Going to Indonesia Again! Where to go?

[krukster86]

My wife and I spent our honeymoon in Bali, Nusa Lembongan and Gili Trawangan last year and we dove at every place we stayed at! We fell in love with it and plan to go again next summer. This time we would like to try something different. I keep hearing things about Raja Ampat and Lembeh Strait. Can someone give me a breakdown on these locations or recommendations for any other spot? Please provide recommendations for dive shops as well. We plan to fly into Jakarta and fly regional to the diving location.

 

[Wingy]

Lembeh is ''muck'' critter diving, RA is reef and wall diving. Both are awesome. Raja Ampat is usually done by LOB although there are a few resorts there Misool Eco Resort gets good reviews. In Lembeh which you can combine with Bunaken Island and Bangka Island (both lovely although I do prefer the isolation of Bangka and love sauhong pinacles as a dive site) there are many resorts land based with great recommendations. I usually dive with Froggies on Bunaken who are now in Lembeh also, also consider Two Fish, Living Colors, Critters in no particular order. Bangka I stayed at Murex which is very basic and I was not a fan of their boat and guide but that may have changed in the last two years but I have heard great things about Blue Bay and Mimpi Indah. Also in North Sulawesi - grab a lion air flight to Manado (you may have a stop in makassar) you may consider Gangga Island or Siladen island which is on the Bunaken side and very quiet. It really just depends on your budget and whether you want to do a LOB or be land based.

 

[krukster86]

Hmmm so my wife prefers colorful reefs with tropical fish over anything else. I don't think muck diving will make her happy if all the cool things are small and hard to find? Thank you for the recommendations. I don't know if a liveaboad is an option. The prospect is nice, but I think after a whole day on a boat, we would be extremely restless and want our own space.

 

[highdesert]

I don't know if a liveaboad is an option. The prospect is nice, but I think after a whole day on a boat, we would be extremely restless and want our own space.

My apologies if I'm wrong, but it seems you haven't done a liveaboard yet. I might suggest that after a day of four dives, you won't be restless. You will eat dinner and crash by about 8:37 PM. That's why the liveaboard refrain is "eat, sleep, dive, eat, sleep, dive."

 

[Zippsy]

Lembeh's critters are numerous but with a good guide or good eyes, you will see many throughout the dive. Dives there definitely are not boring. That said, if she likes reefs, landscape and lots of fish, Raja Ampat would definitely be a better option. Bangka, Lembeh and Bunaken are perfect for land based trips. RA is better by LOB but resorts are an option too. I just hate the commutes that you do from a resort and the limited list of accessible sites in such large area.

 

[pughio83]

I took my fiancé to lembeh after Bali as a gamble as she had never done muck diving. In lembeh there is still dives with coral and fish but the majority is patchy coral but it's so exciting critter searching. Needless to say she loved it and whilst big shoals of fish r her things she would happily return to lembeh. If u have never done a LOB then maybe do a cheaper one than RA first to see if u like it. LOB diving isn't for everyone. Can highly recommend two fish divers and u can combine lembeh with bunaken and or Bangka to give u the coral and fish numbers!

 

[Ploeg3]

Raja ampat dive lodge is one of my favourite places. Fantastic diving, land based, good food. I prefer fish to muck and this is perfect and quite reasonably priced too.

 

[lamarpaulski]

I thought Komodo was frankly amazing and Komodo Dive Resort pretty plush for my wife.

My wife and I spent our honeymoon in Bali, Nusa Lembongan and Gili Trawangan last year and we dove at every place we stayed at! We fell in love with it and plan to go again next summer. This time we would like to try something different. I keep hearing things about Raja Ampat and Lembeh Strait. Can someone give me a breakdown on these locations or recommendations for any other spot? Please provide recommendations for dive shops as well. We plan to fly into Jakarta and fly regional to the diving location.

 

[gekodivebali]

If you want great corals go to Raja. If you want big fish Komodo would be first for me. IMHO these are def lob destinations. Which boat to choose depends mostly on your budget...

 

[krukster86]

OK so after talking with the Indonesian friends we have there, it looks like we will be diving in Manado (Bunaken and Lembeh). I don't think that liveaboards are an option, since we will have some non-divers joining us. After doing some searches for dive shops, we really liked these guys: Tasik Divers Manado, North Sulawesi - Facilities and Diving Services

Any other recommendations for land based operations in the Manado area?