Help with Bali/Komodo trip planning

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shotdisc98

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Messages
29
Reaction score
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Location
Northern California
# of dives
50 - 99
I'm looking into a 14 day vacation this July for my wife and I, traveling from Northern California, and am looking for any recommendations that can be provided. I am overwhelmed by the information out there! We would fly from San Francisco into Bali and on to Labuan Bajo to hook up with a Komodo live aboard. We would stay in LBJ for a couple of days, then take the live aboard, fly back to Bali for more diving and site-seeing, and then maybe stop in Hong Kong on the way back for a couple of days.

Does this itinerary seem doable or just too much to be relaxing?

It seems based on reviews and talking with friends that Singapore Airlines will be the way to go. Any airline recommendations or experience with EVA Air or China Airlines? They are cheaper than Singapore Airlines but after talking with other divers in the Philippines, they fly to Europe on Singapore all of the time. It also seems based on sparse reviews that Wings/Lion Air is a good airline to take from Bali to LBJ.

Any recommendations for a Komodo live aboard? I've been looking at Wicked Diving and their 3d/3n live aboard. Are there a minimum number of days that we should stay in the Komodo area?

Any recommendations of excursions or must-dive sites and operators in Bali? We're leaning toward getting dives in at Tulamben and the Liberty wreck, along with Nusa Penida to hopefully see mola mola in mid July. We're into walls and big fish, but not so much into heavy currents where we might need reef hooks. We can go either way on critters and muck diving but I am a fan of nudis.

I know this is a ton of questions but any recommendations or direction-pointing will be appreciated!
 
Are you saying that you're going to just hang out in Labuan Bajo? While I'm sure you can fill the time (somehow), it's not really thought of as a tourist destination, or a particularly interesting town. Why not just get aboard and dive? That's a lot of traveling for three days on a boat, when you're floating on top of world-famous dives. I would get every dive I could out of the Komodo portion of the trip, but that's just personal opinion.
 
With the way the flights work with Lion/Wings Air, they only fly from Denpasar to Lambuan Bajo on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. We would arrive in DPS on Friday, then take the flight on Saturday, with the live aboard leaving on Monday. Are other carriers as good as Wings Air or vice-versa, so we would only need to stay in LBJ the one night? Should we focus on diving in Komodo and then just do site-seeing in Bali?
 
Singapore Airlines is one one of the best for service in my opinion and China Air is average at best. No experience with EVA.

If cost was just a bit more no question I would choose Singapore Airlines.
 
With the way the flights work with Lion/Wings Air, they only fly from Denpasar to Lambuan Bajo on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. We would arrive in DPS on Friday, then take the flight on Saturday, with the live aboard leaving on Monday. Are other carriers as good as Wings Air or vice-versa, so we would only need to stay in LBJ the one night? Should we focus on diving in Komodo and then just do site-seeing in Bali?

We took TransNusa from Bali to Flores. The trip went smoothly both ways, but that's one person's opinion. I'm not certain how they rank among other local airlines. I can say that aircraft was clean and "looked" well-maintained, but only a visual observation. Here are some ratings, out of possible 6-Stars, from Skytrax for your long haul flights ...

China Airlines official 4-Star Ranking | SKYTRAX

EVA Air official 4-Star Ranking | SKYTRAX

Singapore Airlines official 5-Star Ranking | SKYTRAX

Cathay Pacific Airways official 5-Star Ranking | SKYTRAX

Certainly there is some excellent diving in Bali; not saying there isn't, having done it myself. And you've picked good destinations there. My personal feeling is that you will get more bang for your buck on a standard class liveaboard in Komodo than you would in Bali, considering time spent in transit, lodging costs, etc.

As far as land touring, Bali is still a paradise when you get out of the densely populated areas. Ubud is crazy for about 150 yards each direction from the market intersection, and then you're in peaceful rice fields listening to gamelan music and monkeys. Bike tours are fun (they run slightly downhill from north to south). The rice fields of Jatiluwih are beautiful. The island is filled with the sweetest people on Earth ... maybe beyond. I'm a big Bali fan ... I'm trying to find a way to spend six months there!
 
I think your suggested itinerary is doable. My wife and I did a similar type trip 6 months ago. We flew from San Diego to Taipei. Spent 3 days in Taipei, then flew on to Bali. Spent a night in Bali, then flew on Merpati (local Indonesian airline) to Bima to board our liveaboard. After the liveaboard, we flew from Bima back to Bali, spent a night in Bali, then flew back to San Diego. So, yes, you can arrange your flights so that you stop in Hong Kong on the way back. If Hong Kong is where you want to stop, I would suggest checking out flights on Cathay Pacific as they are based in Hong Kong.

