Safari Tulamben & Padang Bai/Gilis | Atlantis Bali Diving

Mini Safari Tulamben + Padang Bai/Gilis

TULAMBEN + PADANG BAI OR GILIS (2 DAYS / 5 DIVES):
BETWEEN WRECK AND BLUE LAGOON 

We start our two hour and 20 minute journey from the Dune Atlantis International Bali office in Sanur (Denpasar) to the North East coast of Bali, to Tulamben. Before turning towards the interior of the island, the road follows the coastline. Rice fields and traditional villages will surround us, all with the silhouette of Bali’s tallest volcano Agung in the background.

Tulamben is a tinny village, known world-wide as the location of the famous USAT Liberty wreck. Found between 5 and 30 metres deep, the Liberty wreck is a 120 metres long American cargo ship, covered entirely with an incredibly marine flora, including sponges, gorgonians, and sea squirts.  The night dive here is even more mind-blowing: enormous humphead parrot fish sleep within the intact portions of the wrecks structure and giant groupers and morays hunt amongst the wreckage and adjacent reef.

Padang Bai, located on the East coast of Bali, just one hour from Sanur (Denpasar), is a small and bustling sea-side village, located on the East coast of Bali. You will take a local traditional boat to the dive site called Blue Lagoon. The charming turquoise waters invite into the water and onto a wall covered in feather stars and a multitude of crevices that serve as home to a variety of crustaceans.

The dive sites Gili Mimpang and Gili Tepekong are located about 40 minutes away from Padang Bai by boat, and are also an option for experienced certified divers.

TO CREATE YOUR OWN DIVE MINI SAFARI IN BALI, PLEASE FOLLOW OUR RECOMMENDATIONS / REQUIREMENTS:

  1. Open Water Diver minimum or Advanced Open Water depending on dive sites 
  2. Certification Card and Dive Log required
  3. Medical clearance recommended
  4. Neoprene booties with hard soles highly recommended (for rocky beach entry/exit)

MINI SAFARI DESCRIPTION:

Day 1

  • Depart Sanur around 8:00 am
  • Arrive in Tulamben around 10:30 am
  • 1st dive (morning around 11:00am) = Liberty Wreck*
  • Lunch included at the restaurant
  • 2nd dive (afternoon) = Drop Off (Wall of Tulamben)*
  • 3rd dive (Night dive) = Liberty Wreck*
  • 1 hotel night in Tulamben

Day 2

  • Breakfast at the restaurant of Hotel
  • Transfer to Padang Bai (around 1h30)
  • 4th dive (morning around 11:00am) = Blue Lagoon or Gili Tepekong* – Lunch included
  • 5th dive = Jepun or Gili Mimpang / Jetty*
  • Return to Sanur around 5:00 or 5:30pm

Included:

  • Transport in air-conditioned bus
  • Breakfast and lunch in Oceanside restaurant
  • English, French, Chinese, or Indonesian-speaking dive guide or instructor
  • All dives
  • Safari night(s) in hotel in standard double room with Air Con
  • 12L aluminum tanks with K-valve/international valve and weights included
  • PADI Diving Insurance (Decompression Chamber only)

Not Included:

  • Dinner
  • Drinks
  • Full equipment
  • Underwater Dive Light/Torch

MINI SAFARI INFORMATION:

  • Transport in air-conditioned bus
  • Breakfast and lunch in Oceanside restaurant
  • English, French, Chinese, or Indonesian-speaking dive guide or instructor
  • All dives
  • Safari night(s) in hotel in standard double room with Air Con
  • 12L aluminum tanks with K-valve/international valve and weights included
  • PADI Diving Insurance (Decompression Chamber only)

DIVING INFORMATION:

  • Type of dive: wreck, wall, night, marine biology, photography, snorkeling
  • Depth: 10 – 35 metres
  • Visibility: 15 -30 metres
  • Current: none to moderate (Tulamben/Padang Bai).  Strong/unpredictable (Gilis)
  • Access: from shore, local boat, or Dune Atlantis International Bali speed boat
  • Temperature: 20 – 30 degrees
  •  

*dives sites scheduled are subject to weather conditions, and other dive sites may be proposed

I recently took part in an IDC held by Dune Atlantis Bali. It was excellent and i would like to highlight the great job done by course director Patrick and staff instructor Karl. What i was most impressed with was their focus on not getting us to pass the IDC and the subsequent Instructor Exam, but to create good instructors. I would highly recommend them to anyone interested in doing IDC.

alson_DI

Hard to know where to start. . .

After emailing several dive centres around the world, I decided to do a 2 month Divemaster internship with Atlantis. The emails received from Jerome and Marie were so helpful and friendly, answered my many, many questions and made me feel confident I had chose the right place.

They arranged everything and gave a price that included all required (advanced open water, EFR, Rescue and Divemaster courses, learning materials, equipment rental AND accommodation) – no surprise charges when I got there. They picked me up from the airport, took me to the dive centre for a little tour and then onto my guesthouse – absolutely no stress involved. All the staff – the drivers, the equipment guys, the office girls, the divemasters and instructors were so nice and made me feel relaxed and very welcome straight away.

The scuba equipment and speedboats are in excellent condition and the equipment guys move all the tanks and wash your equipment for each dive so you don’t have to!

All the instructors and divemasters are experienced and very capable as well as friendly and funny. The courses are taught well and they go well beyond what is required from PADI – they want you to be a good divemaster, rather than just a divemaster. The office staff are fantastic and make everything happen – the organisation is always perfect, and there is a lot of organising to do on busy days!

It goes without saying the dive sites in and around Bali are excellent and as a divemaster trainee you get to go to all of them, many many times. I dived almost every day I was there – the only exceptions were when there were classroom/pool days and when I asked for days off to go exploring.

The dive centre, training and equipment are top quality. What really makes Atlantis special though is the people. After a while the staff stopped seeming like staff and more like friends. At the end of the 2 months, I finished the DM course, was originally intending to travel on to Vietnam and Cambodia for my final month of holiday. . . but I was having such a good time with Atlantis, I stayed 🙂 .

At events I heard people from other dive centres referring to the ‘Atlantis family’. . .which to begin with sounded a bit cheesy to me. . .but it’s true and I will miss them all very much. It’s no exaggeration when I say that it was the best three months ever and I can’t wait to get back out there at the earliest opportunity.

I could write for hours, but will stop now. . feel free to ask me for advice 🙂

Thanks for everything Atlantis.

Tom J

The Atlantis dive master intership is a fantastic, hands-on experience that leaves you feeling confident in your skills whether you plan to continue onto IDC or work as a dive master in the industry. In addition to quality education, the people at Atlantis welcome you to their dive family and introduce you to the life in Sanur Beach. You also get to experience a variety of fun dives in addition to their training for the dive master certification.

lina E