I've just completed three days diving with Geko in Pandangbai, Bali
Accommodation: Topi Inn
Everyone was surprised we were staying at Topi as it's a real cheapie but we enjoyed it there. It's cheap as chips and you get use of the first floor, which has sofas that have a great view out of the bay. Rooms are basic, and cold water showers. Some noise from the restaurant downstairs, but there were no late nights. Some noise also from the guys setting out scuba tanks on the road outside from early morning. I sleep like a log and the missus popped in some ear plugs, so no worries.
Eats:
1. The wood fire pizza at 'Padangbai Billabong' is awesome (it's two door away from Geko)
2. The bbq fish warung (Warun bu Jero - see google maps) was also awesome, we ate there three times
3. One of the warungs on Jl Pelbuhan was pretty good
Evening entertainment: We saw the very awesome band Unb Rocken from Ubud play at Omang Omang Bar. I'm told they have a different band play at the bar each week.
Diving: Diving with Geko was great. We booked a 'Mola mola adventure' package as that was what we wanted to see. As well as having Kanos as our dive lead, Rico from Geko also came out on our first day to dive the depths and look for Molas. The idea was that Kanos led the divers and Rico would signal Kanos if there were molas down there. It worked and we dived down to 30m within the first 10 mins of our first dive to see two molas that Rico had spotted. Brilliant.
The rest of the diving was good with molas and mantas so we were happy. The sites were mainly around nusa penida, so they certainly weren't skimping on fuel and making sure we got the best of the dives available.
What impressed me with Geko was that they are not packing boats with mixed ability divers. They make sure you are with the right people, and multiple trips go out to various sites each morning. You get a lunch on return included in the price of your dives.
We only did 6 dives in total and focussed on molas and mantas, but there are plenty of other dive sites that we did not explore so if you want to stay longer and dive more if you wish. Also, Rico is great to hang out with at the dive centre to talk about diving. He teaches tech and we're considering returning to do a couple of courses with him.
A word of warning though... if you are looking for molas then you're in cold water. I took my 7mm semi-dry and was very glad of it. Lowest temp encountered was 21 C.
Accommodation: Topi Inn
Everyone was surprised we were staying at Topi as it's a real cheapie but we enjoyed it there. It's cheap as chips and you get use of the first floor, which has sofas that have a great view out of the bay. Rooms are basic, and cold water showers. Some noise from the restaurant downstairs, but there were no late nights. Some noise also from the guys setting out scuba tanks on the road outside from early morning. I sleep like a log and the missus popped in some ear plugs, so no worries.
Eats:
1. The wood fire pizza at 'Padangbai Billabong' is awesome (it's two door away from Geko)
2. The bbq fish warung (Warun bu Jero - see google maps) was also awesome, we ate there three times
3. One of the warungs on Jl Pelbuhan was pretty good
Evening entertainment: We saw the very awesome band Unb Rocken from Ubud play at Omang Omang Bar. I'm told they have a different band play at the bar each week.
Diving: Diving with Geko was great. We booked a 'Mola mola adventure' package as that was what we wanted to see. As well as having Kanos as our dive lead, Rico from Geko also came out on our first day to dive the depths and look for Molas. The idea was that Kanos led the divers and Rico would signal Kanos if there were molas down there. It worked and we dived down to 30m within the first 10 mins of our first dive to see two molas that Rico had spotted. Brilliant.
The rest of the diving was good with molas and mantas so we were happy. The sites were mainly around nusa penida, so they certainly weren't skimping on fuel and making sure we got the best of the dives available.
What impressed me with Geko was that they are not packing boats with mixed ability divers. They make sure you are with the right people, and multiple trips go out to various sites each morning. You get a lunch on return included in the price of your dives.
We only did 6 dives in total and focussed on molas and mantas, but there are plenty of other dive sites that we did not explore so if you want to stay longer and dive more if you wish. Also, Rico is great to hang out with at the dive centre to talk about diving. He teaches tech and we're considering returning to do a couple of courses with him.
A word of warning though... if you are looking for molas then you're in cold water. I took my 7mm semi-dry and was very glad of it. Lowest temp encountered was 21 C.
