Absolutely, I'm sure I'll like it! I haven't been there yet, and I'm trying to decide if my next LOB will be there or in Burma.
Best relatively unknown diving in Indonesia?
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@outofofficebrb (like the name, haha), thanks very much, this is very helpful!
Really interesting about Halmahera (great photos — thanks for sharing). I initially wrote it off because of a couple of conversations I had with people in Alor who'd dived there recently. They basically said: nice reef and macro (similarly good to Alor), but less fishy than Alor, less current, and no big stuff... so basically much like Alor, but worse. But for me Alor is a very high bar to hurdle. I was looking at Halmahera dive shops, and I found very little there (some on Morotai though). I don't know where the best dive sites around there... do you know of any good dive shops that visit some of the top spots?
I'd never heard of Tompotika or Gorontalo... what are they like?
Thanks for the thoughts about Bangka!
Re Wakatobi, I've heard the same (beautiful, colourful reef, but not better than other spots). Togean I've heard has interesting coral but is overfished.
I've also not seen hammers at Alor (did about 40 dives there during 2 visits last year), but they're around — I'm friends with a couple of dive guides, so I get plenty of updates about random sightings (hammers, whale sharks, molas, etc).
I'm also tempted to go back to Raja for the third time and do some land based diving from Waisai. I did LOBs there in 2018 and 2023. I was blown away in 2018... but I'd only done 30 dives before, haha, though they'd been at good places like Malapascua and Lembeh. In 2023, I thought there looked to be meaningfully more reef damage and was slightly underwhelmed. There are still sites I haven't been but would like to visit though.
Luko
Contributor
Never been either but I had feedbacks and seen images from some of my photographer friends.
Very much recommended to check out their galleries.
Paolo on Tompotika & Gorontalo :
Tompotika - Sulawesi - wide - December 2023
Todd on many indonesian destinations :
Todd Aki’s albums | Flickr
www.flickr.com
Some quite expensive resorts in the SW part of Halmahera : Kusu, Proco, Nabucco spice island, Sali Bay (last one is where I'm going in a couple of weeks)
To be clear, I still love Raja. Thinking about it, it's where I fell in love with diving. I was a bit underwhelmed last time in part because the first time was so good. That said, we also didn't have the best luck with sightings, there's definitely more coral damage now, and my dive guide screwed up a couple of dives (e.g., getting on the wrong side of a splitting current).
So, to me it's still very special and is in a category of reef diving only containing Alor and a few specific dive sites elsewhere! (I imagine Triton Bay and a few other places off Papua and elsewhere would make it in there, but I haven't been to those spots yet.)
Thanks again!Never been either but I had feedbacks and seen images from some of my photographer friends.
Very much recommended to check out their galleries.
Paolo on Tompotika & Gorontalo :
Tompotika - Sulawesi - wide - December 2023
Todd on many indonesian destinations :
Todd Aki’s albums | Flickr
Some quite expensive resorts in the SW part of Halmahera : Kusu, Proco, Nabucco spice island, Sali Bay (last one is where I'm going in a couple of weeks)
I really like the look of Gorontalo — seems to have a bit of everything! Need to look into Tompotika more.
Also checked out Togians (inc Unauna), but my general impression is it's a mission to get to and return from that might not be worth it.
outofofficebrb
HARRO HUNNAYYY
I found Halmahera just as fishy as Alor and I used my reef hook in Halmahera more than I did in Alor. Overall, I also found that there were larger schooling fish (individuals but also schools overall) in Halmahera than in Alor, but not as large (individuals) as Raja or Komodo, but schools just as large or larger as both places. My dive log says I have 71 dives in Alor and 31 dives in Halmahera and I am batting at 0 for hammies after diving Yellow Corner 4-5 times. Thankfully, it's still a really beautiful site without hammies. (I love that ridge!)
Tompotika is in central sulawesi and there is no other resort in the area. No liveaboards go there. As a result, we're the only ones diving. The resort is in the heart of a village and the acommodations and food are good. In fact, many dive professionals in Indonesia have never heard of it. There is pinnacle diving, reef diving, calm diving, ripping current diving with a reef hook diving. Their macro was underwhelming on the 2 dives I had on the house reef, but I also did not give it a good shot because I was sick the entire time I was there so I sat out many night dives and I usually never sit out any dives. There is an option for boat night diving.
