leo
Contributor
I'm hoping to learn from some of you that have visited and know the resorts and area.
Some of you I've already spoken with in PM and email (and you've helped me narrow and reprioritize) and read your posts, so thanks for helping me get this far. I've also done a lot of research online and other sites like Trip Advisor, etc., so I'm really looking for some details.
Although I'm not set on N. Sulawesi as a destination, and some of what I've read online make me question is N. Sulawesi destinations even offer the right fit, if you have expertise on any other locations (e.g. other islands/countries in the area) that you think provide the fit please let me know?
Here's some details:
- Travel for mid- or late-September, or late-October
- I'm a very experienced diver (no worries about currents, etc.), wife is non-diver
- We're not the "Ritz-Carlton" types - while we require clean and nice, we've traveled to low- or no infrastructure destinations like Providencia (part of Colombia off the Nicaraguan coast), camping in slot canyons, or Las Lenas (Argentinian mountains)
- For this trip, we'll do a multi-destination plan to include Lembeh and then one or two other destinations... we don't need much assistance for Lembeh but it's the latter for which we need assistance
- We are only interested in an island option(s), not immediate Manado-area hotels
- We are not budget travelers, so middle- or higher-end are good (and probably required given our demands of a resort)
- We hope to minimize travel, so one fight from major city (e.g. SIN or HKG) followed by a couple of hours land/sea travel is desired... certainly wish to avoid any multi-day travel (from SIN for example) or forced overnights mid-travel
It seems Bunaken/Gangka/Silidan/Gangga might be a match, but, given the following priorities/requirements please provide any advice:
1. We want nice resort, basic is good but required is clean, western style toilet/shower, hot water and A/C and 24hr electricity, and views. We don't need or expect "luxury", but traveling half-way around the world we would like that "wow" experience (which to us doesn't mean "Four Seasons"). We do need internet connection, but don't need/expect TVs. We know we'll pay for being so demanding, but that doesn't mean we want to pay Europe-type prices for Indonesia type value.
2. We want good/memorable local Asian food. It doesn't need to be "fancy" or "gourmet", just basic, local, fresh, and tasty - typical/traditional Indonesian is expected... we would avoid any American/Western-European type fare.
3. Our typical resort program is for me to do a two tank boat dive, then for us to spend the afternoon together, when I like to snorkel and my wife might choose to snorkel or just stay at the shore (beach or rocks)... Boat dives that are close to the resort are needed, no one our or greater distance works due to non-diving wife waiting. For afternoons, we like some freedom of sea and sea-side options, meaning a resort that requires an even short boat ride to snorkel hosue reed might not be a good fit (unless the boat is available "on-demand", and if at no extra cost then maybe a great option, huh?). So, a good shore/house reef is required, if it's next to a nice beach, all the better. We don't mind a little hike around the island to arrive at such a place (if it's not adjacent to our resort)... If we must walk "next door" or down a beach or 10-15 minutes away on the island because our resort offers the other requirements but it's a different resort that has the best shore-adjacent reef, then that's fine. A spa or message for the wife in the morning when I'm away diving would be nice, too.
4. I'm looking for small boat diving, no cattle cars (but then I doubt that's even possible in these places). I guess what I'm saying is I'm perfectly comfortable on small boats that don't have "conveniences" like perfectly set up rigs, and I'm not looking for a service that sets-up and cleans my gear (I'd just undo and re-do it anyway as part of my pre-dive testing, huh?).
5. I do appreciate a DM that can point out all the sealife (I've lost my eye for it since moving to the mountains and no longer diving weekly... and in this part of the world I wouldn't recognize most of it anyway we can be sure). I also would be dissapointed if some DM told me to surface because my "time" was up even if I had plenty of air and was within limits (computer and mannually monitored).
6. I remember when I was backpacking years ago (early 90s), I traveled to the Gili's off of Lombok. The boat ride there involved some of our luggage (backpack) getting wet, and at arrival we had to wade through some depth of water and I slipped and fell and my backpack got wet. Hey, back then it wasn't any problem. But, as this will be an end of a business trip with direct travel home, I won't have a back pack, I'll have a suitcase, and I will have laptop/iPhone/etc. While I bring plenty of ziplocks and even bags for the luggage, and while I'm comfortable on small skiffs/boats, my wife isn't quite as good there, and for arrival/departure we probably want something more substantial and secore from teh elements.
Well, that's a long post, but I know I'd get no good advice just posting "what's a good resort"
Before even learning much at all about Sulawesi, we first considered Sipadan Water Village on Mabul but the travel requirements (foreced overnights) and poor beach and shore-based freediving has us thinking otherwise. Then we thought about Thailand, but wonder if the best diving (diving worthy of half-way around the world travel) is too far from resorts and doesn't work with our afternoon preferences.
So, is N. Sulawesi (besides Lembeh, which we know fits) even a good option for us? Which resort and island (if any) do you think provides the fit to what we're looking for... If not, does some other island/country come immediately to mind?
