Alor - worth the trek?

[pughio83]

Still looking for a 2013 diving destination that won't break the bank but offers quality and variety, and if possible away from the diving masses. Alor looks like it can offer varied diving with cheaper accommodation? And most importantly has some good macro.

So i have a few questions :

1) what is it like for macro and critters? And is it suitable for photography, sounds like currents may make life difficult?

2) can anyone recommend accommodation. There seems to be three- Alor diving, dive Alor and LE petit kepa. Looking for one with a nice beach as well as good diving, perhaps macro orientated. None look luxurious regardless.

3) how does Ambon compare re macro. Muluku divers £££ though would be first choice, and BRD seems like chance may not get to do much critter hunting if u get the wrong guide.

Any info appreciated, some info is in other threads but not all.

 

[Andy_from_Germany]

Hi pughio83,

in my oppinion Alor is one of the best dive regions in Indonesia but I have to admit that I haven't dived Ambon yet.
Regarding your questions:

1) Alor is a paradise for everyone who loves "small stuff". Regarding bigger fish it's always luck but on my dives I saw, amongst others, Nurse Sharks, large Rays (can't remember the species at the moment) and, at least on the surface, you will always (99%+) see dolphins.
Regarding currents: Yes, they can be really strong but if you dive with a good operator they will know where it's best for that time and for what you want to see.
2) Regarding operators on and near Alor: Yes, there are 3 operators, 2 french ones, Le Petit Kepa on a small island close to Alor, Dive Alor on, if I'm not mistaken, Pantar which is a neighbouring island approx. 20 minutes from Alor and the german run Alor Dive. Being a german and knowing him from Germany I obviously dive with Thomas of Alor Dive. In addition to that he has the best dive boat I've seen in Indonesia yet. Of course that doesn't include live-aboards!
Regarding luxury on Alor: Alor is still "original" Indonesia without (much) tourism and therefore you won't get any luxury there.
3) As mentioned above I can't comment on Ambon. I dove in Australia, Thailand, Japan and some other places in Indonesia but IMHO Alor has a lot more to offer underwater than these destinations.

HTH,

Andy

 

[silent running]

I second the above recommendations-Alor Dive/Thomas is great. IMHO, he is the most knowledgeable operator, he certainly dives the most, all year round. The operation on Pantar is apparently the nicest and has beach front, but it is also far away from some of the best sites and it's best not to limit your choices when diving in Alor as conditions are highly variable.

None of the macro diving we did had any current and was all in the bay. The macro was very good, maybe ever so slightly less good than Ambon in terms of number of sites and species, but we did see a coconut octopus there and I didn't see one in Ambon...

Overall, I prefer Alor to Ambon-better scenery, more varied types of dive sites and conditions, more big stuff, most healthy and heavy growths of corals I've seen in Indo and generally denser aggregations of fish. Also, while Ambon was really good, there were a lot of people around all the time-fishing, swimming, hanging out on the beach. Alor is very sparsely populated, hardly ever saw anybody on shore, except the villages we visited, and didn't see another dive boat the whole 14 days we were there. Never repeated a dive site either, unless by request-dived Kal's Dream twice, which was one of the best dives I've ever done. Alor is fantastic, will go again.. -American Andy

 

[ocdiver1]

I was just in Alor for my second visit last month, and have also been to Ambon many times. You can't go wrong with either! You've got 4 dive operators in Alor...all but one already mentioned...La Petit Kepa, Eco Dive Resort (Alor Divers), Thomas in Kalabahi, and an Australian run outfit that organizes frequent trips, but is otherwise located in Kupang. Ive stayed at La Petit Kepa and Eco Dive Resort, and would recommend them both. La Petit Kepa is the cheaper of the 2, lowest priced room (with all meals) was just 175,000 rupiah. It is also far closer to the muck/macro sites than Alor Divers, so you have the option of going to them near daily if other people agree, where Alor Divers may just dive in the Bay once or twice per week. I can't speak for Thomas or the Australian outfit...the Australian guy was a bit of a jerk and I didn't wind up booking with him, and I'd only say from questions i asked Thomas didn't seem an intimately knowledgeable about what was being seen where as the La Petit Kepa folks were. la Petit kepa has a great vibe about it, like a little community of dive travellers, guides are fantastic. Macro is amazing..saw 4 rhinopias, a blue ring, countless uncommon nudis. Currents in the Bay aren't bad, can be trickier outside where there are some beautiful walls to dive.

Ambon is also one of my favorite places in the world, I'd put it right up there with Lembeh. Only two operators to choose from, which you've already mentioned. I've only stayed and dove at Maluku Divers, which is pricey but totally worth it. To cut costs, you can stay at a local guesthouse which they can arrange and just dive daily with them. They are literally on top of the best muck sites, Blue Rose is further away. The guides at Maluku Divers are some of the best I've ever dove with. The diving....for macro maybe better than Lembeh. In one memorable short 3 day visit last year had 7 rhinopias.

Of the two destinations, Ambon is easier to get to...almost daily you can connect via Surabaya from Bali and get there the same day. It also combines very well with Raja Ampat if you are also going there. Maluku Divers is right in town, maybe 10 minutes drive from the airport. For Alor...you have to get to Kupang first, then fly Transnusa or Merpati to Alor. Two days per week you can connect all the way in one day from Bali or jakarta via the afternoon flight on Transnusa to Alor.

If you would like any other info, just ask!

 

[pughio83]

Thanks for the info guys. Alor looks like a real possibility for some great diving, with nice reefs and some critter diving. Would love to dive muluku divers in Ambon one day!! LE p'tite kepa could be a winner with its location. I'm sure as its on an island there will be a beach somewhere! Will look to fly into Jakarta but likely overnight in Kupang.

