Best relatively unknown diving in Indonesia?

[cetacean]

Thanks @Dan and @cetacean. I looked at Triton Bay before and it looked to be very expensive. The fact they feed whale sharks also puts me off a bit — not really interested in diving around some feeding platform and would rather have a lower chance of seeing them by chance alone.

Cetacean, again, I'm just looking at Indo here. I've done LOBs in Revillagigedo and Galapagos this year, so I had a good fill then! But can never see too many sharks

"Feeding platform" is not quite the full story...

The bagans are fishing platforms - they are used throughout Indonesia... the people fishing have learned that they can keep whalesharks around by either sharing some of their bycatch or by chopping up some of the fish and dropping the bits in the water. LoBs and resorts will pay these people for permission to snorkel (in most places) or dive (Triton Bay) with the whale sharks. This supplements their income in addition to the fishing...

The whalesharks are their only "in season"- they wander off elsewhere for the other ~5 months of the year.

Having spent a lot of time in Indonesia, I'm suggesting your western views of what's "ethical" ignores the reality of the actual situation. Places like Oslob (in the Philippines) is an example of where this type of activity is now completely out of control, however places like Triton Bay and Cenderawasih are remote enough that this isn't the case - you wouldn't know this until you actually visited one these locations.

As for sharks & pelagics in Indonesia - the Banda Sea (by LoB) is one location to consider (you mentioned you've already done "Banda" - was this land-based or by LoB?).

Many divers don't go to Indonesia for "pelagics" so this is a somewhat odd request. You claim to have been all over Indonesia - did that not give you a fairly clear idea of what Indonesia is known for?

 

[GDMP]

"Feeding platform" is not quite the full story...

The bagans are fishing platforms - they are used throughout Indonesia... the people fishing have learned that they can keep whalesharks around by either sharing some of their bycatch or by chopping up some of the fish and dropping the bits in the water. LoBs and resorts will pay these people for permission to snorkel (in most places) or dive (Triton Bay) with the whale sharks. This supplements their income in addition to the fishing...

The whalesharks are their only "in season"- they wander off elsewhere for the other ~5 months of the year.

Having spent a lot of time in Indonesia, I'm suggesting your western views of what's "ethical" ignores the reality of the actual situation. Places like Oslob (in the Philippines) is an example of where this type of activity is now completely out of control, however places like Triton Bay and Cenderawasih are remote enough that this isn't the case - you wouldn't know this until you actually visited one these locations.

As for sharks & pelagics in Indonesia - the Banda Sea (by LoB) is one location to consider (you mentioned you've already done "Banda" - was this land-based or by LoB?).

Many divers don't go to Indonesia for "pelagics" so this is a somewhat odd request. You claim to have been all over Indonesia - did that not give you a fairly clear idea of what Indonesia is known for?

Being honest, I find this to be strangely persnickety and a bit of a weird reply.

Feeding platform / fishing platform. I'm referring to the same thing. I didn't say a word about ethics. I've spent some time in Indo too (not loads, but probably about 8 months in the last 4 years). So, thanks for the breakdown of my "western" ethical views . I know it's complicated, and I'm sure it's not like Oslob.

Yes, Banda by LOB in 2023, but didn't do lots of dives there — maybe 6 or so as part of a crossing trip.

I'm not "going to Indonesia for pelagics". I'm going to Indonesia because I love it (people, landscapes, hiking, rainforests, coffee, etc), and I'll doing some diving while I'm there, so I was just curious if anyone could give some helpful pointers.

Last, I haven't been "all over Indonesia", LOL. I've only dived in the places I mentioned. Indo is massive, so I'm sure there are many more good spots.

Anyway, this is dull. Let's move on.

If anyone else has any ideas, I'd love to hear them, if not, no worries!

 

[Luko]

... My favourites include Alor, Raja, Maratua, Koon, and Belongas. I enjoy healthy, fishy reefs, with interesting topography. While I like macro, I enjoy diving with pelagics more. I've also done lots of diving in many other areas: Komodo, Kakaban, Sangalaki, Derawan, Candi Dasa, Banda, Lembeh, Bunaken, Penida, Menjangan, Pemuteran, Ambon, Weh, Rote, East Lombok, and probably some other places I'm forgetting.
...
I've heard good things about Bangka, although I don't think it's very sharky. At the moment, that's probably top of my list though.
...
Apparently the diving off west Sumbawa is quite nice, but I don't know it's special.

