Dive Review of Daniel's Lagoon Resort in
Indonesia/Lembeh Strait

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Daniel's Lagoon Resort: "Excellent Macro Photography Destination", Nov, 2019, by Ken Tucker, CA, US ( 2 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 11302 has 3 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		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Over the years, I have stayed at five different dive resorts along the Lembeh Strait [there are about 20], from premium offerings to bare bone, and have done nearly 300 dives in the strait. In addition to describing the resort and my experience there, I have also attempted to provide additional information for this destination, regardless of where one chooses to stay. _________ The Resort: Daniel's Lagoon Resort is a new find for me, and I now prefer it over all the others I have stayed at or researched [and I have researched all of them]. The resort itself is also new, and located on Lembeh Island, between Bastiano's and NAD Resort, in a small, private lagoon. As such, it is very quiet and isolated. The resort is relatively inexpensive, and I considered to be of great value for the cost. I stayed there for four weeks, in one of their four rooms [all air-conditioned]. In addition, they are currently constructing three new cottages, which are to be complete by Dec 2019. It is a small, intimate resort with a good feeling to it. The staff are very accommodating and friendly, and will help however they can. I also found the manager and part owner, Natasha, to be quite outgoing and helpful. I quite enjoyed my time there, and I could say that the only thing I really missed was a good pizza. I had no issues or complaints or annoyances during my stay. The resort has a small beach, located in front of a large open air dining room. The resort grounds are primarily level, with little elevation. I find this particularly appealing, as my legs are not as strong as before, with stair steps being somewhat problematic. There are other resorts here with waterfront locations, but many others are built along the high hillsides of the strait, and access is both more demanding and time consuming, at least to me. For those who find such to be relevant, this is an area worth researching wherever you stay, as it can come as quite a surprise. ______________ ___ Handling of Cameras: As mentioned, the resort has a dedicated camera room, but I opted for having a large work table placed in my room instead, which I find far more convenient and workable. Camera room work areas never seem to have enough room for me. Cameras are carefully handled by staff and they will transport between your room and the boat. if requested. My procedure is to send the camera to the room, shower it down, soak the smaller parts in the sink, then let it all dry in the bathroom, which has screened assess to the warm exterior, and facilitates quick drying. I then transfer everything to a large work table in my room, and work on it at my leisure. __________ About Food: The food was generally of Indonesian flavour, and of sufficient variety. I never requested otherwise, and perhaps other offerings are also available. I found the soups to be quite good. Breakfast catered to your own particular tastes, and offerings included pancakes, omelets, cereals, fruit, and Asian dishes. My own preference was for oatmeal, fruit, and toast with jam. If they do not have what you seek, the staff will try to find it for you. Bitung is a large city, nearby, and most things can be located. As a habit, I never eat lunch, and cannot comment on this meal. Similarly, I do not drink alcohol, and have no idea what offerings may be available. In any case, arrangements can likely be made to accommodate your needs. ___________ The Weather: My stay was for the month of November, with very nice weather. Days were sunny, and the little rain I experienced usually came at night. Indonesia is a hot country, but the Lembeh temperatures were pleasant, ranging from mid-70s to mid-80s F, or about 24-29 °C. Lembeh Strait is just a bit north of the equator, consequently the sunrises and sunsets vary little, and are around 5:30 am and 5:30 pm every day. _____________________ Dive Sites and Dive Boats: There are perhaps 50-80 dive sites in the strait, which provide a common pool for access for all resorts located there. Wherever you stay, you will be diving the same locations, subject to individual preferences. Despite this, it was rare for me to encounter divers in the water from another boat. Most all of the dive boats are pretty much of the same mould, with some variance in size and layout. In general, they are powered by the equivalent of two or three 40-hp 2-stroke engines. The 2-stroke engines are more prone to equipment problems, and redundancy helps. Being on one dive boat is much like being on another, some faster, some slower. Most dive sites and resorts are in close proximity, so transit times tend to be around 10-15 minutes, generally sufficient time to prepare for the dive. For short runs, speed is not a major factor. Wherever you stay, most dive sites are no more than 5 miles away, or about 8 kilometers. The newest dive boat at Daniel's Lagoon Resort is an exception to the common design, however. It is quite different, with a larger cabin, a lounge on top, and built as an outrigger for better stability. It will be powered by two 150-hp 4-stroke engines. This will make for a much faster boat, and allow for a greater range of operation, and timely access to Bangka Island and Bunaken. Though I have dived from the new