Hello all! My girlfriend and I are planning a one week trip to Bali in four weeks. We are hoping to do as much diving in as many locations as possible, as cheaply as possible. I realize that there are a number of really good shore dives around Bali and I was wondering if anyone can tell me if the dive shops on Bali would be willing to rent tanks without a divemaster, so we can do our own diving for the cost of tank rentals? Also, would it be better to do one of the many dive safari type things or could we plan diving day by day for the same price (especially if we could do our own unguided shorediving)? Any advice would be great. We have our tickets and only need to plan out the diving portion. Thanks for your help!
suggestions for cheap trip to Bali
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There's no requirement to have a divemaster or guide. However a guide can be most useful if you haven't done the site before and in Bali they don't cost much; neither does the diving from shore and jukung (fishing boats). If you're qualified you can just rent tanks
One week isn't that long, moving around a lot will just eat up valuable diving time IMHO
I think most would agree that the USAT Liberty at Tulamben is the 'can't miss' site of Bali. I'd suggest using a guide for the first dive or two until you know your way around it, then go solo (with your gf/buddy) after that. There are also some other good dives (especially macro) nearby, nearly all shore dives. The guides are great for finding critters
For one week, flying in and out of Denpassar, I'd suggest staying in Tulamben for 3-4 days and Padangbai for 2-3. You can do a half-day boat trip to Nusa Penida from PB
I used Tulamben Wreck Divers in Tulamben and Gekko in PB - don't know if they're the cheapest but both good
One week isn't that long, moving around a lot will just eat up valuable diving time IMHO
I think most would agree that the USAT Liberty at Tulamben is the 'can't miss' site of Bali. I'd suggest using a guide for the first dive or two until you know your way around it, then go solo (with your gf/buddy) after that. There are also some other good dives (especially macro) nearby, nearly all shore dives. The guides are great for finding critters
For one week, flying in and out of Denpassar, I'd suggest staying in Tulamben for 3-4 days and Padangbai for 2-3. You can do a half-day boat trip to Nusa Penida from PB
I used Tulamben Wreck Divers in Tulamben and Gekko in PB - don't know if they're the cheapest but both good
AlanWald
Contributor
You will find a guide will make your dive more interesting and more fun. They are generally younger than most divers and have better eyesight.
I doubt that you would be able to find such tiny critters as pygmy seahorses without a local guide not to mention the stonefish, ornate ghost pipefish, crocodile fish, leaf scorpion fish and other critters that camouflage themselves well. Also for safety reasons, local guides know the currents and in general they are smaller than most divers and don't use much air. So it is like having a self-swimming "Spare Air" in case of true emergencies.
I was on a dive in the Bunaken area at a site known for its wild currents (and bigger fish) and started with my assigned guide from the dive operation, lost him, then followed another guide from the same dive operation, lost him and finished the dive with dive guide from another dive operator.
The guides don't make much so tip generously if they do a good job. I had the same guide in Bunaken/Lembeh for four years in a row (one month each trip).
I always tip the dive guide in cash but also leave them some gear like a clip or a safety sausage or a plastic magnifying "glass" (I get these for about $5 in the US, not a fancy dive one just the regular type and they work fine, I put a small piece of nylon cord thru the hole in the handle and loop it around my wrist and tuck it into the sleeve of my dive suit when not using it and use it on my trip and give it to the guide at the end of my trip).
Do as many night dives as you can and carry a small dive light for day time use to look into crevices and caves.
On a night dive at Lembeh Island we saw a crab spawning. It was like being in a National Geographic Special.
I doubt that you would be able to find such tiny critters as pygmy seahorses without a local guide not to mention the stonefish, ornate ghost pipefish, crocodile fish, leaf scorpion fish and other critters that camouflage themselves well. Also for safety reasons, local guides know the currents and in general they are smaller than most divers and don't use much air. So it is like having a self-swimming "Spare Air" in case of true emergencies.
I was on a dive in the Bunaken area at a site known for its wild currents (and bigger fish) and started with my assigned guide from the dive operation, lost him, then followed another guide from the same dive operation, lost him and finished the dive with dive guide from another dive operator.
The guides don't make much so tip generously if they do a good job. I had the same guide in Bunaken/Lembeh for four years in a row (one month each trip).
I always tip the dive guide in cash but also leave them some gear like a clip or a safety sausage or a plastic magnifying "glass" (I get these for about $5 in the US, not a fancy dive one just the regular type and they work fine, I put a small piece of nylon cord thru the hole in the handle and loop it around my wrist and tuck it into the sleeve of my dive suit when not using it and use it on my trip and give it to the guide at the end of my trip).
Do as many night dives as you can and carry a small dive light for day time use to look into crevices and caves.
On a night dive at Lembeh Island we saw a crab spawning. It was like being in a National Geographic Special.
