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Dive Review of Scuba Seraya in
Indonesia/Bali

Scuba Seraya, Sep, 2008,

by Karen & Tom Prideaux, CO, USA ( 1 report). Report 4437.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 5 stars
Snorkeling 5 stars
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments September, during the dry season in Bali, is an excellent time to visit the Scuba Seraya Resort in Bali. There you will find diverse muck diving right in front of the resort. Large rocks and black volcanic sand make for some interesting camouflages. Take the leopard flounder for example. In the Caribbean, this fish blends into the white sand, but at the Seraya Secret dive site it is black. Ornate pipefish and sea pens were abundant along with other strange shrimp, crabs along with a nudibranch on steroids.

We got our first taste for muck diving in Milne Bay and Kimbe Bay, New Guinea and wanted more of the same. The real drive was to fly to a place where we could have muck diving, wreck diving and wall diving with great underwater photo opportunities all within the same area. This time we selected the Indian Ocean on the east coast of Bali.

A 2.5 hour drive from Denpasar Airport (advise to do this during the daytime), Scuba Seraya resort is in a quiet area and is for serious divers that want to escape the large resort scene. It is more affordable than New Guinea, Australia and of course the Caribbean. Bali is a great value for the dollar. Most evenings at the resort we had fantastic dinners for two for $12.00USD. Rooms at the Scuba Seraya Resort are very reasonable and who could argue with a traditional Balinese massage after a long day of diving for $10.00USD. This resort has romantic rooms, a nice pool and tasty meals from many cultures. The dive staff and resort staff are very professional and always have a smile.

A must do is the Liberty Wreck. This dive site is a seven minute boat ride from the Scuba Seraya resort to Tulamben. The wreck, a US cargo ship was torpedoed in Lombok by the Japanese in WWII. The ship took on water as it was badly damaged. It was towed to the rocky beach of Tulamben where it was unloaded. The magma flow of Mt Agnug in 1963 pushed the ship back out to sea where it lies. This wreck can be accessed as a shore dive also and lies at 10-80ft. It is majestic and teaming with marine life, making it a must do dive site. It was one of our top ten dive sites.

Giant bumphead parrot fish and garden eels greeted us as we descended to the stern side of the Liberty wreck. Our first encounter on the wreck was with a Paper Fish (scorpion fish family.) You will need two tanks to do the whole wreck and then some. Spiny-cheeked anemone fish were aggressively protecting their eggs as the camera was shooting. Many nudibranchs, groupers and jacks were schooling in the early morning light which made for a stunning dive. This was a perfect start to a Sunday morning. Some say to start the dive early (7:30 am) but we recommend an hour later, as we had the wreck to ourselves and the debris had settled. The Moorish Idols were quite large as the beautiful white soft corals hanging off of the wreckage.

There a twenty fantastic dive sites within a short distance from Scuba Seraya. The best treat at the resort was unlimited shore diving just a few steps from our room. Keep your eyes on the prize as the 28 hour travel time from Houston was well worth it

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Caribbean, Australia, PNG
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 81-82°F / 27-28°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 25-75 Ft/ 8-23 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Excellent briefings and go at your own pace.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 5 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 5 stars Shore Facilities 5 stars
UW Photo Comments [None]
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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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