Dive Review of AquaMarine Diving/Griya Santrian Sanur in
Indonesia/Bali (Nusa Penida)

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AquaMarine Diving/Griya Santrian Sanur, Oct, 2011, by James Castanino, DC, US ( Sr. Reviewer 7 reports). Report 6250.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food	N/A
Service and Attitude	N/A	Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I spent a weekend in Bali and did one day of (amazing) diving with AquaMarine. I chose this shop specifically due to their positive reviews on this website as well as their ability and willingness to take me to dive off of Nusa Penida, where I hoped to see mola mola and manta rays. I was not disappointed. I inquired and arranged my day of diving via email. The shop was highly responsive and provided good information beforehand. They sent me an array of choices for my day of diving. (Initially, my friend was going to dive as well, but he eventually dropped out. He is a new diver, and AquaMarine said they would not allow him to do the Nusa Penida dives. After diving there, this is clearly the right policy and I respect the shop for enforcing it.) AquaMarine picked me up at my hotel in Sanur on time at 630am. We then drove almost two hours to the northeast where we caught the boat. We had a chance to get refreshments and have an initial briefing at a local beachside cafe before boarding. The boat ride over the Nusa Penida was ~30 minutes. Boat was comfortable and fast. The Aquamarine Group (5 divers plus 2 DM) shared the boat with another shop and 5-6 other divers. It was a bit crowded but not terrible. We made three dives: Crystal Bay (mola molas), Manta Point (name says it all) and Ped. Crystal Bay had the most challenging conditions, with cold water (66F) and strong currents. The dive turned out to be great. We saw a couple molas at depth and then at the end of the dive they moved into the shallows, swimming circles around us. Amazing. We did see mantas at Manta Point, although "only" two, one from a distance. We saw them at the very end of the dive. There is literally nothing else to see here, so the first 20 minutes or so we spent just hanging out at about 30 ft (and shivering). After lunch on the boat, the third dive was Ped, on the north side of the island. This was a fantastic dive, with 2-3 more molas, which stayed with us for much of the dive. Fortunately the water was much warmer (75F), which after cold dives was welcome. I rented a full set of gear and computer, and I was impressed with the quality and condition (Auqalung regs and BCs). My only complaint was that no one mentioned the chilly conditions until we actually jumped off the boat. In my view, these guys should offer 5 or 7mm suits for rent for divers going to these sites. The cold was challenging with a thin 3mm (no dive lasted more than 25 or 30 min because we were all cold), and would have been miserable if we had not had such luck with the marine life. Overall, a great day of diving with a very good operation. DM Ramon was cheerful and responsible and I would be glad to dive with him again. The entire day of diving cost me about $170, I think. Not cheap, especially for Indonesia, but not crazy considering all the travel involved, lunch, etc.
Websites	AquaMarine Diving Griya Santrian Sanur
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	[Unspecified]
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	surge, currents
Water Temp	66-78°F / 19-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Stayed pretty close together with DM as a group due to strong currents.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters	N/A	Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of AquaMarine Diving/Griya Santrian Sanur in Indonesia/Bali (Nusa Penida)

AquaMarine Diving/Griya Santrian Sanur, Oct, 2011,

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 AquaMarine Diving/Griya Santrian Sanur in
Indonesia/Bali (Nusa Penida)