3 weeks in Indonesia- where to go?

[Travelnsj]

WW.....You googled correct DiveTimor.com....the rates for boat dives are expensive...most of your dives will be shore diving which is a considerable savings from the boat....The dive shop, Castaway Bar (yum) etc are all top notch....the Hotel I stayed at was close to the dive shop which was OK...nothing special.

Getting to Timor was easy I flew Bali to Dili on Merpati and it was a direct flight. I'm sure they can book your flights for you. Margaretha who ran the operation then was great. I'm thinking of going back next year and do a Bali-Timor trip again....Email them and tell them Scott from the US that was there 4 years ago referred you.....any other questions either post or PM me.

 

[Zippsy]

Here is my trip report from February 2010: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/general-asia/323845-ten-days-dili.html .

I also dived with Dive Timor Lorosae on that trip and we always had a guy doing his DM internship with us. The only other shop in town is Freeflow Divers. They also appear to be a reputable company but I did not dive with them.

On the trip last week, I was a support diver for the photography contest so every photographer / SD team was pretty much on their own. They did have local dive marshals at every sight to give a briefing but to make it fair, they gave everyone the same level of support. The idea was also to get published & very experienced photographers finding things that the local guides have not seen, such as the blue ringed octopus.

Incidentally, you can just rent tanks and go but for the first dives at a sight, you may want to use a local guide. You can rent a microlet (local taxi-van)/driver and assistant for something like $50 a day to go to the dive sites if you don't have your own transport and you are DIY'ing the trip. It's expensive but the UN is still their throwing away your tax dollars and the economy is skewed because of it.

 

[dh]

Hey There,
If liveaboards aren't for you but you still want to give raja ampat a try (and your up for a little low key luxury) you absolutely cannot go wrong with Misool eco resort.

We spent a week at Misool this past February and cannot recommend it highly enough.

From the diving, to the service, to what they have created in the middle of nowhere it is really amazing.

Check it out.

Happy to answer any questions.

 

[Warmwater Wank]

Many thanks Scott & Zips. I guess info from last week is current enough! Sounds great and it's not like I can afford to be cheap all the time...which must sound like an oxymoron to anyone but a diver. // ww

 

[instructor44pi]

When i was in Bali, i dived Nusa Penida, Tulamben (wreck and neighboring sites) and Menjangan island in the North. For Bali being such a small island comparatively to the rest of Indonesia, the variety of the diving is sensational.

I dived with Blue Season Bali when i went and they arranged everything from airport Pick up to making sure my Eanx blends were as spot on as i had asked for.

P

 

[katiej]

we were in indo may 09, and we started off with a week in bunaken in north sulawesi. i could easily have spent double that. it was lovely. we stayed with seabreeze resort and dived with them too. great guides, good equipment, good accommodation and specialised service. we chose our dives, ie, we did a couple of night dives and a mandarin fish dive while were there. nice accomm and decent food too. theres a really good mix of walls, reefs, drifts, fish and critters and its all very relaxed.
after a little bit of land travel we headed to pulau weh in northern sumatra. we stayed and dived with lumba lumba. also nice accomm. we had a newly qualified divemaster but he was very safe and really enthusiastic about finding sights for us. we had a few trickier dives with the current, but as usual, the went hand in hand with bigger sightings of rays and sharks etc. also, a nice housereef- would definitely recommend a dawn dive here. lots of different landscapes and a few thrills to boot.
i love indo- well be in bali next month! will report back again then.

 

[Mich Bali]

Bali and Sulawesi are a perfect combo, where in Bali the diversity is just amazing and the level of service in both hotels and diving is as pleasant as can get. The choice of accommodation for all budget is huge, but I would recommend to use Bali to pamper your selves a bit, as they are so good at pampering people. One can so easily feel like a king on this beautiful Island.

The best way to discover the diving around Bali is by safari. There are a number of companies who offer good safaris, but Dive Around Bali is truly specialized, as it is all they do. Tailor made and very personal dive holiday where everything is taken care of for you. They also arrange combo holidays with Komodo or Sulawesi and arrange your choice of land-activities. info@divearoundbali.com

Komodo I could only recommend by Live Aboard. Land based is possible, but the good dive sites are so far away. Have not been to Raja Empat (yet) but also hear good things about Misool or Kri Eco resort.