That's quite an array of dive spots yet.
On some other sites I dived in Indonesia you didn't mention or would like to know more :
- forget Maumere (30 years ago one of the major dive hubs in Indo), wiped out by an earthquake and clearly not up since, on my 2 trips there decent corals in the outer islands but a real dearth of fish, needless to say no sharks. Sketchy dive centers.
- Spermondes out of Makassar, so much fish bombing even though decent in terms of gorgonians variety. not worth. I don't even think you can find a dive center now.
- I'm thinking about the small Lease islands out of Ambon (Haruku, Saparua, Molana, Nusa Laut) very nice to travel, hard to dive since it's too far from Ambon for daytrips, there was only one local operator Mahu Lodge north of Saparua (cannot say whether it's still operating) and the swiss german resort (Cape Paperu) closed during COVID and burnt down after a feud with the locals. Ameth coral gardens were splendid, south Molana wall as well, a few reef sharks in the distance, that's what I saw myself. On the hear say side, Cape Paperu was proposing deep hammerhead dives, the owner of the local dive center Mahu Lodge pretended he had some "secret" shark dive spots. I do not know more.
btw Lease are a good addon to couple into a landtrip from Ambon to Banda.
- Bangka : love the place for coral colors, pygmy seahorses, varied topography but clearly not a lot of sharks except for puppy whitetips.
- East Sumbawa (not west) on the edge of West Komodo NP : blue water, currents, some manta stations, great macro and volcanic dives around Sangeang but no sharks.

Place I haven't dived though heard/had feedbacks on :
- Triton bay of course... quite a budget, planning it next year probably.
- Going SouthWest Halmahera in a couple of weeks... will tell later.
- Morotai North Halmahera, seems sharky enough even though I had feedback 20 years ago the coral was not so good.
- Selayar island off South Sulawesi was known for loads of sharks in the deep.

Out of curiosity how was Rote? Isn't that too sandy for good diving?

 

[GDMP]

That's quite an array of dive spots yet.
On some other sites I dived in Indonesia you didn't mention or would like to know more :
- forget Maumere (30 years ago one of the major dive hubs in Indo), wiped out by an earthquake and clearly not up since, on my 2 trips there decent corals in the outer islands but a real dearth of fish, needless to say no sharks. Sketchy dive centers.
- Spermondes out of Makassar, so much fish bombing even though decent in terms of gorgonians variety. not worth. I don't even think you can find a dive center now.
- I'm thinking about the small Lease islands out of Ambon (Haruku, Saparua, Molana, Nusa Laut) very nice to travel, hard to dive since it's too far from Ambon for daytrips, there was only one local operator Mahu Lodge north of Saparua (cannot say whether it's still operating) and the swiss german resort (Cape Paperu) closed during COVID and burnt down after a feud with the locals. Ameth coral gardens were splendid, south Molana wall as well, a few reef sharks in the distance, that's what I saw myself. On the hear say side, Cape Paperu was proposing deep hammerhead dives, the owner of the local dive center Mahu Lodge pretended he had some "secret" shark dive spots. I do not know more.
btw Lease are a good addon to couple into a landtrip from Ambon to Banda.
- Bangka : love the place for coral colors, pygmy seahorses, varied topography but clearly not a lot of sharks except for puppy whitetips.
- East Sumbawa (not west) on the edge of West Komodo NP : blue water, currents, some manta stations, great macro and volcanic dives around Sangeang but no sharks.

Place I haven't dived though heard/had feedbacks on :
- Triton bay of course... quite a budget, planning it next year probably.
- Going SouthWest Halmahera in a couple of weeks... will tell later.
- Morotai North Halmahera, seems sharky enough even though I had feedback 20 years ago the coral was not so good.
- Selayar island off South Sulawesi was known for loads of sharks in the deep.

Out of curiosity how was Rote? Isn't that too sandy for good diving?

Legend, thanks @Luko — bunch of dive sites I hadn't heard of.

I heard Maumere and Ende aren't great any more.

I think I dived Nusa Laut from an Ambon — Sorong liveaboard, but I don't know any of the others, so good to know some are nice!

Feels like I should definitely go to Bangka at some point. To be clear, I'm not just fussed about sharks, I like variety, and the Bangka topography and reefs sound great.

I looked at Kalimaya on Sumbawa a while ago but forgot about it and should probably reconsider that area. There's a spot in west Sumbawa that I've heard is great named Mantahari. Blue Marlin in Kuta (Lombok) goes there when conditions allow. Lovely reef, strong current, mantas, occasionally sharks too, so I've got that pencilled in, if I can get there.

Selayar I'd forgotten about too and will look into.

