1. Is there anything we need to know about arriving in Bunaken?

Bunaken Island is subject to high and low tides. If you arrive at low tide, the boat will not be able to reach the beach and you will have to walk through the shallow waters to reach the resort. Please pack a pair of shorts and sandals such as teva's (or dive booties) at the top of your bag to be ready to change into if you arrive at a low tide.

2. What is the voltage & what plugs do you use?

Both resorts on Bunaken and Lembeh have 24 hour electricity. This electicity is 220v, plugs are 2 x small round-pins, and every cottage has at least 1 plug point and an international adaptor.

3. What is the local currency?

The local currency is Indonesian Rupiah (Rp) and like the Japanese Yen it contains alot of zeros. The exchange rate fluctuates alot, and the important exchange rate used by most of Asia is the US$ - currently the rate is around Rp9,000 per US$.

If you need local currency, there are a number of ATM machines in the banks in Manado and Bitung, and if you have your PIN you can withdraw up to Rp 5,000,000 (or the limit of your card) against your Visa/Mastercard as well as your Cirrus card.

The banks will also give you a cash withdrawal against your Visa/Mastercard in Rp but typically the limit is Rp 4,000,000 per day and there is a charge is Rp 50,000. You will also have to get to the banks in bank hours: Mon-Fri, 8.30am-2.30pm.

4. Do you have Nitrox available?

Yes, we offer nitrox at both Bunaken and Lembeh. The price is €4/fill for 1-9 tanks and €3/fill for more than 10 tanks.

5. Do you offer Shore Diving?

Bunaken - there is no shore diving in Bunaken. We would like to but there is always some sort of current, and after 60mins in the gentlest of currents you will drift 100-200meters so exiting would be very difficult.

Lembeh - we can offer unguided diving on our house reef in Lembeh for only €10/dive.

6. Can we dive at both Bunaken and Lembeh in one trip, if yes how many days are recommended?

Bunaken and Lembeh are only 2-3 hours apart, so you can dive both areas. How long to spend at each place is difficult to answer:

Bunaken is more relaxing with lots of corals, gentle drifts, lots of fish life, turtles, shark, colours, etc.

Lembeh is classic muck diving, hunting for strange critters in the black sandy slopes with not many corals or generla fish life.

Each area also has 20-30 dive sites so you will never get bored. If you are keen photographers then perhaps 4-8 days in each place, if you like Bunaken-type diving then no more than 3 days in Lembeh.

7. Can we dive Bangka or Gangga Islands?

We can organise day-trips from our resort on Lembeh. Its also possible to organise day-trips from our resort in Bunaken, but weather is much more of a problem and we can only do this in the "dry season".

The trip from Lembeh is about an hour away (2 hours from Bunaken), and we just charge €25pp fuel supplement on top of the price for diving. It makes for a great day-trip: we normally go for the day and have picnic lunch, getting in 3 dives there.

8. Are your tanks DIN fitting or yoke?

Our tanks only have yoke fittings, and if you use DIN we do have a few adaptors available. However, you cannot buy them in Manado so it is better to bring your own adaptor if you have them to make sure that there is one available for you.

9. How do I get the 30-day tourist visa and can I get this extended?

The standard tourist visa is a 30-day visa, you will be able to get this at the airport on arrival for US$25 (or equivalent in other major currency's). You can extend this for an additional 30 days for another US$25, this can be done in the major cities such as Manado and Bali.

The process to extend the visa in Manado takes 3-4 days, so plan for this. Here is a report from one of our guests about the process:

You will need photocopies of your passport (photo page, visa page and the little entry exit card they give you) all on separate pages. You will also need a photocopy of your flight schedule for leaving Indonesia.

When you go to immigration the first time, you will need to buy a red folder from them for INR25,000, this is used by them to hold all your documents together. You fill in the visa-extension application form (leave the sponsor section empty), once they have all this in the folder they will ask you to come back in a few days (I specified which day was good for me and they were fine with that).

The second trip takes a bit longer than the first. You are initially directed to a room upstairs where you will need to pay INR50,000 administration fee, then you are sent back downstairs to the original desk where you will need to pay INR250,000 for the extension.... And then you wait... for a while (was about an hour and a half for me - take a good book!). Eventually they will call you over and hey presto the visa is done.

Tip - there is a photo-copier across the road from immigration that you can use, its cheap but take small notes.