I am planning to travel to Indonesia for 2 weeks in September with my wife and I am looking for some suggestions.
As my wife doesn't dive (yet)...
Antonio
Antonio, I also recommend Bali for traveling with a partner who doesn't dive (yet). But do a combination of things, not just 2 weeks solid diving. Tulamben is good, but you must stay there and dive a few days, then go elsewhere because there isn't a lot of other things to do. Tulamben is very busy in the middle of the day with day trippers who drive 2-3 hours each way from the south. If you stay there, plan to dive early and after the day trippers leave or are having lunch. You will see a LOT.
We spend quite a lot of time in Indonesia on dive trips we organize. When we can we stay in Bali ourselves to "decompress". We'll be there 2 weeks after our Raja Ampat trips this year.
A few days in Ubud is good. Plenty of shops, restaurants and near to many temples and other sights to see. There are accommodations in all price ranges. We like to stay in a quiet place in the rice fields that is close enough to walk onto the main street in 10 min.
The nice thing in Bali is you can pre-arrange your diving and can do a "Dive Safari" with some companies. They will move your bags from one place to another while you are out diving that day. So you could stay in Tulamben to dive there a few days, then move to Candidasa and dive out of Padangbai (by boat) a couple of days.. and perhaps elsewhere as well. The last 10 or 11 years I've dived with AquaMarine Diving (who are also a client of mine - they wouldn't be if I didn't trust them with their clients).
Also nice in Bali is you can hire a car and driver for very little money and tell them what you want to do (not for diving). We always hire the same man for our airport transfers, 1/2 or full day trips around the island. And sometimes for a special shopping trip to one of the villages to buy paintings, bone carvings, etc. If you buy a Bali guide book, you don't need to pay for expensive tours. Just find a driver and arrange trips directly with him.
Deb Fugitt
www.CitySeahorse.com/rajaampat