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Oh boy sorry I missed this. I've done the "passport to paradise" twice before and am heading there again in May. Fantastic deal, great distinct diving in each area and Murex resorts are constantly upgrading their product. They were bought by a new family back a few years I think and have been upgrading their shore and boat products since. Personally I like staying at the Lembeh Resort last, it's the best resort in the group. A little pampering before the long haul home. In May we'll probably only stay at Bangka and Lembeh because we plan on heading out to Rajat for a few weeks while we're there. One key thing for me is that when you move to the next resort you don't have to do a thing. While you're out diving that day, they'll take another boat and deliver all your luggage to the new resort and it's in your room waiting when you arrive at the end of the diving. Can't say enough about the staff and management, very well run in my opinion. One thing that I changed from my first experience is their policy was to keep the same dive guides with you through the whole trip and although this does have some benefits we found that getting new guides at each destinations (especially important for Lembeh)meant you got guides that were more knowledgable where to find critters and what sites were the best recently.

Thanks. No big deal really. We'll get it figured out I'm sure

Very odd. This morning I'm not able to access the link to my account. Can't logout either. I tried closing my browser, deleting cache and that didn't help at all. Only thing working for me is I can access the forums. Hovering over the links shows that it is being recognized as a link, but the menu doesn't drop. Thanks for looking into it.

The Private Message and Notice links located at the top right corner on the site do not work for me. I am logged in and they do show I have notices, but I can't retrieve them. Also When I check the box to follow topics I'm involved with I don't get a email notice that there has been activity. I thought I used to get something in email. Is that correct? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks again for the info. I guess what I'm most afraid of is getting in the water with tons of people, just doesn't seem like fun. I get the life vest thing, because it helps them police the snorkel rules. It sounds like Isla Mujeres has lots of whales participating and its close. Thanks

Thanks so much for the responses. I'll have to look into the places in Indonesia. thats our favorite diving spot at the moment. Lasongo, what got my wife started on this topic was our local dive shop has a few openings for a trip to Isla Mujeres in July and August. We used to dive Cozumel quite often until United bought out Continental. Then the pricing got crazy. I looked at the diving in Isla Mujeres because the trips are 5 days(looking for other things to do) and didn't see much great diving there. Maybe you can shed some light on what the diving other than whale sharks is like. Thanks again to all

I'll throw my tip in here. Check out "Passport to Paradise" with Murex resorts in Indonesia. They own at least 3 resorts in northeast Suliwesi including 1 in Lembeh. The package allows you to configure your trip and the amount of time you want to spend at each distinct dive area and resort and they make the transition to your next resort seamless by moving you and your baggage while you're out diving for the day. We've used it several times and it works great as a layover while heading to Raja Ampat. For me the price is quite reasonable. The last time we were there (April 2024) during Alex Mustard's seminar in Lembeh and we got the added bonus of a spectacular slideshow from the participant's at the end of their week!

Hi all Any suggestions on the best place to dive with whale sharks? My wife has it on her bucket list. I'm located in SW Florida, but we travel quite alot. I'm looking for a site that we can do some great diving and have a good chance of getting in the water with these fish. Thanks

Don't what country you're located in, but isn't there some problem with warranty? I think I remember reading somewhere that if you needed warranty work done, S&S said it had to be done in country of purchase. And that could be expensive for shipping.

Here's hoping it works with my wet lens.

Thanks TimG. I dive plenty in shallow, sunny water. I'm planning on using it on the wet lens in front of my housing. I'm guessing that i should probably attach it underwater to get water in between the lens and filter.

Hi All I was watching the latest episode from the "Underwater Photography Show" with Alex and Matt last night on Youtube. Alex just touched on using these types of filters for his underwater work at Lembeh. Is anyone else using these? can you help me understand the benefits of using these? Is there a specific filter manufacturer for underwater work? I do lots of shooting at the Blue Heron Bridge and it has a similar environment as Lembeh, so I'm looking for the benefits for me. Thanks

Hi all. I've been shooting UW photography for a few years, but have never had any pictures printed for displaying. I'm not doing this for selling, don't really think my skills are there yet, but my wife has been prodding me to get some printed for artwork for us. I'm planning on doing either metal or acrylic as medium, any suggestions would be great on that topic. Also what I'm most interested in is after doing any post corrections how do you get your photo files ready to be printed? How do you handles sizing? do you set the jpeg file to the canvas size and shape in photoshop to the size you want the end product? or leave the file as big as possible? also do you leave your pictures at original photo format you shot? Or go for square? Most of my work is macro, I haven't done much wide angle yet. TIA

Thanks for the info. That was not my experience on my attempts at bonfire. My first was done years ago when t was first coming out. They actually did large lights (hence Bonfire) on shore. and the other time was more like a shallow blackwater dive. This produced a ton of critters, too many to get photographs. Again a few years back. I'm also not familiar with any of what you speak. I Haven't really looked for info on bonfire dives. I'll have to look this up when I'm in Bonaire this winter. Thanks for the info.

Not sure what heptic is, but for me the difference was the action. The bonfire dive I did had mostly recognizable reef creatures on a night dive, where blackwater has just the craziest creatures. I done blackwater in Lembeh and Palm Beach, Florida and there is so much life in the water column and I also love the feeling of the drift. I only wish I could do it more, because so far I have failed at the photography side.

I've traveled to Bonaire every year for the past 30+ years. I can't seem to figure out why no operator does blackwater dives. They have this deep protected trench between mainland and Klein and they also have the windward side. I have to say I haven't had great experiences with bonfire diving. Just not the same.

I have the 1st edition of this light (only 1000 lumens I think) and I could never get decent shots of anything. Just didn't seem bright enough. It's laying in a box in the back of the closet. These pics make me want to bring it out and give it another try. Thanks for the report

Ive been using solid core cables that I made a couple of years ago for about $5 a piece. The ends are removable so if a cable has a problem i just slip the ends on a new piece of cable and away we go! I was told that the solid core cable wouldn't work well, but never had a problem yet. My cables are not as organized as some of yours I'm sure, but its worked for me. I dive about 200 dives or more a year. Its great on my setup of Sea & Sea strobes and both a Nauticam and UWT flash triggers. I think I bought the cable (about 10') and end caps on ebay.

Thanks, thats good to know. I also like reefs too. The problem i have with other areas is that we only have 2 weeks and wasting a day or two traveling just doesn't make sense to me. Now if I had 3 weeks or month? someday.

Hey thanks for the response! i've been leaning in crystal blue's direction. My wife doesn't want to spend more than a week at Anilao (she's not a photographer) is there anything close that has good reef diving? I hate to waste a day traveling to a new destination. Thanks again

Thanks for the help. Not sure what happened, but it's working now. I got these last 2 responses

Good call! Thank you.

nope didn't get your reply. mmmmm

Just checking. I have the "follow topic" switch on and although I used to, I non looking get a email reminder that some activity has occured

Thanks for the info. some good things to discuss with the group. We are already spending a week in Puerto Galera and thinking maybe a week in Anilao and hopefully a week somewhere else. Any recommendations for Anilao resorts? I've heard that some resorts have a lot stairs to get around. We have an older couple in the group that might be a problem. Thanks again.