Perched on the peaceful west coast of Lembeh Island, Bastianos Lembeh Dive Resort looks directly across the famous strait that has become a pilgrimage site for macro enthusiasts and critter hunters. The resort carries the Bastianos name, one of the most recognised operators in North Sulawesi, with sister properties in Bunaken and Bangka. That pedigree shows. But what surprises most guests is not the quality of the diving. It is how much you get for your money. Bastianos Lembeh Dive Resort manages to deliver surprisingly good facilities while keeping prices modest, a rare combination in many parts of the world.
The setting works in its favour. Elevated above the shoreline, the resort features a swimming pool with panoramic sea views, a large open-air common room, free Wi-Fi, satellite TV, and even a dedicated spa room. These are amenities you would expect from mid- to high-budget accommodation, not from a resort with such clear affordability. The social atmosphere here matters too. Bastianos Lembeh Dive Resort attracts regular vacation divers, people who want to dive, have fun, and meet others. It is not aimed at hardcore photographers who spend every possible minute underwater, though the infrastructure certainly supports them.
Accommodation options range from Superior cottages (available with air conditioning or fan only) to Standard rooms for those chasing the cheapest deal. The cottages stand alone, offering more privacy. The Standard rooms sit closer to the water's edge and adjoin, but they remain comfortable and functional. Either way, you wake up to the sound of the strait and the knowledge that legendary dive sites lie minutes away.
For scuba divers, Bastianos Lembeh Dive Resort delivers where it counts. The dive centre is well-appointed and professional. Tanks come with both DIN and INT compatibility. Enriched air nitrox is available. Full rental gear covers most needs. The dedicated camera room provides workstations, charging facilities, and a dry space to prepare your kit - essential in a destination known for macro photography. The daily dive schedule runs efficiently: 2 morning dives, an afternoon dive, and a mandarinfish or night dive.
Safety is handled with straightforward competence. Every dive boat carries oxygen and first aid equipment. The guide-to-diver ratio stays at 1:4. Dive times in Lembeh are generous: limited by your air consumption rather than a rigid clock, though 50 bar signals the end of the dive. The resort requires dive insurance and will check certification cards.
Bastianos Lembeh Dive Resort does not pretend to be luxury. It does not need to. What it offers is honest value: good facilities, professional diving, a friendly atmosphere, and access to the muck-diving capital of the world. For divers who want to spend their budget on bottom time rather than bathrobes, this is a very smart choice.
Where you sleep after a day in the muck matters. At Bastianos Lembeh Dive Resort, the rooms are straightforward, comfortable, and designed around one priority: getting you back in the water. The resort sits on the west coast of Lembeh Island, with most accommodation positioned on the hillside or along the water's edge. Either way, you wake up to a view across the strait, and that view costs considerably less than you might expect.
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Standard Hillside rooms occupy the lower part of the property. They are simple, clean, and budget-conscious. Each has twin or double beds, an ensuite bathroom with hot shower, and a shaded private verandah. The walk to the dive centre is short. These work perfectly for divers who treat the room as a place to sleep and little more.
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Superior Hillside rooms sit higher on the slope, offering the best views and a bit more space. Built in traditional Minahasa style, they feature natural wood interiors, upgraded furnishings, air conditioning, and a private balcony overlooking either the strait or the tropical garden canopy. The elevated position means more breeze and more quiet. These are the rooms to book if you want privacy and a proper sense of retreat after a long dive day.
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Superior Beachfront rooms stand just steps from the water. Each has a private balcony facing the strait, air conditioning, and an ensuite bathroom with hot shower. The location is as convenient as it gets: roll out of bed, grab breakfast, and you are almost at the boat. These rooms suit couples or solo travellers who want easy access to the dive centre and the sea breeze.
All rooms at Bastianos Lembeh Dive Resort include the following standard facilities:
- Air-conditioning (with optional fan use)
- Twin or double bed configuration
- Private ensuite bathroom with hot shower
- Towels and soap
- Private veranda or balcony with seating
- Daily housekeeping
- Mosquito nets
- Dressing table, bedside table, desk, chair, mirror, storage cabinet
- 24 hr, 220V electricity (2-pin plugs, power socket adaptors available)
The Lembeh Strait is not a place for casual reef cruising. You come here for muck: dark volcanic sand, scattered debris, and some of the strangest marine life on the planet. Bastianos Lembeh Dive Resort puts you right in the middle of it. The operation is straightforward, experienced, and built around one principle: maximising your time with the critters.