The feature of Gorontalo are the whale sharks. My friends have been there but I have not so can't speak to it, but it's an option for you if you want pelagics.
For Raja, if you are to return, I would suggest that you dive from land on Kri, Gam, around Misool, etc. instead of Waisai which tends to cater to more casual divers, and I say that in relative terms. The dive resorts will likely be a better fit for you - whether in dive style, number of dives offered, experience of fellow guests which dictate where you'll go, the option of different groups with different guests/experience, number of dives, sites/types/variety of sites visited - and the experience of the guides really determine your experience because diving sites at certain tide times/weather can really change your experience. You will also be closer to the best sites with less travel time in between and pretty spectacular sand bars and island stops for your surface intervals.
I have only been underwhelmed once, on a liveaboard, and it was because we had a terrible cruise director and the boat let on someone that only had 10 dives because they didn't want the last spot to go empty. Accommodations were made for this person. Avoiding current in Raja Ampat is insane to me but the nice thing about being on land is you have that option with a separate group at a separate site if you want but it also means less fish. It was obvious the CD did not want to be there (I think it was his last sailing and he was on his way out), he was not experienced in the area because he had only been in Indonesia for 3 months and decided he didn't like it so he didn't know the drops, the tides, etc. The guides were making the best of the situation at hand.If it was someone's first time, they probably would not have noticed, but it was a stark difference (same itinerary) to the 2 other LOBs and 2 other land based experiences I've had before that, especially for the same dive sites.
It's important to ask a lot of questions, pick an established op (mine was established, but if I had known about the experience of the CD.............). I do like RA a lot better land based more than by liveaboard though. Guides are much more experienced, they dive the sites a lot more often than the liveaboards, and they also know more of the nuances and of other sites as well. They can dive the sites at their ideal times and not when it's convenient based on the itinerary and direction of the liveaboard.
I briefly considered togeans/unauna this fall but didn't have that much time to get to/from based on when I was trying to squeeze that part of the trip into so I wrote it off as well. Tompotika seems easier, but it still requires a connecting flight to Luwuk and then a 3 hour drive to the resort. I guess you can try to think of it like a flight to Bali with a 3 hour drive to Tulamben.
Interesting about Halmahera — again, I'd only spoken with a couple of people about it, and they didn't have the best trip. I've only ever used a reef hook in Alor at Munaseli — also 0 hammers after 5 dives there, but also love it, and I'm not fussed about the hammers as have seen lots this year in Revillagigedo and at Darwin and Wolf. Am returning to Mikomoto next month too, which should be great!I found Halmahera just as fishy as Alor and I used my reef hook in Halmahera more than I did in Alor. Overall, I also found that there were larger schooling fish (individuals but also schools overall) in Halmahera than in Alor, but not as large (individuals) as Raja or Komodo, but schools just as large or larger as both places. My dive log says I have 71 dives in Alor and 31 dives in Halmahera and I am batting at 0 for hammies after diving Yellow Corner 4-5 times. Thankfully, it's still a really beautiful site without hammies. (I love that ridge!)
Tompotika is in central sulawesi and there is no other resort in the area. No liveaboards go there. As a result, we're the only ones diving. The resort is in the heart of a village and the acommodations and food are good. In fact, many dive professionals in Indonesia have never heard of it. There is pinnacle diving, reef diving, calm diving, ripping current diving with a reef hook diving. Their macro was underwhelming on the 2 dives I had on the house reef, but I also did not give it a good shot because I was sick the entire time I was there so I sat out many night dives and I usually never sit out any dives. There is an option for boat night diving.
The feature of Gorontalo are the whale sharks. My friends have been there but I have not so can't speak to it, but it's an option for you if you want pelagics.
For Raja, if you are to return, I would suggest that you dive from land on Kri, Gam, around Misool, etc. instead of Waisai which tends to cater to more casual divers, and I say that in relative terms. The dive resorts will likely be a better fit for you - whether in dive style, number of dives offered, experience of fellow guests which dictate where you'll go, the option of different groups with different guests/experience, number of dives, sites/types/variety of sites visited - and the experience of the guides really determine your experience because diving sites at certain tide times/weather can really change your experience. You will also be closer to the best sites with less travel time in between and pretty spectacular sand bars and island stops for your surface intervals.
