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Dive Review of Scuba Seraya Resort in
Indonesia/Tulamben

Scuba Seraya Resort: "Scuba Seraya - Reliable as ever", Jul, 2016,

by Alex Mitchell, Singapore, SG ( 2 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 9408 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 5 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 3 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 4 stars
Snorkeling 2 stars
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments With a 3yr old AND a 11 month old in tow PLUS granny and gramps, you really want to go to a place that you know well and know what to expect.... so it was back to Scuba Seraya (SS) again. This was our third time here, so obviously we enjoy the place. I'm sure there are a few better places in Tulamben, but given the a fore mentioned kids we did not want to leave anything to chance.

SS is still very well maintained and well run. The staff are helpful and happy. You cant really fault the resort much at all. Airport pick-up and drop off smooth as silk, emails and reservations quick and detailed, all good.
Food is not bad.... after a week you will definitely be getting tired of it.... but no real complaints.

The only real "criticism" that I could give is that there is basically no upfront management. There is no happy manager coming to ask "how are things are going?" or "can we do anything for you?". You are basically left to yourself and if you need anything then you must ask...and in all honesty when you ask it gets done! So all I'm saying is it just lacks a bit of a heart or personality. Yes yes it is a minor quibble.

I will recommend you spend the extra $$ for the sea view villas. They are much bigger than the other rooms and the view is brilliant.

Onto the diving.... on the second day a BIG swell (for the area) pulled through with nearly 6ft shore break crashing onto the rocky beach.... man this made for some interesting entries and exits into the water. A number of people got FLATTENED, which in my twisted view was hilarious!! But it actually was pretty intense and they cancelled the afternoon dives for two of the days because it got too dangerous. When we did go diving the DM's and dive crew were usually close by to help you out of the water and grab your gear from you asap. Often it was them that were getting pounded by the waves.
The waves obviously stirred up the water pretty badly and viz dropped off to 6-8m on most of the dives. As you will see in my pics there was a LOT of particles floating around. It was backscatter city! Luckily I dove the Liberty the day before the waves hit so the viz was ok. We spotted a shark cruise by and there was a friendly turtle hanging around. Liberty wreck is still a stunning dive, even though it is usually very crowded.

The wife had a head cold and couldn't equalize, which was very sad for her, but it meant that I dived with my very own personal guide.
In terms of critters there were not as many as my previous two trips, but still more than enough to keep a macro lover like me firing away. There did seem to be a ton of harlequin shrimps around and I was very happy to see the two Rhino's. A pink one and a red one right next to one another.

We didn't see any mimics or wonder octos unfortunately. If you have a second or two you can flip through my Flikr album of the trip here and you will get a brief glimpse into what was spotted.

On one of the days we organised a day trip to Ubud to do some sight seeing. SS let us use there big bus and organised a guide for us. It was a long drive but it was worth it. We stopped along the way at the Water Palace and then went to the "Sacred Monkey Forest" which was PACKED... with tourists.... I swear there were more tourists than monkeys! After that we had lunch and then of course we did some shopping.

After 3 trips to SS it definitely is time to see new places, but I still highly recommend this resort and I'm sure we will be back in the years to come. And the sunrises are still AMAZING!

My pics can be seen at: [flickr.com link]
Websites Scuba Seraya Resort   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Mozambique, Sodwanna (South Africa), Thailand, Indonesia (P Weh, Bali, Raja Ampat, Lembeh, Bangka)
Closest Airport Bali Getting There Direct flight from Singapore to Bali!

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy Seas calm, choppy
Water Temp 28-29°C / 82-84°F Wetsuit Thickness 2
Water Visibility 6-15 M / 20-49 Ft

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions You have a private guide so you dive as long and as often as you like (within reason obviously).
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 4 stars
UW Photo Comments No real facilities on the boats, but the crew really do handle your gear very well.
Next to the dive center is a dedicated camera room with enough bench space for 6-8 cameras. Including towels, compressed air, power points etc.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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