Rote is worth diving if you're in the area. A guide in Derawan put it on my radar and said it was awesome. I dived with Mike at Rote Dive Adventures — very nice guy. Don't think anyone else there dives. Mike mostly goes to a site named Jurassic Park (because of how it looks). Beautiful soft coral there, and plenty of surge (nothing tricky though, but it's not protected and has been overfished. The big pull is there's a cleaning station for mantas there (oceanic, I think?), which they see about 50% of the time. I did only two dives there as part of an Alor trip and didn't see any, but I would have done more dives if I hadn't had an ear infection. There's also some interesting macro, toadfishes, blue spotted rays, eels, and plenty to see in general. So, people only go to Rote to surf, but the reef is beautiful, and I'm sure there are several good dive sites around that nobody has dived. Not Indonesia's best, but still very nice diving. I made a (very amateurish!) video that gives an idea of it here:
Thanks again!

 

[cetacean]

Being honest, I find this to be strangely persnickety and a bit of a weird reply.

Feeding platform / fishing platform. I'm referring to the same thing. I didn't say a word about ethics. I've spent some time in Indo too (not loads, but probably about 8 months in the last 4 years). So, thanks for the breakdown of my "western" ethical views . I know it's complicated, and I'm sure it's not like Oslob.

Yes, Banda by LOB in 2023, but didn't do lots of dives there — maybe 6 or so as part of a crossing trip.

I'm not "going to Indonesia for pelagics". I'm going to Indonesia because I love it (people, landscapes, hiking, rainforests, coffee, etc), and I'll doing some diving while I'm there, so I was just curious if anyone could give some helpful pointers.

Last, I haven't been "all over Indonesia", LOL. I've only dived in the places I mentioned. Indo is massive, so I'm sure there are many more good spots.

Anyway, this is dull. Let's move on.

If anyone else has any ideas, I'd love to hear them, if not, no worries!

The platforms are primarily used for fishing - that is how the people survive - the whaleshark tourism is an added benefit (the fact you can't discern this difference suggests you clearly don't get it...).

As @Luko mentioned - you've been to a number of places in Indonesia, which makes your question seem a little daft...

"Anyway, this is dull..." - sure, just as your response comes across as a little ignorant and judgemental.

 

[cetacean]

That's quite an array of dive spots yet.
On some other sites I dived in Indonesia you didn't mention or would like to know more :
- forget Maumere (30 years ago one of the major dive hubs in Indo), wiped out by an earthquake and clearly not up since, on my 2 trips there decent corals in the outer islands but a real dearth of fish, needless to say no sharks. Sketchy dive centers.
- Spermondes out of Makassar, so much fish bombing even though decent in terms of gorgonians variety. not worth. I don't even think you can find a dive center now.
- I'm thinking about the small Lease islands out of Ambon (Haruku, Saparua, Molana, Nusa Laut) very nice to travel, hard to dive since it's too far from Ambon for daytrips, there was only one local operator Mahu Lodge north of Saparua (cannot say whether it's still operating) and the swiss german resort (Cape Paperu) closed during COVID and burnt down after a feud with the locals. Ameth coral gardens were splendid, south Molana wall as well, a few reef sharks in the distance, that's what I saw myself. On the hear say side, Cape Paperu was proposing deep hammerhead dives, the owner of the local dive center Mahu Lodge pretended he had some "secret" shark dive spots. I do not know more.
btw Lease are a good addon to couple into a landtrip from Ambon to Banda.
- Bangka : love the place for coral colors, pygmy seahorses, varied topography but clearly not a lot of sharks except for puppy whitetips.
- East Sumbawa (not west) on the edge of West Komodo NP : blue water, currents, some manta stations, great macro and volcanic dives around Sangeang but no sharks.

Place I haven't dived though heard/had feedbacks on :
- Triton bay of course... quite a budget, planning it next year probably.
- Going SouthWest Halmahera in a couple of weeks... will tell later.
- Morotai North Halmahera, seems sharky enough even though I had feedback 20 years ago the coral was not so good.
- Selayar island off South Sulawesi was known for loads of sharks in the deep.

Out of curiosity how was Rote? Isn't that too sandy for good diving?

@Luko

I've been to Selayar a couple of times. This might be one of the most beautiful islands in all of Indonesia, but there are no sharks left (other than white tip reef sharks). The drop off around the island makes for unique diving (real wall dives), but the sharks (that were there) were fished out years ago from the fishermen coming from Makassar.

They are not deep, they are not there. The school of sardines, the coral, and the macro life are definitely present, but the variety (& #) of sharks are gone.

