Best relatively unknown diving in Indonesia?

[wheresvincito]

Thanks for your thoughts!

I'm considering there, but I might visit Gorontalo as an easy, low-cost alternative with lots that interests me (nice topography, big variety, whale sharks, etc).

I might visit the southern Gilis, not sure. I've dived all of the usual Belongas sites (Cathedral, Magnet, Manta Pot, Serang) and love them, so I'll be heading back there with Jay and Galina from Wild Scuba, if they're running. I've also dived Gamechanger (great site! That wall of coral is just stunning) but not yet the cleaning station. I've had that on my list for a while but couldn't go last time I was in Lombok. (Blue Marlin usually goes there from about Oct to Apr, depending on conditions.)

Hope you get to go to Alor! I'm hoping to do a DM there at the end of this season as it's probably my favourite land-based place to dive, there's a resort I love there (great people too), and some sites can be tricky, as I'm sure you know, so it's a good place to train!

Thank you! Good luck on your DM training in Alor. Maybe we’ll bump into each other there!

 

[Indah]

Looking for new places myself for Macro tho not big stuff..Before Covid we did Alor 6 times and loved it..but cant do currents and deep now so limited. Off to Tumumben in 2 weeks again at Markissa but thinking.. where to next for nudi’s.
Have done 3 livaboard previous but never Ambon! Is it worth it ?

You didn't dive in Lembeh Strait yet?

Dives in Lembeh - Divers Lodge Lembeh

At Divers Lodge Lembeh we specialize in dives at Lembeh Island, an area known worldwide for macro photography and muck diving.

www.diverslodgelembeh.com

Regards, Rob

 

[GDMP]

Thank you! Good luck on your DM training in Alor. Maybe we’ll bump into each other there!

That would be great, fingers crossed! I'm hoping to be there (at Nautika) from Nov 24th to the end of the season

 

[Indah]

Looks like your next destination should be Halmahera and Morotai. Given that you’ve been to Banda, Alor, and Derawan, flights to North Maluku should be easy: Jakarta - Ternate - Morotai. I’ve only seen these places through my friend’s photos, but Halmahera looks like Banda with a ton more fish, if that’s even possible, while Morotai has this shallow site like in Maldives with reef sharks that eagerly swim around you and wrecks as in Tulamben.

Southern Gili’s are okay… the reefs and their marine suspects resemble those of Eastern Lombok, without the cool topography like you find in The Gamechanger or the manta cleaning station in Gili Dua close to Sumbawa. (Blue Marlin Kuta occasionally goes to this spot, but not frequently as it is a 2 hour boat ride from their quay at Tanjung Ringgit.) There’s also a new dive center (Dive Dude Blongas, ran by former Komodo Blue Marlin instructors) which brings you to all spots in Blongas depending on conditions. When we did Gili Sarang and The Cathedral, we saw devil rays and lots of blue-spotted sting rays, but they have seen a whale shark and of course hammerheads at Cathedral and The Magnet. So yeah, South Lombok is worth going again.

I’ll probably return to Alor this September. I can’t stop thinking about the sleeping mommy nurse shark with her shark embryo hanging over Wolang Cave, or about prettiest safety stops with the chance to see the wildest pelagics (like they saw a whale shark and hammerheads in April just after I left).

Morotai? I am very curious to hear which sites do you have in mind when recommending this beautiful island?
Thanks, Rob

 

[wheresvincito]

That would be great, fingers crossed! I'm hoping to be there (at Nautika) from Nov 24th to the end of the season

Oh I love Nautika and their equipments are brand new. Doing a dive master there would guarantee a level up as Alor has some challenging dive sites and Nautika are always booked out ha ha..

Morotai? I am very curious to hear which sites do you have in mind when recommending this beautiful island?
Thanks, Rob

This site has some useful info and pictures, though I have yet to see it for myself too! Diving | Metita Beach & Dive Resort

 

[Dan]

"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.

I just came back from Wakatobi a couple days ago for 2nd time (first time was in June 2009). I would agree pretty much what you said about Wakatobi. I’m a seasoned Indonesian diver with over 1000 dives all over Indonesia.

The Zoo is a dive site you don’t want to miss when you’re in Wakatobi. I’m putting together a trip video & a video specifically for The Zoo. Hopefully I get them done by next week.

 

[Dan]

I just came back from Wakatobi a couple days ago for 2nd time (first time was in June 2009). I would agree pretty much what you said about Wakatobi. I’m a seasoned Indonesian diver with over 1000 dives all over Indonesia.

The Zoo is a dive site you don’t want to miss when you’re in Wakatobi. I’m putting together a trip video & a video specifically for The Zoo. Hopefully I get them done by next week.

I posted the videos here:

Trip Report Thread 'Wakatobi 11-18 August 2025'

Aug 28, 2025

My buddy has not been diving for 10 years. So we chose Wakatobi to get her back in the groove. We just did mostly easy morning dives, as shown in Table 1, below.

The diving experience & what we saw underwater are pretty much summarized in a 4:15 trip video, below.



One dive site that we like the most is The Zoo, which I put together a 3:58 video just for that dive site. If you plan to dive in Wakatobi, don’t miss this dive site.

• Dan
• Replies: 11
• Forum: Indonesia

• 
• 

 

[BertRas]

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.

Where are you staying to dive in Halmahera or which LOB? I have heard good things about Halmahera from guides in Lembeh and Bangka but see mixed reviews from divers in this board.

 

[noserider]

The area that I feel is ripe for a lot of discovery diving is the Mentawi Islands off Western Sumatra underdeveloped and hardly any information about doing there. It is a surf area but even then is under the tourist radar, I strongly suspect that there will be great diving just waiting to be discovered - probably need a live aboard though

 

[cetacean]

The area that I feel is ripe for a lot of discovery diving is the Mentawi Islands off Western Sumatra underdeveloped and hardly any information about doing there. It is a surf area but even then is under the tourist radar, I strongly suspect that there will be great diving just waiting to be discovered - probably need a live aboard though

there was lots of explatory diving in the Mentawi's years ago... almost every surf resort also looked to offer diving, but the diving wasn't considered as good as elsewhere in Indonesia.

There are a number of small dive shops in the region - it's not an "undived" region, it just doesn't have a great reputation for diving given what people have experienced. It's not bad, it's just not great.