Ken Kurtis
Contributor
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INDONESIA 2022 TRIP REPORT, VIDEO, & PIX LINKS
- Thread starter Ken Kurtis
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drrich2
Contributor
Good stuff! Some follow up questions:
1.) You mention a non-stop 15-hour flight from Singapore to LAX. It's my understanding there are no direct U.S. to Indonesia flights, so people from the U.S. fly to Tokyo, Japan, Taipei (Taiwan) or Singapore. I don't know how they compare and contract as hubs for Americans, so just asking...what led you to pick a route through Singapore?
2.) I don't see the trip package price anywhere. It may not seem useful when a trip is over, and future trips are likely to be more expensive due to inflation, but when people are researching future trip options and run across your offering, seeing the package cost can be useful.
I've been looking at a different part of Indonesia for a trip, but I've learned cost assessment adds up. Package, international airfare, domestic airfare, hotels going and coming to break up the ordeal of travel, perhaps marine park fees, etc...
3.) Komodo is known for currents; Raja Ampat is said to have less current but at times substantial. Palau is not only known for currents, but reef hooks. You mention Bangka Island is home to strong currents, but that it was one of your options.
In the diving you guys tend to do on these trips, how often do people tend to encounter moderate or greater currents? I ask because current comes up as a point of discrimination on some other threads about destinations in that greater region.
"We’ve generally got multiple dive options, although weather impacted our choices during this trip. We can make a 40-minute run across to Bunaken Marine Park, which has fabulous vertical walls of healthy corals (and LOTS of turtles). Or we can opt to dive close in, and do dives up and down the Manado Bay coastline with a combination of corals and traditional Indonesian “muck” diving, which is diving over what appears to be lifeless sand and but then realizing there are amazing and fabulous creatures that are living there. Our other options were to travel (2-hour boat ride) to Bangka Island, home to strong currents and some of the prettiest soft corals I’ve ever seen, or do an overland drive (takes a little over an hour) to hop on a boat and explore the Lembeh Straits, the Godzilla of Muck Diving."
4.) Sounds like you do a mix of muck and coral reef diving on these trips. Can to offer a % estimate on how much of each (on normal trips where the weather doesn't throw things off)? I ask because as you note Lembeh is world famous, but many people considering a 1st time trip must surely want to see glorious coral reefs amidst clouds of tropical fish, etc... Sounds like you offer a good way to get both.
5.) Why only a week (or 8-days?)? I ask because when researching a hoped for future Raja Ampat trip, it was indicated to me I ought to aim for at least a 10-day trip, to justify the ordeal of the travel there and back. All those long and very long flights... How easy would it be for someone to extend?
6.) Since this is out of land-based resorts, not a liveaboard, is there much opportunity to walk around some jungle a bit? I like to amble around and look for lizards and other wildlife. Did anyone comment if you should be careful of local wildlife? A little Googling shows Sulawesi has king cobras, reticulated pythons and saltwater crocodiles.
1.) You mention a non-stop 15-hour flight from Singapore to LAX. It's my understanding there are no direct U.S. to Indonesia flights, so people from the U.S. fly to Tokyo, Japan, Taipei (Taiwan) or Singapore. I don't know how they compare and contract as hubs for Americans, so just asking...what led you to pick a route through Singapore?
2.) I don't see the trip package price anywhere. It may not seem useful when a trip is over, and future trips are likely to be more expensive due to inflation, but when people are researching future trip options and run across your offering, seeing the package cost can be useful.
I've been looking at a different part of Indonesia for a trip, but I've learned cost assessment adds up. Package, international airfare, domestic airfare, hotels going and coming to break up the ordeal of travel, perhaps marine park fees, etc...
3.) Komodo is known for currents; Raja Ampat is said to have less current but at times substantial. Palau is not only known for currents, but reef hooks. You mention Bangka Island is home to strong currents, but that it was one of your options.
In the diving you guys tend to do on these trips, how often do people tend to encounter moderate or greater currents? I ask because current comes up as a point of discrimination on some other threads about destinations in that greater region.
"We’ve generally got multiple dive options, although weather impacted our choices during this trip. We can make a 40-minute run across to Bunaken Marine Park, which has fabulous vertical walls of healthy corals (and LOTS of turtles). Or we can opt to dive close in, and do dives up and down the Manado Bay coastline with a combination of corals and traditional Indonesian “muck” diving, which is diving over what appears to be lifeless sand and but then realizing there are amazing and fabulous creatures that are living there. Our other options were to travel (2-hour boat ride) to Bangka Island, home to strong currents and some of the prettiest soft corals I’ve ever seen, or do an overland drive (takes a little over an hour) to hop on a boat and explore the Lembeh Straits, the Godzilla of Muck Diving."
4.) Sounds like you do a mix of muck and coral reef diving on these trips. Can to offer a % estimate on how much of each (on normal trips where the weather doesn't throw things off)? I ask because as you note Lembeh is world famous, but many people considering a 1st time trip must surely want to see glorious coral reefs amidst clouds of tropical fish, etc... Sounds like you offer a good way to get both.
5.) Why only a week (or 8-days?)? I ask because when researching a hoped for future Raja Ampat trip, it was indicated to me I ought to aim for at least a 10-day trip, to justify the ordeal of the travel there and back. All those long and very long flights... How easy would it be for someone to extend?
6.) Since this is out of land-based resorts, not a liveaboard, is there much opportunity to walk around some jungle a bit? I like to amble around and look for lizards and other wildlife. Did anyone comment if you should be careful of local wildlife? A little Googling shows Sulawesi has king cobras, reticulated pythons and saltwater crocodiles.
