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Dive Review of Liberty Dive Resort in
Indonesia/Bali

Liberty Dive Resort: "Liberty Dive Resort, Tulamben, Bali", Jul, 2017,

by John C Crossley, FL, US (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 28 reports with 10 Helpful votes). Report 9698.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 5 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Liberty Dive Resort - Tulamben, Bali
www.libertydiveresort.com

The Liberty Dive Resort in Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia, probably took its name from the famous underwater wreck that lies very close to the resort. However, Liberty is also a great name for the resort because to me, the word implies “freedom.” That’s extremely appropriate for many reasons. When you arrive, a dive guide is assigned to you for the length of your stay and there is no extra charge if you are by yourself…...you get your own private dive guide. Typically, they don’t assign more than two divers to a guide. The guide will ask how many dives you want each day, what time you want to go, what do you want to see, and where do you want to go? You can make all the choices, or ask the guide for advice. In the water, you pretty much dive your own profile, within reason. You also have the “liberty” to ask for free nitrox, wetsuit, BC, regulator, sturdy booties (to navigate the rocky entries), mask, fins, and dive computer!

My dive guide for my mid-July week was Nyoman, pronounced like “Newman” and he was excellent at spotting macro critters. When I needed help with the rocky shore entries and exists, he was always there, as reliable as a handrail down a steep set of steps.

All 16 of my dives in were shore entries. Three were at the Liberty wreck, which is the famous attraction at Tulamben. It is a fantastic wreck with lots of fish, macro critters, and corals. However, I think the beautiful soft corals are depleted compared to my previous visits six and 12 years ago. Nyoman said it was because of the warmer water, which was typically 84 degrees. The Liberty wreck dive required a walk of about 100 yards, but a motorcycle with storage baskets carried the tanks and dive gear. All the other dive sites were accessed by taking a truck (with seats) to the dive sites, usually just 3-8 minutes away. These transports are also free, but one site that was about 12 minutes away required a $5 extra charge.

The fish around the Liberty wreck were amazingly camera friendly, and the macro critters at the volcanic sand slopes of other dive sites were fantastic. I have almost 2000 dives but I saw about ten nudibranchs I’ve never seen before. Other macro highlights were harlequin shrimp at three sites, dragon shrimps, tiger shrimps, ghost pipefish, pygmy seahorses, thorny seahorses, golden mantis shrimp, juvenile cuttlefish, and many types of scorpionfish. I also had a 2 minute encounter with a wonderpus, the first I’ve ever seen. All of dive sites were good, with little current and visibility usually in the 40-50 ft. range. Seraya Secrets lived up to its reputation as one of the best.

The Liberty resort is beautifully landscaped and has three swimming pools. My room #2 near a pool and restaurant, had excellent aircon, a warm shower, was very clean, and had plenty of space. There was no TV, but I did not miss it. The dive shop has a large camera rinse tank and the dive guides take care of all your gear. Meals at the restaurant offered a good variety of Indonesian, Asian, and Western choices. The only things I did not enjoy were two beef oriented choices.

Liberty staff are very friendly and service is excellent. The van transport from the airport near Denpasar takes about three hours, but it is a scenic and interesting ride. I would highly recommend NOT getting your currency exchanged at the airport. The resort van driver can stop at an exchange shop 40 minutes from the airport and get a much better rate.

This was my first trip to stay at the Liberty Dive Resort and it was better and cheaper than the resorts I used on two other visits to Tulamben. My cost, as a single traveler, was just around $1000 for eight nights, 16 dives, all meals, and the airport transfer. However, don’t go there in December to February as the weather is windy with large waves at the shore entries. During my week in early July, there was no rain, no mosquitos, and very few flies.
Overall, a great tome to dive.
Websites Liberty Dive Resort   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Australia, Fiji, Truck, Yap, Palau, Bali, Lembeh, Hawaii, Florida, Red Sea, Soloman Islands, PNG, Caymans, Bonaire, BVI, Philippines and others
Closest Airport Bali Denpasar Getting There Fly into Bali, take resort van to Tulamben

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm, no currents
Water Temp 83-85°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 1
Water Visibility 40-50 Ft/ 12-15 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Just the no-decompression limits and air consumption
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 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 N/A
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 3 stars
UW Photo Comments CAmera rinse tank at the resort, and each shore dive site had a rinse tank.
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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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