Tulamben

My planned trip in mid April to the Similans has been cancelled due to the Tsunami, and I'm thinking about spending that time at Tulamben instead. Is that a good time to go? Recommendations on places to stay and things to do and see?

I think that you might find 2 weeks a bit long in just Tulamben. I'd recommend staying at Seraya Resort - saves walking up that bloody beach.

I did 4 days in Tulamben in October. I these put the pictures up to advertise my group trip for September 2005 (which is now fully booked). I tried to put up a range of subjects to give people an idea on the species that they will see:

http://www.amustard.com/bali/

Not my greatest set of images. But will give you an idea of things to see. Check out Robert Delfs website too.

Alex

I love Tulamben, but agree that two weeks may be more time than you'd really want to spend in that one place. Haven't stayed at Seraya, but people say it's nice. On the other hand, the walk down the (rock) beach at Tulamben isn't that bad. And I'm usually carrying a very heavy u/w rig with two SS200 strobes.

One plan would be to combine up to a week at Tulamben diving that area (including Amed, Kubu, as well as Tulamben itself), with a few days at Menjangan in the northwest (nice wall dives). Maybe stopping off in between at Lovina if you like mimic octopuses, and if you're diving with someone who knows where they are.

An even better plan would be to get yourselves on a liveaboard in or to Komodo. Most are about 12 days, some longer, others shorter. Spectacular, world class dives, and a lot of variety. For my $0.02, the best diving in Indonesia.

(Truth in advertising: I'm now working for the environmental organization that will be co-managing Komodo National Park, but I've felt this way about Komodo for a long time.)

You'd still have time for a few days in Tulamben at either end of the liveaboard trip, and some day stuff in Bali as well.

Frogfish (Robert Delfs)

I spent a few days at the Mimpi resort in Tulamben, which was very comfortable, but maybe a bit in the expensive side.

There are some stunning muck diving sites just outside the resort. However, if you want to dive the Liberty wreck, there is a bit of a walk. It's quite amazing how we struggle on those pebbles while tiny local women often walk faster while carrying a couple of tanks on their heads.

Mimpi also have a resort in Secret Bay, which has had good reports, but I haven't visited it. It is possible to organise transfers between the 2 resorts.

2 weeks in Tulamben is probably too much, unless you fancy a bit of pampering and relaxation there too (they do fantastic massages on the beach...). If you can get yourself on a Komodo liveaboard, as Robert suggested, you could be in for a real treat !

Frogmansub,

The other MIMPI resort is not at Secret Bay - which is actually near the Gilimanuk ferry terminal to Java! The Mimpi resort is over some hot springs in the mangroves near Menjangan Island, in the northwest, and mainly oriented to diving there. Of course, that does also put you in range for Secret Bay, and trips there can be arranged.

Frogfish (Robert Delfs)

Apologies. I meant near Secret Bay.

JP

Hi, I am also planning a trip to Tulamben (5 days), is there a good website with hotel/dive packages? I looked at the map, and apparently there are several good dive sites near shore, so I think I will look for a package of 5 days that includes unlimited shore diving.

Thanks for any info.

Hello Herb,

actually we are going to Tulamben between April 29 an May 15. I booked two weeks at Joes place. Joe runs an very individual dive center and now has some bungalows of his own. He has very good offers an is highly praised on ther web.

http://www.joesdivingbali.com/

I haven´t been there before but we have very high hopes about diving and relaxing at bali...

Rocha

I'll recommend my new favorite resort near Tulamben, Scuba Seraya. Nice accomodations and simple diving around tulamben. They also have a very nice house reef.

Hi, since several people recomended Scuba Seraya I looked into it, but I saw it is located 3km from Tulamben. I just have one question, how is the diving in Tulamben done? By boat or bus provided by them? The main reason I want to visit Tulamben is the Liberty wreck, I've been in Bali before but never in Tulamben.

Also, I am planning to be there between 22-27 of May, anybody here planning a trip to Tulamben on these dates?

At the moment, people staying at Club Seraya go by jukung (native craft) to dive Tulamben. If your main interest is the Liberty Wreck and/or the other sites in Tulamben Bay, you might want to consider staying closer.

The standard procedure at Tulamben resorts is that you walk to the dive site, but your dive gear is carried by locals, mostly young women, who balance one or two complete sets on their heads. The service is not optiional - shlepping dive gear up and down the beach is a major source of income for people in the local village - this is one of the poorest regions of Bali. (You don't pay for this directly - it's included in the cost of a dive.)

If you've got a very heavy camera rig to carry, that might be an argument for staying at Club Seraya and doing the wreck by boat. Personally, I don't find the walk from any of the resorts to be a problem.

Tauch Terminal is closest to the wreck. Paradise and Mimpi are a bit further away, but more convenient for the drop-off - the three are all within a couple hundred meters.

I used to stay at Tauch Terminal, but since they don't cooperate with outside dive operators, and I do all my diving in Bali through BIDP (a Sanur-based operator), when I go to Tulamben, I now usually stay at the Paradise, which has acceptable and very reasonably priced accomodations. You can arrange diving with them, or use an outside operator.

Frogfish

Scuba Seraya uses a fiberglass boat with a single outboard engine. There are a few sites worth doing besides the wreck. The housereef is nice too. As are the other sites southeast of the wreck. If you just want to do the wreck, then staying at the main tulamben beach would be better. Choices choices.

I stayed at Tauch Terminal. It was wonderful. I loved sitting by the pool at dusk, watching the bats swoop down to the pool for a sip of fresh water. They also arranged diving out of some native outriggers which was some experience! The diving in this area was OK, but not great. The wall on menjangen was better. If you go there, I'd suggest staying nearby at the Tamin Sari resort (spelling phonetic). Incredible place to stay. The best diving I saw was off Lombongan Island on the south coast.