Looking for a location similar to Tulamben, Bali in SE Asia. Ideas anyone?

[flyingfishvideo]

Currently I am doing some video off the island of Koh Chang in Thailand. For the last couple of weeks of my holiday (end of Feb) I am looking to dive somewhere different and on the cheap. A couple years ago I went to Tulamben in Bali to dive the USS Liberty. $5.00 U.S. for a tank delivered to your bungalow balcony and a gorgeous wreck dive site just a few meters swim from your very economical bungalow resort.

I'm looking for some suggestions about places that would be somewhat similar to this location with a healthy house reef, unsupervised diving and cheap tanks in SE Asia.

Thanks for your time & advice,

Rudy

www.flyingfishvideo.com

 

[Midget]

Check out Pulau Weh's Gapang Beach. There are backpacker accommodations and 3 dive operators.

 

[Andy_from_Germany]

Hi Rudy,

if you're only looking for unsupervised diving I would suggest Bali, especially Tulamben.

If you don't mind doing boat dives (if it's not """only""" about the money why you want to dive alone), I would suggest Eastern Indonesia, e.g. Flores or, further East, Alor.
The further East you go in Indonesia the better the reefs and the less divers in the water.

The healthiest reefs I know of are around Alor (haven't been to Raja Ampat yet but can compare them with the Great Barrier Reef, Ningaloo Reef, Okinawa and other places in Japan and Thailand).
So if you're as well looking for some good shots for your video you might have a look at Alor. Hotels are simple and cheap and diving is just fantastic. You can see heaps of small stuff but big fish, too. Depending on your preferences and on your luck ;-) Regarding dolphins I nearly can give a 99% guarrantee that you will see them at least on the surface.
Alor has three dive-shops, one directly on Alor, ALOR DIVE from Thomas (Diving in Alor), one on a small island close to Alor (Diving & Accommodation in the heart of Alor archipelago) and one on another island further away (eco dive resort in alor archipelago, indonesia.). Being a german I obviously prefer Thomas (ALOR DIVE) and he definetly has the best boat of them as well as a good eye for small stuff (big fish is, in my oppinion, always luck).

HTH,

Andy

 

[flyingfishvideo]

Thanks Midget and Andy. You've got me researching and I appreciate your time and advice.

I'm not a cavalier adrenaline diver by any means. Just a videographer who enjoys a good house reef/wreck and the freedom to film without a dive plan. I'm all for organized boat trips and live-a-boards whenever I can afford it. On my last trip to Tulamben I dove the hell out of that wreck as I pleased and eventually hired a local DM to show me all the creatures I was missing. It was well worth the minimal cost.

 

[ocdiver1]

Anilao in the Philippines...

 

[DevonDiver]

+1 Anilao. Some of the resorts there offer unlimited shore diving with the room cost. Lovely house reefs at resorts along the coast. One truly world-class muck site (Secret Bay). Some wonderful coral/marine life sites also (i.e. Mainit Point etc).

 

[flyingfishvideo]

Now that's the kind of advice I was looking for. Keep'm coming folks. Brilliant.