Where in Bali would be my home base?

[beth_castroll]

My husband and I are thinking of going for a 2 week dive vacation to Bali in April 2015. We are both AOW with 100+ dives. We would bring our own gear from California. I'm looking for help in pinning down a location.

We would ideally like a location that we could rent a small cabin/villa with kitchenette for 8-10 days and walk to dive shop, restaurants and shopping like we can in West End, Roatan, or Cozumel. We would like to dive 10-12 dives from this location without repeating a dive. A mix of walls, muck and drift dives would be great. We prefer to settle into one location rather than go the "Dive Safari" route

From this location we would like to take a day trip or over night trip to Ubud for sight seeing.

We would also want to tack on a 2-3 day trip to Komodo.

suggestions?

 

[divewench1]

I would choose CandiDasa, maybe the Dasa Wana, which is very close to many of the dive centres, and has nice rooms with self contained kitchens. You can get to all the dive sites in Bali from here, even the more distant ones on the north coast. CandiDasa (or Padang Bai) are great bases for diving in Bali. If you would rather stay in Padang Bai, I think the only choice with kitchens is Bloo Lagoon Resort.

http://www.dasawana.nl/ewelcome.html

BLOO Ecotourism Villa Padangbai Bali, Bloo Lagoon Bali, Bloo Lagoon the Eco-tourism Villas Spa & Restaurant at Padangbai Bali

 

[EL Pistoffo]

I'm planning the same type of trip for next year. As of now I leaning towards staying at the Bloo Lagoon Resort in Padangbai and diving with Geko to the various sites around Bali. I'll probably have Geko make accommodation arrangements if I go this route.

 

[charlier]

Beth

I agree with divewench1 - easter Bali is a good suggestion for accommodation. As an occasional commuter to Bali, the region around Candidasa or Manggis is really nice. Padang Bai is a convenient location, but the the town does not have super nice hotels and the restaurant options are limited.

Are you going to rely on dive operators for pickup in the morning or will you try to find a mini-van taxis locally? You might want to consider and staying a few days near Tulamben. Early morning dives are difficult commuting for a 1 to 1 1/2 hr drive to Tulamben. The Liberty wreck is great in the early morning, before the crowds arrive. One other consideration is the commute from Bali to Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan. I'd make sure that you work closely with a local dive shop, so they can advise you on local conditions, tides, and currents. Leave early morning if possible.

FYI, most dive shops are located in Padang Bai or near Tulamben/Ahmed. So, if you stay in Candidasa, you will not be able to walk to a dive shop. Bali has wonderful diving and in April, you will avoid the crowds.

Komodo National Park has fantastic diving (with currents to match). Although you can dive in Komodo year round, the dive conditions are better in May onwards. FYI, all of my dive trips to Komodo were on LOB's. Many of the good sites are hard to access from Labuan Bajo. On option, consider a 4-5 days in Bali, followed by a 5-6 day LOB to Komodo National Park (visiting North and South Komodo). On your return to Denpasar from Labuan Bajo, take a overnight trip to Ubud before you return to the USA.

My husband and I are thinking of going for a 2 week dive vacation to Bali in April 2015. We are both AOW with 100+ dives. We would bring our own gear from California. I'm looking for help in pinning down a location.

We would ideally like a location that we could rent a small cabin/villa with kitchenette for 8-10 days and walk to dive shop, restaurants and shopping like we can in West End, Roatan, or Cozumel. We would like to dive 10-12 dives from this location without repeating a dive. A mix of walls, muck and drift dives would be great. We prefer to settle into one location rather than go the "Dive Safari" route

From this location we would like to take a day trip or over night trip to Ubud for sight seeing.

We would also want to tack on a 2-3 day trip to Komodo.

suggestions?

