Scuba seraya..... yes again! (Micro report)

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AlMitch

Contributor
Messages
991
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504
Location
Singapore
# of dives
200 - 499
With a 3yr old AND a 11 month old in tow PLUS granny and gramps, you really want to go to a place that you know well and know what to expect.... so it was back to Scuba Seraya (SS) again. This was our third time here, so obviously we enjoy the place. I'm sure there are a few better places in Tulamben, but given the a fore mentioned kids we did not want to leave anything to chance.

SS is still very well maintained and well run. The staff are helpful and happy. You cant really fault the resort much at all. Airport pick-up and drop off smooth as silk, emails and reservations quick and detailed, all good.
Food is not bad.... after a week you will definitely be getting tired of it.... but no real complaints.

As I've mentioned in previous trip reports the only real "criticism" that I could give is that there is basically no upfront management. There is no happy manager coming to ask "how are things are going?" or "can we do anything for you?". You are basically left to yourself and if you need anything then you must ask...and in all honesty when you ask it gets done! So all I'm saying is it just lacks a bit of a heart or personality. Yes yes it is a minor quibble.

Onto the diving.... on the second day a BIG swell pulled through with nearly 6ft shore break crashing onto the rocks.... man this made for some interesting entries and exits into the water. A number of people got FLATTENED, which in my twisted view was hilarious!! But it actually was pretty intense and they actually cancelled the afternoon dives for two of the days because it got too dangerous. When we did go diving the DM's and dive crew were usually close by to help you out of the water and grab your gear from you asap. Often it was them that were getting pounded by the waves.
The waves obviously stirred up the water pretty badly and viz dropped off to 6-8m on most of the dives. As you will see in my pics there was a LOT of particles floating around. It was backscatter city! Luckily I dived the Liberty the day before the waves hit so the viz was ok. We spotted a shark cruise by and there was a friendly turtle hanging around. Liberty wreck is still a stunning dive, even though it is usually very crowded.

_DSC8863 by Angmo Al, on Flickr

The wife had a head cold and couldn't equalize, which was very sad for her, but it meant that I dived with my very own personal guide.
In terms of critters there were not as many as my previous two trips, but still more than enough to keep a macro lover like me firing away. There did seem to be a ton of harlequin shrimps around and I was very happy to see the two Rhino's. A pink paddleflap rhino and a red Weedy rhino and they were right next to one another. I'm guessing a previous dive group herded them together.

Rhino's passing by by Angmo Al, on Flickr

We didn't see any mimics or wonder octos unfortunately. If you have a second or two you can flip through my Flikr album of the trip here and you will get a brief glimpse into what was spotted.

Bali - Scuba Seraya - July 2016

On one of the days we organised a day trip to Ubud to do some sight seeing. SS let us use there big bus and organised a guide for us. It was a long drive but it was worth it. We stopped along the way at the Water Palace and then went to the "Sacred Monkey Forest" which was PACKED... with tourists.... I swear there were more tourists than monkeys! After that we had lunch and then of course we did some shopping.

After 3 trips to SS it definitely is time to see new places, but I still highly recommend this resort and I'm sure we will be back in the years to come. And the sunrises are still AMAZING!

_DSC8800 by Angmo Al, on Flickr

Anyone have any alternatives for us?
Our criteria are: 1) Must have AC 2) must come back to resort after each dive 3) must be in South East Asia

Thanks for reading.
 
Having some fake 'happy' customer management would not make my day. Like those restaurants that compell their staff to ask 'how is your meal?', no thanks, leave me alone unless you are properly good at anticipating needs.

Scuba Seraya is excellent. I was there a few months ago on the recommendation of friends and would go back and recommend it to others.

On that trip we also stayed at Komodo Resort - Diving Club which was also very good. I am not sure it would suit non divers as being isolated there might be a shortage of things to do.
 
We adored Tauch Tulamben , found the food much better than Scuba Seraya and there was more hands on management. The Philippines , Ocean Vida in Malapascua , Liquid Dumaguete and Buceo Anilao all are wonderful resorts.

Thanks for another great report
 
Ken I agree with you about how good SS is. One reason I like it is because they dive from the boats which gives a great amount of flexibility of where you can dive and how quickly you get there. The villas at SS are also worth the extra $$. And you really can dive whenever or wherever you want to.
 
Looks like a great place to explore. BUT I checked the flight times and it looks like you have to stay overnight in Balikpapan, there and possibly back to, which adds a lot of time to the travel. Also to get to properly explore the area and the surrounding islands you end up spending the whole day on the boat.
So this is a place that will have to wait for the boys to be a tad older so that they can dive with us or at least be "safe" hanging around the boat.
One day!
 
Hi Al,
Thanks for the report, see.m another great trip, nice shots.
Many dive resort in Tulamben and several in Lembeh or Bunaken island will suit your criteria, though will also depend on the dive sites location.
For alternative, one in my head, is Prince John dive resort, donggala. They also have nice play ground and great white sandy beach. The juniors will love it.
Indeed for further dive site they will come back to after 2 dives.
Not easy to get, you may also consider the Selayar dive resort. They claim they can reach the furthest dive site in 15 minutes.
Never been there, always fully book every time I contact them.
 
Thanks Winsu.
Lembeh is definitely on the list! Always has been and always will be!! :wink:
We are not huge wall diving fans so Bunaken would get old for us pretty quickly in terms of diving.
You mentioned Prince John before and it looks like a great options. The only box it does not tick is the AC box. But if they have 24hr electricity and decent fans then it may be ok. Was it cool enough at night for you?

Selayar looks amazing!! A tad pricey, and a bit of a mission to get to as you will need to stay over night in Makassar.... BUT it seems like it may be worth the effort.
 

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