Destinations other than Palau with airfare reasonable from Manila/Indo

[orenbvip]

Hello,

Ill be in the Indo/Philippines area Nov and Dec and looking for a destination to travel to for some good diving other than Palau (already been). Fiji/Truk/solomon have airfare that is insane. Anyone have any ideas?

thanks,

 

[Freewillow]

Rajah Ampat. Been there. Great

 

[Damselfish]

stay in the Philippines?

 

[Shasta_man]

What Damselfish said.

 

[dirtfarmer]

Indonesia itself has some of the best diving on the planet. Raja Ampat, Komodo, Bali, North Sulawesi ( Lembeh/ Bunaken/Bangka), Ambon.
Then again the Philippines is also an excellent choice.
Budget? How much diving? Photographer? Wide angle? Macro? Big animals? Reefs? Muck? Wrecks?
What are you looking for?

 

[orenbvip]

Indonesia itself has some of the best diving on the planet. Raja Ampat, Komodo, Bali, North Sulawesi ( Lembeh/ Bunaken/Bangka), Ambon.
Then again the Philippines is also an excellent choice.
Budget? How much diving? Photographer? Wide angle? Macro? Big animals? Reefs? Muck? Wrecks?
What are you looking for?

Im heading to Raja that same trip. So far I've been to Bali, Komodo (3x), Lembeh/Bunaken,

I was looking for a place in the south pacific that isn't $800 in airfare to get to. However maybe I will stay around the Philippines (already done dauin, malapascua, PG).

 

[dirtfarmer]

What about Ambon or Alor? both close to Raja Ampat. In 2015 Nov I'm doing a crossing trip from Ambon to Sorong then a Raja trip after that. Should be a great trip.

 

[orenbvip]

What about Ambon or Alor? both close to Raja Ampat. In 2015 Nov I'm doing a crossing trip from Ambon to Sorong then a Raja trip after that. Should be a great trip.

was thinking ambon. I am starting my trip in Anilao but you can never do too much much diving right?

 

[dirtfarmer]

was thinking ambon. I am starting my trip in Anilao but you can never do too much much diving right?

Yes... never enough diving. I get to do Anilao/ Malapascua for the first time during my trip to the Philippines in January. But first in early November I get to dive Lembeh for the third time and Komodo for the second. And even though my Ambon to Sorong crossing trip and Raja Ampat trip is just over a year away, I can hardly wait.

I was looking at going to Palau again but decided against it because the high airfare, and I seemed to get lost in the crowd my last trip to Palau. Great diving but being a single diver I was shuffled around from guide to guide and found they were diving to fast for my photographer taste, and blowing past Nudibranchs/ Macro to get to the hook in spots. The shark action was amazing but, I really enjoy the guides in Indonesia and the Philippines, they seem to care more about my experience, and I am not just another diver in the crowd.

 

[murexdive]

Greetings orenbvip,

Manado (and from there Bangka Island) is an easy stopover from/to Sorong airport with Garuda Airlines (daily) and Express Air (3x) flying non-stop. Bangka Island and it's surrounding dive sites offers the best of both worlds, wonderful macro subjects; 4 kinds of Pygmy seahorse's, winged pipefish, frogfish, Boxer crabs...the list goes on! Plus the reefs are covered in a kaleidoscope of colorful soft corals and sea fans with pinnacles and hard coral reef tops. Murex Bangka is a small moderately priced resort situated on a white sandy beach on Bangka Island. With new dive boats, a casual atmosphere and international clientele it's a perfect place for divers to relax and talk about your dives after a great day of doing what we love best.

Wherever you choose to stay we hope you enjoy your time in Indonesia. It's a beautiful country with friendly people and AMAZING diving!