Tulamben, Bali trip report

Igor Ledo Lizarraga · September 22

There are many other Tulamben trip reports out there as it is a very popular dive destination so I will try to summarise the top tips mentioned in other reports and add some other tips that will make your diving more enjoyable in Tulamben.

When to go

From April to October for best weather with many people preferring September as the ideal time for diving. July-August is more crowded. October is also a good month for diving.

We went in September and had sunny days and calm seas with good visibility in most dive sites.

Where to stay

There is plenty of information in this forum and others about resorts and where to stay.

It all comes down to what your preference is in terms of level of luxury required, budget and wether you are purely photography focus or just happy to dive and take some pictures.

For serious UWP there are two primary options:

1)Stay in a ‘luxury’ resort that allows you to dive with your own freelance dive guide. You can ask around this forum for names or you can also easily spot who they are in FB if you look around.

2)Stay in a UWP focused resort. We choose option 2 and stayed at Utama Villa which is literally perfect for UWP in all aspects. You get some of the best guides in Tulamben who can help with snooting and other techniques plus a perfect dive operation, perfect rooms with a separate entrance from the outdoor open bathroom, plenty of power sockets with no adapters needed, camera setup desk with led lighting and a towel etc.

Diving and Subjects

Most of the diving in Tulamben shore based in sandy rocky dark sand looking for critters however there are nice wide angle sites like the Liberty wreck and the Drop off for a change of scene, some nice soft corals and wide also photo opportunities.

You choose when to dive and where to dive with your dive guide, it is good to have an idea of what you want to shoot so they can plan accordingly.

After 21 dives I would say 90% of the subjects were within the macro to supermacro category in terms of size.

This obviously depends on your dive guide and what you ask them to find but the vast majority of subjects are tiny nudibranchs and tiny shrimp so make sure you pack your macro lens and some strong diopters.

Gear

I was using my 60mm macro lens (MFT format) + diopters almost 90% of the time.

For the Liberty wreck dives and/of reef dive I used the adapted Canon 8-15.

For lighting I mostly used the Backscatter MF-2 Snoot for the small critters and Inon Z240 flashes for the slightly bigger stuff like the pygmy seahorse.

Top dive sites currently

From my last visit it appears the the best dive sites have changed so best to ask your dive guides for what you want to see and they will take you to the best spot.

My favourites where

Batu Niti

Batu Ringgit

Batu Gerombong

Tips

In calm conditions entry/exit is not difficult however some dive sites have big slippery rocks or small rocks that will hurt your feet if you don’t have a good bootie sole.

Do consider taking a bootie with a hard thick sole for this trip.

Torch - must have to spot critters day and night.

Night dive - don’t miss it.

Hood - I ended up renting a hooded vest as I was getting cold towards the end of long dives and not moving much. Consider bringing extra exposure protection.

Black Water diving - Utama Villa can help if you are into it.

Please tip your dive guide, they work hard and are really nice people once you get to know them better in between dives.

Finally, here are some shots from the trip.

More here https://www.flickr.com/photos/igorledolizarraga/albums/72177720320473052