boat, it was still being outfitted in October, for completion by Dec 2019. I was told it will have, among other things, video, marine radio, a cooler, and even an espresso machine. Dive boat instant coffee is typically not very appealing, and this would be a nice addition to time spent during the surface interval. Snacks, fruit, coffee, and tea are also available, as on most dive boats. _____ Diving: For the diving itself, much can depend on the dive guide and the diver to guide ratio. It is difficult to say whether one resort has better guides than another, and many dive guides switch between resorts for one reason or another. I have encountered excellent dive guides at every resort I have visited, though this is not to say that all dive guides are excellent. During my stay at Daniel's Lagoon Resort, I was fortunate enough to have a dedicated dive guide for all dives, so we looked only for things of interest to me, namely, small nudibranch. I photographed using a 120mm-effective macro lens, with a SubSee +5 Magnifier mounted. The dive guide was finding nudibranch down to less than 2mm in size, things I would have never spotted on my own. I was happy, though photographing the really small stuff is a challenge. Water temperatures ranged from 79-82 °F, about 26-28 °C. I wore a 3mm wetsuit and was quite comfortable. The cold affects me more now than earlier years, when a dive skin or perhaps a thinner wetsuit would have been sufficient. Other divers dressed more lightly, sometimes just shorts and a light top. This is, of course, highly dependent on the diver My dive times here averaged about 64 minutes, with an average maximum depth of 51 feet, or about 16 meters, None of my dives were below 95 feet, or about 30 meters. My primary motivation has been simply the desire to maximise photo time, and the perceived lack of different photo opportunities at greater depth. The average water temperature I recorded was 80 °F, about 27 °C. ________________ Lembeh Marine Life: Lembeh Strait is known for its interesting critters. Though my focus this trip was nudibranch, I also encountered all of the following: ribbon eels [both blue and black], octopus [including mimic, blue ring, mototi, and coconut], seahorses [including pygmy], pipefish, frogfish, waspfish, demon stingers, leaf fish, cuttlefish [including flamboyant, as well as its egg clusters], scorpionfish, eels, crabs [including orangutan, porcelain, and others], flatworms, anemonefish, helmet gurnards, cardinalfish, velvetfish, and numerous shrimp [mantis and others]. I also saw what is called the "electric scallop" or "clam". There are other creatures to be found, and it depends on what you seek. I rarely looked for anything but nudibranch, but some photo opportunities seem too good to pass up. For a more extensive list of what might be seen, the web site for Lembeh Resort contains a long list with names and photos of critters known to be found there, including more than a hundred different nudibranch species. In reference to nudibranch, my own experience indicates that this is only a subset of what is actually present in the strait. Lembeh is not known for colourful corals and such, though they are present at some dive sites. I never saw large schools of fish, but then we never looked for any. For greater variety, one might wish to consider a side excursion to Bunaken, which has more opportunities for corals and large animals, including the occasional whale shark. The strait is more conducive to macro photography, with its limited visibility making wide-angle shots impractical. Rarely was visibility an issue for close shots. _________________ Lembeh Nudibranch: Lembeh Strait is one of the few locations well known for nudibranch diversity. Others with which I am familiar are Tulamben in Bali, plus the Anilao/Puerto Galera area, the Dumaguete/Dauin area, and Romblon in the Philippines. I did not tally the number of different species I encountered on this trip [too soon for that], though my database shows I have taken photos of more than 300 different species of nudibranch [or more properly, sea slugs] in Lembeh Strait over the years. I am sure that this location has more species than I have managed to photograph and identify to date. In this part of the world, the unique species count is likely in excess of 2,000. If nudibranch are what you seek, you will not be disappointed. ___________ The Seasons: One can dive Lembeh Strait all year round. Water temperature varies year round, ranging from 75-84 °F, or 24-29 °C. They hit a peak of 82-84 °F, or 28-29 °C, between October and March. The lowest temperatures are 77-79 °F, or 25-26 °C, during the months of July and August. Visibility is at its best from October to December, and at its worst in January and February, when water tends to be the warmest. In June, the southeast monsoon winds begin and the surface of the strait can be a bit choppy. This extends to September. The seasons are generally defined as follows: Mid November thru February are considered the Rainy Season, though most days are sunny and the periods of rain are relatively brief. During the worst part of the rainy season, January and February, rough seas may be present in the far north part of the strait, obviating the use of some dive sites there. March thru mid November are considered to be the Dry Season. The [Tourist] Low Season is considered to be from January to June, with fewer divers then, and likely more availability. Except for the first part of January, I have no experience in Lembeh for this period of time, and cannot comment further, except to say that I am