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I'm not sure there's very much diving worth the effort in those countries, let alone shore diving. There's diving off Nha Trang in Vietnam but from recollection (I was there in 2000) it's not much to write home about and requires a decent boat ride.

I took Garuda "direct" from Jakarta to Ambon last July. I can confirm it stops in Makassar for refuelling and/or picking up/dropping off passengers. I can also confirm the whole Garuda part of my trip (Singapore - Jakarta - Ambon) was on time, on seemingly brand new planes, booked online using a...

15 years ago I had a similar experience diving the Yongala out of Townsville. For various weather and boat related reasons the trip kept getting cancelled so I'd spent a week in Townsville waiting to dive. I spent total 6 weeks in Australia, so a week in Townsville was a big chunk of time. And...

I think it was a response to Cedric from Geko Dive Bali? "I agree Cedric, the cruise director and dive guides are very important..."

After more than 20 flights with Lion Air you're statistically very lucky to be alive so I wouldn't worry about the loyalty card if I were you!

Maldives has great diving but to see it properly you need to do a Liveaboard. There are some wonderful resorts but they're mind blowingly expensive and due to distances involved will likely only dive the sites in their vicinity. Indonesia has the best reefs and most diverse marine species on...

I would recommend Komodo for variety and quality of diving, but it will require a Liveaboard and a stopover in Bali. That's not the worst thing in the world, Bali has some great (and affordable) diving too (not to mention non-diving attractions). My personal faves are Black Manta (Liveaboard)...

Misool Eco Resort might be worth a shout - they have done a huge amount for conservation in Raja Ampat and were largely responsible for the creation of the Raja Ampat shark/manta reserve I believe. Might be a useful case study for what could be achieved in Lombok?

Jake11, did you dive Misool on a Liveaboard or from the resort? Any more details on what I can expect from the diving?

And DAN for diving insurance...

Indonesia has a huge range of incredible diving and a huge range of resorts/liveaboards to suit all budgets. My own honeymoon next year will be at Misool Eco Resort in southern Raja Ampat - equally Bali, Komodo, Lembeh, and a whole host of other places offer world class diving, topside...

Coral Bay is lovely and the diving/snorkelling on Ningaloo Reef is amazing - better in my opinion than the Barrier Reef and much easier to access. You can literally walk off the (staggeringly beautiful, deserted) beaches and start snorkelling a few feet from the shore. Western Australia as a...

Do you mean Lankayan? While it is technically possible to see whale sharks there I don't think it's nearly so likely as their website suggests. If you want guaranteed whale sharks go to Cenderawasih Bay in Indonesian Papua - it will take closer to 12 than 2 hours to get there though. The...

Not been to Lembeh in February myself but there's post in the Indonesia section today from someone who has: 'Ambon, Lembeh & Bali 2014 vids and pics'

If this is a once in a lifetime trip you need to make it count. Indonesia has the best reefs and fishlife in the world. Bali, Lembeh, Ambon, Komodo, Raja Ampat are all world class destinations in their own ways and a combination of 2-3 of them would make for a phenomenal trip. There are...

Definitely worth a trip to Lembeh while you're in Singapore. You need minimum 5 days to make it worthwhile as the flight times mean you use a day travelling in either direction. Equally, if you have 6 days, you can do a short Liveaboard in Komodo (Black Manta comes highly recommended and does...

Stayed at Scuba Seraya end of January this year and had a great time. Aside from the Liberty it's mostly muck diving so you need to like small critters, but if you do it's great. The diving highlight was a hairy octopus at the end of the last dive. The resort itself is lovely, very peaceful...

Hmmm, can anyone else think of somewhere near Manado with some decent macro/critter diving? What's it called? Ah yes, Lembeh. Closer to the airport than Bangka too...

Great pic! I saw one in Bali (just near the Liberty) in January but it wouldn't sit still for a photo... Amazing creature - I thought the guide had lost his mind at first frantically gesturing at a piece of fluff.

Just to add, if an hour and a half connection is going to work anywhere in the world, it's at Changi airport with Singapore Airlines/SilkAir. This has to be the most efficient airport in the world. I live in Singapore, about 30 minutes from the airport by taxi. I'm regularly home 50 minutes...