 

[Dan]

Going SouthWest Halmahera in a couple of weeks... will tell later

Please post trip report afterwards as my group is going there in November next year, right after Raja Ampat.

 

[GDMP]

@Luko

I've been to Selayar a couple of times. This might be one of the most beautiful islands in all of Indonesia, but there are no sharks left (other than white tip reef sharks). The drop off around the island makes for unique diving (real wall dives), but the sharks (that were there) were fished out years ago from the fishermen coming from Makassar.

They are not deep, they are not there. The school of sardines, the coral, and the macro life are definitely present, but the variety (& #) of sharks are gone.

Thanks for your thoughts on Selayar.

 

[chillyinCanada]

OP, I know that you are focused on Indo but you might want to consider adding a liveaboard in Maldives to your resume. I've slid over to Maldives a few times whilst in SE Asia. The liveaboards have been good value and there's been some exciting dives.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Hi everyone,

This is a question for people who know Indonesia diving very well and have dived in many places there.

I'm heading back to Indonesia soon and am trying to find some of the best dive sites that I haven't been to. I've been to many of the big ticket items. My favourites include Alor, Raja, Maratua, Koon, and Belongas. I enjoy healthy, fishy reefs, with interesting topography. While I like macro, I enjoy diving with pelagics more. I've also done lots of diving in many other areas: Komodo, Kakaban, Sangalaki, Derawan, Candi Dasa, Banda, Lembeh, Bunaken, Penida, Menjangan, Pemuteran, Ambon, Weh, Rote, East Lombok, and probably some other places I'm forgetting.

There are some renowned spots I haven't visited, such as Wakatobi, Triton Bay, etc. The tricky thing with some of those is from what I've seen, some of them work out to be mega expensive, which rules them out for me at the moment. There are others like Halmahera and Togean that I've heard mixed reviews about (nice reefs, overfished).

I've heard good things about Bangka, although I don't think it's very sharky. At the moment, that's probably top of my list though.

Apparently the diving off west Sumbawa is quite nice, but I don't know it's special. And supposedly the southern gills are good too, but they're more about macro.

So, does anyone have any recommendations for underappreciated sites in Indonesia with dense reefs and pelagics that don't cost too much to reach?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Greg

Hi, Greg.

I'm a crazy Indo diver...For some context, about 650 of my just over 1,000 dives have been in Indo and out of your mentioned places, I have dived Alor 2x (2X land and 1X as a stopover on a LOB), Raja 5x (3 LOB, 2 land based - prefer land), Banda 2X (LOB), Lembeh 2X (land), Bunaken 1X, Ambon 2X (land), Triton Bay 1X (land), Bangka 1X (land), Halmahera 1X (LOB). Komodo (LOB 3X, land based 2X, returning again later this year but prefer LOB) is another repeat favorite, but it has gotten too crowded.

I am returning to Halmahera again in a month's time after going for the first time last year because I loved it that much. There is no shortage of fish, and I would say it is some of the best diving that Indonesia has to offer without having anyone around. Tops in my books. We did not share a dive site with anybody while there on a liveaboard and only saw 1-2 day boats going past us on return to the LOB while closer to the area with resorts. Here are photos: Halmahera 2024. No pelagics, but incredibly fishy, healthy reef, and some of the best macro on night dives I've had the pleasure of doing in Indonesia outside of a dedicated macro destination like Ambon, Lembeh, Tulamben.

Another good one without anyone around is Tompotika, and it is affordable.

I will report back on eastern Sumbawa. I am headed that way after my return trip to Halmahera and am staying at Kalimaya.

I've chatted with some folks who have been to some of my Indo faves that have also been to Wakatobi and they say it is not worth it. I think the service and resort stands out, and the context I have been provided is that it is very expensive for the quality of diving, and most that are blown away by it are not seasoned Indo or coral triangle divers so I think this is a YMMV based on the reviewer. As a result, I haven't gone.

I have gone to Bangka, and it's good diving, but I think it has slotted further down on my list of places to return. Overall, I enjoyed the wide angle diving in Tompotika more - plus there is no one because it's the only resort in the area with no liveaboards around - but Bangka has the edge when it comes to macro while being easier to get to.

Pelagics outside of Raja, Banda, Komodo/Sumbawa, Triton Bay, Cenderawasih, and Gorontolo are tough but admittedly, I haven't been everywhere so they are also probably elsewhere but I haven't heard of it. You might get some hammies in Alor, but my record is bad for it. I have heard good things about togean/una una but that is probably more for reef.