Alor; Wakatobi or Kri Eco Resort

[Rusty Tank]

Hi All,

Trying to narrow down my options for July this year as last minute holiday possibility came up. Unfortunately I only have a full week. So some of the lob are not possible.
EDIT I'm living in Singapore, so travel time is relative, furhtermore with a week I mean Friday to Sunday. end EDIT
I'll be traveling alone and want to go to either Alor, Wakatobi or Kri Eco.

I'm having a hard time deciding especially cause I'm not so sure about the weather conditions at these places. I don't mind a rough sea, but when I go to one of these I want to be sure to be able to dive all good sites. (thats the reason why I skipped Komodo, no LoB are running and if they run they won't go to horse shoe.

I'm looking for some bigger stuff, but I also enjoy the macro and muck. In the last years I've been to Sipadan, Lembeh (3*), Bunaken (2*), PNG and Thailand all very nice, but I want to tray something new again.

Wakatobi and Kri are "famous" for their housereef, but I'm not so sure if the big stuff will be arround. Alor is more of the beaten track and at this moment appeals the most.

For Alor I found two operators, but I'm not sure about their knowledge so I would love to hear some experiences for both eco dive resort in alor archipelago, indonesia. and divealor.com.

The good thing about the first is that they have their own resort, housereef and unlimmited diving. The other is as far as I can tell more established but doesn't have a resort / housereef.

Help is appreciated

 

[mjgoodman]

I can speak to Raja Ampat based on personal knowledge and what I heard about the other two.

Kri/Raja Ampat: I was on a LOB and we saw a great mix of stuff. Mantas, sharks, huge schools of fish ect. We didn't do any muck but the DM said that there are muck spots. I've heard nothing but great things about Kri, Max is a legend in Indo.

Wakatobi: One of the most professionally run outfits in the world. They're known more for the reefs and biodiversity than the big stuff.

Alor: There are a few outfits in Alor but they're all suppose to be pretty good. I'd search the board for more info on Alor. I've heard nothing but great things about Alor. Only one person I spoke with said they didn't like it. But like you said, it takes effort to get to.

there is a website called dive asia and another called dive the world that has info on the dive sites you've mentioned. Keep in mind, you can't go wrong.

 

[scorpiofish]

I don't know if your week includes travel time. If so, it can't be done from most US locations. I don't know where you are either.

Forget Kri. It's not the best time of year to go, plus getting there can cut into your trip time. If you don't come and go on Sunday, they charge extra for transport from Sorong.

Wakatobi and Alor are easier to get to. Wakatobi has one week trips, but that doesn't include travel time and you need at least one night in Bali upon arrival.

Alor might be more flexible in terms of dive days if you need it.

 

[Rusty Tank]

Thanks for the thoughts so far! I'll be checking the board for some more info on Alor, but up to date / experiences are highly appriciated. Good to know that Kri is not in season.

I've editted my openings post to mention that my week runs from Fri to Sunday, and I'm living / Flying out of Singapore

 

[highdesert]

While I think the diving at Wakatobi is stunning, if "bigger stuff" is imporant, you may be disappointed there, only in that respect. I can't fault any other aspect of the resort or the diving.

 

[Rusty Tank]

Ok, decided to drop Kri Eco from the short list, but added Timor Leste to the list instead

Having a hard time finding out if I can reach Alor in one day from Singapore and I've seen mixed reports regarding bigger fish in Alor.

Anyone been to Timor or Alor lately?

 

[wahlaoeh]

Hi Rusty Tank, I've not been to Alor but was in Timor few years ago. It's a very chill out place (with pigs running on the roads) and the diving is kind of hard-core as most of the diving are done via shore entry, except Atauro island (an hour by speed boat) which I didn't go as it was the wrong season then. Most of the reefs that I saw were good but not in extreme conditions... mainly macro and nothing really big. I found out from the dive guides that Atauro offers a wider range of variety .. more pristine walls and bigger stuffs ... dolphins, sharks and even dugongs. A diveshop that exhibited at ADEX 2008 also advertised a site that there are so many sharks that you'll have to push your way thru .. I'm not kidding but haven't got a chance to testify to that. Hope others who have been can comment on that ;-)

As for Logistics wise, I'm not sure if you can get there in a day .. maybe you'd have to fly on Friday evening and catch the morning Merpati flight over. Pls also be prepared on flights cancellation/delays by Merpati as our return flight was delayed and we missed our connecting flight and had to stay another night in Bali.

