Dive Review of Murex Dive Resorts in
Indonesia/North Sulawesi

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Murex Dive Resorts : "Passport to Paradise - Bunaken, Bangka, Lembeh", Aug, 2022, by Gary & Robin Schiendelman, PA, US ( Top Contributor 31 reports with 46 Helpful votes). Report 12077 has 3 Helpful votes.
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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	Passport to Paradise in North Sulawesi As soon as we heard Indonesia was opening with a Visa on Arrival, we confirmed our reservations (rolled over from 2020 and 2021) and booked our flights. While we generally like liveaboards for the variety of diving, we thought this land based trip, staying at 3 different resorts, might give us a similar variety. While not as much variety as a liveaboard, there was more than you generally get from staying at just one resort. We flew from JFK through Frankfurt to Singapore on Singapore Air, then took a Scoot Air flight to Manado. All in all, it was long but not terrible. Oh, except that one of our bags was never loaded onto the plane at JFK. Fortunately, it was the bag with our clothing and miscellaneous items and NOT our dive gear. So it turned out to be a minor inconvenience. As a side note, we got an email from Kenya Airways about 10 days after we returned home saying our bag was in Nairobi. All's well that ends well, the bag was sent back to JFK and Fed Ex’d to our home a week later. Our first stop was at Murex Manado. We were picked up at the Manado airport and driven about an hour or so to the resort. The resort is simple but clean and comfortable. Our toilet was not working properly and the owner went above and beyond to get it fixed. Going from Plan A, a simple repair, to Plan D, getting a whole new toilet and having it installed that same day. All of the rooms are set in the garden and are twin cottages. We found it very comfortable even if not luxurious (4 star). There was plenty of hot water with good pressure and a good bed. Filtered water was available in the room. Our first few days, we ordered from a menu. Then, they seemed to get busier and meals were changed to buffet. The food was OK but limited (3 star). Alcohol is pricey unless you are drinking beer. We enjoyed the diving and the dive crew were great. Our dive guide, Stanley, was eagle eyed and SLOW! Diving just how we like it. They limit 4 divers per guide. The boat was comfortable and they encouraged everyone to take their gear off in the water after handing up weight pockets so it was easy to get back on the boat. Entry was a back roll just across from where you geared up. No walking with gear was required. Boat dives were 3 per day and you could do shore dives at any time, depending upon current. Night dives were also available upon request, weather permitting. We encountered current on only one dive. Most of the dives were wall dives, with some muck diving. Could not count the number of turtles on the wall dives! Both Green & Hawksbill and they are everywhere! Gear was taken on and off the boat by the crew. Boarding is from the beach so water shoes or booties are helpful. Boats are spacious so even with many divers and a couple of snorkelers, there was room. After each dive, the boat had fruit, snacks, water, juice and hot tea. A really nice touch! After 5 days, we transferred to Murex Bangka. Our dive guide, Stanley, came with us which was nice. On transfer day, place your luggage on the front porch before breakfast, then just board the dive boat as usual. We did 2 dives along the way and just before lunch, we were at Murex Bangka resort. The beach at Bangka is stunning. It’s very tidal and at low tide, you can (carefully) wander among the corals. Just beautiful. We stayed at one of the beachfront cottages (3 star) and it is in need of work. The room itself is rustic but comfortable but the bathroom was not. The biggest issue was the shower which would go from burning hot to freezing cold constantly. You could never have a good temperature for more than a minute. There are “deluxe” hillside cottages that are newer and got good reviews from the guests who stayed there. We would choose that option if we went back. Food was all buffet and only OK (3 star) with very limited selections. Boats and diving protocol was the same as Manado. Diving was a combination of pinnacle, reef, sandy slope and muck. Only one dive with some current and we drifted with it. Shore diving is available but we did only boat dives so can’t comment on the house reef. We spent five days at Bangka and transferred to Critters@Lembeh. Same transfer procedure as before, bags on the porch at breakfast, board the dive boat, do two dives and arrive at the next resort around lunch. We were assigned a new dive guide since Lembeh is so specialized, they have their own dive guides. The ratio of 4 to 1 remained the same. Critter@Lembeh is owned by the same family but what an upgrade! Definitely 5 star accomodations here. We were in a beautiful ocean view villa that looked as if it was recently remodeled. A large front porch, our view was toward the dive shop but also had a water view. The room is large with plenty of storage and a gorgeous bathroom with plenty of hot water. There are garden view rooms and we were told they were not as nice but not really sure why. There are some larger villas way up on the hillside but beware as it’s quite a climb at the end of the day! The restaurant was beautiful and the food was really good (5 star). Breakfast and lunch were buffet. Dinner ala carte with choices changing daily. One night there was an Indonesian BBQ buffet dinner that was excellent. Again, the crew was great and the diving protocol and boats were the same. Diving was, of course, primarily muck diving. They offered a Mandarin Fish dusk dive that was amazing. We saw many mandarin fish and 2 mating pairs. Lots of surge made photos difficult but a great experience! We also did what was billed as a “ Blackwater Bonfire” dive. We were skeptical since we were told it was in only 35-45 feet of water but thought we would give it a try. They place a really large and bright light in the water, shining up from a sandy bottom. The dive started on an exciting note with a banded sea krait literally swimming into my bc. [youtu.be link] After that, it was one of the most disappointing night dives ever and not even close to a blackwater dive. We saw one squid and only one “blackwater critter” the whole one hour dive. Since they charged us about $75 per person, it felt like a huge rip off. That, however, is our only complaint. This resort is top notch and, if you are into muck diving, Lembeh is a place you need to visit. Diving at all 3 resorts was as you would expect. Not a lot of big stuff. We did see lots of turtles at Manado, and a couple of sharks, a big tooth tuna and bluefin trevally at Bangka but they were the only large fish. But the small stuff was incredible! Blue ring, long arm, coconut octopus as well as a wonderpuss & mimic. Pygmy seahorse, pipefish, flamboyant cuttlefish, waspfish, mantis shrimp, rhinopias, and more nudis than you can believe, including a solar powered. Can’t begin to list everything but you get the idea. The owners are very responsive and committed to their employees, their guests & the environment. They are making improvements in the infrastructure, with upgrades going on in the villas and other areas of the resorts. The staff and dive crew at all three resorts were really great. While the “stars” for the resorts varied, it is always the diving and the staff that make or break a trip for us and they were definitely 5 star. Manage your expectations of accommodations and food and it is a terrific trip and one we will do again. Happy to answer any specific questions Undercurrent readers might have.
Websites	Murex Dive Resorts
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	Manado	Getting There	JFK-FRA-SIN-MDC
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy, cloudy	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	80-83°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	30-80 Ft/ 9-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Approx one hour dive time. Stay with dive guide
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
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Rinse bucket on the boats. Separate rinse tanks on land. Staff handled all cameras carefully. Nice camera rooms at all of the locations.

Report currently has 3 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Murex Dive Resorts in Indonesia/North Sulawesi

Murex Dive Resorts : "Passport to Paradise - Bunaken, Bangka, Lembeh", Aug, 2022,

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 Murex Dive Resorts in
Indonesia/North Sulawesi