 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeArticlesDiving DestinationsLearning Scuba DivingMarine LifeMiscellaneousDiscussion GroupsGeneralScuba EquipmentScuba LocationsAustralian ScubaUK ScubaDirectoryScuba Clubs |
Scuba Forum / Scuba Locations / April 2005Newbie - Bali Diving
I'm looking for suggestions for dive shops/trips/locations/info. I'm going in August for a month for the first time. Staying at a friend's condo in Nusa Dua. Free! I'm a divemaster with too many years experience all over the world; mostly dive the cold waters along Southern California coast. I've read about Nusa Penida and Lembongan Islands. There are repetitive warnings about current. Is the drift diving any more difficult than Cozumel? Thanks! Be well my friends > *From:* "Michael" <troutte@SPAMSUXcox.net> > *Date:* Wed, 6 Apr 2005 13:37:30 -0700 > > I'm looking for suggestions for dive shops/trips/locations/info. Ask for Kristie or Annabel at Aquamarine, www.AquaMarineDiving.com Very good outfit...... > I'm going in August for a month for the first time. > Is the drift diving any more > difficult than Cozumel? Done both and i would say that Cozumel is nice an easy, and Nusa is fast and furious..... http://www.morg.co.uk/malaysia/seaventures/index4.html Dave Morgan at work in UK > I'm looking for suggestions for dive shops/trips/locations/info. There is a non-profit local diving club in Bali; http://www.kapalselam.org/. They were very helpful to me when I emailed them about conditions / advice for diving in Bali. You might be able to join one of their trips, and if not you can ask them for recommendation for local dive centre. Michael Hi, I'm a new diver, but I just returned last saturday from a week vacation in Bali and dove both Tulamben and Nusa Penida with my boyfriend who is an advanced diver. (He also manly dives S.California) so we were both agast at how beautiful it was. I can't compare it to cozumel as we've only been to Cancun, but it blew any other hawaii and carribean diving I've done away for me! The current during Nusa Penida dives WAS extremely strong compared to any other drift dives I've done, but pleasant at the same time as we had a small group which was split into 2, one being just me and my boyfriend with our divemaster so it was easy to stay together. You didn't even have to swim! You could literally just drift! It gave you the sensation of flying. The coral and fish were fantastic. Tulamben was great too but a bit of a drive (approx 2h) but worth it. The US Liberty ship from 1942 torpedod by the japanese was pushed off shore into the ocean by the volcano that erupted in 1962 & therefore makes it a spipwreck dive about 30yrds off shore. Very cool! Went to 90ft on that dive. Again great coral and fish. We only did 4 dives total but if I stayed longer I would have taken the even longer drive to Manjangen island as this is suppost to be another highly recommended site. Anyway, to end my novel- we chose BIDP (Bali International Diving Professionals) as it is a Balinese owned company with great reviews on the internet (regularly serviced equip, etc) that had decent boats and vans compared to some of the others companies. Web site is "BIDP-balidiving.com" They were very friendly as are all the Balanese and divemaster "Rasta man" was great! (snipped for space)> suppost to be another highly recommended site. > Anyway, to end my novel- we chose BIDP (Bali International Diving > Professionals) as it is a Balinese owned company with great reviews on the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > They were very friendly as are all the Balanese and divemaster "Rasta man" > was great! Glad you had such a great time! And now, off onto your further adventures in diving. I hope you loved Bali on shore too. Do you have more to tell? and speaking of "on land" Bali...did you get to Tirtaganga, the water palace? Its about as far from Den Passar that one can get -- which is good. Its nice to get away from or go beyond the tourist traps of Kuta or Ubud or even, God forbid, Den Passar. But anyone who has only dived Cozumel and dives in a place like Bali is surely to be impressed beyond belief, but there's much more to impress when you get to dive anywhere in the Indo-Pacific region (remote sites far from the reef pillagers) as opposed to the paltry few corals that one sees in the Caribbean or the damaged corals of Cozumel. I don't recall any dive tour operator sending dive tours off to Bali -- yes....the dive tour group might stop there while heading for greater glory elsewhere on a dive charter -- just to let's its clients rest up or see the "land" Bali and do the "touristy kind of thing for a few days, but there's much more out there beyond underwater Bali, accessible only by dive boat charter that would create an unbelieveable frisson of excitement with a novice diver, such that would leave Bali diving as a faded memory for the uninitiated or for the greenhorn. > (snipped for space)> suppost to be another highly recommended site. > > Anyway, to end my novel- we chose BIDP (Bali International Diving [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > I hope you loved Bali on shore too. Do you have more to tell? (snip)> I don't recall any dive tour operator sending dive tours off to Bali -- I know these guys go on a fairly regular basis: http://www.dasilvadive-tours.com/ (snip) Daniel Kessler <dkessler@pop.cybernex.net> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :But anyone who has only dived Cozumel and dives in a place like Bali is surely :to be impressed beyond belief, but there's much more to impress when you get to :dive anywhere in the Indo-Pacific region (remote sites far from the reef :pillagers) as opposed to the paltry few corals that one sees in the Caribbean or :the damaged corals of Cozumel. I've dove both regions and think they are both quite nice. The fish populations are noticeably different, the Indo-Pacific has more soft coral, but, the quality of the diving is about the same in each region. For the record, my Indo Pacific diving consists of two trips to Palau, two to Fiji, and one to Truk. Don't know how similar or different these places are to Bali. Ok, Truk is different, I know. Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. I was actually wondering how the diving is in Palau. Now that we have just returned from Bali we are eager to plan our next get away and a friend of mine (non-diver) told me to check out Palau. My boyfriend also heard interesting things about a place I have never heard of (which does'nt mean anything)- "The Bikini Atoles"? He said this place is where the US used to test military weapons on ships so now you can dive a bunch of shipwrecks there. Have you ever heard of it? He was also interested in the Marshall islands, but those seem hard to get to. > a place I have never heard of (which does'nt mean > anything)- "The Bikini Atoles"? Not into wreck diving then............ For those that have dived Chuuk..........Bikini is where we would love to dive.........it is expensive to get to, the island only takes about a dozen divers at any time........no doubt others can comment with more info than me............... Take out the "goes diving" bit.... Trip photos on line at www.morg.co.uk Thanks for the great photos. Looks like Malaysia is the place to be. I'm definitely taking notes! I can't believe that blue ringed octopus! Thanks for the great photos. Looks like Malaysia is the place to be. I'm definitely taking notes! I can't believe that blue ringed octopus! > ...Bikini is where we would love to > dive.........it is expensive to get to, the island only takes about a > dozen divers at any time........no doubt others can comment with more info > than me............... Expensive trip, and deep wreck diving. Better have experience with doubles and deco before you go. -hh In article <{NOSPAM-rm_to_reply}rec-scuba2005-19E1AB.07570813042005@news.giganews.com >, {NOSPAM-rm_to_reply}rec-scuba2005@huntzinger.com ( H. Huntzinger) wrote: > Expensive trip, and deep wreck diving. Better have experience with > doubles and deco before you go. It is indeed expensive, have tried to find ways of getting there on the cheap but found nothing so far, if one decides that one can afford the cost, the realisation soon dawns that there is a lot of diving that can be done elsewhere for half the cost. The doubles and deco, i believe that they do give instruction before diving takes place, but i agree some experience is required. 200feet down is not the place to "see if you like it" Chuuk (truk) was deep in parts but there are dives that are "shallow" and would not faze less experienced divers, the Thorrfinn did have its own deco regime that all had to follow regardless of computers showing no deco needed. This is where we learn to "blow rings", while hanging around decompressing.......... Take out the "goes diving" bit.... Trip photos on line at www.morg.co.uk "Christie via ScubaMonster.com" <forum@ScubaMonster.com> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :I was actually wondering how the diving is in Palau. It's rather quite nice. Lots of soft corals, giant clams, and pretty fishies. If you go, think about doing a liveaboard. I've done land based and liveaboard. Land based involved very long boat rides each day. Liveaboards might have also, but that would have been at night or during lunch. Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. Thanks to everyone for all the info. Does anyone know anything about Puerto Vallarta diving (Los Arcos or Isla Marietas) Suppost to have underwater calves?? I'm leaving for Puerto Vallarta in a few weeks and curious if we should dive or not. Sorry for the typo- I meant "caves" of coarse! HA HA! > I've dove both regions and think they are both quite nice. The fish > populations are noticeably different, the Indo-Pacific has more soft [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > two to Fiji, and one to Truk. Don't know how similar or different > these places are to Bali. Ok, Truk is different, I know. Cozumel was great when i did it, nice corals, clear water, warm water, nice drifts. Not that much fish life......... Fiji was disappointing, Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon was awesome (for the wrecks) fish life......i think we saw a couple of fish during a 10 day stay on Thorfinn, Bali is much much better for fish, amazing critters.......amazing drifts.......and the Liberty is a nice dive but not what i would call "world class" wreck diving.......now Sipadan....Mabul....Kapalai knock them all into a cocked hat......if its a varied fish life you are after, big and small you cant beat the Celebs Sea. The Turtles, Sharks, Barracudas and Herds of Bumpheads on Sipadan make it a great dive destination, Mabul would be hard to beat for "muck diving".....the absolutely amazing creatures i have seen there defy imagination..........and Kapalai for the clear waters and Frogfish, Ghostpipe fish and much much more.........for me......great diving is found in the Indo Pacific/Malaysia area......... Some foto's on the link below....... http://www.morg.co.uk/malaysia/seaventures/index4.html Dave Morgan at work in UK "Fiji disappointing?" I've had 13 trips to Fiji including three live-aboards. Apparently you didn't get out to the remote spots. There's still fanstastic diving in Fiji but not necessarily off the edge of Viti Levu. You have to go out on a dive charter. Otherwise, you haven't exposed yourself to the best Fiji has