Trip Report Bali-Komodo-Bali 12-21 August 2024

[Dan]

I went diving with 11 other dive buddies on Mermaid 1 liveaboard in 10-day round trip cruising from Bali to Komodo and back to Bali from 12 to 21 August 2024. We dove along the way to Komodo in Moyo, Satonda, West Sumbawa, Saleh Bay (for whalesharks), Banta, On the way back to Bali we dove in Sangeang and in Moyo.

Most of the trip detail info are provided in the trip video, below. I put together the video clips and photos in chronological order along with dive briefing map provided by Mermaid liveabiard. So you would be able to follow what we saw on any particular dive sites.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Dan]

The cruising & diving sites (courtesy of Mermaid Liveaboards) is shown in Figure 1, below.

Figure 1: Mermaid 1 Bali-Komodo-Bali cruising & diving areas


More detail itinerary, including 28 dive sites, is shown in Figure 2, below.

Figure 2: Mermaid 1 12-21 August 2024 itinerary, including dive sites


More detail itinerary in Komodo Area (4 days of diving 15-18 August) is shown in Figure 3, below.

Figure 3: Mermaid 1 Komodo itinerary, 15-18 August 2024

Table 1 shows overall itinerary from Day 1 (12 August 2024) to Day 11 (21 August 2024), including dive depth (D), water temperature (*C), and visibility in meters (V).

It was a full boat (15 guests). One of the 3 guests that were not from my group was turned out to be @paolobl65 who is an incredible photographer. He contributed some of his pictures that I included in the trip video. Thanks Paolo!

There were 2 Scubaboard members in my group of 12, @uncfnp and @Soloist.

 

[AlMitch]

Thanks for sharing as always Dan!!! Some really stunning dives. I loved the animal interactions you managed to capture.

I suppose the big question I have is, is stopping at Saleh for the whalesharks worth it? Or is it better to spend more time in Komodo itself?

 

[Dan]

Sometimes you got lucky & capture “Kodak” moment that rhymes with the song you picked .

It depends on whom you are asking to. I brought 11 dive buddies on this trip and they all want to dive with the Whaleshark. It is one of good selling point for this trip.

As for me, I have seen Whalesharks in many places (Cendrawasih Bay, Saleh Bay 3 x, Tali Sayang, Isla Mujeres, Socorro 3x, La Paz, Malpelo 2x, Galapagos 3x, Cocos 2x, Cuba). I can do more diving if there are choices.

 

[Carlos Diver]

Great video as always Dan. What did you think of the sites between Bali and Komodo? How do they stack up compared to other places in Indo you have been?

 

[Dan]

Great video as always Dan. What did you think of the sites between Bali and Komodo? How do they stack up compared to other places in Indo you have been?

Thanks for your kind words!

Sangeang is pretty good, especially Hot Rocks (with volcanic bubbles coming out from the ground) & Bontoh with black sandy bottom, starting from 24:24 to 29:36 of the video, which remind me of Lembeh. So, I would say they are up there with Lembeh, Tulamben & Ambon in terms of world class muck diving level.

 

[GF99/99]

I absolutely love Sumbawa and Moyo. I spent all of August there and it is such a beautiful area of Indonesia that is still not ruined by the masses of tourist.

 

[potato cod]

Amazing images! Thanks for sharing. We are doing this trip next July and this made me super excited. So many new species (all but a few of the critters in your video will be new to us).