Of course there is even more in Indonesia, like the Banda Islands, Molukka, Alor, Pulau Weh of North Sumatra...
You can spend a life time discovering the diving around Indonesia, my mission....

anyway have a great time

 

[RinaW]

How best to spend 3 weeks diving in Indonesia depends on diving comfort and budget.

Bali is a good hub with a full spectrum on budget options. Some good diving options, but not worth spending more than 4 days of diving IMHO. Here's an island where you can find luxury for not much money because it's highly competitive out there.

Komodo is an amazing place to dive. It's underwater topography and proximity to the Indian Ocean gives it a nickname current city. Those komodo dragons are a must see if you choose to come here. Generally speaking, Labuan Bajo and the dive operators in Komodo are what I'd consider budget. I always trust my diving there to CNDive, owned by a very calm Indonesian (well versed in English) who knows the currents there better than anyone else in the competition. His boat can do daily trips (must arrange in advance) or operate as liveaboard, but be warned that it is absolutely modest. I don't hesitate on recommending him because he has taken me to do some great diving repeatedly. You can spend a week here and be happy. Easy hop from Bali.

Manado/Lembeh is a good week dive I think. There is more competition there that will give you some good value options. The distance between the two is a two hour drive. When I was there, the only option in Lembeh was an expensive resort. I opted to stay in Manado to check out Bunaken (an absolutely stunning and huuuuuge wall). I stayed in a resort which has since closed down or changed name, but they had a neat house reef with cool muck critters (great day & night dives). Then I arranged for the resort to take me to Lembeh, where I got bonked by a feisty nemo on my mask (I was minding my own business when he decided i couldn't hover within 6' over his anemone). Manado is a major hub.

Raja Ampat, near and dear to my heart than all the others, requires a bit more commitment. I wouldn't recommend less than two weeks if you're staying in a resort (mine was Kri Eco Resort). You need to first fly out to Sorong, which is a pretty remote "city." Then you ride a speedboat for hours to get to your resort of choice. It's all worth it IMHO because Raja Ampat is spectacular. You can see pelagics and muck critters not too far away from each other. I absolutely love the blue water mangroves. Even the budget options in Raja Ampat aren't exactly cheap. It is a trip of a lifetime.

Anyway, I don't see how you can go wrong with any of your choices. Indonesia is truly the place to be for scuba diving.

 

[Mich Bali]

Bali is a good hub with a full spectrum on budget options. Some good diving options, but not worth spending more than 4 days of diving IMHO.

With all my respect for your honest opinion, but this is a shocking statement. Bali has about the most diverse diving I have ever encountered around one Island. As far as diving in Bali is concerned, it's greatest charm is its wide range and variety of dive sites. Shipwrecks, drop offs, sand slopes, black volcanic seascapes, roaring currents and quiet bays… macro, pelagic, muck-diving, all tastes are accommodated.
The dive sites are all spread out though, so you have to cover some distance. Bottom line is that one can easily spend 3 weeks of diving here, and personally I consider 10 days an absolute minimum. In my case it has been 4 years now I got stuck here, and I was already a spoiled diver.

Please Ari, when diving in Bali, take some more time and allow yourself to be surprised.

 

[frogfish]

With all my respect for your honest opinion, but this is a shocking statement. Bali has about the most diverse diving I have ever encountered around one Island. As far as diving in Bali is concerned, it's greatest charm is its wide range and variety of dive sites. Shipwrecks, drop offs, sand slopes, black volcanic seascapes, roaring currents and quiet bays… macro, pelagic, muck-diving, all tastes are accommodated.
The dive sites are all spread out though, so you have to cover some distance. Bottom line is that one can easily spend 3 weeks of diving here, and personally I consider 10 days an absolute minimum. In my case it has been 4 years now I got stuck here, and I was already a spoiled diver.

Please Ari, when diving in Bali, take some more time and allow yourself to be surprised.

I fully agree - I have been going diving to Bali for years and love it; I always have some fantastic dives there, and it is definitely on of my favourite places to dive... Anyway I find it difficult to go wrong when picking-up a place to dive in Indonesia