Bali with non-diver wife. Luxury? Snorkel?

[jeremyl]

My wife and I are planning a ~2wk trip. Depart ~ Mar 25 from US. Something relaxing, tropical calm waters. Sitting in the sand. Snorkeling & diving... We are making a short-list of destinations and Bali is intriguing to me. Never been there (dove Lembeh & Bunaken) but thought it might fit the bill. She is non-diver but would like to snorkel. Looking for a nice place to sit on the beach. Calm waters. Dont need uber-luxury but would like very nice setting, beach and good snorkeling off the beach.

Does Bali work for this? Resort recommendations?

Other suggestions are welcome. For reference I am trying sway her away from Bora Bora - for financial reasons. Would like a $5K budget including air from West Coast US (Bali is ~$1200pp, so decent budget left for a nice resort). Boro Bora is $2K+ for flights alone, as are most of the "hut-over-water" lodging locations she is drawn to.

I would of course like a dive-destination (although surfing is fun too). Honduras, Cambodia, and Fiji/Cook/etc are also in the running... trying to figure out a place that would satisfy everyone.

 

[divewench1]

PM sent Jeremy

 

[Midget]

On my last Bali trip, we met a couple that had stayed at Baliku Resort Amed and they raved about it.
Amed has a black pebble beach. Snorkeling there is supposed to be quite good. Diving in the Tulamben area just up the coast a short jaunt is very good.

If you go to Bali, don't limit yourself to the resort and beach. The culture is beautiful and captivating. An easy day trip from there is Tirtagangga water palace and the rice fields of Sideman.

 

[Wisnu]

Jeremy,
Unfortunately most of best diving in Bali does not mix with beautiful white sandy beach with healthy house reef.
Probably the location that really meet your criteria is nusa lembongan where you can mix (though not really in one site) diving (March is too early for mola, but manta is easy to find), snorkeling, surfing and white sandy beach. Waka nusa is nice luxury resort, but there's more affordable choice of resorts there.

Anyway, with a little compromise i can recommend:
1. Mimpi Menjangan - nice resort with beautiful garden and private hot spring pool on the courtyard villa. No house reef, but your wife can join the trip to menjangan island for snorkeling.

2. Taman sari pemuteran - the beach is just okay, your wife can snorkeling right off the beach at Reef Garden Project (interesting but can't say beautiful reef) or join the trip to menjangan.

3, Tulamben - people visit tulamben not for beautiful beach, but your wife will love snorkel there and cheap beach massage. for accomodation right off the beach you can choose between budget puri madha up to nice mimpi and private villa at toya bali. Many people like TWD and liberty resort not on the beach though.

4. Amankila resort manggis, very luxury and beautiful resort with white sand private beach. Never been there, can't afford. Don't know how if your wife can snorkel right off the beach, but i'm sure most woman love to stay there. be prepare to rob the bank.

5. Amed, not a white sandy beach, but snorkeling right off the beach is nice. Short drive to Tulamben and Seraya. Plenty choice of pocket friendly accommodations.

Fot 2-weeks you can combine 2-3 of above.
As midget say, Bali is not just resort and beach - ubud and kintamani/batur lake is also nice place to look more on country sites.

 

[joesgonediving]

Hi there,

It also depends on what you are looking for for the rest of your holiday. Is just a beach enough or would you also like to have easy access to restaurants and other activities?

Most activity is really in the South of the island and not so much in the East or North. You can do some beautiful dives from all of these locations though and if you are after a quiet and relaxing holiday the suggestions above are great options.

If you are looking for a bit more activity such as good restaurants, easy access to the rest of the island and shops, Sanur could be a good option. It has some nice white beaches, has easy access to the Nusa Penida dive sites by boat and day dive trips are arranged from there to other parts of the island. It also has the advantage that there some good restaurants and you have good access to other activities on the island. Still a reasonably quiet place though. The snorkeling is ok, but not brilliant.

If you can, I would actually suggest staying at a couple of different places. For example a few days in the Pemuteran area for great access to Menjangan island and its dive sites, a couple of days in Ubud to enjoy the rice fields and atmosphere there (also brilliant for spas) and maybe Sanur for some day dive trips to Nusa Penida and other dive sites around the island. And of course for any other activity you would like to do.

Hope that helps. Either way have fun planning your holiday!

 

[vladimir]

I have a non-diver fiancee. Our last trip to Bali together consisted of a stay at the Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay. This is a good place to drink by the beach, get silly spa treatments that cost a small fortune, eat way too much, and relax poolside in your private villa. It is pretty close to the airport. About $700-$1,000 per night. As one would expect, the accommodations and service are impeccable. I did manage to sneak away for a day trip to Nusa Penida and squeeze a couple of dives in with the Bali Diving Academy, which is a well-run operation. I am a bit spoiled, but spending a day in taxis and on ferries for two dives is too much effort, in my opinion, especially when better alternatives are nearby.

Having earned a lifetime of brownie points for enduring side-by-side massages and treatments, it's time to cash in: head up to Tulamben. I stayed at the Mimpi's oceanside villa, which is still quite comfortable, though a stark change from the Four Seasons. About $170 a night for a large air-conditioned room, with outdoor shower and toilet, and private garden and lunge area. Don't let the "outdoor" deter you (or, more likely, her), this is classic Balinese style, and at Mimpi there is no real insect issue (though I hate to think how they manage that). The reef comes right to the shore here, so the snorkeling is good if the sea is calm, and the diving is also quite good. You can just wander in and dive out front at your leisure.

 

[vladimir]

I have a non-diver fiancee. Our last trip to Bali together consisted of a stay at the Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay. This is a good place to drink by the beach, get silly spa treatments that cost a small fortune, eat way too much, and relax poolside in your private villa. It is pretty close to the airport. About $700-$1,000 per night. As one would expect, the accommodations and service are impeccable. I did manage to sneak away for a day trip to Nusa Penida and squeeze a couple of dives in with the Bali Diving Academy, which is a well-run operation. I am a bit spoiled, but spending a day in taxis and on ferries for two dives is too much effort, in my opinion, especially when better alternatives are nearby.

Having earned a lifetime of brownie points for enduring side-by-side massages and treatments, it's time to cash in: head up to Tulamben. I stayed at the Mimpi's oceanside villa, which is still quite comfortable, though a stark change from the Four Seasons. About $170 a night for a large air-conditioned room, with outdoor shower and toilet, and private garden and lunge area. Don't let the "outdoor" deter you (or, more likely, her), this is classic Balinese style, and at Mimpi there is no real insect issue (though I hate to think how they manage that). The reef comes right to the shore here, so the snorkeling is good if the sea is calm, and the diving is also quite good. You can just wander in and dive out front at your leisure. There is no beach here though, just stones. My fiancee is okay with that; she lays in the cushioned lounge area with the ocean in front of her, shaded from the sun, and with a fan offering a gentle breeze whenever nature doesn't oblige.