Bali/Komodo or Galapagos Liveaboard?

[Hintermann]

I had almost made up my mind to book a place on the Komodo Dancer in June 2014 but now I am thinking about an alternative - Galapagos on one of the 5 or 6 liveaboards available. I had originally not considered Galapagos because of the high cost of getting there from the UK but I heard that the local authorities have relaxed the rules and now allow night dives and land visits to liveaboard guests. In that case, the expense might be worth it. Moreover, if I go to Bali/Komodo I'll be spending almost as much because the liveabaord is longer and I would be spending 5 days in Bali during the Arts Festival time.

So, the alternatives are

1. A visit to Bali at the time of its colourful Arts festival followed by a 10-day liveaboard itinerary on the Komodo Dancer that includes Tulamben area and Komodo National Park. OR


2. a 7-day liveaboard trip to Galapagos that includes 6 dives each in Wolf & Darwin plus other dives and a short land visit - probably a full day and half of another.

If the diving in Galapagos is that much better than Bali/Komodo, I'll go to the former. Please advice.

 

[ronscuba]

I assume you know the 2 are very different types of diving that are kind of difficult to compare to one another.

I was not aware night dives in Galapagos were being done. Not sure I would want to do it anyway. I'd be concerned about the low visibility and shark activity. I also would be pretty tired after the 4 day dives.

 

[Shasta_man]

BTW, you might not get to Tulamben. We were supposed to but were delayed getting back from Komodo and so did a different site. (Had Tulamben and Komodo lined up in the same trip but missed it...ARGH). Komodo Dancer is an excellent trip as well as Galapagos. You'll technically see "more" stuff in Komodo, but the Galapagos are the Galapagos, so little downside there. I'd say it comes down to will you have money to go again. If not, then I would likely pick Galapagos as Indonesia can be done cheaper. I'd also check that you can get lodging during the festival time. There can be a lot of people going to Bali during holidays.

 

[ocdiver1]

As the other responders mentioned, and I'm sure you probably know, they are two very different destinations. To me, it would depend on which was more of a priority, seeing big pelagics vs the overall incredible diversity of Komdo. Personally, I was disappointed in the Galapagos (and we spent a total of 4 days at Wolf/Darwin) and feel that the Socorros offers a better experience at half the price. I think everyone should experience diving in Asia..to answer your question about "better diving," while it's apples and oranges, there's far, far more to see in Komodo/Bali.

 

[Hintermann]

Thanks all. Yes, I know that they are two very different dive spots. If they were similar, I would have chosen Bali/Komodo because of the June Arts Festival season with lots of cultural activities. I had not even considered Galapagos intially because of the expense and the fact that in 2011 they brought in some rules which limited diving to 3 dives a day, no night diving (I love night diving) and no land visits. It was only a few days ago that I learned that those rules have been relaxed and so the Galapagos trip was worth considering; furthermore, because of the non-diving add-ons to the Bali-Komodo trip the final bill seems to be very similar.

I have only ever seen one hammerhead shark and that was in 2009 in Daedalus. It was some distance away. I know that it is all luck of the draw but I am hoping to see some if I get to Galapagos.

As for Bali in June, yes I know that accommodation fills-up very early in festival time. I intend to make up my mind within the next month and then go ahead and book it. I am not too worried about luxury as long as the motel is clean and conveniently placed and so hopefilly will have some choice.

 

[Kevster]

Go for Galapagos. Just amazing experience. Diving at darwins arch is unbelievable. Komodo and Bali are nice but nowhere near the thrill of diving the Galapagos. The land trips are also nice. Forget about night diving in the Galapagos. Most nights the boats relocate to the next location. Eg. Travel to wolf island is an overnight cruise. It likelys the night dive they offer will be in a very sheltered location and may not be very interesting. I would not do a night dive at wolf or Darwin even if they did offer. High risk due to isolation and strong currents. I have 600+ dives all over Asia,pacific,red sea,Australia. Nothing compares to the dives we had at darwins arch.

 

[kapingram]

I just got back from the Galapagos in October. It was the best diving experience in my 30 years of diving. It isn't "beautiful" but its incredible -- pods of hammerheads (around 50), huge whalesharks, eagle rays, dolphins, mula mula, just tons of critters. It was also some of the most difficult diving I've ever done and some of it will be quite cold but it's all worth it. I will never forget it.

 

[ronscuba]

If I had to chose only one, it would be Galapagos.

Cold yes, difficult diving yes, tiring yes. Diving with huge schools of hammerheads, yes, schools of eagle rays, yes, schools of barracuda, tuna, jacks, yes, yes, yes, 15 whalesharks in 10 days yes. All of the above up close and personal within touching distance, yes. Getting it on video, priceless !!!

Galapagos.

 

[vladimir]

I saw sharks on maybe three or four dives during my 10-day Komodo trip. One manta, if I recall correctly, and, in general, not many big fish. Fabulous macro and beautiful reefs though.

 

[Hintermann]

Thanks again people. The buzz word in your posts for me is "Hammerhead". Ever since I was a kid I have been fascinated by them but have only seen them in documentary film clips and photos. As I said, only one live in the Red Sea and that was quite a way off. Therefore, if Galapagos offers a good chance of seeing a few close-up, it would be very tempting. OK, does not matter if there are no night dives.

I am going to Fiji in July this year and have already booked a place on a Raja Ampat liveabaord for November 2014. Between those trips I'll get to see lots of macro, colourful coral and smaller critters and so perhaps I can miss Bali/Komodo for now.