EVA Airlines and China Airlines are both Taiwanese airlines. I have flown on both many times. Both are fine. If you fly either of these airlines, you will fly from California to Taipei, then Taipei to Bali. This is actually your most direct route from California to Bali.

Singapore Air is hands down the best airline that flies from the U.S. to Asia. However, since Singapore Air added the Boeing 777 to their fleet a few years ago, they now fly direct from Los Angeles to Singapore. Previously they stopped in Taipei. Therefore, flying from California to Bali on Singapore Air will make your flight much longer (as well as more expensive).

As for liveaboard operators, I would highly recommend World Wide Dive and Sail's 10 day Komodo liveaboard. My wife and I both had an excellent trip on this liveaboard last May. You can find my review of that trip here: Trip Report - World Wide Dive and Sail's Komodo Liveaboard.

Finally, as for spending time in Labuan Bajo before getting on a liveaboard, while I have never been there, since it is basically a small fishing village, I would suggest investigating spending your shore time in Bali. Bali has the beaches, the jungles, temples, restaurants, resorts, shopping, etc. In a lot of ways, Bali is like Hawaii. In fact, Bali is basically Hawaii to the Australians. So, there are plenty of things to do in Bali, including diving.

Hope this helps.
 
With 14 days, I would look for a 7 day liveaboard out of Bimi or LBJ. Spend a few days on Bali on the front end to adjust to the jet lag and see the sites and do a few dives if you want. The Tulamben area has many sites for both shore and boat dives but it is also a 2 1/2 + drive from south Bali so take this into consideration since your domestic flight to Bimi or LBJ will probably be in the morning. A lot of the liveaboards will book your domestic air flight which maybe a better option and be prepared for overweight charges. Weight allowances are 15kg or less so dive equipment and camera gear adds up quickly. We flew to LBJ from Bali last August and paid $80us in excess baggage charges on Lion/Wings, half of our bags were left in Bali. Four other people on the boat also had bags that didn't show up so we had to stay close to LBJ and the liveaboard arranged to have all the bags rerouted on a flight that was flying the next day and sent a small boat to meet our boat.
The diving in the Komodo region is great and much better than in Bali so if you want to dive Bali, do it on the front end otherwise it maybe a letdown after Komodo. I would also plan on at least one day back in Bali before your flight back to the US just in case you run into another baggage delay on the domestic flight. On our flight back to Bali, all of the bags made it but we really got hit for excess charges, almost 150% more than the flight to LBJ but it wasn't on Lion/Wings this time.

As far as carriers to Bali, we've flown on Singapore, Cathay & EVA. If you're flying coach, I'd pick Singapore over Cathay since Cathay has a very poorly designed coach seat. We've only flown on EVA in their Evergreen Deluxe class which was a more like a domestic first class seat but it has been a number of years since we've been on EVA. If you're in business, either Singapore or Cathay (in the new business seat) are both great. Flying in first, doesn't matter both are great as long as you have the mile for an award ticket.

Pictures can be found here: Flickr: woodiver15's Photostream
 
In a lot of ways, Bali is like Hawaii. In fact, Bali is basically Hawaii to the Australians.

Really? Bali deserves better recognition than that. The Australians party down within about five miles of the airport; the rest of the island goes about its business.
 
Hi there

We did a fantastic Bali to Komodo to Bali 7 day trip on Mermaid 2. This meant that we could avoid internal Indonesian flights . The downside is of cours that about 3 to 4 nights we were sailing overnight. However the boat was incredibly comfortable and the diving out of this world.
We booked directly with the boat and were extremely happy with what we got. Mermaid 1 done a longer trip , 10 nights I think.

Diving in Bali is way underrated , in my very humble opinion. Tulamben , the Gili Islands and Nusa Lembongan are all great sites with very interesting top sides.
 
Just to give you some more information to overload you with.... I suggest spending a day or two in Bali to to help get over jet lag. Don't dive, just rest. Do your LOB from Labuan Bajo and avoid the sail from Bali with the long overnight sailing and "less that Komodo" dive sights. Plan to arrive in Labuan Bajo the day before your trip leaves. Some LOB's will offer you a free night stay on board and possibly some free dives nearby (which can be awesome themselves). This way there is less worry about getting bumped from a flight or other hassles. Fly any airline (I do the US - Singapore route 2-3 times per year and go on United despite my SQ Frequent Flier card. If money grew on trees in my back yard, I'd take the nicer SQ or Cathay flight). After Komodo, fly back to Bali and schedule one or two days diving at Nusa Penida looking for mola-mola (assuming you are very good with current & cold water) or at Tulamben (for the wreck).

I work sometimes on the Black Manta or its sister ship, the White Manta, so I am very biased toward them (both fantastic boats with very good reputations) but whichever boat you choose, you will probably have a fantastic time. Underwater, you should be stunned. Have a great trip and holler if you have questions.
 
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