ideas for a dive location in Asia

[theblitz1]

I've spent so many hours now reading through the forums, and this is such a friendly place, I feel pretty safe asking what feels like a dumb question. I'd love to hear ideas from experienced divers. My wife and I are looking for a place to spend our 30th anniversary. We came to diving relatively late and have logged about 90 dives, mostly on the Kona Coast, with some in the Florida Keys and a bit in the Caribbean.

We'd really like to experience the variety of underwater life in Asia. My wife loves macro photography of little critters - we're not interested in the big stuff. I've been reading up a lot about Indonesia on these forums, but frankly, the amount of effort to get there scares me because we're both around 55 and frankly, my wife needs to see a chiropractor after flying even from Seattle to Hawaii.

So I think this is my question, though if anyone wants to amend it in the spirit of getting a better answer, that's great. My question is, where can we find a place where we can do both day and night dives and enjoy greater diversity than we've seen off Kona (which is certainly pretty great) but be accessible to older, not-so-very-fit divers?

Thanks so much in advance for suggestions.

 

[Wingy]

North Sulawesi - Lembeh for macro, Bangka and Bunaken for walls and pinnacles. You may also like Komodo Flores and Alor. Or there is the option of Raja Ampat best done by LOB. If little critters is your interest id do some research on Lembeh which is easily combined with Bangka and Bunaken. You will be able to do day and night dives in N.Sulawesi.

Im sure soon the bali fans and operators will pop up and tell you how great Bali is which you can combine with Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida or go to Tulumben to do the wreck of the liberty but Bali just is toooo touristy for me nowadays. Im not a fan of the party scene and what the island has become in the last decade.

Regarding flights...N. Sulawesi is accessible via direct flight Garuda from Singapore or you can go via Jakarta with a stopover for a few minutes in Makassar then Manado. I usually use Lion Air if coming up from Jakarta or via bali thanks to $99 flights from here.

 

[OnTheSpot]

Yes Wingy is right. A combination of Lembeh and Bunaken could be just the ticket: Easy to get to dive sites (once you are there) meaning short speedboat rides.
Or perhaps Mabul in Malaysia - lots of diving just off the island or short speedboat ride.

If you want to dive in Asia, then in terms of travel, you are going to need at least 1 other flight out of whatever hub you fly into eg. Singapore. I don't know how much time you have but maybe a nice overnight or 2 in Singapore with a massage, some nice Asian food, acclimatise (Seattle to Singapore heat exchange) will break the journey up. Then the shorter flight will be only a matter of a couple of hours or so.

Places like Raja Ampat, while awesome, are a bit of a trek and perhaps an unnecessary hassle for you.

Here are links to a couple of videos of the suggestions above. Hope they help:
Diving in Lembeh Strait
Diving in Mabul and Kapalai

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I'm 54 and my fiancee is 65. Last April we went to Anilao and had a lot of great dives with the small creatures. We flew business class on Asiana Airlines. The seats fold down into beds and the creature comforts on the plane were amazing.
Wreckreational Diving - California Drysuit Divers Escape To Anilao

 

[Centrals]

Getting there is half the fun!!!! But I hate the transit and the waiting for a connection flight.
I believe you can fly non stop from LA to Manila and PAL even connect Vancouver with Manila.
Anilao is only 2-3 hrs away by road.
BTW, make sure you do not have to negotiate too many steps at the resort!!!!!

 

[gekodivebali]

I think Wingy gave you the answer indirectly by trying to ditch Bali off your dive map: Bali for ease of access and great dives! Just do not stay in the South...

 

[Mucksavage]

Malapascua. Great macro and some pesky big stuff like Thresher Sharks which are worth seeing for sure. Great tropical location. Nice resorts, good food.

Fly direct from the Sates to Manila and drop down to Cebu.

 

[Wingy]

Just returned from Puerto Galera, another Philippines option. I was quite impressed with the underwater world, topside, Sabang itself is a little sleazy but there was no shortage of divers of all ages having fun. Anilao also is just a short trip from Manila. The macro life at PG was top notch, even got to see some new things like electric flame scallops.

 

[diver 85]

We really enjoyed Dumaguete(Negros) then on to Moalboal(Cebu)...It's about a 4 hour boat ride from 1 to the other....You said you're not interested in the 'big stuff' but do try to get in the whaleshark dive in Oslob(1.5 hour car ride from Moalboal)......Pics/videos are in below link---all have Philippines in their Set titles(Sets 10 thru 18).....

GEAUXtiger's photosets on Flickr

 

[Rhone Man]

This just in: Asia is quite a big place!

That said, based upon your description of what you are looking for I'd be tempted to join others in suggesting Philippines - either Moalboal or Malapascua. Affordable, safe, nice places, English speaking, with excellent macro diving.