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Buoyancy is really the key - if you have good buoyancy and are confident with it you can get closer to the reef (without bashing into it) and avoid the worst of the current. That said, some dives will be wild drifts and others will be a battle to get down/back to the boat either side of hooking...

Haven't done Bangka yet, it's on the ever-growing list... I was in Bora Bora in 2000 and remember it chiefly for the Manta dive. I also dived Moorea which in my recollection was better. With hindsight neither was amazing, especially not compared to SE Asia.

@Wingy - correct re Bora Bora not being "great" - but I said "pretty good diving" :-) By the time I got to French Polynesia, Bora Bora was all I could afford as as a 19 year old backpacker who'd blown his budget diving in Thailand and Australia - like an idiot I left Rangiroa, Fakarava and the...

Komodo is hands down the best diving I've done anywhere in the world. I haven't done Sipadan yet, mostly because the permits sound like a hassle for a short trip (1 day at Sipadan for every 3-4 days at the resort). Nor have I been to Raja Ampat (2015!) or PNG but I have been to a fair few...

Palau would be great but it's a pain to get to from Singapore - and v expensive flights. I would recommend Komodo. Fly to Bali (2 hrs, dozens of airlines), spend as much or as little time there as you like (diving or not) then take a 1 hr flight to Labuan Bajo and pick up a live aboard...

Black Manta runs a 6 day, Thurs-Tues live aboards in Komodo. I went there with them last June and it was spectacular. It's a nice boat, not as luxurious as some of the really high end offerings in Indo, but plenty luxurious for most tastes (Nespresso machine, massages, great and plentiful food...

Sorry, which is it, your former employees or your competitors? The lady doth protest too much methinks.

You could easily spend a week in Bali - diving and/or topside stuff - there's a huge range of accommodation, restaurant, excursion and diving options there. Raja Ampat you could mix Liveaboard with resort, or you could stop in Ambon or Manado (Lembeh, Bunaken, Bangka) on the way. I guess it...

Sudan is amazing. I spent a week diving on the Don Questo on 2007 at the end of 4 months backpacking through the Middle East. Despite what you hear/think, Sudan is about the safest and certainly the most hospitable country on the planet. You won't see much of it if you just fly into Port Sudan...

I'd second St Johns - have done it twice and it's a great trip - some fabulous coral, beautiful shallow caverns/swimthroughs and on my first trip in 2006 quite a few Oceanic Whitetips and at Elphinstone, the biggest Manta I've ever seen anywhere.

I haven't been to Bonaire, but purely on a biological basis, the number of species in this part of the world far exceeds anything in the Caribbean. I learned to dive and worked as a DM in the Florida Keys and loved it. Then I went to the Red Sea. Then I moved to Asia. I realised I'd never really...

I'd second Komodo. The best diving I've done anywhere, period. Add to that excellent scenery and of course the unique dragons, and it's a great place. As part of a longer trip Java (Borobodur, Ijen and Bromo volcanoes), Bali (more temples than you can shake a stick at, volcanoes) and Lombok...

From memory (I dived Queensland 13 years ago) the Yongala is an incredible dive, one of the best I've ever done anywhere. The rest of the Barrier Reef was decent, but not mind-blowing stuff. I didn't get to the reefs way off shore/up north, which I hear are better, but it's a long way and...

Interesting, I hadn't heard of that being an issue with SilkAir and for that reason (among others) always considered Bunaken/Lembeh/Bangka as a "less hassle" dive trip, at least compared to other Indonesian destinations requiring multiple connections from Singapore. As for the high prices, I'm...

I dived Nha Trang 13 years ago and it was pretty dire - memorable mostly for the recurring sound of dynamite fishing. While bombs going off seemingly all around (yes I'm aware of the physics that makes it impossible to judge sound direction/distance underwater) is certainly exhilarating, it...

I'm just in the process of booking a trip to Misool for early 2015. From what they tell me, they have a brand new luxury transfer boat, in service as of mid this year. There are pictures on the website now.

Ronski101 - did you connect in Singapore from an international flight (or series of international flights)? It's virtually unheard of for luggage to go missing at Changi on a direct Singapore Airlines/SilkAir flight.

Having been to both Komodo and Lembeh this year I'm currently trying to work out which one to return to next year (I know, first world problems...). This report was great - but in no way helpful for my purposes. Coin toss perhaps?

As it says: "Be aware though, that Raja Ampat homestay accommodation is basic and facilities are minimal. They won't suit everyone..." Probably somewhat more adventurous than a $700 a night Liveaboard I guess.

If maximum no of dives is the key thing then I guess a resort like Wakatobi or Misool with a quality house reef is the answer. Easy to do 5 pretty stellar dives a day at those locations.