Indonesia: Amed & Tulumban v

Indonesia | Oct 2023 |

Aside from diving, the number one thing to do in Amed is nothing (in the positive sense). I maximized both on a recent first-time visit to dive followed by some serious relaxation.

Honestly, the diving was a bit ho-hum; the place is well-known for macro (small stuff), whereas I am a bigger fan of the, well, bigger stuff (ex: Manta, Whale Sharks, Mola-Mola, Blue Whales). I booked 2-days of diving with Dive Concepts; they looked like a decent shop, fair price, solid digital marketing (in fact, way more so than most/all other shops in SE Asia). The big ticket dive, at nearby Tulamban, is the wreck of the Liberty, a WW2-era supply ship - torpedoed and beached, then later submerged as a result of an earthquake triggered by a volcano (hey, this is Indo).

Like all dives I did in the area, the Liberty dive is a shore walk-in. Although it's a unique dive site and has an interesting backstory, I didn't find diving the Liberty to be overly stimulating; these days it's basically a big jumbled hulk, not an easy-to-comprehend shipwreck (unlike, say, the Chang in Koh Chang, Thailand). The other 3-dives were also just so-so to me - not a lot of action in the water.

But fortunately, diving is only part of the Amed story. The place is chillax-central, a stark contrast to the go-go scene of the south of the island. Amed is located in an amazing setting, with Mt Agung, a perfect volcano and the tallest peak in Bali, looming over an awesome black rock/sand beach. I stayed at Alur Beach Homestay, a nice family-run bungalow on the beach; booked in Agoda, about $20 a night. And, importantly, Amed has some world-class food options, including decent Mexican at La Cochina, and Rimba Cafe, an amazing French bistro cafe type of place, off-the-charts Chicken Burger w/ Wedges..., aioli mayo dip.

I ended up staying in Amed twice as long as planned.

Amed and Tulumban are definitely worth ticking off your global dive tour, especially if you also plan to do absolutely nothing for an extended period of time.

Below are some "above water" pics, as I had no GoPro or similar on this trip. Didn't take any pics underwater. Even though I have a love/hate relationship with GoPro, and have expired 2 in the past 2 years, there is no feasible way to adventure travel without one (or Insta360, DJI perhaps).

Questions?

Contact me at sdasia@gmail.com, happy to help.