After leaving Nusa Lembongan, my next dive destination was Tulamben, located in the north-eastern region of Bali. Tulamben is north of the Nusa Islands. However, before I headed to Tulamben, I decided to spend a few days in Seminyak at the Dash Hotel. Note, there might be a more efficient way to travel from Nusa Lembongan to Tulamben. Nonetheless, it was relatively cheap to travel, so “fuck it” – I’m on vacation/holiday.
The Dash Hotel Seminyak Bali is probably the most eclectic hotel I’ve lodged in. The hotel is super stylish with a bit of fun kinkiness. Each room has custom iron furnishings, graffiti artwork, and retro-industrial-chic light fixtures. I booked a deluxe room which faces the main street and had a balcony with a mannequin attached to it.
My iPhone photos really don’t do justice. But this is a fun and unique hotel. My room was pretty quiet and clean. The hotel staff is professional, like any other chain hotel.
After a few nights, my next and final dive destination in Bali was Tulamben. I lodged and dived with the team at the Bali Dive Resort and Spa. The Resort is about a 2½-hour drive from Seminyak. I traveled by private car, and the route was quite scenic. We drove along the coast and later around rice fields and villages until we reached the resort. Bali Dive Resort and Spa can organize your pick-up if do not wish to organize on your own.
The Bali Dive Resort and Spa is actually located in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia. Check-in was seamless and quick. I booked a Superior Deluxe room, which included a private pool just in front of the door. This was perfect for a quick dip in between or after daily dives. My room was quite spacious with a comfortable bed, couch, TV, refrigerator, and a comfortable desk area for editing images. The furniture was slightly beat up, but I’m here for diving, so I wasn’t looking for 5-star accommodations.
The on-premise dive operation was quite accommodating. The dive shop offers a very flexible schedule, since most dives are from shore. The system is quite simple, we discussed how many dives we would like to execute on a specific day; which marine creatures we would like to see; and which sites we would like to visit. The scuba diving operation has several small pickup trucks with rear seats that deliver divers to dive sites. The majority of the sites are 5-30 minutes away. During the surface interval, tea, coffee, and snacks are offered. There is always one pickup truck waiting after your dive. It a super convenient and an efficient system.
The first dive we did was on the house reef. The house reef is filled with Nudibranchs, Frogfish, Stingrays, Anemonefish, etc. A great location for simple, long, and exciting checkout dives. Each day, I was assigned to a different dive guide. The dive groups were very small. The largest group I was in had 3 divers plus the dive guide. There were a few days the guides took me out alone at no extra charge. This was fantastic for the aspiring underwater photographer and videographer.
All of the dive guides I was assigned were excellent. One of the guides suggested I wake up super early to find the Bumphead Parrotfish at the Liberty wreck. He predicted there would a high amount of Bumphead Parrotfish and less divers than later in the morning/day. He was right! I took the video below between 4-6am. When we got to the dive site in the early morning, it was still pitch black, and the area had low light pollution.
Another highlight of my trip to Tulamben was observing a Ribbon Eel swimming by me.
I was pretty much tired from a few late nights in Semiyak, so I didn’t explore the surrounding villages as I would have liked. However, the Bali Dive Resort & Spa provided a quite relaxing atmosphere. And the sports massages in the spa were perfect after a few days of multiple dives. I would definitely return for more diving, relaxing, and exploration.
I used a Gopro Hero 6 Black to capture the video images. My underwater camera set-up can be found here.
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