I'm taking a year off life to travel and dive

[Centrals]

Best way to include Sangalaki is to head to Manado right after. So we'll have to do it around end of Nov. Which is good for Sipadan, so hopefully also good for Sangalaki.

We don't have to dive in Green Island. But first thing Taiwan reopens, I'm taking my kid and grandma there. My two college best friends haven't been and want to go too, and one of them is my dive buddy on this big trip. There is the most beautiful hot spring in the world on Green Island and tbh I'm only diving its frigid water (for my standard) as an excuse to spend the entire evening in all the different pools of the hot spring. Hoping to explore Orchid Island this time, maybe also checking out Taitung, otherwise just returning to Taipei, Keelung, and Taroko Gorge I think. Not extremely keen on the Westcoast cities.

You have to check the domestic flight schedule between Tarakan and Manado if there is any service at all.
There is nothing in Taitung for tourist. Not going to Alishan?
Water in Green Island is not cold in June.
The West coast is far more interesting than the East(my experience).
Do you know there is a Southern branch of the National Palace Museum outside Chiayi?

 

[Manuel Sam]

While on a job assignment in Kaohsiung in 2000, I did a weekend of diving in Kenting, near the southern tip of Taiwan, which included a shore dive at night. Nothing remarkable, and it was getting a bit chilly after a while. But as we came to shore at the end of the dive on a beach next to an inlet, the water became soothingly warm. Water was flowing out from the inlet, which I attributed to a change of tides, maybe.

The next morning we went out on a boat dive and passed by that same inlet, and it was then that I noticed that the inlet was next to a dome - the dome of a nuclear reactor.

 

[Centrals]

While on a job assignment in Kaohsiung in 2000, I did a weekend of diving in Kenting, near the southern tip of Taiwan, which included a shore dive at night. Nothing remarkable, and it was getting a bit chilly after a while. But as we came to shore at the end of the dive on a beach next to an inlet, the water became soothingly warm. Water was flowing out from the inlet, which I attributed to a change of tides, maybe.

The next morning we went out on a boat dive and passed by that same inlet, and it was then that I noticed that the inlet was next to a dome - the dome of a nuclear reactor.

I was staying not too far from the entrance to the plant. That site bored me stiffness but I did know where the 'warm water' came from.
XLQ which is not too far from Kaohsiung and is better. The number of giant green turtle in one particular site is particularly interesting.

 

[dumpsterpurrs]

You have to check the domestic flight schedule between Tarakan and Manado if there is any service at all.
There is nothing in Taitung for tourist. Not going to Alishan?
Water in Green Island is not cold in June.
The West coast is far more interesting than the East(my experience).
Do you know there is a Southern branch of the National Palace Museum outside Chiayi?

I gave up on Sangalaki. Impossible to make connections make sense. It will have to wait.
You're right, I've swapped out Taitung for Alishan. Where else would you rec? I just feel overwhelmed by the cities and prefer nature, but I love all those quaint, little towns.
The air is too hot in June for my silly body.

Just booked my flight for April 1 to Kota Kinabalu and a 3 nights 8 dives package at Big Fins in Kota Belud, a touch over US$300 all in (transfers + room + full board + all dive equipment), amazing frontier diving. Such a steal! Then I'll head over to Kudat at the Northernmost tip of Borneo for even wilder diving and similar cost - 5D4N 12 dives for just over US$400. There're apparently mola molas but I'll have to ask about the season.
I'm super stoked!

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

I'm having fun just googling all these places and poking around on street view.

Thanks, Purrs.

 

[Centrals]

The air is too hot in June for my silly body.

For someone living in Vietnam!

Dive Sangalaki | Scuba Junkie Sangalaki

Dive Sangalaki with Scuba Junkie! We provide daily dive trips and PADI courses in the Sangalaki Marine Park - Sangalaki, Derawan, Kakaban, and Maratua.

www.scubajunkiesangalaki.com

Cheap flight from Tawau(Sipadan) to Tarakan.
A long and bumpy ride to the resort. Getting there is half the fun.
Diving is very good and easily beat some of the places in your list.

 

[dumpsterpurrs]

I'm having fun just googling all these places and poking around on street view.

