Banda Sea early October

[thesyntax]

Hi all!
We are planning to do a LOB crossing from Ambon to Alor in the first two weeks of october 2019.

Do you think it's too early for a good chance to see the hammerhead-schools? Or is it the best time because the sea is still colder?
Any experience on whale sightings in this time?

Second question is, if anyone has ideas on where to spend 2 nights on our way back from Alor to Jakarta(flight home)?
Possibilits:

1. Alor - what to do except diving?
2. Kupang - We have to fly there anyway to get to Jakarta, but same question as No1
   
3. relax in Bali - short and frequent flights to Jakarta on the way back - Downside not enough time to get to a nice spot away from the masses
   
4. Jakarta - I generally don't like big cities, but maybe worth 2 nights?

Looking forward to your answers!
Thanks a lot in advance

 

[Luko]

My answers below your questions :

1- Alor - what to do except diving?
nothing else but isn't that a good start?

2- Kupang - We have to fly there anyway to get to Jakarta, but same question as No1
same answer as & except there's no or little diving

3- relax in Bali - short and frequent flights to Jakarta on the way back - Downside not enough time to get to a nice spot away from the masses.
Are we speaking about the same island? it takes 2,5 hours to get to Tulamben from anywhere. (What do you mean "nice spot away from the masses"??? Bali diving is not about where but WHEN)

4- Jakarta - I generally don't like big cities, but maybe worth 2 nights?
God forbids....

 

[thesyntax]

Hi, as we only have 2 nights before the flight home, diving is not an option.
I reckoned it would take much longer to get our of Denpasar to rural bali, away from the masstourism.

 

[Dan]

You have 1 day of good diving after the liveaboard. In fact I’ll be doing a similar trip in September, except the crossing trip is reverse of yours. We’ll be doing Maumere-Ambon, as posted here: Ring of Fire September 9-19, 2019

October would still be good time to see schooling hammerheads in Banda Sea, I think. I tried to do it in November in 2017 & got blown away by bad weather. Our phinisi boat couldn’t handle the storm (engine & steering failures), had to skip Banda & detour to Seram for engine repair. We were crossing from Ambon to Sorong. I posted the trip report here: Nov 20 - Dec 2, 2017 Ambon - Sorong Crossing Trip Report

After that experience, I decided to go with the subject matter expert for that kind of crossing trip, i.e., White Manta Diving - Home We are going with the big metal boat with huge twin engines, i.e., Blue Manta, for this 2nd attempt to go to Banda.

October is still a good time to see Mola Mola in Nusa Penida. We’ll have 2 days in Bali. We’ll spend 1 day to dive in Crystal Bay & Manta Point the day after arriving in Denpasar from Ambon & flying home a day after diving in Nusa Penida.

 

[Dan]

If you want to see schooling hammerheads, you’ll have a lot better chance to see them in Cocos or Galápagos than in Banda Sea. Check out my trip report: Cocos Diving Trip Report, 17 -27 September, 2018

You won’t spend 30+ hours to fly from where you’re to Indonesia + the jetlag & lost of day as you pass the international dateline. San Jose, Costa Rica is < 4 hour flight from Houston. From Bahamas to Costa Rica may be about the same duration as from Houston to Costa Rica.

 

[Luko]

Hi, as we only have 2 nights before the flight home, diving is not an option.
I reckoned it would take much longer to get our of Denpasar to rural bali, away from the masstourism.

Since diving is not an option then Bali is your only option.
Once again and except for the NW part, it will take you a max of 3 hours drive from Kuta (where the airport is) to somewhere else in Bali.
As for "mass tourism" there will always be a tourist around in Bali, you're coming 30 years too late, culture is also where people are, I'd suggest you settle somewhere around Ubud for cultural activitiies, if you really need to be away from it all in the ricefields then try Sidemen area.

 

[borisphotosafari]

1. Awesome diving in Alor. Don't miss any dives.
2. Never been
3. Do land tour in Bali if don't have time to dive
4. Spend as little time in Jakarta as you can, don't waste your time in traffic. FM7 resort near airport is as far as I go.

 

[thesyntax]

Thanks for your Inputs! We will look for a nice spot in Bali

 

[NootFish]

In Bali, I stayed at a resort hotel that was quite far from touristy stuff. It was a gorgeous place where I didn't have to do anything and spent way too much time in the bathtub. I wrote a little post about it with photos...

Don't forget to get Grab/GoJek apps on your phone. Not useful for getting ride at airport, but otherwise, helpful!