Thanks so much for the responses! I have a couple more questions. We are going to be landing on a Saturday morning and leaving Sunday morning eight days later. Would it be more practical to only attempt diving in the Tulamben/Nusa Penida areas with that amount of time (3 days in Tulamben, 2 days Nusa Penida) or would it be a good idea to also fit in the muck diving areas between Puri Jati and Secret Bay for one or two days? I would rather not stretch us out too much for such a short trip but I'd still like to see all that is possible! We also aren't planning on doing all our dives without a guide. We are only hoping that this can be a cheap way to do more dives than we could do otherwise. Thanks again for the responses!
InDaWata
Contributor
You can do quite a few dives in Bali without a guide....
If you DO get a guide, which as mentioned before for some places might be a good idea because of the currents, conditions, finding stuff- make sure you discuss what you'd like to see before hand. Ive had guides in Bali that basically just swam around and didnt show me anything. It was quite frustrating...
(one of the guides at Tulamben decided to lay on his back on top of the wreck at one point and blow bubble rings for about 5 minutes...!)
In Tulamben you can rent tanks and gear at Matahari for cheap. (I think one tank was 50,000rp- equipment was 150,000?). It was much cheaper than any of the dive operations in the area.
You might be able to theoretically hire a ride from there to Seraya and do the shore dives there too.
You may also be able to rent tanks from some of the smaller shops around in places like Lovina, Amed and Perm. but in my experience not after you have made some sort of personal connection with the owners (so they know youre not going to kill yourself/run off with the tanks) and dived with them using a guide.. .
KathyDee gave some great advice a while back on this forum, she helped me out quite a bit on my first trip to bali, try searching for the thread.
**
IMO I would spend at least two days diving at Tulamben- there are a few sites to do around there, I dont think you'll get bored! Seraya isnt far either.
Puri Jati isnt so far away from there, two hours drive i think??? I managed to get transport and dives included from lovina to Tulamben for cheap from Wisnu Dive in Lovina. Good shop- talk to them a bit, you'll find a discount somehow...
If you DO get a guide, which as mentioned before for some places might be a good idea because of the currents, conditions, finding stuff- make sure you discuss what you'd like to see before hand. Ive had guides in Bali that basically just swam around and didnt show me anything. It was quite frustrating...
(one of the guides at Tulamben decided to lay on his back on top of the wreck at one point and blow bubble rings for about 5 minutes...!)
In Tulamben you can rent tanks and gear at Matahari for cheap. (I think one tank was 50,000rp- equipment was 150,000?). It was much cheaper than any of the dive operations in the area.
You might be able to theoretically hire a ride from there to Seraya and do the shore dives there too.
You may also be able to rent tanks from some of the smaller shops around in places like Lovina, Amed and Perm. but in my experience not after you have made some sort of personal connection with the owners (so they know youre not going to kill yourself/run off with the tanks) and dived with them using a guide.. .
KathyDee gave some great advice a while back on this forum, she helped me out quite a bit on my first trip to bali, try searching for the thread.
**
IMO I would spend at least two days diving at Tulamben- there are a few sites to do around there, I dont think you'll get bored! Seraya isnt far either.
Puri Jati isnt so far away from there, two hours drive i think??? I managed to get transport and dives included from lovina to Tulamben for cheap from Wisnu Dive in Lovina. Good shop- talk to them a bit, you'll find a discount somehow...
gunsrunner
Registered
When we went in june 2009 we did a 10 day safari with Aquamarine, they handled everything. All we had to do was dive, eat and drink.
It took us 3.5 hrs to travel from Kuta to Menjangin, then 3hrs from Menjangin to Tullamben, then 3 hrs from Tullamben to Kuta. So to go around the whole island by bus is about 9.5 hrs in total.
In Oct 2009 we stayed in Sanur and travelled to Tullamben which took 2.5hrs and Padang Bai was 1.5hrs.
I would recommend Aquamarine, but i'm sure if you talk to most operations they will help you whatever you want to do.
Shore divin in Sanur was ment to be good, but we didn't get around to it.
When we asked for a specific dive master, we were told and were happy to pay th $5US per day
It took us 3.5 hrs to travel from Kuta to Menjangin, then 3hrs from Menjangin to Tullamben, then 3 hrs from Tullamben to Kuta. So to go around the whole island by bus is about 9.5 hrs in total.
In Oct 2009 we stayed in Sanur and travelled to Tullamben which took 2.5hrs and Padang Bai was 1.5hrs.
I would recommend Aquamarine, but i'm sure if you talk to most operations they will help you whatever you want to do.
Shore divin in Sanur was ment to be good, but we didn't get around to it.
When we asked for a specific dive master, we were told and were happy to pay th $5US per day
ScubaJS
Registered
I would always recommend diving with a guide if one is available. As others have said, they're able to spot things you can't. Additionally its just another layer of safety for you. They know the local conditions and can keep you out of trouble with the currents. I found Bali to be some of the cheapest diving I've ever done, even with the guides. We did Padang Bai for 10 days or so in January with Absolute Scuba and were very impressed with the quality of the diving and the operation.
Scuba JS
Scuba JS
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