Passport to Paradise - It certainly was!

Lydia's postcard from Indonesian paradise combines several stunning resorts into one amazing dive adventure holiday.

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  It was a pretty comfy flight, but we were so pleased to be stepping out of Manado airport and stepping into our transfer for the quick 45-minute drive to the port and 40-minute sail to start what would turn out to be possibly the most diverse dive adventure we had ever taken.
  
  Bunaken Island – Bunaken Oasis Resort
  
  We started with our first 3 nights on the beautiful island of Bunaken, staying at the rather luxurious 5* Bunaken Oasis. Built into a hillside with the most stunning elevated views over Bunaken National Park, this little diamond of a resort did not disappoint. Being right in the centre of the marine park, diving with Bunaken Oasis couldn’t be easier. A quick stroll to the jetty in the morning and onto the dive sites in no time.
  
  Bunaken Oasis is a small boutique resort comprising of just 12 luxury villas. At the heart of the resort, you will find a beautiful free form infinity pool, providing unspoilt views across the reserve, the perfect place to unwind after a morning of exhilarating diving. There’s a cocktail bar with multi-level seating areas, and then the all-important restaurant serving both Indonesian and international culinary delights. More details of this stunning resort will be sent to you soon!
  
  Now totally relaxed and invigorated, we moved back to the mainland, this was the start of our “Passport to Paradise”, we had created a 12-night package of 4 nights Manado, 6 nights Bangka and 2 nights Lembeh - we could have happily stayed longer in Lembeh but as we had already been before, we focused on the 2 islands that we hadn’t.
  
  Mainland Manado - Murex Resort
  
  Under a jungle canopy, surrounded by mango trees and orchids, with tropical water gardens and lilies, you will find Murex Manado, close to the village of Kalasey. We arrived by boat - as we were shown to reception for check-in, our bags were taken to our room - a fresh juice and resort orientation later, we were right behind them! Our room was lovely (they are all named after shells!), we were in Tridacna 2, part of a duplex towards the rear of the resort, with stunning Lilly ponds either side. This location is perfect for me as I am a real people watcher, and I could see everything! Huge room, bathroom with a separate clothing and bag area between the two, and a nice big veranda with a day bed, chairs and ceiling fan.

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  After a quick shower and change, we headed to the Beach Club. Dinner this evening was to be served directly on the beach, a fire was lit to discourage insects and add to the atmosphere, and a local band was playing softly… bliss.
  
  The food at Murex Manado was mainly served buffet style – again, with a good mixture of local and international fare, and there was plenty of it. Diving was starting a little earlier the next day, so it was an early night so we could be up fresh as daisies for breakfast.
  
  Two boats were available the next day, a 2-dive boat and a 3-dive boat, as we had already had a couple of days around Bunaken we opted for a 2 dive, with the plan of diving the black sand house reef in search of some macro in the afternoon.
  
  Well I have to say, I don’t think I have ever seen so many turtles in my life! Cross my heart, in the 2 dives we did, the guide recorded 52, a mixture of green and hawksbill of all different sizes. Even between dives and chilling up on the deck you would be hearing snorts of them coming up for air. We were lucky to get dolphins while on the boat, but sadly not while we were in the water, but this was made up for with the stunning vibrant corals on the walls and amazing drift dives.
  
  Fast forward to back in resort, that 3rd dive never happened, the pool and a cocktail beckoned as we sat with some newly found friends, just kicking back enjoying the afternoon, planning what time we should meet for dinner. Murex is incredibly social, and we had been lucky that on our first day we shared a boat with some very like-minded people.
  
  I won’t go on too much about Manado, got 2 resorts to go yet, but this place is great! Sea views, pool, jungle location, black sand, excellent chefs, and a 2-page cocktail menu - I’ll be going back!
  
  On our transfer day, we had opted for a boat transfer with 2 dives along the way. This is the signature of the Passport to Paradise, no time wasted on the road, so now it was time to see how seamless it actually was.
  
