Two weeks in Bali & one other island. Never been. Recommendations?

[flybigjet]

Greetings, all--

Here's the setup:

- Two couples (two Masters, about to start working towards Tech 40 & two AOW)-- all experienced. Did Guam & Palau the last few years, but are heading to Indonesia in the spirit of "something different".

- Timeframe is the last two weeks of September, +/- a few days, West coast to west coast. That's etched in stone and can't be changed.

- No liveaboard this time (I got outvoted, and my wife and I are headed to TKK again next April anyways).

- Need to do a balance of diving and non-diving stuff (outvoted again!)-- critters, culture, food, dragons, etc. The other couple doesn't want to dive every day, so we'd like to spend some time doing tours, trips, etc.

- Bali & one other island total-- we don't want to spend time island hopping and sitting in airports. Think "a couple days of diving, a couple days of on the beach" and repeat. Open to suggestions on what's the best during September.

- Departure will be from either SFO or LAX. Singapore, Tokyo, Guam and Hong Kong are all easy to get to, but we'll have to figure out how to get from there to Bali.

- The girls are Nutty for Nudi's.

- The guys like the larger critters.

- I dabble in UW photography (got a new rig-- yay!) and am just starting to experiment with macro.

- We know NOTHING of Indonesia (other than having flown over it a few times), so any advice is appreciated.

- I just ordered a bunch of books on Amazon last night, so I'll be getting smarter in the next few weeks (although my wife might dispute that).

So-- suggestions? Lessons learned? Stay *here*, avoid *there*? "X" is a total tourist trap? "Go here to get killed"?

Much thanks!

R.

 

[Luko]

Ok since i advised you to open a thread down here, i am quite forced to reply to it

so first, why "the other island" :
- Bali is great for many stuff but lacks what i adore in diving indonesia, that sense of underwater colorful bounty, all in one place. You love orange colored corals, swarms of billions of red or purple basslets swimming over the corals, schools of reef fish, deep blue water with crystal viz : Komodo has it.
- the advantage of Komodo is that it's only 1,5 hour flight from Bali, you'll just waste a day within your trip (the outgoing flight day, going back from Komodo to Bali is a piece of cake , early morning flight, you're diving Bali in the afternoon)
- the problem is that outside visiting Komodo dragons, there is little to see on land. so maybe consider that part as the "dive your head off" part and cut it down to 4 days.
- Komodo NP is out at sea from Labuan Bajo (the main town and airport), hence it's better to lodge in accoms located on islands near the park : check out Komodo resort, otherwise there are options where you can speedboat from Labuan Bajo to the NP islands from downtown, but you need to check with the operator they have speedboats running, not slowboats.
- domestic flights between Bali and Labuan Bajo : use Garuda it's the safer airline in indonesia and you can buy your tickets from their website. the boon is that they allow 23kgs checked in luggage per diver on top of their regular luggage allowance (providing you have dive equipment in your bags).

Kalimaya is another option, its located on Sumbawa island, an island located between Bali and Komodo, airport is Bima:
- the only canadian/european owned resort is great (check out my report), you won't find any other diver around unlike Komodo.
- the diving is a mix of muck with black sand (the ones around a fuming volcano Sangeang are amazing) and wild currenty coral dives like in Komodo.

Bali :
- after 10 years diving in Bali, I can tell there are 3 areas worthwhile diving for a first trip : Tulamben for extraordinary macro especially for nudibranchs, Padang Bai for Molamola and rhinopias, and Nusa Penida for mantas,corals and mola mola as well.
- Tulamben deserves at least 3 days if you are a macro buff, many resorts will provide you with a private guide (you decide when and where you dive just yourselves) and nitrox for free. Liberty dive resort is a good bet, unless you have specific requirements. Whenever you book with a certain dive resort I can give you names of guides you can book and they will help you with macro photo.
- from Padang Bai you can dive Padang bai and Nusa Penida. i like diving with Gekodivers and usually stay at Puri Rai hotel.the transfer between Padang Bai and Tulamben is super easy, it takes a couple of hours in the morning, yo ucan even leave your dive stuff wet in a plastic bag at the back of your driver's car and put that in the next dive centre.
- I would suggest as well you stay a couple of days in Ubud which is the cultural center of Bali nearby temples, painters, dance shows, ceremonies, rice fields, etc.

 

[runsongas]

sipadan/mabul might be a good fit if you can work in travel to KK/Tawau. good mix of macro and pelagic and eco tours for the orangs and rainforest in borneo. sept is still during the dry season.

 

[Diving Dubai]

I'll second Nusa Penida. It's a 30min ferry ride from Bali and quite different topside as well as underwater.

Mainly drift diving so gets a bit old after 3-4 days.I much prefer the vibe topside to Bali too

 

[lamarpaulski]

I did similar, Bali and then chose Komodo. As Luko says. ( His Indo advice is sterling) In September. Amazing diving and incredible sights. Currents seem to turbocharge Marine life to an extent I never anywhere else.

Perfect adjunct to more crowded, cultural Bali. I did 11 days in Bali and 7 in Komodo but could have done more. Both places unique in different ways. My wife was hesitant to do Komodo as she likes all the topside Bali stuff but she loved Komodo too.

Dragons, clouds of fruit bats, fish eagles, whirlpools and very close encounters with a mob of giant mantas to cite a few highlights.

 

[AlMitch]

You would be a fool not to heed Luko's advice!!
The only slight alteration I would suggest is spend at least a week in Komodo.

I have just booked a week in Tulamben for the macro. Usually we stayed at Scuba Seryaya but now we have booked at Ocean View Dive Resort Tulamben which is right in front of the wreck. I am looking forward to snorkeling out to the wreck with my 6 year old!

Hope you are ready to be bitten by a nasty travel bug!!! The indo bug!! Once bitten you get infected with a never ending desire to return again and again and again!

Do yourself a favour and just search "Trip report" here on the INDO board and read through the many trip reports from the amazing contributors. There really is an incredible depth of info that can be mined from this board.

 

[toms]

Dive the north west , secret bay, etc.

 

[Wisnu]

visited menjangan and secret bay in August 2018.
Menjangan is not bad, easy drift diving, healthy corals and small fishes - more fishes if chose time and site with more current but nothing spectacular. The park / top site are better managed compared the last time we visited 3 years ago; very clean with few big deer roaming around.

Secret bay was very disappointing, gave up after 2 hours diving in 17C, literally got nothing.

 

[Nick R+A]

Spent a couple of months in Tulamben at the end of last year. Was really impressed by the macro, many species of nudis and plenty of bigger critters, so I’m pretty sure you’d all be satisfied. Night diving was excellent, as is the wreck, but would recommend avoiding peak times there since it gets incredibly busy with day-trippers. We found 4.30pm to be optimum and often had it all to ourselves. NE coast of Bali is a lot more laid back than south, beautiful scenery and a great place to chill and enjoy Balinese culture as well as diving. Bali and Komodo would be a perfect combo...Wait till that Indonesian diving bug kicks in!!

Here’s some footage from my recent trip:

 

[Centrals]

Padang Bai in Bali + Komodo(land based).
Geko divers in Padang Bai and Scuba Junkie in Komodo(and you get to see the dragons on your departure day).
Ubud is a nice place to wind down after all the travelling and diving before heading home.

Pity that Garuda still not flying directly to USA.