Information For Diving Visitors

Following are two lists of items for visitors to bring and not to bring to Tulamben when diving with us:

Must Bring Items:

• Dive Boots with soles - The entry's at most dive sites are pebbles and very unstable to walk on - these are an absolute must!!!
• Local Currency in CASH (Indonesian Rupiah) - There are no ATM's or banks in the local area (remember this is a fishing village) .
• If our driver is bringing you from the airport – ask him to stop at a money changer along the way. Do not change larger amounts of cash at the airport banks, their rates are much lower than outside of the airport.
• Alcohol - There is very little alcohol for sale in Tulamben other than local beer (Bintang), which if you drink beer is quite palatable and cheap (approx US$1.50 per bottle) and a local wine, which is only just palatable!
• Indonesia's power system is 240V - the same as Australia & Europe. USA is 110V so visitors from the USA will need a Power Adaptor. Indonesian plugs are the parallel two round-pin variety and adaptors are  very scarce in Tulamben, we have the Australian 3 pin adaptors only.
• Insect Repellant - a good roll-on repellant is best for fair skinned people, it is available locally, but doesn't seem very effective. Mosquito’s are not a big problem here – but they do tend to be attracted to some people. Mosquito coils that can be burnt in your room are always available locally and most hotels provide them.
• Underwater Torches - for night diving or on deeper dives to aid camera focusing. The substrate here is mostly black volcanic sand or dark rock and it can be dark at depths late in the day.
• Anti-Diarrhea Medication - 'Bali Belly' strikes many people on their first trip, it isn't an illness, so much as an adaptation to some food bacteria's your system is not accustomed to. A heavy course of Charcoal tablets and absistance from eating usually helps. As a last resort take some Imodium or Lomotil to stop the 'runs'. Best to bring your own supplies of these items, as it can strike in the middle of the night!
• Hat / Sunglasses & Sunscreen - It is sunny most days in Tulamben, and people from cooler climates get burnt easily. Some dive sites necessitate a short boat journey - without any shade.
• Travel / DAN Insurance Policy's - Insure all of your photo equipment, laptops and dive gear. No responsibility can be taken by us for valuables left in your hotel room. A decompression chamber is now in operation in Denpasar, but we don't rely on it. Dive well within your limits and have full DAN/Travel evacuation insurance.
• Dive Qualification Card or evidence of your dive qualification.

No Need to Bring:

• Snack Foods/Fruit - Many snack type foods are available locally - potato chips, chocolate, peanuts fresh fruits etc. are all available in small shops in the village.
• Basic First Aid Supplies - Band-aids, antiseptic creams/liquids, headache tablets, cold/flu tablets are all available in local shops.
• Clothing is available in a few local shops at bargain prices - T Shirts, shorts, sarongs, etc.
• Beer - is readily available and cheap.

Decide Yourself on the Following:

• Dive Equipment - Rental BC's, Regs fins, masks and wetsuits are available, these are good quality & well maintained. Water temps are at their lowest in July/August (approx 26ºC) and Hire suits are generally shorties (short arms and legs) 3mm - so if you normally conduct long dives it can be a little cool. We can arrange full length wetsuits with a day’s notice and need your size and approximate build. The rest of the year water temps are 28º to 30ºC and shorties are fine. But in saying this we personally dive in 3mm steamer (full-length) for comfort year-round.

Payment

• Payment of your account with us is normally settled at the end of your diving trip. We do not have Credit Card facilities at this time due to the bank situation here. So we can only accept cash payment in Indonesian Rupiah, Australian/New Zealand Dollars, Euros or US$ bank-notes *Please note - US$ notes must be undamaged - unmarked, late issue notes. Banks here will not accept any damaged, marked or US$ notes older than the year 2000.
• If you have trouble paying with any of these currencies please contact us prior to your arrival to discuss other options. We can also accept Paypal, a secure internet payment system, but their is a small additional fee of 3.5% on top of all charges.

Contacting us (other than e-mail)

• If you need to speak to us in Transit, from the Airport or Prior to Arrival, the best way is to call or SMS either of us on our Mobile/Cellphone. Best time to guarantee to speak to us is between 7–8am or 6–9pm. In-between these times if the phones do not answer, either ring back in an hour (we are probably diving) or send an SMS and we will call you back. The message bank system in Bali is not reliable, but SMS is.

• Jeff   Ph. 081 236 749938
• Dawn Ph. 081 337 123542

If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask us by e-mail.