  Bangka Island – Murex Bangka
  
  At 7am our luggage was collected and placed on board, at 7.30am it was time to head off. Sailing time is around 90 minutes, with 2 dives en route, so our ETA at Bangka was around 12:30ish, just in time for lunch. We arrived right on time, and while we grabbed our dry clothes and a quick shower in the dive centre, our luggage left us again as we tucked into another hearty meal.

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  For Bangka, we had originally booked a Deluxe Hillside Cottage, views over the tree canopy, across the sea and straight out to the mainland, super modern and pretty luxury. However, on arrival we fell in love the Ocean View cottages - a fair bit older and a fair bit smaller, but right on the beach (a new room category will be added this year as the oldest cottages are removed and replaced with something similar to Tridacna in Manado. Fortunately, Makalehi (an older style cottage) was empty, and we were able to downgrade. We lost our 24hr a/c as these only have a/c at night, and we only had one plug socket, but with a sea breeze it’s not always needed. And who doesn’t like to fall asleep to sound of lapping waves! As for charging, Bangka has a huge newly-built camera room.
  
  Bangka Island, in particular Murex Bangka, has the most stunning soft white sanded tree lined beach, its postcard perfect! As the sea is at many different depths the colours are simply outstanding and oh so clear, I did find I had to pinch myself a couple of times, I mean this was just beautiful.
  
  The diving from Bangka is incredibly diverse, from the spectacular soft corals that cover the pinnacles and walls, to the several species of pygmy seahorse, harlequin and tiger shrimps, blue-ring, mimic, reef and wonderpus octopus, ghost pipefish, Ambon scorpionfish, frogfishes, as well as dugong, dolphin and whales.
  
  Glad we opted for a slightly longer stay here, we felt more off grid, and as I say the diving was very diverse, this really was island life, the days just seemed longer. Over the course of the next few days, we were joined by guests we had previously been diving with in Manado, as well as some of the guides and staff, as they are all rotated too - our little holiday social circle was certainly growing, and as people left, it was often a case of you would see them again as you moved to your next resort.
  
  So final day in Bangka, and final boat with diving transfer, exact same routine as before, Lembeh is a little shorter boat ride of 60 minutes, but the dive times tend to be a bit a bit longer, so we arrived again 12:30, just in time for lunch.
  
  Lembeh Strait – Lembeh Resort
  
  Sadly our last couple of nights, but we went out on a high! Lembeh Resort is a lovely boutique resort situated in the heart of the Lembeh Strait, you come here for the weird and wonderful muck diving life - it’s the Critter Capital of the world. Some of Lembeh’s most iconic species include the Hairy Frogfish, Pontohi Pygmy Seahorse, Wunderpus, Mandarin Fish, Mimic Octopus, Rhinopias Scorpionfish, Flamboyant Cuttlefish, Blue Ring Octopus – there are simply too many to list. Dive sites are close, and dive times are usually around 75 minutes.
  
  We booked here in one of the Premium Luxury Cottage, and OMG the views!!! The resort itself is I would say compact, 4 different levels of accommodation span 4 different levels of the topography, and these cottages sat pretty much in the middle. Unlike Murex, dinner was a la carte, however breakfast and lunch are served buffet style, all fresh and all plentiful.
  
  Lembeh is a pretty luxurious resort, lovely spa, lovely pool, great food, but it’s all about the diving here. Its handy to come with a list of what you would like to see, the spotters in Lembeh are some of the best you will find in the world, and this was proved right on the first dive of the next day when we was asked is there anything particular we want to see, to which Blue Ring was the reply, and hey presto, dive site selected and the Blue Ring that had previously evaded us was found! 4 dives were enjoyed over the last 2 days before heading to the airport, and much weird and wonderful was seen.
  
  We had an amazing time in North Sulawesi. We could have spent more time on the resort’s house reefs (they all have them and some dives are included in buddy pairs), we could have done more night dives, but the whole experience was amazing, and as I said in the beginning, probably the most diverse dive holiday we have ever had. The trip can be completely tailor made, so if you are looking for something really special, make sure this goes on the list.