Dive Review of Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards/Murex BANGKA Island in
Indonesia/Northern Sulawesi

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Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards/Murex BANGKA Island: "Diamond in the Rough - Great Future Potential", Nov, 2014, by Sandra Holloway, CA, US ( Reviewer 3 reports). Report 7965.
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
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Great sea life, healthy reefs and fish (small fish - but plentiful). Excellent MUCK and reef diving. Nice mix of both. Resort part of the Murex group. The Bangka Murex Resort is owned by the owner of the dive shop at Lembeh Resort (Critters at Lembeh)... which speaks to its very well run dive operation. Wonderful underwater... great potential. On land, however, much to improve. Electricity available during only part of the day. I could not get a freshwater shower to save my life (although I'm told this had more to do the location of my room vs the location of the fresh water. Other guests did not seem to have the same troubles). Very hot and humid - often no air conditioning or even a fan. Always a tradeoff between airflow (open windows) or being eaten alive by bugs. Bugs came through gaps in the floor boards and walls - so even with windows shut you were not immune. Outdoor showers were kind of fun, although I never knew what kind of critter I’d showering with or what would be trying to bite my naked bum. We spent 2 weeks at the Lembeh Resort prior to a week on Bangka Island. We wanted more reef diving than MUCK diving at this point - so we chose Murex Bangka rather than resorts closer to Manado. Because of the connection between Lembeh Resort and Murex Bangka - the owner arranged to have us transported directly from one resort to the other without having to stop back at the Manado airport for transfer. The owner even sent a dive guide with us from the Lembeh Resort so that we'd have a person available that spoke English. That was the good news (and really nice of the owner). It was good to have someone available with whom we could communicate - at least for the first few days. The bad news was the dive guide knew a lot about the critters in Lembeh but nothing about the critters in Bangka. I hesitated to write this report because I think the operation has a lot going for it.... with pristine MUCK and reefs diving BUT also it definitely lacks quite a bit topside. . I couldn’t find much info on this resort before I went – so thought I’d pass on my comments for those adventurous folks that wanted to go to Bangka. I'm not a wimp and don't require a lot - but what you get for the money doesn't match up. It's very pricy and very primitive. The resort is supposedly going to be redone fairly soon. It is definitely a diamond in the rough. In the mean time - just know what you're getting into, relax and enjoy it. Bring a LOT Of bug spray, a fly swatter, BYOB and spare batteries for those times you do have power.
Websites	Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Caymans, Fiji, PNG, Maldives, Lembeh, Bali, Australia, Burma, Thailand, Bahamas, throughout the Caribbean and Mexico...
Closest Airport	Manado	Getting There	Manado and then a boat to Bangka Island.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	84-86°F / 29-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	60-80 Ft/ 18-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	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	Camera room available but lack of light (we used our Solas to light our work area). Dive staff pretty good with cameras. Battery recharge facilities available - but sometimes difficult due to intermittent power. LOTS of great subjects to photograph.

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Dive Review of Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards/Murex BANGKA Island in Indonesia/Northern Sulawesi

Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards/Murex BANGKA Island: "Diamond in the Rough - Great Future Potential", Nov, 2014,

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 Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards/Murex BANGKA Island in
Indonesia/Northern Sulawesi