Recommendations on 3 day diving breakout during family trip

[MrTW]

Hi there,

Trying to push in 2 to 3 days of diving (depending on negotiations) during a non-diving family trip with wife and toddler in December.

I have been diving around Bali before but always during a dedicated diving trip as solo traveler without consideration of surface activities.

So, my question is really aiming to get recommendations on a good enough spot to make everyone happy:

- surface activities/nice beach for the family
- decent dive spots
- reasonably accessible from Denpasar

Would be great to get any insight or recommendations.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Centrals]

12 x Things To Do on Nusa Lembongan & Ceningan

12 Things To Do in Nusa Lembongan Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan are small islands. They can be both be explored by motorbike under one hour. However, it

www.saltinourhair.com

With only three days, Sanur would be better and logical with no boat journey to take.

 

[MrTW]

12 x Things To Do on Nusa Lembongan & Ceningan

12 Things To Do in Nusa Lembongan Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan are small islands. They can be both be explored by motorbike under one hour. However, it

www.saltinourhair.com

With only three days, Sanur would be better and logical with no boat journey to take.

Thank you for the info!

Are you suggesting to stay in Sanur itself or to go to Nusa Lembongan from there?

Our trip is about 10 days in total so we do have time to roam around - I'm just limited to excuse myself for diving for about 3 days out of those 10.

 

[Centrals]

https://www.kuoni.co.uk/bali/best-time-to-visit

You have to accept that Dec is rainy season and sea can get rough.

Nusa Lembongan or one of the Gili Island(stop over in Padang Bai is an option for diving and then catch the ferry across).
Make sure you have personal safety equipment(smb is a must) and allow extra time to return to Denpasar in case the weather turns rough to make the boat trip uncomfortable.

 

[matts1w]

I battle with this question all the time as I have a non-diving wife and a two-year-old. When it comes to traveling with non-divers in Indonesia, there really is no good answer, as the best diving locations in Indonesia (even in Bali) leave very little for the non-divers to do. When one factors in toddlers, it gets even trickier as many parts of Bali mean massive waves, getting around by motorbike, giant cliffs, etc...

Sanur is a great option as the reef creates an incredibly safe and sandy beach ideal for little kids. There is also a huge beachside sidewalk perfect for strollers where your wife and child can safely walk, explore, shop, etc... Hotels like the Bali Hyatt have great kiddie pools and activities. You then can go diving out of Sanur to Lembongan. The downside is you will be gone all day- like 7 AM to 5 PM.

Another option and I don't know how doable this is for you, but Gili Air is the best bet for families like ours. There are no cars or motorbikes on the island. The beach is beautiful, warm, safe, and calm: perfect for kids. People walk everywhere, and there is much to explore. Meanwhile, the dive sites are very close, and operators usually do one dive, return, head back out, return for lunch, and then do an afternoon dive. This means you can leave at 8 am, dive with more turtles than you can imagine, and be back around 10. It is not the best diving Indonesia offers, but it is solid and gets the job done.

Anyway, that's my two cents. Feel free to hit me up with more questions or ideas.

 

[MrTW]

I battle with this question all the time as I have a non-diving wife and a two-year-old. When it comes to traveling with non-divers in Indonesia, there really is no good answer, as the best diving locations in Indonesia (even in Bali) leave very little for the non-divers to do. When one factors in toddlers, it gets even trickier as many parts of Bali mean massive waves, getting around by motorbike, giant cliffs, etc...

Sanur is a great option as the reef creates an incredibly safe and sandy beach ideal for little kids. There is also a huge beachside sidewalk perfect for strollers where your wife and child can safely walk, explore, shop, etc... Hotels like the Bali Hyatt have great kiddie pools and activities. You then can go diving out of Sanur to Lembongan. The downside is you will be gone all day- like 7 AM to 5 PM.

Another option and I don't know how doable this is for you, but Gili Air is the best bet for families like ours. There are no cars or motorbikes on the island. The beach is beautiful, warm, safe, and calm: perfect for kids. People walk everywhere, and there is much to explore. Meanwhile, the dive sites are very close, and operators usually do one dive, return, head back out, return for lunch, and then do an afternoon dive. This means you can leave at 8 am, dive with more turtles than you can imagine, and be back around 10. It is not the best diving Indonesia offers, but it is solid and gets the job done.

Anyway, that's my two cents. Feel free to hit me up with more questions or ideas.

Excellent feedback - thank you!

We looked briefly into Gili Air and thought it's too much trouble to get to. The alternative was Lembongan which is a bit easier but not really a comparison to Gili.

Any good recommendations regarding accommodation on Gili Air considering a toddler?

Also, is it worthwhile driving up to PB only to catch the ferry from there vs the ferry directly from Denpasar area?

I assume ferries are operating on a daily basis by now or eventually (we are traveling in December)?

 

[dirtfarmer]

Any good recommendations regarding accommodation on Gili Air considering a toddler?

there's loads of places to choose from, you can spend forever on the net checking them out. We've stayed at "the beach club" a couple of times, and liked it alot. The beach there is excellent for your partner and toddler. Their beach lounge area is excellent and has some nice shady spots, and the food was pretty good also. We love Gilli Air for the whole tropical island vibe. On trips to Bali with my wife after she puts up with me doing 3 dives a day for 10 days or so we head there for some chillaxing on the beach. When I start getting twitchy after a few days she tells me "go for a dive" i use a shop close by so just stroll over and get on the schedule. As @matts1w said it's not the best of Indonesia but it will do the trick, there are some interesting dive sights there, it has some good biodiversity and yes loads of turtles.

I've not caught the ferry to Gilli Air from Sanur but it's possible I belive, I think its a beach boarding as they have no jetty, but I may be wrong. In Padang Bai it's a jetty boarding so easy peasy with a toddler. It will be a bit shorter time on the boat from PB if that's a concern.

 

[matts1w]

I love Gili Air too. The vibe really is awesome- super chill, friendly, and everyone is happy and feeling good. There is enough going on at night to have some fun, but not enough to attract the...how would I say it...Gili T people ain't comin' to Gili Air. There are some great restos, spas, yoga, bike rides, easy snorkeling...the list is endless.

People here like to sh-t on the diving, and it is for sure not Raja Ampat, but when the water is right sites like Deep Turbo, Sunset, and Simon's Reef are as beautiful as anywhere. I have shared the water with more turtles than I can count, manta rays, eagle rays, white and blacktip sharks, and even a whale shark. The macro is solid, too: great nudis, frogfish, ghost pipefish...all the usual suspects. Of course not every single dive is mind-blowing, but when traveling with non-divers, it is a perfect location for everyone...