to offer. > I've had 13 trips to Fiji including three live-aboards. I would not argue with you, only having been the once. We went out of Pacific Harbour, what we did we enjoyed, but after Sipadan which was on the same trip we found it Dissapointing, and while were talking dissapointing so was the Barrier Reef, the Maldives, and my wife refuses to dive the Northern Red Sea again.....mind you she did'nt like Papua New Guinea while i enjoyed it. What suits one does not allways suit another, and I've learnt that you can do the same dive on different occasions and they're worlds apart....... My favourite dive site.......Yolande Reef, Ras Mohamed, Sharm El Shiekh, Red Sea. Take out the "goes diving" bit.... Trip photos on line at www.morg.co.uk Hi again! Of course- I could go on and on forever about how cool it was in Bali! Mostly what made it so enjoyable was the people. They were soooo hospitable and gracious to receive any kind of tourism. They love Americans and say that we are one of the most generous of people when it comes to tipping them. This is important to anybody but especially these people who make about 30$ a month or much less if working in the rice fields (which were beautiful). Anyway, the temples were fantastic. (There are about 1000, mostly all hindu on the island). We stayed in Ubud and loved to be near the rice fields and the center of all the crafts like wood and stone carving. What made it even better was having a driver for the week for about 20-45$ a day to take us all over the place. He spoke good english and had airconditioning (very important) but also very informative. Just in case anyone is interested- his name is Dewa Parwita and email: Dewaparwita@hotmail.com or Baliexplore.com The only place that rings a bell related to water was the "spring water temple" which was really interesting because it is built around a natural spring and the Balanese come to bathe in it to cleanse themselves spiritually as well as give offerings. You can actually find "offerings" to the gods all over the place in Bali as they are extremely conscientious when it comes to their religion. They place these little grass woven baskets with flowers and rice, etc out in front of every house, store, marketplace, place of business and temple you can find! A very uplifting place and very safe. Saw many lone female travelers there. > Hi again! > Of course- I could go on and on forever about how cool it was in Bali! [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > fields (which were beautiful). > Anyway, the temples were fantastic. Did you see Tanah Lot? http://travel.u.nu/photo-id-30.php http://en.voyagevirtuel.info/bali/tanah-lot-32.php http://en.voyagevirtuel.info/bali/tanah-lot-32.php http://jabenoit74.tripod.com/indo01_bali_tanalot.html http://www.pbase.com/kage/image/31851494 http://www.tssphoto.com/potd/pd75/pd032300.html http://www.msphoto.ca/S_E_Asia.htm http://www.macdesktops.net/showphoto.php/photo/757 (There are about 1000, mostly all > hindu on the island). We stayed in Ubud and loved to be near the rice > fields and the center of all the crafts like wood and stone carving. What > made it even better was having a driver for the week for about 20-45$ a day > to take us all over the place. He spoke good english and had > airconditioning (very important) but also very informative. You were very fortunate. Our drive spoke English, but I could barely understand him. My travelling companion spoke Basa Indoinisian and so they chattered away like magpies. I eventually settled for enjoying the sights. :^) Just in case > anyone is interested- his name is Dewa Parwita and email: > Dewaparwita@hotmail.com or Baliexplore.com [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > marketplace, place of business and temple you can find! A very uplifting > place and very safe. Saw many lone female travelers there. Thanks for all the great pictures. Yes, we did visit Tanah lot and thought it was beautiful. Noticed your pictures of Costa Rica. We were considering going there next year. Looks like there can be lots of sharks! How was your experience? I was also looking into whether or not we should bother bringing our scuba gear along with us to Puerto Vallarta in a few weeks for a 5 day get away. Have you heard anything positive about diving there? > Thanks for all the great pictures. Yes, we did visit Tanah lot and thought > it was beautiful. Noticed your pictures of Costa Rica. Those weren't my shots of Costa Rica, maybe you saw them on one of the sites that had pics of Tanah Lot? >We were > considering going there next year. Looks like there can be lots of sharks! How was your experience? That's what I hear, but other than Cocos, I haven't heard too much to recommend going to CR just for the diving. > I was also looking into whether or not we should bother bringing our scuba > gear along with us to Puerto Vallarta in a few weeks for a 5 day get away. > Have you heard anything positive about diving there? Not enough to make me bother to take my gear on a 5 day get away to PV. But have fun anyway. PV can be a blast. Costa Rica! I love the country. I love the people! It is a piece of Heaven on earth except for San Jose. But the shore diving leaves much to be desired. There is too much rain and too many rivers, resulting in brown water and minimal viz along much of the coastline. And horrible sand fleas (no seeums). Cocos Island is wonderful diving for pelagics but a long boat trip. I think it is about 320 miles from the mainland. Stay Wet. >>We were >> considering going there next year. Looks like there can be lots of [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > But have fun anyway. PV can be a blast. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.