves though.

Bali is really service oriented, so you could probably get the dive guides to bring your gear into the water and you suit up in the water. Just need to communicate your needs to them in advance and leave a nice tip later. Tulamben diving is mostly shore dives though - I've never seen anyone do boat dives. Wouldn't really recommend it either unless you can find an operator with a nice boat. The commonly used boats there are more like canoes with stabilisation.

For places to stay, I personally tend to stay with Matahari as I find it great value for money and supports a local business. However, their English isn't great so those who can't speak the local language can sometimes run into misunderstandings/difficulties. I think Luko answered your remaining questions best in another thread:

I have stayed many times in Bali and going back every year, There are only 3 diving areas I consider worth diving :
- Tulamben, which is mainly for macro/muck diving but also for the wreck. Best all around operator IMO Liberty dive resort (Free nitrox and private guide), Scuba Seraya is OK but expensive and a bit away, if you're looking for comfortable and qualified then Villa Markisa is even better.
- Nusa Penida/Nusa Lembongan for blue water, corals and big fish (Manta, Mola mola, ...) tha can be dived with a Lembongan dive center (Twofish, Big Fish, LDC) or from Padang Bai
- Padang Bai, a combination of muck and drift coral/fish dives, you can also dive Nusa Penida from there. Best operator Gekodive , you can lodge at Puri Rai resort, good QPR.

If you want to avoid backpackers on their OW class, stay away from Amed.

 

[Luko]

Bali is really service oriented, so you could probably get the dive guides to bring your gear into the water and you suit up in the water. Just need to communicate your needs to them in advance and leave a nice tip later. Tulamben diving is mostly shore dives though - I've never seen anyone do boat dives. Wouldn't really recommend it either unless you can find an operator with a nice boat. The commonly used boats there are more like canoes with stabilisation.

In fact a few resorts provide boat dives on the LIberty such as centres located further away Siddharta, Villa Markisa and Scuba Seraya, on the more expensive side though.
Some areas off Tulamben Drop off will require jukung diving (local boat diving) with ANY dive centre : Emerald, Palaung Palaung or Batu Kelebit.

On your question re- where to stay after Tulamben I would say Padang Bai where you can combine Padang Bai (Jetty, Gili Tepekong, Mimpang...) and Nusa Penida/Lembongan dive sites (Manta, Cristal bay, Toyapakeh, etc.). You can't miss the combo "sleep at Puri Rai, dive with Gekodivers"..

 

[finbob]

Helarno & Luko
Thank you so very much for your thoughts and insights, I will certainly act upon them.
It's wonderful to have this forum where we can help & encourage one another.
Thank you again! Finbob

 

[buiszie]

If if had 10 days to stay in Bali. I should go to the places by myself and book dives there. This instead of booking all the dives with one company and having all the travel time every day,

If you stay at the North East side it is closer to Tulamben and Amed but further away to Lembongan and the other way around if you stay in Sanur. Is there nothing in the middle? Well most of the divers in Bali like to see the wreck in Tulamben, Like to see the Mantas and Molas around Lembongan. And they are disapionted if they only dived other beautiful places but didnt see these.

 

[charlier]

As a long term commuter between Singapore and Bali, Sander makes a very good point. Isn't one company for all your dives is a slightly out of date business of model in Bali. Consider four days in Tulamben/Amed at a very nice resort, such as Villa Markisa (see Luko' post) and six days near Padang Bali. Just east along the coast is Alila Manngis, a luxury and expensive resort. Geko Dive or Alila can easily arrange early morning transport to Padang Bail for nearby dives and they have a safe and fast boat to take you to Nusa Penida for wonderful drift dives. They are usually one of the first boats to arrive at Manta Point, before it gets crazy busy. At least from my experience, Padang Bai does not offer any high end or luxury hotels. With such a plan you will mostly mitigate needless commuting in Bali. Best... charlie