Diving in Bali in April

[jrmpco1]

I am traveling to Bali in April, and would love some recommendations as to dive sites and dive companies. I have done a fair amount of research, but have a few specific parameters that I am trying to work through.

First, I am traveling with my non-diver wife, so a pure diving safari -- which is what I would love to do if I were going with diving buddies only -- is not a good option. We will probably stay in Ubud or Sanur for 4 days and stay touring above water, and I would do at least three days of diving in another location (although I will say that we are not set as to where we will stay during our pure above ground days, so we could change that).

Second, I really do not want to drive for hours before doing two dives, only to drive for a few hours more to get back. Want to stay at a location where I can dive close by so I can enjoy myself and would spend some time in the later afternoon with my lovely wife.

Third, since my wife is going with me and is going to stay behind, I need to stay in a location that has reasonably nice accommodation - very clean, well run, pool, and with at least a token of luxury. Not $1000 a night luxury, but on the higher end of things will make her happy as opposed to the diving resort that would be fine with me if I were alone. This is her vacation too, and I am leaving her during the day. She does not need a lot other than a nice resort and good (fresh and local) food.

Here are the issues -- the diving in Amed and Tulamben sounds great, but I am not sure if the accommodations/surroundings are going to work well given the above requirements for my wife. Also, if it is still a bit rainy, I do not know how clear the water will be.

Considering Manjangan -- but it sounds like it may take forever to get to and is a bit remote. Diving sounds fantastic. Not sure about whether staying there three days makes sense.

Alternatively, there are Candi Dasa or Nusa Pendida and Nusa Lembongan.

I am an open water and nitrox certified diver (last dive was a month ago in Turks and Caicos). I have dived mainly in the Carribean (Cayman Islands, Turks & Caicos, etc.) and have about 50-60 dives under my belt. Although I am not AOW certified, most of my dives have been wall dives where it is common to go 80-110 feet down (25-33 meters). I am reasonably fit, and am willing to do AOW training while in Bali (actually would like to anyway) if need be to dive in Nusa Pendida and Lembongan. The one thing I have not done is dive in strong currents -- just have not had much where I have been - so I would definitely need some instruction for current diving.

I would appreciate any and all suggestions about locations to dive given the above and the time of year (and places to stay if you have any thoughts), as well as dive operators given the above. I do prefer a professional operation. I will bring my mask, regulator and computer but probably will not want to haul the rest of my gear all the way from the USA, and would look for properly maintained tanks, BCD etc.

Sorry for the long post, but wanted to drill down. Thanks for any and all help!

 

[joesgonediving]

Hi there,

I think there are a couple of options. You could use Sanur as a base for your dives on Nusa Penida. The trip to Nusa Penida is about 35-50 minutes by boat depending which location you go to and normally you could be back around 1 or 2 o'clock. You could do your AOW in Sanur as well with a mix of Nusa Penida and Sanur or Padang Bai dive sites (about 1 hrs drive). There are plenty of nice hotels in Sanur.

Candidasa has some great hotels as well, such as the Alila Manggis. From there you have good access to the Candidasa dive sites (Gili Mimpang, Tepekong and Biaha) as well as the Padang Bai and Nusa Penida sites. The Candidasa sites are advanced sites though, so I would recommend getting your AOW before you dive there.

Menjangan is worthwhile to add to your itinerary for a few days. It is 3.5 hours drive from Sanur so a bit of a track, but very nice. You could combine it with some dives around Pemuteran. 1 or 2 days of diving on Menjangan is probably enough.

I hope that helps. Have fun with your planning!

 

[jrmpco1]

Thanks. Follow up question. Since I will be coming at the end of the rainy season, are there difference in how the weather affects the various areas and the diving in mid-April? I hear Pemuteran, near Menjangan, is still fairly rainy in April. Diving still ok? How about the other sites? Are they drier or more/less likely to have the diving messed up by bad weather (diving visabilty, etc)?

 

[joesgonediving]

Hi,

The visibility is impacted during the rainy season, but it will still be pretty good. When we dived at Menjangan last week, the dives were still great, even though the visibility was not as good as you would expect later during the year. Menjangan is actually the nicest when there is a lot of sunshine as it will show the colours beautifully.

Generally speaking, even during the rainy season it is still good diving everywhere on Bali. Your visibility might just be slightly less in places like Tulamben, but still worthwhile.

 

[IB Indra S]

Hi,

I recommend to stay in Padangbai or Candidasa area. There are several dive resorts are nice, clean and complete facilities. Mostly dive sites in Bali not far away from this area and your wife can relax on the beach or just swim in the pool. in April I believe the rainy season has finished, so you do not need to worry.