When is the best time of year re weather and diving conditions?

 

[ocdiver1]

Don't absolutely quote me on this, but think its correct.... Alor-April to December, with Sept-Oct probably being best. Ambon October-May

 

[silent running]

La Petit Kepa is the cheaper of the 2, lowest priced room (with all meals) was just 175,000 rupiah. It is also far closer to the muck/macro sites than Alor Divers, so you have the option of going to them near daily if other people agree, where Alor Divers may just dive in the Bay once or twice per week. I can't speak for Thomas or the Australian outfit...the Australian guy was a bit of a jerk and I didn't wind up booking with him, and I'd only say from questions i asked Thomas didn't seem an intimately knowledgeable about what was being seen where as the La Petit Kepa folks were. la Petit kepa has a great vibe about it, like a little community of dive travellers, guides are fantastic. Macro is amazing..saw 4 rhinopias, a blue ring, countless uncommon nudis. Currents in the Bay aren't bad, can be trickier outside where there are some beautiful walls to dive.

Ambon is also one of my favorite places in the world, I'd put it right up there with Lembeh. Only two operators to choose from, which you've already mentioned. I've only stayed and dove at Maluku Divers, which is pricey but totally worth it. To cut costs, you can stay at a local guesthouse which they can arrange and just dive daily with them. They are literally on top of the best muck sites, Blue Rose is further away. The guides at Maluku Divers are some of the best I've ever dove with. The diving....for macro maybe better than Lembeh. In one memorable short 3 day visit last year had 7 rhinopias.

Hello ocdiver, agreed the choice btw Ambon and Alor is difficult. But for the record, Alor Dive/Thomas dives year round and can stop in the bay every afternoon as the boat is moored in Kalabahi. He often travels further north and south than other operations and is thus not as focused on any one particular type of diving. He is continually developing new sites and is one of the most enthusiastic and skilled divers I've ever met. He also has the best dive boat I've been on in Indo-biggest non liveaboard I've seen, plenty of shade and actual steps to get back into the boat. Petit Kepa is a very nice looking place, but they didn't have any visitors during the whole time I was there and are closed part of the year, as are the eco place. I too had a poor experience dealing with the Australian outfit-They don't have their own boat so you have to rent one, they are expensive, attitudinal, live in Kupang and were very sporadic in their communications.

I also thought Maluku Divers were very good, even after the boat guy misread the currents and we wound up drifting for 45 minutes till they found us. Did you see a lot of trash in the water when you were there? We did, it was bad even by Indo standards... -Andy

 

[Kevster]

I am heading to Alor next week on board the Damai (Kupang to Maumere).
3 years ago i did a land based trip to Alor.

I will do a trip report when i get back that will compare land based V liveaboard!!!

 

[ocdiver1]

Hello ocdiver, agreed the choice btw Ambon and Alor is difficult. But for the record, Alor Dive/Thomas dives year round and can stop in the bay every afternoon as the boat is moored in Kalabahi. He often travels further north and south than other operations and is thus not as focused on any one particular type of diving. He is continually developing new sites and is one of the most enthusiastic and skilled divers I've ever met. He also has the best dive boat I've been on in Indo-biggest non liveaboard I've seen, plenty of shade and actual steps to get back into the boat. Petit Kepa is a very nice looking place, but they didn't have any visitors during the whole time I was there and are closed part of the year, as are the eco place. I too had a poor experience dealing with the Australian outfit-They don't have their own boat so you have to rent one, they are expensive, attitudinal, live in Kupang and were very sporadic in their communications.

I also thought Maluku Divers were very good, even after the boat guy misread the currents and we wound up drifting for 45 minutes till they found us. Did you see a lot of trash in the water when you were there? We did, it was bad even by Indo standards... -Andy

Andy...no actually in the times I've been to Ambon I haven't noticed a lot of trash in the water compared to other places..that is except for under the boats at Twilight Zone.

As for Thomas' operation in Alor...I can't speak towards it as I didn't dive with him, but I did, for example, ask him about rhinopias sightings in the bay, and he had said the last one he'd seen was several weeks prior. I wound up not being able to dive with him anyway as he was out of town for part of the time I would be there, but I posed the same question upon arrival to La Petit Kepa re rhinopias, and they said "sure" they'd seen 6 recently and I saw 4 of them during my stay there. In diving with them every day, they were intimately familiar with the sites and where to find critters they'd already spotted on prior visits. This doesnt mean Thomas might not be as good, but is an example of how good I feel La Petit Kepa is as a dive operator. I'm surprised there was no one staying there when you visited..it was 100% booked before and after my stay there, and many people I met there were multi-repeat visitors.

 

[Luko]

Andy...no actually in the times I've been to Ambon I haven't noticed a lot of trash in the water compared to other places..that is except for under the boats at Twilight Zone.

In fact it mainly depends on the tide factors.

The first time I had been diving in Ambon for a week, there were no currents in Laha area (Twilight zone and so) and even though from time to time it rained and waves were coming into the bay pushed with a western wind, it was almost gin clear, especially below the fishermen boats.
I came back a year later (2012) just before the new moon, the currents were blasting from the eastern end end of the bay rushing to the open sea, the water was really disgusting, with all sorts of thrash you could think of floating in between the shallows. I remember we had to stop a dive because I just couldn't stand the ripping current we had to spent 3' at 5m trying to avoid diapers, plastic bags or other filthy material.

We finally ended on the other side (southern side of the bay where there was much better viz and much cleaner waters). My guess is that you should avoid diving at ebb tide around full or new moon.