Dive Review of Alam Batu Beach Bungalow Resort in
Indonesia/Bali

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Alam Batu Beach Bungalow Resort: "A Terrific and Relaxing Resort", Aug, 2024, by Gary & Robin Schiendelman, PA, US ( Top Contributor 42 reports with 56 Helpful votes). Report 13099 has 1 Helpful vote.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Although we’ve been to Bali a couple of times in the past, this was the first time we’ve been diving there. We had a week between liveaboards and decided it would be a great time to chill while also doing a few dives in Bali. Based on a recommendation, we chose Alam Batu. They arranged to have someone meet us at the airport and the drive took about 3 hours. The resort itself is beautiful. There are meandering paths through some beautiful landscaping overlooking the ocean. The bungalows are spaced far enough apart that each felt really private. Although the resort is on the ocean, this is not a typical beach resort with white sand beaches where you can walk and sunbathe. This is a volcanic area with black sand, lots of cliffs and rocks on the beach. It is stunningly beautiful. We were in bungalow 2. None of the bungalows is actually on the beach. We could see a glimpse of the water, however. We would recommend 1-4 rather than 5-9 as we heard reports from other guests of nighttime noise from the village behind the resort (dogs, music, roosters, etc). We never heard anything at night. The bungalows are large with plenty of room for “stuff”, a large and comfy bed and a beautiful front terrace with day bed. The very large bathroom is open air with the sink and toilet under a roof and the shower under the sky. Water pressure and hot water were okay. AC was adequate for us. There is a nice pool and scattered along the cliff are a half dozen or so shaded lounging beds. The dining area used for breakfast and lunch is open sided and features 4 or 5 large tables. Breakfast buffet starts around 6:30 and you can also order a cooked breakfast. You order lunch at breakfast. Buffet dinner was served outdoors. Next to where dinner was served is a large semicircle bench where guests gather for a pre dinner cocktail. The food was plentiful and good with a mix of Indonesian and western food and always a vegetarian option. The spa at the back of the resort was very nice. Typical Balinese style. There is a spa package available with unlimited spa use, or you can purchase ala carte. Reservations are made at the front desk. Since we weren’t doing a dive intensive trip, we visited the spa on many afternoons and it was heavenly. There are 2 large camera rooms near the dive center. We opted to do charging and maintenance in our room since we only use a point and shoot and a go pro. We did look in the camera rooms and they seemed very spacious with enough electrical outlets. The camera rooms are locked at night. There is a large rinse tank dedicated to cameras. No tanks or buckets on the dive boats but the dive sites are close and the boats return to the resort after each dive.You can opt to leave the camera on the boat if you are doing another dive that day, or they will take it from the boat to the rinse tank. There is an air tank next to the rinse tank so you can dry and take it to the camera room. Gear area is really nice and outdoors so things dry well. Each guest is given a numbered area with a hanger for your wetsuit, another for your bc and pegs for reg, booties, etc. They also have a hanging mesh basket for masks as well as odds and ends. In the morning, your bc and reg are set up on your tank. After you check it, it’s taken to the dive boat. At the end of the day, they breakdown your gear, give it a quick rinse and hang it up for you. The days schedule is posted by the evening before. You let the manager know your dive plans for the next day and she schedules accordingly. The first dives are between 7:30 and 8, second between 10 and 10:45 and then there are afternoon and evening dives. It was nice as you could do any combination of times. Night dives were an extra charge. If you want to dive the Liberty (a must do!) it's only done as the first dive of the day. If you have not been diving in a while, they ask that you do an orientation shore dive prior to your first boat dive. They schedule the boats at 15 minute intervals because the boats are not docked and each needs to be brought to the pier in order to be loaded and boarded. The dive boats are comfortable with good ladders. Entry is backroll. You are assisted into your gear once you arrive at the divesite. They will take your gear before you get out of the water, of course, you can opt to keep it on. The boats were never too crowded and we never saw more than 3 or 4 people with one dive guide. Dives were 60 minutes. Most of the dives were black sand muck. There were some scattered reefs that were really nice and stunning with the black sand between the reefs. If you like wrecks (or even if you don’t) the Liberty was one of the nicest wrecks we’ve ever seen. It is really big and covered with life. See a video here: [youtu.be link] It is very popular and can be crowded later in the day which is why it’s scheduled for early morning. They do a blackwater dive (weather permitting) that is worthwhile. Getting on and off the dive boats is a daily adventure. The boats are moored just off shore. From the resort, you walk down a set of stone steps and then, depending upon tides and surf conditions they will assist you in a) climbing into the boat from the pier, b) jumping off the pier and swimming to the boat or c) walking from the very rocky beach into the water and swimming to the boat. Option a also had variables depending upon conditions. Sometimes you didn’t even get your feet wet while walking on the pier and other times, the waves were crashing over the pier up to your knees and you had to stop walking so it wouldn’t wash you off. Returning to the pier at the end of the dive saw you presented with the same options. There were multiple times when we had to jump off the boat and swim back. Of course there were always staff to assist once you were at the pier or beach. The distance you had to swim was always minimal as they did try to get the boat as close as possible. The first couple of days we were a bit taken aback but by the end of the week we were very used to it and found it quite amusing to see what the day would bring. We never felt unsafe and the staff were always there to assist but if you have any physical issues or limitations, it might be prudent to discuss in advance with the resort. While we didn’t take advantage of them, the resort will arrange for a number of different land tours if you haven’t been to Bali before. Overall, we had a terrific week. We enjoyed everything about the resort. Whether you are looking for a relaxing week to do some diving or looking for a dive intensive week, Alam Batu will meet your needs.
Websites	Alam Batu Beach Bungalow Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Indonesia, PNG, Solomon Isl, Red Sea, Maldives, South Africa, Mozambique, Cocos Isl, Galapagos, Socorro, Palau, Var Caribbean locations, New Jersey, Florida, No Carolina, Philippines, Fiji
Closest Airport	Denpasar	Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	60-75 Ft/ 18-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	60 minutes, no deco
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Good camera rooms, dedicated rinse tank. No facilities on dive boats.

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Dive Review of Alam Batu Beach Bungalow Resort in Indonesia/Bali

Alam Batu Beach Bungalow Resort: "A Terrific and Relaxing Resort", Aug, 2024,

Photos Submitted with this Report

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Alam Batu Beach Bungalow Resort in
Indonesia/Bali