Help Needed, Visiting the Indonesian Islands for the First Time

[Blackcrusader]

First international trip with friends to a country with completely different culture, infrastructure, mentality etc etc. You ought to cut down on un-necessary travelling.
Indonesia is facing an up-hill battle with the virus at the moment. Luckily(relatively speaking) all major diving destinations are outside of Java and Sumatra. But no one can predict what would happen between now and end of 2021.
My vote is also for Bali.
1. It has top side attraction.
2. Diving is diverse.
3. Unless diving in Tulamben(shore dive) otherwise it is usually a boat trip with 2-3 dives.
4. Use Padang Bai as base first and then take the fast ferry to Lombok.
5. Move over to Nusa Penida after returning from Lombok.

Wait until beginning of 2022. It is really pointless at the moment.

For the OP who only has 5 days for diving I would say Tulamben Amed area would be good. If you want 5 days of diving then you cannot plan trips to other areas that also take another day to get to. Last year I had planned Tulamben Amed, Raja Komodo and Lombok but that was on a 24 day vacation where we could take time to travel and see other things as well as dive.
5 days of diving will fly by pretty quickly. Get the best out of it by not trying to travel to too many places.

 

[Thomas Fair]

If for most of your friends it would the first time to Indonesia my advice would be not to move twice during your stay. It always takes much more time and energy than expected. Further, I do not understand why you do not include Bali. Very large diversity in excellent dive sites. Or why not just plan all your trips from there. Okay, this was the easy part. Now the more painful story. Nobody can predict at the moment how the coming 12 months will look like. We probably all agree that Bali June 2022 will not resemble Bali 2019. The most positive among us here might think that June 2022 will be fine again to visit. They might be right, or not. Some companies which you still can find on the internet at the moment might be gone by then. Whatever you want to book, I think it makes sense to book only if you can do that without a deposit or at last a fully refundable deposit. This might not be easy for a group because the risks for the operator could be too big if you would have to cancel last moment.

Wow, I hadn't even considered that the landscape of dive and homestay companies could be completely different by June 2022 so thank you for pointing that out. Also I hadn't been considering Bali because I had seen online (mainly youtube vlogs) that peoples expectations weren't being met once they arrived. Now of course Bali is a pretty big island so maybe they just stuck themselves in the busiest, touristy places on accident. From your experience is Bali worth it to stay and dive five days? Also I had seen that traveling from island to island could be very long and exhausting, that's why I've really been debating about this last leg of the trip.

Thanks for this and I look forward to hearing from you again.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I ask this of the group, isn't there a Gili island that young people really enjoy?

And of you, @Thomas Fair, I ask how serious are your fellow travelers about diving? Is this an all diving all the time trip or an adventure/fun trip with diving?

 

[Thomas Fair]

If you are on a limited budget then I would personally recommend spending the time on mainland Bali. You will loose at least a day if you fly.

We love the eastern part, so Padang Bai and Tulamben for great reefs, wonderful wreck diving and excellent macro. Then in the afternoons you can do temples or shopping.

As I am sure you know the Covid situation in Indonesia is getting worse. The government has prioritized vaccinations in Bali where 70 per cent of adults have been vaccinated. So if you get in, it might be safer for you and for everybody else to avoid unnecessary air travel while in Indonesia.

Thanks for your reply, I don't keep up with World News very often, but I had heard that parts of Australia were beginning to see a resurgence of Covid. I guess that applies to the rest of that part of the world as well. I would truly hope that a solution to this could be found by next years time, but I've been disappointed before. My plan is to create a basic outline of a trip for now, and come time where major decisions need to be made (ie. January 2022) on the outlook of June 2022, that is when we will have to decide to either postpone this trip another year or not. I know my concerns of vacation travel don't compare to the health and economic issues of the people in Indonesia, so I will not continue on with a trip that may endanger other people. In other words I will be keeping up with the news from now on.

 

[Thomas Fair]

@Thomas Fair my travels have been from the UK, but international is just that.

Before I book/confirm anything I will take out travel insurance. I also sort out vaccinations, some require a 6 month booster to be effective. In the last 10 years I’ve spend nearly £1,000 on them as our NHS doesn’t cover them.

I agree with the others, why exclude Bali it’s got fantastic diving and site seeing. Spending an extra few days in airport lounges doesn’t appeal to me.

Besides having a Covid vaccine, what vaccines should one get to go to Indonesia? Also I agree, I will start including Bali in my planning and I will try and do more thorough research.

Thanks

 

[chillyinCanada]

Besides having a Covid vaccine, what vaccines should one get to go to Indonesia? Also I agree, I will start including Bali in my planning and I will try and do more thorough research.

Thanks

Seems to me that you are doing thorough research. You found your way to us.

