Best non-liveaboard diving destinations to visit in Asia or Australia/Pacific

[MikeOWaterloo]

We are in the position of spending some time in Australia for a few months but also have some free time to go diving. Have done some diving in Australia at the GBR but due to the bleaching it takes a while to get to the unbleached part (and its also pretty pricey) ... so am also looking at two 1-2 week stopovers/detours on the way there or on the way back, in southeast Asia: Indonesia, Phllipines, Thailand. This would be beginning of Jan and late Feb/early March.

Here is some background:

We are moderately experienced OW divers (85 and 50 dives respectively), but we enjoy non-challenging dives where we can enjoy the colourful fish and coral and not worry a lot about strong currents etc. Not particularly excited about muck diving though. Also, wife is prone to seasickness, so shore dives best, short boat trips OK, longer trips can be OK if the weather is fine and the water is relatively calm. Liveaboards are probably out.

So where to go?

Raja Ampat: have heard great things, but worried about the strong currents - don't fancy learning to use a reef hook (see above). Are there still good (non-liveaboard) sites with milder currents?

Other spots in Indonesia, Thailand or the Philippines? Or the South Pacific?

I realize this is a bit open ended, just looking for ideas and inspiration.

 

[PatW]

I dove Fiji last year. I was at Paradise Taveuni. It has a great house reef. The coral starts at 12’ and is pretty near gone at 40’. It is in pretty good shape. The house reef has a resident octopus and ribbon eel. I found a spot which had anemones with all 3 endemic clown fish. The boat dives can get some current. Fiji has an advantage of being a direct flight from Los Angelos.

I have dived Indonesia. It has more diversity than Fiji. The place I dove has current. I think North Sulawesi might work for you.
Indonesia is a bit of a trek.

The Philippines has great diving, from what I gather.

I have a bunch of Caribbean dives and Atlantic dives. I go to places with more big fish than Fiji or Indonesia (where I was). You know groupers, snappers, morays, rays, and so on. Also I will stack Caribbean angels against any Pacific stuff, yeah a matter of taste.

Oddly enough, the Caribbean acropora corals tend to form large colonies. The Pacific corals tended to be smaller colonies but far more diverse. And I love the variety of Caribbean gorgonians.

 

[Leobendive]

Bali could be a good option with good connections from Australia available. Good shore diving e.g. in Tulamben and Amed.
I have never heard of shore diving in Thailand. If you want to avoid boats Thailand is not the place you should go.

 

[Centrals]

Bunaken + Lembeh.
Entry through Singpore to Manado.

 

[MikeOWaterloo]

I have never heard of shore diving in Thailand. If you want to avoid boats Thailand is not the place you should go.

Thanks for the tips!

Just to clarify, boats are not ruled out completely but shorter (say less than 20 minutes) trips are better than long ones. We have dived in Cozumel and Roatan, for example, without too many issues.

 

[MikeOWaterloo]

Bunaken + Lembeh.

Bunaken I hadn't heard of. Will look into it. I guess that fits with @PatW 's suggestion of North Sulawesi.

My impression was Lembeh was more muck/macro focussed?

 

[Leobendive]

Thanks for the tips!

Just to clarify, boats are not ruled out completely but shorter (say less than 20 minutes) trips are better than long ones. We have dived in Cozumel and Roatan, for example, without too many issues.

I did dives from Khao Lak, Koh Lanta and Koh Chang. We were on the boat at least half a day. Not going back to shore between the dives.

 

[Centrals]

Bunaken I hadn't heard of. Will look into it. I guess that fits with @PatW 's suggestion of North Sulawesi.

My impression was Lembeh was more muck/macro focussed?

Bunaken is mainly wall dive while Lembeh is well known for macro.
Two completely different styles of diving.

PAL has direct non stop flight from YYZ to MNL. Evening departure so plenty of time to drive from Waterloo to Pearson.
Anilao (macro) + Puerto Galera, very similar as Bunaken + Lembeh.
Anilao is about 3hrs from the airport(private, public transport is doable and cost peanut). While PG is an hr way by ferry + short land transfer.
The dive boat only goes out for one dive in PG and then return to base, most sites are within 15 mins, unless on a special trip to Verde Island(highly recommended).

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon - Japanese fleet turning into coral reefs in sheltered atoll with no current. Don't expect much to do on surface breaks.
Palau - Exciting big-current drift diving (just go with the flow), big walls, fish soup and mantas with healthy reefs.
Sipdan/Mabul - Beautiful reefs, even bigger walls, less current, healthy fish population and some macro: if you can get a permit.
Rajah Ampat - Amazing diversity and healthy reefs.
Lembah - one of the best spots in the world for black sand macro (muck diving), but only if you are a photographer

Then, taking a step down in terms of reef health, interest and diversity, to the point of being similar or slightly better than the Caribbean :

Bali - has some good black sand macro in the north, if you're a photographer. Great holiday spot, but most people don't go there just for the diving.
Bunaken - has some walls, and not much else. Was a letdown relative to above. Main benefit is that's it is on the way to Lembah.
Thailand - Similans and Richelieu are great, but are liveaboards. Day reefs/islands are OK if you're non fussy, like cattle boats and/or have never been exposed to a healthy coral ecosystem: definitely on par with Cozumel.
Philippines - few good macro spots. Anything edible has been cyanided/dynamited unless you're in one of the more remote spots.
GBR - beautiful coral atolls and fish life, but you need to get on a liveaboard to the outer reef and head north.