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Dive Review of Water WorxX Dive Center Bali/Pondok Bambu in
Indonesia/Padang Bai

Water WorxX Dive Center Bali/Pondok Bambu: "East Bali Diving", Mar, 2017,

by Carol D Cox, FL, US (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 20 reports with 14 Helpful votes). Report 9837 has 1 Helpful vote.

Photos Submitted with this Report


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

Accommodations 4 stars Food N/A
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 5 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments We spent our first week in Indonesia diving Padang Bai. After checking out several dive operations, I decided to go with Water WorxX due to the great reviews I saw on another site. I wasn't disappointed - the owners were very responsive with their emails and answered a lot of my questions that had nothing to do with diving.

We booked a room at a small, seaside resort a few miles away in Candidsasa. Our room at Pondok Bambu was roomy and all the facilities, such as AC, worked as expected. The on-site restaurant had beautiful views of the bay and a pool where we could cool off. Our rate came to about $45 a day and included breakfast, which we were allowed to pre-order the day prior since we had to leave early for diving. There were several dining options near our hotel, along with convenience shops for snacks and bottled water.

We used Water Worxx to pick us up at the airport when we arrived in Denpasar. The flight and our driver both arrived early to avoid an airport shutdown for the arrival of the King of Saudi. The driver spoke good English and was very accommodating. He let us get bottled water and snacks, and also assisted us in getting SIM cards for our phones (this was the first leg of a month-long trip in Indonesia). Each day, a Water WorxX driver would pick us up and drop us off at our resort.

Padang Bai diving is a little more expensive than some parts of Bali because most of it is boat diving. But the boats worked well and were comfortable for the short trips out to the sites. Most dive sites take 5 to 10 minutes to get to, about 20 for the Gilli Islands, and then over an hour to go to Nusa Pineda to see Manta Rays. The sites were varied to include muck and sand, mini walls, and small islands surrounded by clear water. There was a small wreck and also the Jetty to explore. Our dive guides were fantastic. This is their "office" and they knew where to find all kinds of interesting creatures. Some highlights, besides numerous nudibranchs, included orange-banded pipefish and waspfish.

The dive shop was set up outdoors but under cover from the hot sun. It is across a quiet road from the bay with a great view of the water and the fishing boats. Between dives, we could order lunch from one of the nearby restaurants and have it delivered to the shop. We also had the use of a swimming pool next door. They had bathrooms, showers, rinse tanks, and a camera tank. Also a table for logging in dives or eating lunch.

Since we were the only divers there for an entire week, the owners let us pick the kind of diving we wished to do. They also let us dive our profiles and air, even if there were other divers that had to exit earlier. We also had our own dive guides the entire time, and as I said before, they knew the hidden creatures very well. They did not pump their own nitrox, but where happy to get us nitrox tanks if we let them know in advance we wanted it for our dives. Most of the time we didn't need it, but did use it for the Gilli Islands and Nusa Pineda to give us some extra bottom time on the deeper dives.

I can't say enough about the owners. They went out of their way to make us feel at home and make our vacation great. They even loaned a video cable to my husband when he forgot to pack one. We had a friend coming from the States bringing a replacement, but until then my husband was still able to keep his camera charged. :-)

Websites Water WorxX Dive Center Bali   Pondok Bambu

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Caribbean, Bahamas, Florida, Turkey, Palau, Truk, Mexico, Red Sea, Cypress, Guam, Indonesia, Revillagigedo
Closest Airport Denpasar Getting There Have Waterworxx driver pick you up for an additional fee

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas calm
Water Temp 79-82°F / 26-28°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 40-100 Ft/ 12-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions None after the check out dive.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas 1 or 2
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 4 stars
UW Photo Comments Rinse tank on shore. We took our cameras back to our room for charging.
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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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