 

[EL Pistoffo]

I too considered staying at Nusa Lembongan and Tulamben for a few days each but more planning would be involved. Since this would be my first trip to Bali, I'm liking the simpler logistics of one spot being Padangbai though Charlier's points such as early diving at Tulamban are valid. I could also reserve doing the Tulamben dives afterwards from Tulamben. Just more stuff to plan. Maybe, maybe not.

 

[charlier]

Hi Pistoffo - Even Bali takes a bit of planning. I have commuted from Padang Bai to the Liberty wreck - it is near impossible to get there early, at least for an early morning dive. One thought is to make your base at Padang Bai, but spend the night before your Liberty Dives nearby in Tulamben. You can easily commute by boat from Padang Bai to Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida. Its just that you would not be the first boat to arrive, since local boats from Nusa Lembongan will arrive first. If you are going to Bali off season, this will not make much of a difference. Talk to Cedric at Geko, I am sure that he will have good suggestions. Have fun, Charlie

 

[divewench1]

if you stay in Candidasa, you will not be able to walk to a dive shop.

Not strictly true Charlier! Depending on where you stay in CandiDasa there are lots of dive centres along the main road; Bali Bubbles, Sub Ocean, Orca, Bambu divers, Alam Asmara, Shangrila divers to name but a few (and in no particular order). Some have rooms/resorts attached, some can arrange seperate accommodation for you if needed, to suit all budgets. All will arrange transfers to and from your hotel too, if it is too far to walk.

 

[charlier]

Not strictly true Charlier! Depending on where you stay in CandiDasa there are lots of dive centres along the main road; Bali Bubbles, Sub Ocean, Orca, Bambu divers, Alam Asmara, Shangrila divers to name but a few (and in no particular order). Some have rooms/resorts attached, some can arrange seperate accommodation for you if needed, to suit all budgets. All will arrange transfers to and from your hotel too, if it is too far to walk.

Whoops, I did did overstate my point for clarity. There are dive shops, but most boats depart from Padang Bai or Sanur. I should have pointed out that most dive centers I have used do not work out of Candidasa.

 

[EL Pistoffo]

Hi Pistoffo - Even Bali takes a bit of planning. I have commuted from Padang Bai to the Liberty wreck - it is near impossible to get there early, at least for an early morning dive. One thought is to make your base at Padang Bai, but spend the night before your Liberty Dives nearby in Tulamben. You can easily commute by boat from Padang Bai to Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida. Its just that you would not be the first boat to arrive, since local boats from Nusa Lembongan will arrive first. If you are going to Bali off season, this will not make much of a difference. Talk to Cedric at Geko, I am sure that he will have good suggestions. Have fun, Charlie

Charlier, would May be considered off season? When the time comes for me to book, I will definitely speak with Cedric at Geko. I will need to have a set plan in place before I make the trip. I've already researched staying at Tulamben Wreck Divers or Liberty Dive Resort. I could just arrange for my stay at Tulamben to take place after my dives from Padang Bai. But my overall plan was to dive Bali then do topside stuff like Ubud. Padang Bai is much closer to Ubud so it would be a bit counter productive to go from Padang Bai to Tulamben then back to Ubud. Maybe Tulamben 1st?

 

[beth_castroll]

Thanks to everyone for all their great information.
1. Ideally I would like to walk to the dive center in the morning or take a taxi as long as the taxi's aren't expensive (10 bucks usd each way).
2. Are there short term LOB to Komodo that are 4 days 3 nights?
3. How long is the trip from Bali to Komodo
4. How long is the trip from the airport to CandiDasa
5. How long is the trip from CandiDasato Liberty Dive Resort
6. How long is the trip from CandiDasa to Ubud

I'm beginning to flush out something like. Am I too ambitious?
Day 1 SFO>Hong Kong
Day 2 Take long lay over and eat dumplings in Hong Kong
Day 3 Fly to Bali and check into budget villa home base ($50 a night)
Day 4-8 Local Dives
Day 9-10 Ubud
Day 11-15 Komodo LOB
Day 16 Off Gas
Day 17 Bali>Hong Kong >SFO