The Strait offers over 30 recognised sites, most within a 2- to 30-minute boat ride from the resort. Classic muck sites like Nudi Falls, Hairball, and Jahir deliver the famous macro subjects: mimic octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, multiple frogfish species, and more nudibranchs than you can count. But Bastianos Lembeh Dive Resort also guides guests to coral slopes, wrecks, and the occasional wide-angle spot to the north. The house reef sits right offshore, accessible for unguided shore dives. A small wreck rests there too, worth a twilight explore.
Daily dive schedule:
The routine runs efficiently, with 3 boat dives per day plus optional night dives:
* 8:30 am - First dive (morning)
* 11 am - Second dive
* 12:30 pm - Boat returns to the resort for lunch
* 2:30 pm - Afternoon dive (third dive)
* 5 pm - Mandarin fish dive (seasonal, site-dependent)
* 6 pm - Night dive
The morning schedule includes a surface interval on the boat between the first and second dives, with snacks, fruit, coffee, tea, and water provided. Expect a guide-to-diver ratio of 1:4 underwater.
Muck diving is the headline, but options extend further:
* Standard boat dives (reef, muck, wreck)
* Mandarin fish dives at dusk
* Night dives (the strait transforms after dark)
* House reef shore dives (unlimited, free)
* Enriched air nitrox (EANx) available for certified divers
Nitrox users must present their certification card and analyse each tank themselves, noting the MOD on their dive computer. There is no arbitrary time limit on dives in Lembeh, you stay down until you reach 50 bar, then begin your safety stop. That flexibility matters when you are tracking a hairy frogfish through the rubble.
Dive centre facilities:
Bastianos Lembeh Dive Resort maintains a functional, well-organised dive centre. Facilities include:
* Dedicated camera room with workstations, charging stations, and a rinse tank
* Drying room for wet equipment (staff rinse your gear after each dive)
* Equipment storage lockers
* Cold showers
* 2 electric compressors
* 11-litre aluminium tanks with INT valves (adjustable DIN inserts included)
* Limited number of 13-litre 'big' tanks available (surcharge applies; request in advance)
* Full rental equipment (BCD, regs, wetsuits, masks, fins, computers)
* Oxygen on-site (4,200 litres total) and on every boat
* First aid kits on all vessels
Dive boats:
3 modern wooden-hulled boats, each approximately 12 metres. Specifications:
* Twin 40 HP four-stroke engines
* Sun deck with shaded area
* Easy-entry ladders at the stern
* Maximum 8 divers per boat (plus 2 guides and 2 crew)
* Camera rinse tank (fresh water)
* Fresh water for camera rinsing
* Towels provided (changed every 3 days)
* Drinking water, coffee, tea, snacks, and fruit
* Oxygen first aid kit
* Crew assemble and rinse your gear
Safety and emergency procedures:
The approach to safety at Bastianos Lembeh Dive Resort is pragmatic and clearly communicated:
* Dive insurance is mandatory. The resort offers DAN Asia-Pacific short-term coverage on arrival or accepts any other valid dive insurance policy.
* Dive computers are strongly recommended. If you do not use one, the guide manages your profile.
* Maximum depth: 18 metres for Open Water Divers; 30 metres for Advanced or higher (unless deep specialty certified).
* Decompression diving is strictly prohibited.
* End the dive at 50 bar, complete a 3-minute safety stop at 5 metres, then surface.
* Nearest recompression chamber: Malalayang Hospital, Manado (approx. 45 km / 1.5 hours).
* Nearest medical facility for minor injuries: Bitung Hospital (approx. 5 km).
* Emergency oxygen on all boats and at the dive centre.
* Evacuation procedures are in place and briefed to guests.
A day spent nose-down in the muck of the Lembeh Strait is exhilarating, but it is also focused work. When you finally look up, you need a place that helps you switch off. Bastianos Lembeh Dive Resort provides that space without fuss. The amenities are honest, social, and built for divers who want to relax without pretence.
The elevated swimming pool catches the breeze and the view. From here, the Lembeh Strait stretches out in front of you, the same water you spent the morning exploring, now just a backdrop for a cold drink and a quiet hour. Sun beds and a poolside bar make it easy to linger. The open-air common room nearby offers satellite TV, a pool table, and a small library of novels and fish identification books. Free Wi-Fi reaches throughout the resort, so you can upload your day's best shot or message home without climbing to a specific hotspot.