 

[Thomas Fair]

First international trip with friends to a country with completely different culture, infrastructure, mentality etc etc. You ought to cut down on un-necessary travelling.
Indonesia is facing an up-hill battle with the virus at the moment. Luckily(relatively speaking) all major diving destinations are outside of Java and Sumatra. But no one can predict what would happen between now and end of 2021.
My vote is also for Bali.
1. It has top side attraction.
2. Diving is diverse.
3. Unless diving in Tulamben(shore dive) otherwise it is usually a boat trip with 2-3 dives.
4. Use Padang Bai as base first and then take the fast ferry to Lombok.
5. Move over to Nusa Penida after returning from Lombok.

Wait until beginning of 2022. It is really pointless at the moment.

Thanks for your reply, I'm definitely getting the hint that Bali is a good place to go, I will be researching more thoroughly from now on. Also I'm just making the bare bones outline of what the trip would look like for now. If covid restrictions were still going to be a major issue come June 2022 I would move the trip back a year and maybe go somewhere more domestic. The only issue being that the reason we can make this trip so long is because I will be graduating with a masters degree and my friends will be graduating from undergraduate. So I was hoping to use my transition time to finally leave the borders of US and Canada for once in my life. Anyways I will be keeping my eye on the covid news in the area up until a certain point.

Thanks again!

 

[chillyinCanada]

Thanks for your reply, I'm definitely getting the hint that Bali is a good place to go, I will be researching more thoroughly from now on. Also I'm just making the bare bones outline of what the trip would look like for now. If covid restrictions were still going to be a major issue come June 2022 I would move the trip back a year and maybe go somewhere more domestic. The only issue being that the reason we can make this trip so long is because I will be graduating with a masters degree and my friends will be graduating from undergraduate. So I was hoping to use my transition time to finally leave the borders of US and Canada for once in my life. Anyways I will be keeping my eye on the covid news in the area up until a certain point.

Thanks again!

This is wonderful.

Perhaps you should also research Belize.

 

[Thomas Fair]

What do you mean with that, could you be more specific? Indonesia is a country of more than 14.000 islands spread out from NYC to SF : so what appears to be close on a map may not be actually. I don't know how close and which are those "islands surrounding Bali" for the closest it would already be Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida, or... you're already in either Java or Lombok, but that's already other regions of Indonesia.Is flying 2hrs still ok for you?

You seem to be pretty adamant on visiting Lombok, may I ask what you're expecting? Depending on what you want to do it either takes much more time than 4 days (cultural, mountain trekking) or maybe not worth it compared to other spots (if diving is the reason).
While on the other hand 5 days in Nusa Penida is a long time , I would spend 3d/4n, time I would dive 2d the north coast and/or channel (incl. Toyapakeh, SD, Crystal bay) and 1d the SW coast (Manta point or bay), usually you have 2 dives in the morning and the whole afternoon to ride a scooter. that would be enough for visiting NP.

No one knows what 2022 will be made of, wait and see until Q1 22 it will be time for you to book your arrangements but if it goes even slightly back to "normal" (ie. flights operating and accoms open) I would strongly advise you to go to Labuan Bajo for diving Komodo 3-4 days, even on day trips. Labuan Bajo still has that indonesian remote feel (I guess for a first timer while the regulars -like me- will complain of how it has changed from how it was 10 years ago) : street food at the market, backpacker hostels and bars that you may not find anymore in Bali.

On either case, back to normal or not, I agree with all other fellows diving Bali is great (I wouldn't come back for the 11th time on a lame dive spot) providing you don't stay in the south western parts (talking about Sanur, Kuta or Canggu areas). You can easily spend a lot of diving days betwen Tulamben and Padang Bai (although Padang Bai mainly leads you to diving Nusa Penida spots, which you would have dived already staying on Nusa Penida).
Ideally on a dive trip, I would recommend coupling Bali and Komodo (Labuan Bajo) which is direct 1,5hr (cheap) flight from Bali and provide some of the BEST diving in Indonesia. Forget Alor or Raja Ampat much too far away.

Thanks, I am definitely learning a good bit from these replies, your's especially. Lombok wasn't my personal choice of where to go, but if you could please provide me with an honest reason why I should choose Bali over Lombok, then I will use that along with more research to try and sway opinion with my friends. I absolutely want to dive Komodo, and to be honest I may have been subconsciously trying to avoid FOMO by asking about the other places, but I agree, those places are much too far away and should be reserved for another trip. I feel like I could spend a whole lifetime diving these islands and still not scratch the surface. Thanks for your help with this. Other divers opinions matter way more to me than tourists on the internet, that's why I came seeking y'alls help.

 

[Thomas Fair]

OP, I suggest you contact The Underwater Tribe and let them set up an itinerary for you, based on Bali. They arrange hotels, provide transportation, guide the dives, and it is all quite affordable and easy.

Thanks I will absolutely shoot them an email to see what I can arrange.