Alor; Wakatobi or Kri Eco Resort

[Rusty Tank]

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!)

And I always thought that asking questions would make things easier! Komodo back on the list.
As said before I've removed Kri from the short list. Too bad to hear about Wakatobi, but that basically means that Alor and Komodo remain.

Problem now becomes the Swine Flu :sigh_2:, Little bit affraid that if this is gonna hit / spread to Indonesia that domestic travel will become even more unpredictable.

I'll look into some LoBs that'll do Komodo in July. Philkade for example is not running cause of the economic downturn :sigh_2:.

 

[Wayan]

Problem now becomes the Swine Flu :sigh_2:, Little bit affraid that if this is gonna hit / spread to Indonesia that domestic travel will become even more unpredictable.

Jakarta and denpasar airport just started using the infra red monitors in their airports to detect people with fevers high temps .....so flights might not be as difficult as you may think,,,,,,,but then again......

 

[danz]

I join the discussion.
I am also in Indonesia in July (for more than 4 weeks). First I intented to go to Bali, Komodo and Alor. But I am seriously considering to skip Alor. I just talked to somebody who dived in Komodo and Alor and for him was Alor comparable with Komodo and not worth the difficult journey. He didn' see a lot of big stuff or large schools of fish. I am looking now for Komodo but is there someone who can recommend a LOB that is fairly in price? Otherwise I will do landbased diving but from this forum I learned that LOB is definetely better for Komodo. I heard als good things of diving in Sumbawa (Moyo island) but I cannot find any operators. Any experiences?

 

[silent running]

I join the discussion.
I am also in Indonesia in July (for more than 4 weeks). First I intented to go to Bali, Komodo and Alor. But I am seriously considering to skip Alor. I just talked to somebody who dived in Komodo and Alor and for him was Alor comparable with Komodo and not worth the difficult journey. He didn' see a lot of big stuff or large schools of fish. I am looking now for Komodo but is there someone who can recommend a LOB that is fairly in price? Otherwise I will do landbased diving but from this forum I learned that LOB is definetely better for Komodo. I heard als good things of diving in Sumbawa (Moyo island) but I cannot find any operators. Any experiences?

Hello danz, I have dived Moyo 2 times, both on a liveabaord on the way to Komodo. I don't think anybody goes there unless on the way to Komodo. Nothing impressive about it, saw one large barracuda and hardly any other fish. Lots of coral rubble in the shallows, maybe from dynamite, probably the worst diving I did in Indonesia and that includes the Gilis. Satonda was also on the way to Komodo and had much better diving, saw my first inimicus there.

I would be interested to know which operation the person who dived in Alor you spoke to, dived with. There seems to be dramatic variances in the quality of experiences. It's actually kind of funny to read descriptions of Kal's Dream as a barren rock with no big fish, after having man-sized dog tooths come within inches of me while circling around to strike and fight with grey reefs over huge schools of fish. Even in Komodo, I never saw so many bigger than average fish on one site, all the way up the food chain. My guess is that the best experience is only possible with someone who has intimate knowledge of the tides and their effect on fish concentrations and who dives there on a daily basis. -Andy

 

[danz]

Actually, I spoke to one person who dived with a LOB from Flores and an other guy who dived with P'*** Kepa. I also saw a underwater video of someone who visited Alor. There were a lot of colours and the reef seemed very healthy but I did 'n see so much fish. You mention also Gilis as one of the worst (?) places in Indonesia. Is it? I was also considering to visit the Gilis because I travel with my wife and daughter (AOW) and they would like to visit it. I saw it as an opportunity to dive with my daughter, realising that in Komodo or Alor the conditions are more challenging due to currents.

