We have been to Indonesia now two times. The first time, when heading for a 'hard core' dive week in Wakatobi, we stayed at Bali at the start and end of the trip. The second time, recently, we went to Sulawesi. Both times we realy realy enjoyed ourselves, both above as well as under water.
With the above experience in mind we started to look for an offerdable combination of the above. Browsing through the options. Looking at the dive reviews at the 'known' sites. We decided to go to Bali and try the diving there.
Looking at the map of Bali there are three locations famous for diving:
- Around Nusa Penida (1&4 on the picture below). Lot's of current, and with some luck Mola Mola*
- Around Tulamben and the world famous "Liberty Wreck" (2&3 on the picture below)
- Near Java, where you can find "Secret Bay" (5 on the picture below)
A cheap flight with super service
When going to place like Indonesia and trying to minimize your expense: look for a cheap flight 1st! We found the best deal flying from Frankfurt with Malaysia Airlines (appr. the same cost of one last year, we now fly both).
Already pleasantly surprized with the super deal, we were in for another surprise: Malaysia Airlines serive. MA show on their website that one can take 10kg of diving gear for free. We had our doubts (we read reviews of people who had to pay a lot of money on their return trip), so we mailed them to verify. "Yes, you can take 15kg of diving gear for free each, just .......". When we didn't comply correctly to their request, they immediately called us the next day to explain - assuring we could enjoy their service. Two days later we received new tickets, clearly identifying 15kg aditional free dive lugage each! Wow.
1st stop in Bali: Paradise re-found
Having been to Kajane Mua in Ubud there is no other option than return when returning to Bali. So no surprise, we are returning. Just a few days of getting into the time zone, getting used to the climate and enjoying some relaxing days before heading for the dive destinations.
Lotus Bungalows
When looking at the distances between the dive sites (see above), and the time to get to the remote places from a central located hotel - 2 to 4 hrs - we concluded it was better to look for a hotel close to the dive sites, rather than spend our time stuck in traffic all day in a minibus. In the Nusa Penida area all reviews pointed at one option: Lotus Bungalows.
Siddhartha - Werner Lau
At the Talumben side of Bali we initially looked at Alam Anda. An hotel afiliated to Werner Lau with extremely good reviews. However, on the Werner Lau site we found that they are opening a new resort close by: Siddhartha. Not much more expensive, but by the looks of it a lot more luxurious. We expected that, knowing it is just opening now, prices will go up soon, so we thougt "let's try it now before it becomes unafordable".
It is still quite some time before we go ........ counting the days already!