That's how I found them! AirAsia used to sell the ASEAN Pass for a little over $100, you'd get 10 credits to book flights and pay taxes and fees on top. Most flights cost 1 credit. I hopped around Southeast Asia with the Pass a few times. Took me to all the wacky corners of Malaysia and Indonesia. I'd go to Google Map and search for dive shops within a reasonable distance from whatever airport I landed and streetviewed to decide if the scenery is attractive enough.

In Kudat one of the two shops there is the North Borneo Biostation, and they have nature/wildlife-related activities too. The diving is supposed to be very good.

For someone living in Vietnam!

Why do you think I always plan to escape the country every April-May? xD

 

[Blackcrusader]

You're right, I've swapped out Taitung for Alishan.

I live in Alishan. To see some of the best places you need a few days up here. Many people just stick to the main road and visit the National Park but there are other areas worth visiting as well. Lots of great trails up here and also tea and coffee plantations as well as orchids.

 

[Centrals]

Why do you think I always plan to escape the country every April-May? xD

You live in the South!
Weather in June on Green Island never match that, quite present actually.

 

[jjmochi]

Objectives:
- Dive all of the best places in the world
- Warm tropical water >25*C
- Easily accessible, long transits make me very sick. my base airport is SGN, I don't fly more than two legs at a time. night bus and train are ok though.
- Budget friendly, <$2000/week, preferably <$1000/week, can stretch to $2500/week if it's really worth it. flights also shouldn't cost too much.
- Doesn't require an in-person visa application. Visa-free, e-visa, or VOA only for Vietnamese passport holders.

The plan:
- April-May: Similan+Richelieu Rock (first two weeks of April with my junior buddy), Dauin, Siquijor, Panglao, Anilao+Puerto Galera (two weeks mid May), Brunei
- August: Bali (one week in early August with my junior buddy)
- September-Oct: Kota Belud, Lahad Datu, Sipadan, Lyudao (Green Island)
- Nov-Dec: Bangka Island, Lembeh, Raja Ampat, Komodo (South), Port Douglas, Great Barrier Reef, SS Yongala
- April 2023: Tulum, La Paz, Cabo Pulmo, Socorro
- early August: Yucatan Northern cenotes, Isla Mujeres (with junior buddy)

Together with the dry traveling portion, the whole thing would look like this on a map. All the blue-ish dots are diving related. Green-ish are camping/roadtripping. Warm colors are sightseeing.

Palliative Trippin' – Google My Maps

Palliative Trippin'

www.google.com

Exclusions: couldn't fit Coron in this plan, I'll save it for a single trip in the future. I'd also like to dive the deep South of the Red Sea and maybe also Malta when/if we move to Europe. I'm quite curious about the Bay of Pigs too but run out of time on this trip, and I'm not too keen on supporting their current regime. I'd jump at the opportunity if it ever gets cheaper to get to Palau and Chuuk/Yap.

Questions:
1. Any of the above places not worth the effort and money to get there?
2. Am I missing somewhere amazing? In particular lesser known places like the Forgotten Sea, Bandaneira, Kei island, etc. Other famous places not mentioned such as Tubbataha Reef and Wakatobi seem to either cost a lot or it's a huge pain in the bum to get there.

TIA! x

Wow what a trip! Looks amazing. I'm jealous! Taking a year off work and being able to finance those trips at a comfortable price point is mutually exclusive for me lol. (out of curiosity are you retired?) I've been to a couple on your list and are scheduled to go on a few more this year.