 

[silent running]

Actually, I spoke to one person who dived with a LOB from Flores and an other guy who dived with P'*** Kepa. I also saw a underwater video of someone who visited Alor. There were a lot of colours and the reef seemed very healthy but I did 'n see so much fish. You mention also Gilis as one of the worst (?) places in Indonesia. Is it? I was also considering to visit the Gilis because I travel with my wife and daughter (AOW) and they would like to visit it. I saw it as an opportunity to dive with my daughter, realising that in Komodo or Alor the conditions are more challenging due to currents.

Hi Danz, I wouldn't trust a LOB guide to get the timing right for Alor sites as they don't spend nearly enough time there to really know the place. Most of the bad Alor reports I read came from LOB divers, which is not surprising. As for P Kepa, I'm sure somebody there knows the sites very well as they are the oldest op in the area, but maybe their guides are not so experienced as the owners, who I doubt are running the dive boats. That's another point in Thomas's favor, he always goes out with the boat and usually does all the dives. I didn't see any of Pk's boats out the whole 12 days I was there and we went past the island almost everyday. In fact, I didn't see any other dive boats the whole time we were diving.

As for the Gilis, I have been there 2 times, both after trips on the Blue Marlin LOB trips to Komodo. Yes, they are family friendly, more resort like and the diving is mostly very easy. But there's almost no fish over 1m and lots of divers. The only dive I thought was worth doing more than once was Shark Point, west side of Trawangan. It was the only site I dived that had plentiful numbers of fish, but it also had a ripping current and most of the other divers got blown off the site both times I did it. I liked the Japanese wreck too, but once is enough. Blue Marlin is a nice operation, good restaurant, good value. There is apparently some very good diving on the North side of Lombok, about 1.5 hrs from Trawangan by fast boat that Simon, the owner, told me they had just discovered, with reliable sightings of large pelagics and sharks. Blue Marlin is also a good place to do tech training/tmix if you are interested. Simon is a very experienced tech/rebreather diver and there's plenty of deep walls farther out, with very little current, on which to do some easy, deep tmix dives.

As for a more family friendly resort in Indo with better diving, nothing comes to mind, so maybe it's the best choice for your situation. -Andy

 

[chewie999]

I've been to Komodo, Alor and Raja Ampat. I think all that is said is quite fair regarding the diving and accommodations.

Personally, I would rate Alor, Raja Ampat and Komodo, in that order. Alor is simply amazing, especially Kel's Dream (dove 4 times and saw alot of stuff each time) but expect currents. When I was there, Donovan (divealor.com) was our guide and he is very experienced. Don't know whether anything has changed since, but one of the downsides is that his boat is slow. I don't think that they own the boat but rent it.

If I had the opportunity, I would go again in a heartbeat, although the best hostel in Kalabahi is pretty run down.

 

[Wayan]

........I wouldn't trust a LOB guide to get the timing right for Alor sites as they don't spend nearly enough time there to really know the place. Most of the bad Alor reports I read came from LOB divers, which is not surprising. .......... -Andy

Really depends on which LOB you choose....Some have been going there for over 15 years and know the area very well.......

 

[silent running]

Really depends on which LOB you choose....Some have been going there for over 15 years and know the area very well.......

Hi Wayan, you may be right and it is possible, but given the difference between diving there on a daily basis and weekly or monthly, I'd bet the locals have the edge. There must be some reason why there are so many indifferent to lousy dive reports on Alor from LOB customers. -Andy

 

[Wayan]

Hi Wayan, you may be right and it is possible, but given the difference between diving there on a daily basis and weekly or monthly, I'd bet the locals have the edge. There must be some reason why there are so many indifferent to lousy dive reports on Alor from LOB customers. -Andy

Yeah sure.....exactly the same with LOB that only come down from Thailand for a season....... would certainly do Alor with Seven Seas and Pindito. Did it myself when running Pelagian you just need to put thought it to it (did not always work mind you) as the currents there can be unpredictable as you would know.....We did see a Mola Mola there having difficulty at the entrance to Kalabahai as it tried to fight its way through a whirlpool.. But truly some exceptional diving when done right