Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
 

Dive Review of Abyss Ocean World/The Menjangan Resort in
Indonesia/Menjangan/Pemuteran (Bali)

Abyss Ocean World/The Menjangan Resort: "World class diving and service in one of the most remote areas of Bali", Apr, 2023,

by Hugh E Aaron, FL, US (Top Contributor Top Contributor 30 reports with 30 Helpful votes). Report 12494 has 2 Helpful votes.

Photos Submitted with this Report


Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments We stayed at The Menjangan Resort and dove with Abyss Ocean World in April 2023 after three weeks diving in Raja Ampat, one week diving in Amed (Bali), and five days diving in Tulamben (Bali). This review covers both The Menjangan Resort and Abyss Ocean World. We were at The Menjangan for five days.

We had pre-booked our five day stay and diving through our travel agents, Anne and Scott with Blue Water Dive Travel, who did a great job with our entire trip.

The Menjangan Resort, Abyss Ocean World and the diving, particularly at Menjangan Island, far exceeded our expectations. Menjangan is really off the beaten path. In fact, it about as far as you can get in Bali from the hustle and bustle of Denpasar and still be in Bali. I suspect that we would have never found the place on our own but Anne with Bluewater lives in Bali and strongly encouraged us to visit Menjangan. We are really glad she did.

The Menjangan Resort is a magical place. There are a small number of rooms in a very large (382 hectares) but mostly undeveloped area within the national park. The food, accommodations and service are all first class. Don’t miss the tree top views from the top of The Bali Tower or dining on the oceanfront deck at the waterfront area. The area outside the resort is mostly rural villages. I enjoyed exploring the area by bike.

There are restaurants at both the Tower and the waterfront area. One can walk most everywhere within the resort and and the walking is delightful with numerous monkeys, birds and other things to see. However, depending on the location of your room, it could be a long walk to the Tower and/or the waterfront area for meals and activities.

There are loaner bicycles placed around the resort. They are a great way to get around. However, the quickest way to get around is to simply take one of the free shuttles (they are like large, open air, double decker golf carts) that constantly shuttle guests around the resort. We used them a lot simply because we had other things to do (including diving, snorkeling and kayaking) and sometimes did not want to take the time to walk or bike.

At the time of our visit, there was no dive operation within the resort. However, the resort works closely with Abyss Ocean World. After many weeks diving in Indonesia we had been spoiled by the high level of service that seemed to exist most everywhere (at least at the places that Bluewater Dive Travel books). However, Abyss Ocean World is right up there with the best of them.

We dove two days with Abyss Ocean World. Each day we did three boat dives. The first dive day we dove Pemuteran Bay which is in a small town about 15 km from the resort/national park. Abyss Ocean World picked us up from the resort by private car. All of the dives were made from a very unique local fishing boat. The captain picked us up from the beach. We were the only guests on the boat. Abyss Ocean World supplied lunch from a local restaurant. We ate on the beach. The whole day was a really nice experience. The diving at Pemuteran was quite good, but not spectacular. Well, it probably was spectacular by most standards, but we had just spent three weeks in Raja Ampat so that skewed our perspective.

The next dive day was Menjangan Island. Abyss Ocean World picked us by fast boat from the resort jetty. Menjangan Island is really spectacular. It must be is the best kept dive secret in Bali. Divers who go to Bali and never discover Menjangan Island are missing out. Yes, it is off the beaten path and requires a long car ride to get there, but the diving is worth it.

The Menjangan Resort/Abyss Ocean World was the one place on our entire trip where we really felt we made a mistake not staying longer. Anne had told us how nice it was, but we just could not get comfortable extending our trip beyond 45 days. But the next time we go to Bali, we will go back for more diving at Menjangan Island.
Websites Abyss Ocean World   The Menjangan Resort

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Virginia, North Carolina, California, Hawaii, Florida, Abaco, Bimini, Exumas, Culebra, USVI, BVI, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Caymans, Dominica, Roatan, Belize, Saba, St, Barths, St Kitts, Nevis, Saint Martin, Bequia, Bonaire, Curacao, Thailand, Australia, Egypt, Bali, Raja Ampat
Closest Airport Bali (Denpasar) Getting There Miami to Doha to Bali, driver to Menjangan

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas calm
Water Temp 82-82°F / 28-28°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 40-80 Ft/ 12-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions None other than the usual safety rules
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 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 2 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 There was plenty of room on the boats. I suspect that Abyss Ocean World can accommodate even the most sophisticated photographer. But check with them to be sure. They are very professional and VERY service oriented.
Was this report helpful to you?
Report currently has 2 Helpful votes
Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here
 

Subscribe Now
Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 1528 dive reviews of Indonesia and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

 

Want to assemble your own collection of Indonesia reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

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.

Undercurrent Home


Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email.
And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent

Free Undercurrent Issue
Get a free
monthly email and
a sample issue!


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2026 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

Page computed and displayed in 0.31 seconds