Experience Level needed to Dive Indonesia

[izzybella]

I am trying to plan a great trip for my 50th birthday (in 2011) I have my heart set on a liveaboard in Indonesia. I am certified as a PADI DM with over 360 dives. I feel comfortable diving most anywhere HOWEVER my brand new husband is not yet certified. He will be soon but we live in Denver, Colorado, US so between now and 2011 he won't be picking up much experience. Are there places in Indonesia that would have diving that is not all advanced? I've been looking at liveaboards in Komodo, Banda Sea and Raja Ampat but I'm getting the impression they are NOT places I should be taking a beginner. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Deb

 

[Valwood1]

I've dived the central and northern Komodo areas on a liveaboard and land-based in Labuanbajo. The big issue is current, about which there isn't any hard-and-fast rule -- someplaces, it is quite mild, and others it is very tricky. As you know, you're really relying on the dive op to pick places and times that fit the divers' skill sets, and where there is the least potential danger. I dove with some inexperienced divers on both the liveaboard and in Labuanbajo, and no one had a problem in Komodo.

I think that, because viz is excellent, and assuming that your hubby is in decent condition and is comfortable generally in the water, he should be fine in Komodo. You might think about zipping down to Cozumel once or twice to get a bit of experience, and I suggest Cozumel because there can be a fair amount of current there.

Komodo is great diving. Hope you enjoy your trip.

 

[cgf]

Komodo would be great divings, IMHO before he goes there he should be at least AWD and about 50 logged dives to have experience also with currents.
a nice & easy liveaboard could be starting from Manado then Bunaken, Sangihe Archipelago and Lembeh Strait, back to Manado on land.
just google Manado Liveaboard Sangihe Archipelago.
why not do a north Sulawesi liveaboard on 2010 and Komodo 2011?

 

[PeCaRi]

Hi Deb,

I'm not sure, would you like to do a LOB with your husband? Well, I think you know it better than me, but usually LOB are rather made for advanced divers. If there is a novice diver, I'm not sure how happy the other divers would be, if spots are not dived resp. the novice diver is not allowed to go diving.

I think a LOB in north Sulawesi is not really needed because you dive pretty much the same spots like the land based boats. What about Bali or Maratua/Nabucco?

Have you ever got in touch with maluku divers or the ones from cape paperu? it's land based it should be possible, because they usually allocate the divers to the different levels.

greetings

 

[BigJeff]

Deb,

Since you are a DM then you are the perfect person to assess the dive skills of your new student/husband.

A liveaboard is usually not the place to do an OW course, but if his skills are good then there's no barrier to both of you joining one.

I've just gotten off (on the 25th) a liveaboard (Ocean Rover) around the Manado (Lembeh, North Mainland, Bangka, Siow, Bunaken & Manado Mainland) area, the majority of the sites were easily suitable for a beginner - with only a couple of exceptions where there was also a choice of "avoiding" the current and staying in the bay.

The thirteen year old daughter in the Dutch family had no problems, but she had very good skills (better then quite a few 1000 dive divers I've met!).

It'll be a good chance to hone his skills and have some great diving.

 

[Bredman]

A nice way to brush up would be to take a couple of days in Bali's Tulamben. You can do shore dives from there to the Liberty wreck and to some interesting coral bommies to the east. It won't break the budget, as you can just rent tanks(and gear if needed) and go when you want. It is likely that Bali will be a stopoff for you anyway.

The Gili Islands of Lombok would be good learning places too. Personally I agree with CGF is his assessment that AOW and 50+ dives should be minimum for Komodo.

 

[izzybella]

Thank you all for the great feedback. I really appreciate it.

Deb

 

[ncchuck]

I've done at least 8 liveaboards including the Peter Hughes out of Bali and another into Raja Ampat. These two trips to Indonesia have been the best of my life and I have a great deal of experience. Based on what I've read, my experiences may not be normal but I never once had a dive in Indonesia that was in any way difficult. A few were well below 60 feet but none were below 100 feet. Some of best dives in Raja Ampat were in 40 feet of water in absolutely no current. My boats must have done something special because I always never had a dive with any nasty current. I was with a large number of photographers and that may have influenced the choice of dive sites. In general, I don't think liveaboards present any more challenges than any other type of divng. It all depends upon the operator and choice of specific dive sites and the tides. I'm a real fan of liveaboards because of the number of dives you get in during your short vacation. All that being said, I would probably recommend the diver be advanced trained and have at least 40 to 50 dives under their belt in order to enjoy the opportunity to the max. I'd also check with your choice of boats to make sure their diving is suitable for your needs.

My wife was 54 and I was 60 on our last trip to Raja Ampat.