Dive Review of Dive Into Lembeh in
Indonesia

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Dive Into Lembeh: "Second Visit, Still a Delight!", Jun, 2022, by Rik Pavlescak, FL, US ( Sr. Contributor 23 reports with 19 Helpful votes). Report 11967 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was my second time staying at Dive Into Lembeh. Sadly, the owners Steven and Miranda were not on site (good for them, though--after being locked in for 2+ years of the pandemic, they finally got to visit home!) yet the team they left to operate the resort was top notch! The week I was there we had 5 guests: a couple from Germany, a dive buddy pair from San Diego US/Brighton UK and me. Joining us on most of our dives with a separate guide, was Jonathan Lin who also served as "Guest Relations" for the week, along with Ira who was managing logistics. I had to contain my excitement at meeting Jonathan, as I've admired his underwater photography posted to many online forums for a while. I didn't recognize him at first--it wasn't until he showed a few photos at the end of the first day that I saw his watermark and realized who he was. He was very happy to share tips related to photography, strobe positioning and he lent me a 3-way clamp to hold both my video light and strobe. I really appreciated this extra bonus and my photos from that week were much better than photos I've taken previously. The resort is simply perfect. It was designed by divers for divers. There is an excellent camera room with two large rinse tanks just outside and two compressed air guns as well. Each station has its own overhead light and set of outlets for charging batteries. The camera room is secure and monitored 24/7 and it was close to the diving area making everything super convenient. The dive area includes an enclosed area where each diver is assigned a space for their gear/wet suits, etc. It serves as a perfect changing room with a shower just outdoors. The boat leaves just a few steps away from this area. After each dive, divers come up, take off and dip their wetsuits/booties in a tank with a mild detergent and hand them to dry. Typically they're dry by the next dive. General schedule: Pre-breakfast (coffee, tea, toast, cereal, juice) at 6:30 a.m., dive at 7:30 a.m., breakfast following first dive, dive at 10:45 a.m., lunch at 1 p.m., dive at 2:30 p.m. and optional evening dive at 4:45 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. Food was served family style: for a table of 6 diners (5 divers and Jonathan at most meals) they would literally bring out 10 platters of food to share (5 dishes X 2--one for each end of the table). Each lunch and dinner would start with a fresh baked bread (different types) and a vegetable based soup. Then they'd bring out the platters which included an appetizer, steamed rice, a vegetable dish, and two dishes of pork, chicken, or fish (sometimes tempeh/tofu). The food was plentiful, and then followed by home made desserts! The chef was happy to accommodate special dietary requests (such as vegan) and there was plenty of variety throughout the week. The rooms at the resort are perfect: big, comfortable bed, day bed, desk, stool, water bottle ample closet space and small room safe, along with connected Indonesian style bathroom (private, yet exposed to outdoors) with shower, toilet and sink. On the patio of each private cottage are two chairs and small side table as well as a Japanese soaking tub. This is in addition to a large swimming pool with outdoor showers that is conveniently located in front of most of the rooms. The diving in Lembeh is legendary for macro life and this trip didn't disappoint. However, we also did a number of coral reef dives: mini-walls and corals which were quite pleasant. Electric clams, numerous nudibranchs, various fish, sea fans with pygmy seahorses, etc. were featured on these dives, while the muck dives yielded wonderpuss, coconut octopus, blue ring octopus and long armed octopus, bobbit worms (at night), crabs, nudibranchs, sea horses, and so much more. The dive guides are exceptional spotters, and for our group the ratio was 1 guide to 2 or 3 divers. The guides worked well as a team--if someone found something special (like a blue ring octopus or tiger shrimp) they'd signal to the other guide so that their divers could see it as well. This was a photographer's dream: each dive was like a guided tour from subject to subject. As I was photographing one critter, the guide would be off finding the next one nearby; then I'd move on to that and so on. Our group of divers worked well together--easily taking turns with subjects so everyone got the shots they wanted. One special treat: sea turtles lay their eggs on the beach in front of the resort, but the nests are vulnerable to local lizards and poachers. The resort staff dig up the nests and rebury them in above ground containers that they protect and monitor. While we were there one of the nests hatched, yielding 125 baby turtles which they released into the ocean at night. It was very cool to see these tiny hatchlings, yet sad to know that the vast majority won't make it to maturity. When I was planning my 3 week Indonesia dive trip, I debated going back to Dive Into Lembeh. I had enjoyed it very much the first time, but was afraid I might be bored and not see as much to keep me interested. I am so glad I decided to return--and now I look forward to a return trip.
Websites	Dive Into Lembeh
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Costa Brava, Roatan, Key West, Cozumel, Key Largo, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Cayman Brac, Bonaire, Philippines, Bali, St. John, St. Croix, Curacao, St. Eustatius, Fiji, Komodo, Bunaken, Bangka, Lembeh
Closest Airport	Manado, North Sulawesi	Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	80-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	20-50 Ft/ 6-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No deco diving
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 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	Everything perfect for photographers--can't think of how it could be improved.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Dive Into Lembeh in Indonesia

Dive Into Lembeh: "Second Visit, Still a Delight!", Jun, 2022,

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 Dive Into Lembeh in
Indonesia