1. Similan+Richelieu I did on liveaboard in Dec 2019. It was great (got us hooked on liveaboard diving) but so so crowded. We didn't see much of the big stuff - no whale sharks, no mantas. The reefs were quite colorful but nothing compared to Sipadan for example. Fishiness was good for the small stuff but again not on the same level as Sipadan or Maldives. If you can avoid the crowds (not sure how many have come back since reopening) then it's worth it as it's relatively cheap and painless, plus Thai food is my favorite out of SE Asia.
2. I'll be in Anilao/PG in early May for 10 days. It's my second visit to Anilao and first to PG. I LOVED Anilao for macro photography, but my husband got quite bored our first trip, so depends on what you like.
3. For the rest of Philippines have you considered liveaboard? I booked on Philippine Siren's 11night Visayas liveaboard in Aug that covers Malapascua, Dauin, Apo, Oslob, Calibao, Panglao, Balicasag and Pescador. There was a 40% sale a while back and you could do the whole thing for $2200. I think you can do it cheaper land-based but that's a lot of travel in an uncomfortable van (we did Malapascua land-based in 2019). Malapascua is nice easy diving with decent macro and ofc the threshers but that dive is crowded also.
4. Tubbataha- I'm going w Philippine Siren in April, will let you know! Season is only until June. There's still a few trips on sale for 30% off I think. One of the divers from my 2020 Maldives liveaboard told me this was the best place if you want to swim with whale sharks for a long time with no other groups around (our Maldives whale shark encounters as a bit of a circus). Plus the water will be a comfy 28-30 degrees instead of the 20-25 we braved in Galapagos.
5. I'll be in Bali in late Aug too haha, hoping for better luck with the molas. We got certified there in 2018 and did see one at Crystal bay on dive #6 (temp went down to 22C, I'll be bringing my 7mm), but we were too new and trying not to get sucked into the down current to enjoy it. Bali was also super crowded, especially Tulamben and Liberty wreck, so I'm going to skip that this time and focus on Gili Mimpang, Tepekong, and maybe some macro dives around Padang Bai. We only have 3 days (for the mandatory 3 night stay in CSHE hotel) before hopping on the Mermaid for our Komodo liveaboard.
6. Sipadan is amazing but the permits and the transit is a pain. At the more upscale resorts you only get 1 permit for every 3 days of non-Sipadan diving. At the more budget ones you can get 1:1 Sipadan vs Mabul/Kalapai days, but it's super uncomfortable (our shower was a pipe head...) Even from SG I lose a full day to travel on both ends due to the way the connections work. We were there in 2019 and only got to dive Sipadan for 2 days, but my husband still says it's the best dive he's done. It has the best coral I've seen so far and is up there with Maldives in fishiness, plus too many turtles to count. If they ever start the Johor Bahru to Tawau direct flight again I might go back. Or maybe I need to drive into KL...
7. From Tawau there used to be a direct flight to Tarakan which gets you into Derawan/Sagalaki. I had looked into the Scuba Junkie package deal for a while before covid. I'm leaning towards a White Manta liveaboard tho in June next year, less hassle and more comfortable going to/from the dive sites. I'm hoping it should be as good as Sipadan without the permit hassle.
8. Haven't dived Green Island, but omg you have to visit Taiwan if only for the food. Night markets are amazing. It's an easy weekend trip, can't wait to go back when they reopen.
9. Can't say much about Bangka/Lembeh, Raja, or Komodo, since I have those planned for next year, this Dec, and this Aug respectively. Are you only doing Komodo south not north? Raja we're doing 1 week land based (Papua Explorers) and 1 week liveaboard to the south, the water bungalows look quite lovely.
10. Forget about the Galapagos. You'll get 25C at Wolf/Darwin if you're lucky, but everywhere else it's super cold like 16C or below. Darwin may rank my top dive ever but the other half of the trip I found really underwhelming, and from Vietnam it's a logistical nightmare and you'll lose 2 days getting there and back. It's also crazy expensive. You might want to consider Banda Sea in Sep-Nov if you want to see the hammerheads, I hear the water temperature is ~25 at the lowest? We're scheduled on White Manta in Oct next year.

The only place not on your list that we've REALLY loved is French Polynesia, and specifically Fakarava. There's a place in South Fakarava called Tetamanu Village and it's magical. Lowest water we had was 25 or 26C and every dive had 100s of sharks (it's really a wall of sharks!). Decent hard coral, very fishy (huge snapper school right under the dock with resident blacktips), and it's just so idyllic plus the food is amazing. They have a night dive too where the sharks will bump into you and you get to see them hunt. Up north we stayed in Haivaiki and there's some really great sites too, Alibaba was super fishy and colorful, with lots of big stuff like mantas and dolphins. Best dolphins tho was on Rangiroa which we didn't love quite as much as Fakarava, but is still worth a visit with its own highlights. We went through Auckland so if you're already there it's an easy direct flight to Tahiti.

Please post pictures as you go! Would love to hear your thoughts on how all of these places compare.