Dive Review of Villa Markisa in
Indonesia/Bali

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Villa Markisa: "Great Resort; Lousy Weather", Mar, 2024, by Michael J. Millet, CA, US ( Top Contributor 101 reports with 63 Helpful votes). Report 12916 has 2 Helpful votes.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	VILLA MARKISA REVIEW After a 10 day liveaboard Thailand, a 7 day liveaboard doing Komodo and a week at Kalimaya Resort on Sumbawa, I headed back to Bali for a 10 day stay at Villa Markisa (VM) dive resort near Tulamben. This was 3rd visit to this very nice resort. The day after I arrived was the the Hindu celebration of the new year call Nyepi. This is a day of total reflection so there was no diving at the resort. In fact, the whole island of Bali was shut down including the airport. The prior evening I witnessed the organized chaos of the Nyepi parade in a nearby village. The Ogoh Ogoh statues used to drive away the evil spirits were quite creative and artistic. The other factor that disrupted the diving during my stay was the weather — many days of very high winds with very turbulent seas. Over the first 5 dive days, only 8 dives were made. Then the weather improved to allow 10 more dives. VM is about a 2 1/2 - 3 hour drive from the DPS airport over mostly 2 lane roads filled with motor bikes. The resort has very spacious, comfortable bungalows that have A/C and mini-frig. The entire resort has pretty reliable wifi. The dive operation offers 3 boat dives per day all single tank — 2 in the morning and an afternoon dive. Night dives and blackwater dives can also be done. The dive operation is very efficient with the crew loading dive gear and cameras in the dive tender. Getting to the dive boat was a bit arduous with the rough water and surf zone waves of 3-5 feet. The required a short swim with mask on then a rope pull from the dive boat. Definitely not the normal way of boarding a dive boat. The diving at VM is primarily in the muck and macro photography. There are a few coral gardens nearby and the lLiberty wreck to offer a bit of variety. The dive guides are exceptionally skilled at critter finding and helping to set up the photo shot. Many of the dives were in a steady to strong current with a constant surge in the shallows. Such conditions made photography a challenge if not impossible. As previously mentioned. this was my 3rd visit to VM. The previous 2 stays were in Sept. and Oct. and the weather was much more pleasant Meals at VM were in a pleasant, open dining area. Breakfasts and lunch are ordered from a menu and dinner is buffet. A variety of Asian and western foods are offered with lots of fresh fruit. All in all, a nice stay at a very nice weather with lousy weather and challenging diving. Semua Bagus!!
Websites	Villa Markisa
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	All over the Caribbean; Galapagos, Socorro, Fiji, Solomons, GBR, Vanuatu, PNG, Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Yap, Kosrae, Truk Lagoon, Thailand
Closest Airport	DPS	Getting There	Direct flight thru SIN
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy, rainy, cloudy	Seas	choppy, surge, currents
Water Temp	78-82°F / 26-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	25-60 Ft/ 8-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No Ceco
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	N/A
UW Photo Comments	The diving at Villa Markisa is primarily on black sand steep slopes. There a few coral gardens and a large wreck for limited variety. Rig for macro and leave it. The dive guides are excellent.

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Villa Markisa in Indonesia/Bali

Villa Markisa: "Great Resort; Lousy Weather", Mar, 2024,

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 Villa Markisa in
Indonesia/Bali