Tulamben on a budget

A couple of my friends are going to Tulamben to do lots of diving. They'd like to find a place that just rent tanks and do their own shore dives. Any suggestions?

A couple of my friends are going to Tulamben to do lots of diving. They'd like to find a place that just rent tanks and do their own shore dives. Any suggestions?

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Paradise Resort is right on the beach of the wreck. You can arrange for tanks etc there. It's cheap and very decent for the price. For more "mid-level" stuff, Scuba Seraya just south of that is very nice and more secluded and 5 mins boat ride to the wreck and the surrounding sites.

I have just got back from Tulamben. Matahari rents and fills tanks. I stayed at Mimpi, which is convenient, but overpriced given the lack of attention to detail in the room...we had a large rodent, and lots of cobwebs. I think the poor economy has resulted in cutbacks to staff in many areas of Bali, and it showed in the cleanliness of the rooms in many places we visited, which is not what I had found on prior visits. Food however, was excellent, as it was in the large restaurant across the main street where it was much cheaper (sorry, can't recall the name). Although it was high season, after the day crowds leave it is pretty empty. Just remember to dive early, and dive at night. The wreck was not in the best shape compared to my last visit seven years ago. The masses of novice divers with poor bouyancy seem to have taken their toll. I can highly recommend Kubu to the north, and Batu Kelebit to the south. Batu Kelibit had Hippocampus denise, some very cool crinoid shrimp, and the largest bumphead parrotfish I have ever seen. Kubu did not have pygmies that we could find, but had lots of glassfish, squatlobsters, and purple zebra crabs in the barrel sponges. We were the only divers at each site. North of the wreck is apparently quite good, and the area to the left of Mimpi has blue ribbon eels and baby frogfish. DM's commented that a lot of marine life has moved after reliably being found in the same place for years. For example, the jacks are no longer on the wreck: they've moved to Coral Gardens. Perhaps some of it is seasonal, or due to the pressures of divers...

Cheers,

Marli