Dive Review of Kungkungan Bay Resort in
Indonesia/Lembeh Strait

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Kungkungan Bay Resort: "Return to KBR!", Nov, 2015, by ann mcgrath, VA, US ( Sr. Contributor 26 reports with 19 Helpful votes). Report 8689.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I have been diving at KBR twice before, and enjoyed the diving and the resort enough that I planned a trip there for a third time, to only dive at KBR (previous trips we dived there before getting on a liveaboard). For an experienced diver, it doesn't get much better than Lembeh Strait, and KBR, in my opinion, is the best of the resorts available (and the first one in this location). They now have their system down to a science, and treat their guests as well as any resort I've visited. The bad: getting there! I prefer Garuda Indonesia airline, as I've had trouble with other Indonesian airlines. That means that there are usually two flights to get to Singapore or Bali. This time, we spent two days in Singapore before going to KBR, and two days in Ubud after leaving KBR, so there was some time between all the flying. The good: just about everything else! KBR's management is outstanding, and asks daily how things are going, and if there's anything they can do to make your stay better. The only criticism I had for them was that some of the dive guides are rough on the animals, to try to set them up for a photo or video. We sometimes asked the guides underwater to stop trying to "arrange" the critters. One of their dive boats has fairly high sides, so it is a little more difficult to GET to the side of the boat for a back roll, but the crew will always help. They handle camera gear well, and I've never had an issue with camera equipment. They use plastic bins to transport the cameras to and from the boats, which seems to protect them well. After each dive, the crew will hand out fresh water, a dry towel, fresh fruit and a lovely hot wash cloth soaked in lemongrass tea! After dusk and night dives, they have hot chocolate on the boat. There are two hot showers at the end of the dock, next to the large fresh water pools for rinsing your gear. The water in the pools is changed often. After the first morning dive, there is tea or hot chocolate, and freshly made cookies waiting. You can also order lunch at this time, so it's ready for you after the second morning dive. You can choose a third boat dive, or dive the house reef, which is excellent. There is a school of batfish under their pier, and we also found a large black frogfish, anenomes with clown fish, various pipefish, eels and sometimes an octopus. There was a beautiful school of baitfish under the pier when we dived it this year. The sponges and fans under the pier are also beautiful! When you tell them you are diving the house reef, the crew will put your gear on the dock and cover it with a towel until you're ready to dive, and will be there to take your gear when you surface. The boats are comfortable and covered. There is room for eight divers on each boat, although we never had a full boat. The mandarin dive under the Bianca (a liveaboard that never appears to move) was just amazing. As soon as we settled on the sand, we saw the mandarin fish looking for mates. We didn't turn lights on them until we were ready to take a picture or a video, and for the first time, I got mating mandarin fish on video several times! There was also an orange frogfish and a wonderpus on that dive! That made our entire trip. The rooms are spacious and air conditioned. There is plenty of hot water in the huge stone showers. The dining room is also spacious, and the staff attentive. With the all inclusive package, you can choose almost anything on the menu and it's included in the package. Fruit juices and alcohol are not included. Any items that are not included have prices listed on the menu. The spa has a large menu of services, and I endulged in a 90 minute massage almost every day, because with the USD exchange rate, it was reasonably priced!
Websites	Kungkungan Bay Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Caribbean, Thailand, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Indonesia, Galapagos
Closest Airport	Manado	Getting There	direct from Singapore, or through Makassar to Singapore or Denpasar, Bali
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	79-82°F / 26-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	20-40 Ft/ 6-12 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Recommended 60 minutes per dive, but this was not enforced.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	The camera room is roomy and has plenty of different types of electric outlets for charging. Camera rinse tanks are large and clean.

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Dive Review of Kungkungan Bay Resort in Indonesia/Lembeh Strait

Kungkungan Bay Resort: "Return to KBR!", Nov, 2015,

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 Kungkungan Bay Resort in
Indonesia/Lembeh Strait