I have only been underwhelmed once, on a liveaboard, and it was because we had a terrible cruise director and the boat let on someone that only had 10 dives because they didn't want the last spot to go empty. Accommodations were made for this person. Avoiding current in Raja Ampat is insane to me but the nice thing about being on land is you have that option with a separate group at a separate site if you want but it also means less fish. It was obvious the CD did not want to be there (I think it was his last sailing and he was on his way out), he was not experienced in the area because he had only been in Indonesia for 3 months and decided he didn't like it so he didn't know the drops, the tides, etc. The guides were making the best of the situation at hand.If it was someone's first time, they probably would not have noticed, but it was a stark difference (same itinerary) to the 2 other LOBs and 2 other land based experiences I've had before that, especially for the same dive sites.
It's important to ask a lot of questions, pick an established op (mine was established, but if I had known about the experience of the CD.............). I do like RA a lot better land based more than by liveaboard though. Guides are much more experienced, they dive the sites a lot more often than the liveaboards, and they also know more of the nuances and of other sites as well. They can dive the sites at their ideal times and not when it's convenient based on the itinerary and direction of the liveaboard.
I briefly considered togeans/unauna this fall but didn't have that much time to get to/from based on when I was trying to squeeze that part of the trip into so I wrote it off as well. Tompotika seems easier, but it still requires a connecting flight to Luwuk and then a 3 hour drive to the resort. I guess you can try to think of it like a flight to Bali with a 3 hour drive to Tulamben.
Yeah, saw Gorontalo has whale sharks that are consistently around. Topography and corals look very cool too, plus a big mix of sites (caverns, walls, wrecks, etc).
Thanks! I've been messaging Tompotika Dive Lodge to get more info so now have a clearer sense of everything. I read a trip report from an experienced diver saying the person found it the fishiest place he's been and that they had strong currents at the time. Sounds fun!
Thanks for your thoughts on land-based diving in Raja. I'd been looking at two shops— one in Waisai, one on Kri, so that's helpful. Completely agree about dives — my first trip to Raja I had a local guide, the second time I had a European, and he just didn't know the sites very well. What are your favourite dive sites in the Kri / Waisai area, by the way? I can remember many I've been too (Kri, Melissa's Garden, Arborek, Four Kings, Chicken, Sardine, Blue Magic, etc), but there are some I'm not sure I've been to but might have visited the first time (don't know where old log book is)...
cetacean
Contributor
"I've chatted with some folks..." (re: Wakatobi) - okay, sure... let's start with it's likely the best run dive resort in Indonesia. Then add in the coral coverage (and reef health) is beyond almost anything you can find elsewhere in Indonesia.
This is going to come across a little defensive in part because I'be been there 5x times (including when you used to have to take the ferry overnight to get there),I know the management team somewhat well, and the local guides are some of the best you can find anywhere in the coral triangle.
Is it expensive? Compared to other places who didn't build their own airstrip, charter their own regular flights (no overweight baggage fees, ever), sponsor electricity for the local viilage (shared infrastructure), sponsoring the waste management for several surrounding villages (for reef health), sponsoring reef education for all 17 of the local schools in the region, sponsoring the micro-credit scheme locally to support the creation of small businesses, sponsoring the local fishing patrols, etc., yes - it's more expensive... that's because they saw these efforts as long term investment plays to keep the surrounding reefs healthy, and the resort viable.
If you can't afford it, or it doesn't seem worthwhile that's one thing, however, the "most that are blown away are not seasoned indo or coral triangle divers" is just completely bogus.
Between RA (multiple times), Halmahera (multiple times), Komodo (multiple times), Lembeh (multiple times), along with Sangalaki, Banda, Alor, Ambon, Maumere (when it was good), Bali, etc. Wakatobi is very good diving (for coral coverage and fish diversity - not pelagics).
The best comparison for quality of operation is Misool. I would rank Misool higher for the diving (definitely more remote - less impacted by humans), However, for food, travel (what it takes to get there), and overall quality Wakatobi is probably a very close comparison.
Wakatobi is not my favorite dive destination in Indonesia, but it's consistently very, very good. Some may not be able to afford it (or may not want to pay that much for diving in Indonesia. that's a personal choice.
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