not aware of any relevant disadvantages of diving then. When I go to Lembeh, I always spend time in Bali as well, and rainfall there is significantly higher during the January-April time frame. Consequently, I find travel during the second half of the year to be more appealing. July and August are considered to the Peak Season. I believe that much of this has more to do with how people plan their vacations than anything else. The water, is a bit colder around this time of year [see the note above for more info]. Some consider this period to be conducive to the presence of more critters, as the colder water is more favourable to the marine reproductive cycles. September and October are popular months as well.. My own trips here have spanned the period from the beginning of September thru mid January, and cannot say I have a particular preference for any of these five months. _______________ About Getting There: I chose to fly China Airlines from San Francisco to Bali [via Taipei], then Lion Air direct to Manado. I have always found China Air to have the best ticket prices, and they allow for two 50-pound checked bags free of charge. I also found China Air to be less restrictive concerning the weight of carry-on bags, which is limited to 15 pounds, or 7 kg. At best, my carry-on roller bag, with camera inside is more like 30 pounds. I also carry a shoulder bag of about 8 pounds [you are allowed a personal item of nebulous size], and had no problems with either. I chose Lion Air because it has the best connections to Manado from Bali. Lion Air has instituted a new checked bag policy, and there is no longer a free allowance. Though my tickets were very cheap compared to other airlines, such as Garuda, my 100 pounds of checked luggage cost more to transport than I did. Still, it was cheaper than any alternative I found, in part because I wanted to stay in Bali at both the beginning and end of the trip. Lion Air offers pre-purchase for checked bags, up to 30kg, in advance of the flight, and this can be a considerable savings. If not arranged when tickets are purchased, this can be paid via any Alfamart, Alfamidi, Alfaexpress, Lawson or Indomaret store. This is much easier than trying to handle it at the airport. Again, my overweight carry-on bags did not present a problem for the flight. Be aware of using connecting flights on Lion Air [and likely other localised airlines] to reach your destination, as baggage fees are based on air miles traveled, as opposed to distance. For example, luggage charges for a flight from Bali to Manado by way of Jakarka will be much higher than a direct flight from Bali to Manado. As I recall, Garuda does not operate this way, though their air fares were expensive. For economy accommodation, Garuda allows 44 pounds, or 20 kg. of checked luggage. If you have a lot of gear, first check the relevant airline website for baggage charges. I found it impossible to get thru credit card validation [regardless of the one used] on the Lion Air web site, and after a few days and numerous phone calls, finally gave up. After some research on the subject, I resorted to booking this part of the trip thru Nusatrip. In contrast, using Nusatrip was a painless process. Transportation from Manado or its airport is generally arranged by the dive resort, however there are also buses that run to Bitung, and autos are additionally available for rent. _______ Manado: Manado is a large city, in excess of 400,000 people. For those who wish a brief stay in Manado before the two-plus hour transit to Bitung, the Ibis Hotel is a very good choice, and is located directly across from the large and modern Manado Town Square shopping mall. Other hotels and shopping opportunities are in this same area. As my return flight from Manado to Bali was for 7:30 am, I elected to stay the prior night near the airport, rather than contending with a 3:00 am departure from the resort. I found the Novotel Manado Golf Resort to be an excellent choice.
Websites	Daniel's Lagoon Resort [same]
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Indonesia, Philippines, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, California coast, Costa Rica, Mexico, Bonaire, Grand Cayman
Closest Airport	Manado, North Sulawesi	Getting There	Direct flights to Manado are available via Bali [LionAir], Singapore [SilkAir], or Jakarta [Sriwajaya, Lion, Batik, Garuda Garuda also flies from Bali via connection in Makassar. From Manado, it is about two hours by land to Bitung [arranged by the resort], followed by perhaps 10 minutes by boat to your final destination.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, no currents
Water Temp	79-82°F / 26-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	2
Water Visibility	20-40 Ft/ 6-12 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	60 minute recomended dive time
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
UW Photo Comments	The resort has a dedicated camera room, but I opted for having a large work table placed in my room instead, which I find far more convenient. The boat has a dedicated fresh water container to accommodate underwater cameras. Cameras are carefully handled by staff who will transport between your room and the boat, if requested.

Report currently has 3 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Daniel's Lagoon Resort in Indonesia/Lembeh Strait

Daniel's Lagoon Resort: "Excellent Macro Photography Destination", Nov, 2019,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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 Daniel's Lagoon Resort in
Indonesia/Lembeh Strait