For guests who want to explore the strait on a single breath, Bastianos Lembeh Dive Resort offers AIDA-certified freediving courses and guided training sessions. Stanley Sradaputta, a national record-holder (81 metres in 3 minutes), leads the programme. Options include morning sessions to 5 day programmes.
Traditional massage services are available, focusing on shiatsu and reflexology. After 3 or 4 dives, your shoulders and lower back will appreciate the attention. The spa room is simple and functional, this is not a luxury wellness centre, but the therapists know how to work on muscles stiffened by current and camera housings. Book a session for late afternoon, between the 2:30 pm dive and the 6 pm night dive.
Land Tours and Cultural Excursions:
When you need a break from salt water, Bastianos Lembeh Dive Resort arranges several day trips to the mainland. These require a full day and should be planned in advance.
* Tangkoko Jungle Day Trip: 8,700 hectares of primary rainforest. Look for tarsiers (the world's smallest primate), black crested macaques, and hornbills. The trek is moderate; local guides are mandatory and included.
* Minahasa Highland Tour: cooler air, volcanic lakes, ancient waruga stone tombs, and traditional villages. The region's Minahasa culture is distinct from the coastal areas. If you are adventurous, try the famously spicy local cuisine.
* Volcano trekking (Mount Lokon): a 3- to 4-hour hike up an active volcano (1,580 metres). Fumaroles, mud pools, and panoramic views. Sturdy footwear essential.
* Manado City Tour: the regional capital, with a bustling fish market, the largest Chinese temple in North Sulawesi, and notable Christian landmarks. A good option for a non-diving day or the day before your flight.
Resort facilities include: Swimming pool with sun beds and shower - Spa facility for Shiatsu and reflexology massage - Elevated restaurant with views over the strait - Camera room (dedicated workstations, charging, rinsing) - House reef - Satellite TV, DVD player, novels and fish ID books - Free wi-fi internet in lobby and restaurant area - Pool table - Provisions cabinet - Drinking water dispenser
The atmosphere is low-key, adult-oriented, and focused on the water. That clarity is the point. You come here to dive, photograph, eat, sleep, and repeat. Everything else - the pool, the massage, the pool table, the trips to Tangkoko - simply supports that rhythm.
Diving Lembeh Strait works up an appetite. The kind that wants substantial food, served without fuss, and available on a schedule that respects your surface interval. Bastianos Lembeh Dive Resort gets this right. Meals are served buffet style in a large, roofed, open-air dining area. It sits elevated, catching the sea breeze. The view across the strait helps too.
The menu mixes Asian and international dishes with a few Indonesian specialities. Breakfast runs from around 7 am. Expect eggs cooked to order, cereals, rice porridge, fresh fruit, toast, fruit juice, tea, and coffee. Waffles or pancakes appear most mornings. It is simple, filling, and quick enough to get you to the 8:30 am boat.
Lunch and dinner follow a set buffet or fixed menu, depending on the day. Typically 4 main dishes: meat, fish, a vegetable option, and something varied. Served with rice, soup or salad, and finished with fresh fruit or an occasional Indonesian dessert. Portions are generous. The quality is consistent without being fancy - proper home-cooking, not resort pretension.
Throughout the day, tea, coffee, Milo, drinking water, and cookies are available free of charge. Soft drinks, beer, and wine can be purchased separately. The resort caters to most dietary requirements including halal and vegetarian. Send notice in advance and they will work around your needs.
A few practical notes. The dining area is not air conditioned. The breeze usually does the job. Service is friendly and unhurried. Don't expect a la carte or gourmet plating. What you get is honest food, cooked well, served with a view of the water you just dived. After a day in the muck, that is exactly what you need.
"
Friendly and attentive staff, great dive guides, facilities were clean and well kept, food was delicious." -
Karin Burroughs, Australia, 21 July 2016 ...
"
Service at both resorts (here & Bastianos Bunaken) was excellent. The resort managers were extremely helpful, dive crew and divemaster were exceptional, and the resort staff was friendly and accommodating. The enormous cockroaches in Lembeh (though we expected them) were not pleasant dealing with. Overall though, the staff, food and facilities were excellent." -
Nancy Nehring, USA, 11 November 2012 ...
"
They take care of us from the time we land at the airport thru when they drop us at the airport. Food was good (better at Lembeh Strait). Manager of the resort was really nice and helpful." -
Stephane Tremblay, Canada, 25 April 2012 ...
