Only 3 dive days in Bali

Hi,

My husband and I are going to Bali in September and I could use some suggestions for making the most of my limited diving opportunities. My husband is not a diver but I've managed to wrangle diving for 3 days out of the 7 we will be in Bali. I can't go there and not dive! The perils of marrying a landlubber ;-)

Anyway, we will be staying in Jimbaran Bay which is a bit far from some of the dive sites as far as I can tell, but I don't care how far or how long the drive is to get to the better dive sites. I prefer wide angle but do have a 60mm lens I will also take along. I will try to see if I can get in three dives per day if I can but will definitely do no less than two.

Any suggestions on "can't miss" or "you'll regret not going there" sites would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Karen

I think the Liberty wreck is a good all around site. There are other sites around there too that are worth doing as well. It takes some travel to get up there from where you will be but it is worth it to maybe spend the night and get in a morning dive on the wreck before the commuter divers come up from Denpasar and arive at aound 11am. September might not be so bad however. I stayed at Tauch Terminal...excellent. All shore diving there. Down where you will be it is easy to get over to There is also diving accesable by boat over to Nusa Penida. I use these guys: (http://www.bidp-balidiving.com/eng/home/). I did not like those sites as well as Tulamben however. Have fun.

Chris

I agree with cdascher that the best bet with the schedule you're on (and with a non-diving spouse), but I doubt that you will want to commute from Jimbaran (extreme south) to Tulamben (northeast) and back every day, though day trips are possible (and one might be tolerable, if there were no alternatives). It would be better to shorten your stay in Jimbaran and relocate to Tulamben. There are several nice places to stay at Tulamben or in the area. In addition to Tauch Terminal, you might also look at Mimpi or Club Seraya. Another possibility, but also requiring relocation to the north, would be Menjangan Island and Secret Bay, in the northwest.

If relocating to the north doesn't work, then diving at Nusa Penida by boat from Sanur would probably be your best bet. September is right in the middle of mola mola season, and Nusa Penida is where this happens. If you haven't seen molas before, this is pretty spectacular. There is also a very good and reliable manta dive at NP. Like cdascher, I also dive with and highly recommend BIDP - I use them for all diving in Bali, including in the north, though that does rule out staying at places like Tauch Terminal or Seraya, who do not cooperate well with outside dive operators. If you want to stay at either of those places, you would probably have to arrange your diving with them too.

Frogfish

i'd really recommend relocating north -- Werner Lau has the dive operation at Mata Hari resort in Menjamin next to the national park -- best diving on the island and an excellent operator

I would guess that when stever writes "Menjamin" he must mean"Menjangan", an island in Bali Barat National Park. I don't know anything about Werner Lau, but I'd question the claim that Menjangan offers the "best diving on the island." It's horses for courses - personally, I like Menjangan well enough once in awhile, but others (including some who participate on this board) don't - find it too boring. It's true that if you've done much diving in the Indo-Pacific, you aren't likely to see anything at Menjangan you haven't seen before, but it's still pretty, and it does have the nicest coral wall diving on Bali. For macro exotica (or even weirdness), many underwater photographers prefer Gilimanuk or Puri Jadi, either or both of which can be combined with Menjangan even on a three day dive itinerary.

For an informed discussion of all of Bali's dive sites, I highly recommend David Pickett and Wally Siagian's Diving Bali : The Underwater Jewel of Southeast Asia, one of the best dive guides anyone has ever written about anywhere.

Here are a couple critters from one afternoon at Gilimanuk a few months ago..... (see next post)...

Painted Dragonet

Histrio histrio....

... and a (breeding) pair of hairy frogfish

Frogfish (Robert Delfs)

Just a funny Bali story. I was there last September and went out one day to Nusa Penida for Mola mola. Nothing. I went up to Tulamben a few days later. First dive out on the Liberty wreck...big mola mola behind the wreck. The divemater has only seen them there twice in 10 years. Bali is a magic place.

Chris D.

If you are furter south, I highly recommend Padang Bai. Awesome diving and 45min access to nusa penida. Dive with WaterworxBali owned by Wolfgang and Chris. Dive sites of Manta Point, Crystal Bay and Staghorn gardens are incredible off Nusa. Sites just off Padang Bai include Blue Lagoon and the local Gili islands.