Villa Markisa - Private Beach Bungalows - Dive Resort

We finished up the last leg of a five week diving trip to Indonesia with four nights a Villa Markisa, in Tulamben, Bali. I did not have high expectations of Bali, Bali diving, or the resort that we chose to stay at. BOY WAS I WRONG! We only stayed four nights, and now, I wish it would have been four weeks! Everything about Bali is unique and beautiful, and Villa Markisa and its diving fit right in.

Let me start with the diving. I just could not get enough!!!! I chose Villa Markisa for two reasons. 1) It was a five minute boat ride from the USS Liberty wreck and 2) the house reef, Seraya Secrets claimed world class muck diving. The USS Liberty is a once in a lifetime dive. It is not only noted as one of the world’s top wreck dives, but also as one of the world’s best dive sites. The USS Liberty was literally a five minute ride on the super fast and clean Zodiac boats. This is important, because in the later morning, the wreck gets very crowded with divers, who have to be transported several hours from their resorts to dive the wreck. The Liberty dive leaves Markisa at 630 am. This allows divers to be among the first to get to the wreck and beat the crowds. The USS Liberty is covered so close to shore, it is usually done as a shore dive. Villa Markisa drops her divers just about on top of the wreck, leaving more time for diving the wreck and less time for swimming from and to the shore. The Liberty is covered in colorful soft corals surrounded by tons of IndoPacific fishes. It really is a once in a lifetime dive! For those who love wreck diving, this alone may be a reason to stay in Tulamben.

The house reef, Seraya Secrets, discovered and named by Christiane (who built the resort on this reef, after she discovered it), is amazing. In four days, I photographed over one hundred different nudibranch species found by our eagle eye dive guide, Dharma, who is as excited as nudis and any macro photographer! We loved the diving so much, that we postponed our scheduled early morning departure for UBUD to the late afternoon so that we could squeak in two more dives!

When we were at the resort, we felt that we were in our own private little heaven! At first, we wondered what we would do besides diving, as the resort is very secluded, and nestled between two towns with no tourism. It is so private that there is no sign for it on the road! Our driver got lost several times trying to find it. As we pulled down another dirt road and driveway that lead to nothing, we began to worry. What kind of place was this? A perfect oasis, away from it all! This tiny, Balinese style dive resort has very few rooms. A few quaint bungalows, a large main villa with some guest rooms and one Villa with two units, and a shared open air living area. This is the villa we chose, as we were traveling with another couple. The accommodations could not have been more perfect. Each bedroom was new, updated and beautiful. The beds were so comfortable and each unit had its own outdoor garden bathroom and shower decorated with a lush tropical garden. It was so romantic. I especially appreciated that the air conditioners were efficient and worked perfectly! The shared living area had a sofa, and kitchen with full refrigerator freezer and stocked with beer and soda.

The grounds were covered with beautifully manicured Balinese gardens of bougainvillea, tropical palms, and flowering plants. Stone stepping blocks placed in the center of a beautiful koi pond, lead the way to the open aired restaurant. The infinity pool was a perfect place to cool off with a cocktail after a day of diving.

When I was in Indonesia, I fell in love with Sarongs. Villa Markisa had the best supply of sarongs I had seen in Bali! They were so beautiful and inexpensive.
The Spa was also amazing. We enjoyed several massages, that were priced just right. Balinese women have magical hands.

Unfortunately, Christiane was not present when we were there, but her co-owner, Pedro provided utmost hospitality. We still talk about Villa Markisa. In the cold winter we are experiencing now, we often talk about how we wish we could return and stay for an entire winter!!

Villa Markisa is one of the best dive resorts in Bali. I would not be surprised if it were the best, because it is the nicest place I have ever stayed. The grounds are beautiful, the staff are super friendly and attentive and learn your personal preferences during your stay, and the food is phenomenal (vegetarian and non-vegetarian). They make their own delicious bread, and if you are so inclined, you can have fresh fruit with every meal of the day - both small things, but things that make the stay that much more special.

The rooms are spacious and comfortable, with air conditioning, big beds and nice mosquito nets. They provide you with a metal reusable waterbottle for your stay, and have water dispensers around the grounds, so you never have to use any plastic water bottles. There is a pool for relaxing, and sunbeds laid out in different parts of the grounds, which are covered in greenery and flowers.

The diving is awesome, with great muck dives right off shore (Seraya Secrets) and also available by 5-10 minute boat ride. The USS Liberty, a bucket-list dive site, is less than 10 minutes by boat, and they run 6 am sunrise trips to beat the crowds. There are also some great wall and reef sites for nice wide angle photos. So you really can get a bit of everything. The water is nice and warm, usually quite calm, and strong currents are few and far between.

All of the dive staff are very friendly and competent, from the boat drivers to the boat hands to the dive guides. A typical muck dive had us following a continuous trail of cool critters found by our guide. And when I asked "where can we find X", they usually had a good idea, and we saw some great high value subjects: a mototi octo, harlequin shrimp, a mantis shrimp with eggs, a pygmy seahorse, lady bug amphipods, and lots of cool nudibranchs.

Topside, there are not a ton of activities available on the resort, but the grounds are fantastic and the spa is nice. They can arrange day trips to explore Bali, and there are lots of cool things to see on the island, including terraced rice paddies and Balinese temples.

The bottom line is, you can't go wrong with Villa Markisa, in my opinion it is worth every cent.