Dive Review of Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards/Murex in
Indonesia/Manado

Other dive reports on Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards

Other Indonesia reports
Subscriber Content Preview
Active subscribers go here

Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards/Murex: "The GREAT, the GOOD, and the SO-SO", Jul, 2024, by Donald Banas, NM, US ( 2 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 13011 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The GREAT, the GOOD, and the SO-SO We were at the Murex resort on the island of Manado in mid-July 2024 for 11 days (we were part of a group from Los Angeles that arrived 2 days after we did). Overall, the weather was good (July being the driest month of the year) but 2 of the first 4 days were a little windy. This area is renowned for critters – or as I call them “microscopic critters”. One diver carried a 5” diameter magnifying glass. If you take pictures, you need a macro lens set-up. My simple GoPro 9 just could not focus on critters that small that close. Besides the critters there were Gazillions of juvenile Trigger fish, Bazillions of Pyramid Butterfly fish, and thousands of other fish including Napoleon Wrasses, Turtles (on a couple of dives it was common to see 25 or more on a 1 hour dive), snakes, lobsters, and a reef shark cruising the lower reef wall at 100’. During our stay at Murex Manado, we were able to do day trips to Lembeh and Bangka. I found Lembeh to be boring (pretty much nothing but micro-critters) while Bangka seemed a little wilder with less divers. The routine at both locations was a 2-tank dive followed by lunch at the Lembeh / Bangka resort and then another dive before heading back to Murex Manado. The Dive briefings were thorough but the presence of currents that frequently changed directions resulted in simply going with the flow. Towards the end of the dive the DM would simply deploy their SMB to mark our location and the boat would come and pick us up. The dive guidelines were max time of 60 minutes (which conflicted with the signs on the boats that said 70 minutes), min 750 psi at the safety stop, 450 psi on the surface, the max dept varied from site to site but never more that 90’. The GREAT : The workers at the resort! We cannot say enough good things about ALL of them. They always were smiling, friendly, helpful, professional, you name it. I would especially highlight all the Dive Masters; they were the best I’ve ever been in the water with. Constantly pointing out the microscopic critters, Napoleon Wrasses, lobsters, eels, snakes, turtles (Green & Hawksbill), and even the only shark off in the distance. The GOOD : The resort rooms and other accommodations. The rooms were clean, decent size, plenty of hot water, drinking water, etc. We did have a rather large spider creature walking on the wall one evening but what do you expect when you’re in the tropics. The SO-SO : The food! I’m a confessed picky eater so take what I say with a grain of salt – however, my companion is far more adventurous than me and agrees with my overall assessment of the food. The day of our arrival the two of us were given a resort overview and enjoyed a complementary cocktail. We were told there would be snacks at 4pm. Right on schedule a tray of egg rolls were brought out to the dining area – tasted good and I had high hopes for the rest of our stay. That was the last time I saw snacks in the remaining 10 days of our stay. All the meals were served buffet style in either the large covered open-air dining area (with an attached bar) or a few feet away in a completely open area next to the water. Fish, Chicken, and Beef were served most evenings. In nearly every instance the food was over-cooked / dry. Various sauces reduced the dryness if you found a sauce you liked. One evening the beef selection was nearly impossible to cut with a knife and forget trying to chew it. It reminded me of shoe leather. Finally, there was a complete lack of creativity in the food presentation. Apparently, they never heard of the expression “Eye appeal is half the meal”. I’ve been to numerous resorts and live-aboard boats over the years, and this was the least impressive – I’m trying to avoid using the word “worse” because it wasn’t bad just not all that good – I did manage to survive. For a more “polished” dive report visit the Reef Seekers website www.reefseekers.com – another perspective of the trip, more details, GREAT photos, and a couple videos.
Websites	Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Coco, Caymans, Bonaire, Belize, Thailand, Hawaii, Florida, So CAL.
Closest Airport	Manado	Getting There	Fly from Singapore
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy, cloudy, dry	Seas	calm, choppy, currents
Water Temp	79-86°F / 26-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	25-100 Ft/ 8-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	See write-up
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	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	[None]

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here

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.

Other dive reports on Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards

All Indonesia Dive Reviews and Reports
Diving Guide to Indonesia
Diving Reviews for All Dive Destinations

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

Page computed and displayed in 0.19 seconds

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

Dive Review of Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards/Murex in Indonesia/Manado

Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards/Murex: "The GREAT, the GOOD, and the SO-SO", Jul, 2024,

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 Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards/Murex in
Indonesia/Manado