Cautious diving in Nusa Lembongan?

[Mr. Manfrenjensenden]

My wife will be joining friends on Ceningan Island next to Nusa Lembongan in June. The rest of her group doesn't dive, but she's contemplating adding on a day of diving though is a cautious diver and doesn't like to go deep. She'd be ok going with a group but would want to hire a private dive guide to feel more comfortable. She'd like to see mantas and also clownfish, but really anything colorful is fun for her. So, a couple questions:

• Her preference is to go no deeper than ~40 feet. Are there dive sites to see mantas that work with that depth limitation? She'd be ok with a little current but not a ton of current.
• Am I correct that she can take scooter taxis on both Lembongan and Ceningan to get to/from a dive shop?
• Any suggestions of dive shops that would cater to a more cautious diver and be able to provide a private dive guide?

She has about 100 dives under her belt and is OW and nitrox.

Thanks all.

 

[Cali_diver]

The manta site is pretty shallow and great, but can have surge. It can also be a little cold. Hiring a private guide is a great idea! Most dive ops should have this option and would be able to cater to her, just look for smaller boats. Not sure about your logistics so I am not going to give you recs on dive ops but others here should have better advice on that part.

 

[Indah]

Don' t take it personal, but messages such as this one make me a bit worried. A dive guide can never fill in the lack of skills of a guest. If somebody feels less comfortable under water, this person should do some serious soul searching. And find out what causes this feeling. It scared me several times when I heard divers say: all is fine, as long as....my mask does not fills with water or, I am a certified diver, but I only want to dive with an instructor. Keep in mind that a diver is usually also a buddy (if you want it or not). It is as sitting next to the emergency exit in a airplane.

 

[Cali_diver]

Don' t take it personal, but messages such as this one make me a bit worried. A dive guide can never fill in the lack of skills of a guest. If somebody feels less comfortable under water, this person should do some serious soul searching. And find out what causes this feeling. It scared me several times when I heard divers say: all is fine, as long as....my mask does not fills with water or, I am a certified diver, but I only want to dive with an instructor. Keep in mind that a diver is usually also a buddy (if you want it or not). It is as sitting next to the emergency exit in a airplane.

The world is littered with divers who shouldn't be diving... we can't stop them. The best bet is to prevent them from causing accidents or impacting other divers who should be able to dive without the stress of dealing with someone like that. If that means they hire a private guide then I think it is a great idea... the cost should be on them not other divers! As for the OP he said nothing about her skills just that fact that she doesn't want to go deep or have too much current. I would take a "cautious" diver over a "I can do anything diver so take me to Crystal Bay" any day. To me they are asking the right questions! Also if it gives a local dive guide more work then even better!

 

[Mr. Manfrenjensenden]

Don' t take it personal, but messages such as this one make me a bit worried. A dive guide can never fill in the lack of skills of a guest. If somebody feels less comfortable under water, this person should do some serious soul searching. And find out what causes this feeling. It scared me several times when I heard divers say: all is fine, as long as....my mask does not fills with water or, I am a certified diver, but I only want to dive with an instructor. Keep in mind that a diver is usually also a buddy (if you want it or not). It is as sitting next to the emergency exit in a airplane.

I think you're reading more into this than I intended. She is a competent diver. But she's never been diving without me, which means she's never had anyone other than me as her buddy, and she's also risk-averse by nature, so she doesn't like the idea of a random-draw insta-buddy. She's happy to pay for a private guide to avoid that and know she'll be diving with someone skilled. She's dived deep and she's dived in current and handled both fine, but she prefers diving if it's done shallow and without current.

 

[Indah]

I think you're reading more into this than I intended. She is a competent diver. But she's never been diving without me, which means she's never had anyone other than me as her buddy, and she's also risk-averse by nature, so she doesn't like the idea of a random-draw insta-buddy. She's happy to pay for a private guide to avoid that and know she'll be diving with someone skilled. She's dived deep and she's dived in current and handled both fine, but she prefers diving if it's done shallow and without current.

You are right, I apologize.

 

[Mr. Manfrenjensenden]

You are right, I apologize.

No apology needed.