Thanks!!
Some of you I've already spoken with in PM and email (and you've helped me narrow and reprioritize) and read your posts, so thanks for helping me get this far. I've also done a lot of research online and other sites like Trip Advisor, etc., so I'm really looking for some details.
Although I'm not set on N. Sulawesi as a destination, and some of what I've read online make me question is N. Sulawesi destinations even offer the right fit, if you have expertise on any other locations (e.g. other islands/countries in the area) that you think provide the fit please let me know?
Here's some details:
- Travel for mid- or late-September, or late-October
- I'm a very experienced diver (no worries about currents, etc.), wife is non-diver
- We're not the "Ritz-Carlton" types - while we require clean and nice, we've traveled to low- or no infrastructure destinations like Providencia (part of Colombia off the Nicaraguan coast), camping in slot canyons, or Las Lenas (Argentinian mountains)
- For this trip, we'll do a multi-destination plan to include Lembeh and then one or two other destinations... we don't need much assistance for Lembeh but it's the latter for which we need assistance
- We are only interested in an island option(s), not immediate Manado-area hotels
- We are not budget travelers, so middle- or higher-end are good (and probably required given our demands of a resort)
- We hope to minimize travel, so one fight from major city (e.g. SIN or HKG) followed by a couple of hours land/sea travel is desired... certainly wish to avoid any multi-day travel (from SIN for example) or forced overnights mid-travel
It seems Bunaken/Gangka/Silidan/Gangga might be a match, but, given the following priorities/requirements please provide any advice:
1. We want nice resort, basic is good but required is clean, western style toilet/shower, hot water and A/C and 24hr electricity, and views. We don't need or expect "luxury", but traveling half-way around the world we would like that "wow" experience (which to us doesn't mean "Four Seasons"). We do need internet connection, but don't need/expect TVs. We know we'll pay for being so demanding, but that doesn't mean we want to pay Europe-type prices for Indonesia type value.
2. We want good/memorable local Asian food. It doesn't need to be "fancy" or "gourmet", just basic, local, fresh, and tasty - typical/traditional Indonesian is expected... we would avoid any American/Western-European type fare.
3. Our typical resort program is for me to do a two tank boat dive, then for us to spend the afternoon together, when I like to snorkel and my wife might choose to snorkel or just stay at the shore (beach or rocks)... Boat dives that are close to the resort are needed, no one our or greater distance works due to non-diving wife waiting. For afternoons, we like some freedom of sea and sea-side options, meaning a resort that requires an even short boat ride to snorkel hosue reed might not be a good fit (unless the boat is available "on-demand", and if at no extra cost then maybe a great option, huh?). So, a good shore/house reef is required, if it's next to a nice beach, all the better. We don't mind a little hike around the island to arrive at such a place (if it's not adjacent to our resort)... If we must walk "next door" or down a beach or 10-15 minutes away on the island because our resort offers the other requirements but it's a different resort that has the best shore-adjacent reef, then that's fine. A spa or message for the wife in the morning when I'm away diving would be nice, too.
4. I'm looking for small boat diving, no cattle cars (but then I doubt that's even possible in these places). I guess what I'm saying is I'm perfectly comfortable on small boats that don't have "conveniences" like perfectly set up rigs, and I'm not looking for a service that sets-up and cleans my gear (I'd just undo and re-do it anyway as part of my pre-dive testing, huh?).
5. I do appreciate a DM that can point out all the sealife (I've lost my eye for it since moving to the mountains and no longer diving weekly... and in this part of the world I wouldn't recognize most of it anyway we can be sure). I also would be dissapointed if some DM told me to surface because my "time" was up even if I had plenty of air and was within limits (computer and mannually monitored).
6. I remember when I was backpacking years ago (early 90s), I traveled to the Gili's off of Lombok. The boat ride there involved some of our luggage (backpack) getting wet, and at arrival we had to wade through some depth of water and I slipped and fell and my backpack got wet. Hey, back then it wasn't any problem. But, as this will be an end of a business trip with direct travel home, I won't have a back pack, I'll have a suitcase, and I will have laptop/iPhone/etc. While I bring plenty of ziplocks and even bags for the luggage, and while I'm comfortable on small skiffs/boats, my wife isn't quite as good there, and for arrival/departure we probably want something more substantial and secore from teh elements.
Well, that's a long post, but I know I'd get no good advice just posting "what's a good resort"
Before even learning much at all about Sulawesi, we first considered Sipadan Water Village on Mabul but the travel requirements (foreced overnights) and poor beach and shore-based freediving has us thinking otherwise. Then we thought about Thailand, but wonder if the best diving (diving worthy of half-way around the world travel) is too far from resorts and doesn't work with our afternoon preferences.
So, is N. Sulawesi (besides Lembeh, which we know fits) even a good option for us? Which resort and island (if any) do you think provides the fit to what we're looking for... If not, does some other island/country come immediately to mind?
Thanks!!
