Bali ... and then where?

[MXGratefulDiver]

I'm in the early stages of planning a trip for March 2008. Our tentative plan is to visit three locations, each for 4 or 5 days of diving. We will be a small group of 4 (or possibly 6) divers.

One stop will be Tulamben ... a place we visited in 2001. We are figuring that since we've travelled so far, we'd like to make two other locales that each would offer excellent, but different attractions.

For those of you who are familiar with different sites in that part of the world, what would you recommend? We are open to suggestions in Indonesia, PNG, Philippines, or other places that would be within reasonable distance.

If this were your trip, where would you choose ... and why?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[daniel f aleman]

"Bali... and then where?" Greedy there Bob.

I would argue PNG, Top 5 destination in the world. The best way to do it is on a liveaboard. If you're plane hopping everywhere, Sulawesi, wow! diving.

 

[cdiver2]

I'm in the early stages of planning a trip for March 2008. Our tentative plan is to visit three locations, each for 4 or 5 days of diving. We will be a small group of 4 (or possibly 6) divers.

One stop will be Tulamben ... a place we visited in 2001. We are figuring that since we've travelled so far, we'd like to make two other locales that each would offer excellent, but different attractions.

For those of you who are familiar with different sites in that part of the world, what would you recommend? We are open to suggestions in Indonesia, PNG, Philippines, or other places that would be within reasonable distance.

If this were your trip, where would you choose ... and why?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

You may want to look at Wakatobi 2 1/2 hours flying from Bali

 

[alcina]

I would seriously reconsider your 4 or 5 days. It is not enough in Bali alone. And I'm not even talking about getting the "most" out of it - just the travel time, recovery time and no fly time really make a dent in your travel when you only allot four of five diving days. I would do seven diving days there - there are several "areas" so you could really get some neat diversity withouth the hassle of changing countries. Not sure if you've seen this trip report but it gives some ideas for areas in Bali you might not have considered...

While I would love to see you here on the Ningaloo Reef - it's a long way to come for four days of diving and it doesn't work out to be very cheap! March is likely too early for the whale sharks to be steady but if your travel dates took you into April, then I'd put this destination on the list.

As you've been to Tulamben maybe four or five days will be enough for your group...I'd then look into something like Lembeh if you are into seriously weird creatures

 

[mdb]

Tawali Resort, Papua New Guinea, owned and operated by Bob Hollis, founder of OCEANIC ,and his crew, is worth considering for your upcoming adventures: www.tawali.com/tawali/

 

[alcina]

The biggest problem you are likely to have with this is making a decision!!

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

Depends Bob - what are you in to? Big stuff? Little stuff? Wreaks? Deep dark dives? Shallow coral gardens? Disused quarries with a few car wreaks?

Tumbalen is nice. If you want more black sand macro then Lembeh is fantasic.

For big walls with big fish - Sipadan is good, can be great if the cuda are running. Palau and Coral Sea are much better but bit out of your way.

Interesting underwater rock formations and chance of a whale shark if you time it right - Similans/richaleu via liveaboard in thailand, nice range of reef fish though the coral isnt as good as some other locations (for whale sharks ningaloo is the place to be).

Wreaks - Truk is beyond fantastic but, like Palau, is way out of your way (unless you fly via Guam). Closer to home theres Coron in the Philippines and I'm curious about Iron Bottom Sound in the Solomon’s.

I've heard good things about Komodo which is reachable by liveaboard from bali. I have yet to dive PNG but also heard some great things.

BTW: anyone have a tip for mantas - Palau and Yap are both good but any sites closer in? Ditto schooling hammerheads...

Bob - theres hundreds of great places out there and its all good: I think you will have a hard time narrowing down your search....

Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[reubencahn]

PNG is great but there is no cheap or easy way to get there. You'll have to go back to Singapore and then spend roughly $1k round trip for airfare into and out of PNG. I would look at Lembeh. You can fly to Manado fairly cheaply and Lembeh is fantastic. You might look into Raja Empat but I think March is getting out of season for that area. You could also get to Sipadan without too much trouble or expense. I would also echo Alcina's comments. The flying beats the crap out of you. It doesn't look that bad when you're sitting in front of your computer planning, but when you're dragging your gear through third world airports, having luggage lost, etc., it wears thin.

 

[mjh]

If Bali is mandatory I would do the long leg first and go to PNG, you will shoot two days maybe three getting to PNG. Then hit Austalia or do a short live-aboard to the Similans, Thailand; then finish with Bali. Not sure how the flights would work but it might not be to bad. It sounds like you have 3wks(?)

 

[reubencahn]

I've heard good things about Komodo which is reachable by liveaboard from bali. I have yet to dive PNG but also heard some great things.

BTW: anyone have a tip for mantas - Palau and Yap are both good but any sites closer in? Ditto schooling hammerheads...

Cheers,
Rohan.

I forgot about Komodo. We were there last year on Kararu. Here are my trip reports. http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=111136&highlight=kararu and http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=111137&highlight=kararu I also posted a report on Lembeh. http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=110826&highlight=kararu The boat experience was so bad that I tend to forget about the diving when recalling the trip. However, there is some amazing diving. We did one dive with probably 15 cuttlefish laying eggs. Another with Mola Mola. Horseshoe Bay truly lives up to its reputation for invertebrate life (though the water is awfully cold on the south side of the park). I think if you could get the right boat, Komodo would be a great trip, especially if you could depart from Bima and avoid the cruising from Bali. But I would avoid Kararu like the plague.

Your question about Hammerheads also reminded me of Layang Layang. I think March might be the right time for hammerheads there.