Alternatives to Derawan islands (Maratua - Sangalaki) October (komodo?)

[onna04]

Hello,

I am planning a trip for myself and a non-diving companion to Indonesia next October.
We'll be visiting Bali, and the southern Kalimantan region mostly.

We wanted to add a stop to the "bounty islands" - Derawan islands.
Given the limited amount of things to do above the water, we would only spend 3 full days there maximum.
I would love to see the Mantas, school of barracudas and whale sharks, but I'm concerned that the stop is too excessive price and time wise.

I am currently OWD, but joining a local club to get more practice (CMAS, cold water and limited visibility.) I was considering taking the AOWD in Amed (I don't think I'll get to 2* diver locally before we leave) as it wouldn't cost that much more, and gets me a close guide, and then going to Maratua, as I read advanced is sometimes required there.

Do you think it's worth the extra stop?
Are there any alternatives that are perhaps easier to get to that allow you similar sightings?
I've also been looking at Komodo, but I hear the currents are strong, and I'm not sure how comfortable I would feel about those by then. What can i do to feel more comfortable with currents? Cardio?

Any recommendations or advice?
Thanks!

 

[Anish]

I can't comment on Derewan but Id skip Komodo based on your level of diving experience. Currents are challenging at many sites, some dives are deep. I would say at least AOW plus 50 dives is a minimum. I went at that level and still found myself struggling at a couple of sites. If you want to Dive Borneo consider Sipadan. Easy diving, tons of sharks, turtles, reef critters etc. You would probably stay at Mabul which has some decent easy Muck diving as well.

 

[Plutonist]

What can i do to feel more comfortable with currents?

From inexperienced person to inexperienced person: I think the only way to get comfortable in currents is learning by doing. Obviously, you should feel comfortable at depth before diving in currents. For me it's the bad experiences from which I learn the most ("that will not happen to me again").

Not all current dives are scary. For drift dives it is typically only the first few seconds that are crucial. Once the group is setup in the current it's actually quite relaxing, because the current does the swimming for you. Likewise for hook dives - it's only the short moments of hooking and unhooking (deliberate or not) that are critical.

 

[Centrals]

@onna04
Southern Kalimantan? What is the attraction there?
The nearest airport to Derawan is Berau and Tarakan is a bit further away. Getting to Derawan takes time.

Mola mola in Bali, water will be very cold in Oct.

Dive Sangalaki | Scuba Junkie Sangalaki

Dive Sangalaki with Scuba Junkie! We provide daily dive trips and PADI courses in the Sangalaki Marine Park - Sangalaki, Derawan, Kakaban, and Maratua.

www.scubajunkiesangalaki.com

Dive Komodo | Scuba Junkie Komodo

Dive Komodo with Scuba Junkie! We offer dive and accommodation packages with fantastic value. Have the holiday of a lifetime without breaking the bank!

www.scubajunkiekomodo.com

 

[onna04]

@onna04
Southern Kalimantan? What is the attraction there?
The nearest airport to Derawan is Berau and Tarakan is a bit further away. Getting to Derawan takes time.

Mola mola in Bali, water will be very cold in Oct.

Dive Sangalaki | Scuba Junkie Sangalaki

Dive Sangalaki with Scuba Junkie! We provide daily dive trips and PADI courses in the Sangalaki Marine Park - Sangalaki, Derawan, Kakaban, and Maratua.

www.scubajunkiesangalaki.com

Dive Komodo | Scuba Junkie Komodo

Dive Komodo with Scuba Junkie! We offer dive and accommodation packages with fantastic value. Have the holiday of a lifetime without breaking the bank!

www.scubajunkiekomodo.com

You're right. While continuing to plan it looks like I'll skip Derawan. It would take 4 days of travel to be there 4 days. I'm now looking at other areas. Amed, Tulamben, Nusa Penida. Recommendations?

 

[Centrals]

With a non diving friend.
Gili Islands.

Gili Islands - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[onna04]

With a non diving friend.
Gili Islands.

Gili Islands - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

no, we'll do some separate days, my company visiting Bali culture and me diving

 

[Centrals]

Bali Scuba Diving in Padangbai with Absolute Scuba Bali

PADI 5* Dive resort in Bali - all top dive sites, dive courses with experienced instructors in English, German & Indonesian, great diving experiences

absolutescubabali.com

Crystal Bay will be very cold for Mola Mola.
Day trip most of the time so prepare to be separated from your friend for many hours.
Ferry to Gili Islands.

 

[Jamanti]

You're right. While continuing to plan it looks like I'll skip Derawan. It would take 4 days of travel to be there 4 days. I'm now looking at other areas. Amed, Tulamben, Nusa Penida. Recommendations?

I would highly recommend you rethink skipping Derawan as my wife I were there just for 4 diving days (2 Days Adv. course and 2 days fundives) (by the way you get a great deal with doing the adv course and staying there at scuba junkie) in November and it was hands down the best dives we have done ever and since as well and the whole trip was amazing.

The diversity of the divesites is amazing, from 60m walls to patches, to diving into the blue, etc. We saw 59 turtles on a single dive at Maratua, we had a cyclone of barracuda around us literally 3-4m away, baby reef sharks nestling under some tabletop coral, countless baby boxfish, morays, blue-spotted stingrays, garden eels, shrimps, 7 different nudis, and so much more.
The corals were also endless and more vibrant and healthier than I have seen anywhere else (haven’t been to Komodo or RA).

Also except for one dive that ended early due to an insane down current hitting us, every other dive was very chill and the guides at Scuba Junkie Sangalaki were amazing and happy to go at whatever pace and excitement level the group wanted. (Max 4 divers per group)
4 diving days is also perfect because you get to dive at all four islands in their rotation.

The only negative I see is the boat rides are long to the furthest two islands (1h30m and 1h45m each way) and in the wet season my wife was bundled up and still a bit cold but honestly the boats they have are sheltered enough it wasn’t that bad, and we have almost constant rain which is apparently very uncommon there.

Also to get there you can fly into Berau, take a car for 3hr and then a 30min speedboat and rgen you are at the island. A bit expensive but it’s only a couple hours of travel.

As far as other things to do on the island, the local food is amazing, their is a baby guitar shark nursery grounds to see them up very close, there is a karaoke bar/warung, and other than that you basically only arrive back after dive days at 3-4:30 depending on the dive island and then you have dinner at a local warung, chill a bit and you fall asleep haha

 

[cetacean]

@Jamanti

7 different types of nudis on one dive sounds like a poor dive for the Sangalaki region - we were recording 10-15+ on each dive (not including the more common types like phyllidia, etc.).

Everything else you mentioned is absolutely true. We dove the region back when Borneo Divers had a small camp on Sangalaki - turles nesting under the huts every night, etc. Large number of turtles and mantas on many dives (the mantas seem to be hit or miss these days, but turtles are still there in numbers).

It's interesting that they are now transfering people by car/van from Berau. When we did it it was a 2 hour boat ride along the coast, and then a 30 min trip out to the island (where you were hoping for relatively flat water).