Oh! I dived with Dive Timor Lorosae. Simple operation with very experienced guides.

A final advice .. setting your expectation right before the trip is important. Indonesia diving is more for macro and an array of critters. If you're looking for both big stuffs and macro in one week of diving, why not consider Malapascua in Cebu ... you'd most likely to see thresher sharks, mantas (I read that hammerheads are seen lately) and some good macro at the housereef and Gato island.

Hope this helps ..

Happy bubbles,
Jovin-

 

[Rusty Tank]

A diveshop that exhibited at ADEX 2008 also advertised a site that there are so many sharks that you'll have to push your way thru .. I'm not kidding but haven't got a chance to testify to that. Hope others who have been can comment on that ;-)

Happy bubbles,
Jovin-

This sounds good! which operator was that? I brought a bunch of flyers from ADEX (which was disapointingly small this year).

I think I've got my expectations right about Indonesia :cool2: and I do like the macro part as well.

See that you're in S'pore as well. Ever been to the E Kalimantan dive sites?

 

[silent running]

Anyone been to Timor or Alor lately?

Hello RT, I was in Alor last year at this time. Diving was great, plenty of big stuff, tuna, grey reefs, blacktips, trevally, dolphins, biggest nurse sharks I've ever seen sleeping in a cave, one was over 4m, not kidding. Plenty of great macro diving in the bay, never seen so many mandarin fish in one place, angler fish, electric scallops, coconut octopus. Coral and sponge growth was fantastic, scenery is fantastic, all steep volcanic islands covered in green. Viz was great everywhere outside of the bay.

After a lot of emailing and few phone calls, we decided to dive with Thomas at Diving in Alor who came recommended from some Indo resident friends. His operation was also the best value. Thomas seems to be the only operator who is there full time and has developed some new sites, including the cave where we saw the huge nurse sharks. He also has the best boat in the area, maybe the best day boat I've been on in Indo. It's very big, lots of shade and has the best ladder, more like a set of wide steps. The nicer eco resort is pretty far away from the best dive sites, the most expensive and only offers 2 boat dives per day. The house reef is probably very nice, but there is so much great diving in Alor, that I would want to get in 3 boat dives a day. Some of the best sites are very near the mouth of the bay and can be done early in the morning, or on the way back in the afternoon. I dived Kal's Dream twice, once in the morning and afternoon, both dives were different and fantastic, but the afternoon dive was even better, one of the best dives I've ever done.

The only negative to Alor is that the accommodations in Kalabahi are spartan and it's not a pretty place. We stayed in the newest place, which was nice looking but the AC was a bit weak due to saggy voltage. The food was actually very good and I'd bet things are a bit better there now.

That was my 4th trip to Indo, also been to PNG 4 times and the Philippines. I would put Alor just slightly below PNG, but it's as good as any place I've dived in Indo, which includes Komodo, Ambon and Bali. It is possible to get to Alor in one day from Bali, but you have to go through Kupang.

Haven't been to Timor, but it's on my list. There are daily nonstops to the capitol from Bali and with all that deep water nearby, I'm sure it's great diving, though probably more expensive than Alor. Wakatobi is not on my list as I don't go places where there's no chance of seeing a shark. Plus they are pricey and seem to put a lot of money into advertising, which is never a good sign in my opinion. -Andy

 

[Wayan]

Okay So June July definitely do not go to Raja it the start of the windy season and usually lates into August.
Alor can be fairly well protected from the winds,and in Reality Wakatobi sites become limited around this time as well due to winds,
I do not understand you say live-a-boards will not do horseshoe bay in June and July this is certainly not the case with the experienced operators. What they will not do is is go south of Nusa Kode, Komodo, Rinja but will certainly do horse shoe bay so I would not automatically dismiss komodo. ( ran a LOB here for 5 years!)