Dive Review of Eco Divers/Mercure Manado Tetali in
Indonesia/Bunaken

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Eco Divers/Mercure Manado Tetali: "Don't bother with this side of the island...just go to Lembeh Strait!", Feb, 2018, by Eileen J Councill, FL, China ( Contributor 14 reports with 7 Helpful votes). Report 10127 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	Two years ago we dove Lembeh and loved it. While there we were told about Bunaken and diving on the other side of the island. So, this year we decided to try Bunaken. The diving is average at best. There is decent variety but it's hard to see the same things every dive and get jazzed about it when 2 hours away is the best diving in the world. We had heard that the muck diving here was excellent and the wall diving was superb as well. We have not found that to be the case. We have cut our time here in half and are heading back over to Lembeh to finish the trip. Eco Divers is a nice dive operation though their attention to detail is limited. For example, they boasted dry towels after every dive but on one trip I had to ask three times for them to get dry towels as the ones left on the boat were a) wet and b) had been used as pillows for whomever had been sleeping on the boat before our dive. They boasted fresh fruit and bisquits and other items to snack on. The first day of diving they had about 15 bisquits left in a jar. Once those were gone, there was nothing else provided. The next day there were no snacks. I had to ask if snacks would be provided in the future as going out for a 5 hour trip and 2 dives without some nourishment is not ideal. They did provide hot water with coffee, tea, hot chocolate and regular water. Lastly, they have a tub for cameras but just about every Chinese (that's their main client) diver put their mask into this tub. The crew was not vigilant. They also hung the soap for the face mask above this tub so the excess soap was constantly dropping into the camera water. The ratio of diver to dive master was 1:2 and in some cases 2:2 or even 2:1. I was surprised at how many dive guides they put in the water although one was spotting and I am not sure what the other one was doing. They did a good job setting up equipment but I was disappointed that a) my tank was never a full 3000PSI and b) no matter how many times I asked to set my BCD high on the tank, they never did it and I always had to adjust it. Straps were not carefully monitored either and I often found them stuck behind the tank strap on the tank. It was the lack of attention to details that bothered me. Dives were a full 60 minutes. After diving with the same guide every day I thought he would stop asking me for my air left but he never did. I appreciate that he was cautious and perhaps it was a dive company rule but it felt a little ridiculous. The guide did try to find interesting things but there was not a whole lot to find. The walls are pretty but again, with Lembeh 2 hours across the island, it's really hard to keep diving at Bunaken. There is a lot of coral damage and bleaching. There were some healthy sections as well but overall sub-standard. The hotel is lovely, the staff kind and helpful. Eco Divers is not connected to the hotel at all.
Websites	Eco Divers
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Red Sea, Galapagos, Bali, Egypt, Philippines, Indonesia, Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Mozambique, South Africa, Hawaii, Pacific, Palau, Guam, Yap, Maldives, Lembeh Strait, Kenya
Closest Airport	Manado	Getting There	Direct flight from Singapore or from Shanghai, Guanzhou
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	83-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	10-25 Ft/ 3-8 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Depth was 30 m, time was 60 minutes. There was a dive guide with you for every dive.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	There was no accommodation at the shore. There was a clean rinse tub on the boat.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Eco Divers/Mercure Manado Tetali in Indonesia/Bunaken

Eco Divers/Mercure Manado Tetali: "Don't bother with this side of the island...just go to Lembeh Strait!", Feb, 2018,

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 Eco Divers/Mercure Manado Tetali in
Indonesia/Bunaken