Dive Review of Dolphin Dive School in
Indonesia/Lombok

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Dolphin Dive School: "Great price, great DM, operation is average", Aug, 2019, by Eileen J Councill, xx, China ( Contributor 14 reports with 7 Helpful votes). Report 11049.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food	N/A
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was dirt cheap diving. The dive operation has room for improvement, but not in safety or things that really matter. It's more professionalism. Here are some examples: 1) told to meet at 8:30 am in the lobby. We were never picked up before 8:55 am. We were never told they were running late despite the office manager having our Wechat and using that for constant communication. 2) First day diving, my husband and I have 1000 dives collectively and we were paired with 2 brand new OW divers. As you can imagine, it didn't go well. The first 25 minutes of the dive, the DM was having to attend to their needs. The second half, he was awesome and really worked hard to please us. He was put in a bad position. 3) For second dive, we were told to gear up and get in. We did. My husband and I and the DM were in the water holding onto the boat. We waited 15 minutes in the water for the two OW water divers to get kitted and get in the water because the boat organized the other two groups before finishing our group. This was a huge waste of time sitting in the water, waiting for the other divers. This is just poor management on board. 4) They were sloppy with the gear during set up, tank change over, and break down of kit (ie. putting regulator at bottom of dive bag and stacking fins and all other gear on top. 5) Some of the locals were a bit aggressive with asking for tips; I am happy to tip, just do your job and earn it. The dive shop was very eager to satisfy us as customers. We wanted to dive Kecinan, the famous muck site on Lombok and they gave us Herman, the DM we dove with the first day, who is fabulous and can find any critters if there are any. We did 3 shore dives and spent the day with Herman at that site. The owners son is lovely and was our driver. He went off to get water and bisquits for us after the dive. He is 18 years old and seriously, the safest driver I have ever been in a car with. He was fabulous - great work ethic. The dive organization is co-owned Korean and Indo. The owners were on board/at the dive site two of the days. They were diving themselves. The surface interval for the two tank dives was 2 hours+. The boat dives are at the Gilis. They drop you on one of the islands for lunch which is fabulous. We love the Gilis and loved the time going back even for a couple of hours. You are responsible to buy your own lunch. The third day diving, it was just me and Herman and we dove the bay where the dive shop is located. He knew the site well and was spot on for the muck and macro which I love. The dive organization offers towels between dives which is also nice to have a dry towel. For this final day of muck, we dove off the boat even tho it was shore diving to make it easier for us. This was nice as they had to have a boat captain on for the time we were there which is an added expense. Herman was SUCH a nice guy - very refined and different from the rest of the crew who are a bit more feral in their manner and professionalism. After our second day of diving, Herman invited my husband and me to his home in Tanjung to see his home, have a meal, and see the devastation of the earth quake. He offered this on his day off. We went to his home by scooter and he and his family pulled out all the stops for us - his wife cooked us a huge meal, Herman bought us Indo treats for us to try, he gave us a tour of the village, etc. He spoiled us rotten and acted like we were royalty. I am sure very few Westerners are seen in that village - we were the "place to be" for all the village kids and families. Herman NEVER once asked for a tip or anything. Of course, we generously tipped him for his kindness and generosity to us as well as his superb diving skills/service. His story is well worth a day diving with this group. He is the best thing the dive operation has going for it! One last piece - the office manager was VERY responsive by wechat. We dove with this group because they were the fastest to respond, the most accommodating (other dive shops wanted to surcharge us for the shore diving at Kecinnan), the most eager for our business and they earned it because of their efforts. The dive center did say they would rinse our gear - I am not sure that actually happened and they definitely did not hang it. They left it in the dive bag overnight as the wetsuits were soaking wet the following day and two days. Often, you do get what you pay for!
Websites	Dolphin Dive School
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Red Sea, Galapagos, Bali, Egypt, Philippines, Indonesia, Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Mozambique, South Africa, Hawaii, Pacific, Palau, Guam, Yap, Maldives, Lembeh Strait, Kenya, UAE, Oman
Closest Airport	Lombok (LOP)	Getting There	Fly to Bali, fly to Lombok or take a ferry. Flights are cheaper and easier than the ferry.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, no currents
Water Temp	80-81°F / 27-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	20-80 Ft/ 6-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Always stay with guide
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	They offered no photographic assistance...no rinse bucket, no place for camera storage, etc. I have a small unit and kept it in the dry netting under the roof. That was the safest spot. There is only a fresh water hose at the dock to rinse off gear.

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Dive Review of Dolphin Dive School in Indonesia/Lombok

Dolphin Dive School: "Great price, great DM, operation is average", Aug, 2019,

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 Dolphin Dive School in
Indonesia/Lombok