OP
Ken Kurtis
Contributor
We've always gone through Singapore in the past as it provides the easiest/best connection to Manado. Scoot Air (formely Silk Air) is owned by Singapore so, from LAX, one ticket for the two flights. But yes, there are other gateways/hubs you can use. We also sometimes spend a few days in Singapore on the way home.
I always do my trips as as pay-me-one-price-includes-everything. This was $2,950/person (double occupancy) which included resort with the Bangka and Lembeh day-trip adds-ons and crew/staff tip. Nitrox was included as well. Airfare ran $1,500-2,000 depedning on when you bouight it.
You use reef hooks in currents when you want to stay in one place. Fore this trip, we're always drifting WITH the current (for the most part). So even strong currents aren't an issue in terms of holding position or anything like that.
Generally it's 2 Bunaken dives and then 1 Manado muck dive so 2/3 corals, 1/3 muck. Bangka is pretty much all coral-ish (32 dives) and Lembeh is all muck (also 3 dives) so they balance out.
I think so. (But I'm biased.)
Easy to extend but remember my goal is to get a group of people to go to also make it worth my while. And as you raise the price or make the trip longer, you diminish your market. This length of time - 12 days away from home including travel time - has worked well for us. vry different if you're a single traveller planning your own itinerary.
There are land-tour options but you have to miss dives to do them.
drrich2
Contributor
That adds up to 38 dives, in a week? I may be misunderstanding. I know 'how many dives might I get' is a popular metric for assessing potential trips.
Sounds good! I believe that also includes meals, which you spoke well of. Nitrox and tips included is sweet. Did you guys pay a marine park fee and/or fuel surcharge? With the high price of fuel, I hear a number of liveaboards are charging them (and not without reason)?
Is there a single supplement? Do you get many people signing on as solo travelers, and pair them (or put out a 'room mate wanted' list for) a same sex room mate?
Is this likely to be an annual thing going forward?
Speaking of which, I knew you head Reef Seekers, a California-based organization, and you organize trips, but I didn't know whether Reef Seekers was some sort of dive club, and whether your trips were mainly filled through club members or a local diving community base, or drew drivers from all over (without needing to be members of anything). From your Reef Seeker's foreign trips page:
"REEF SEEKERS PHILOSOPHY WHEN IT COMES TO FOREIGN VACATION TRIPS
We specialize in small groups (as few as 4 divers, generally 8-12 per group) and all are personally led by Reef Seekers owner and NAUI instructor Ken Kurtis, who's been doing this since his since 1980, so he may have picked up a few tricks along the way. Ken's always available to be a dive buddy, help with photo questions, ID fish (he always brings his fish ID books with him), and just generally solve whatever issues or problems may pop up along the way to insure you have the smoothest, most-hassle-free, and enjoyable vacation you can. You might be able to book something cheaper on your own, but it certainly won't be better and you certainly won't have someone with Ken's experience and knowledge to run interference for you.
When you travel with Reef Seekers, all you need to do is get yourself to LAX (well, after you've paid us for the trip of course). Then turn off your brain (within reason) because we'll take it from there. Generally, the prices you see quoted include diving, accommodations, meals (all-inclusive for a boat and it varies depending on where we are for land-based trips), airport transfers, and crew tip/gratuity. Airfare is generally NOT included in the quoted prices. We would prefer that you arrange that on your own, but we will give you the preferred flight itinerary for a given trip. Prices quoted are cash or check. Credit cards are okay but will be billed at a 4% higher rate. To get more details on a specific trip, either e-mail Ken or call him at (310) 652-4990."
Richard.
OP
Ken Kurtis
Contributor
We did 23 dives. 8 dive days x 3 dives/day and didn't five the final afternoon to allow for 24 hours pre-flight. Add in 7 optional late-afternoon house reef dives, which we didn't do due to weather, and you could get to 30. Throw in a night dive or two and up the total.
$10 marine park fee, $38 for visa-on-arrival.
Single supplement added $500 or so. If there are solo travelers, I'll match you up with someone. No biggee.
We probably won't go in 2023 but will likely go in July 2024.
I take everyone and anyone's money.
Reef Seekers was a brick-and-mortar store and now exists as an internet-based organization doing local and foreign trips, as well as local repairs, and the occasional on-line class and some other things. But you don't have to be a "member."
Thanks for sharing your trip! Those are some awesome pictures! Those were some of the weirdest creatures I've ever seen. I am planning my first trip to Indonesia next year. Having never done muck diving, how small were your subjects in Lembeh and Bangka? It's hard to get size context from photos, but just on average, are we talking mostly stuff that's an inch long or a few inches long and/or bigger?
OP
Ken Kurtis
Contributor
It varies. Some are 8-10" long (Mantis Shrimp), others were under an inch (small yellow Frogfish). And Bangka's very different than Lembeh. Bangka's got wide-angle coral reefs whereas Lembeh generally has smaller stuff.
NHalzee
Registered
Ken thanks for sharing all of your information. Question of the destinations you visited- Manado, Bangka and Lembeh which do you think provides the best diving and nicest accommodations for the money? Also have you been to Alor or Palawan?/ I am deciding among Lembeh, Alor and Palawan. Curious on your thoughts.
Great pygmy seahorse shot - those little buggers are not easy to snap!!! Sounds like a great trip. I'm headed back to Lembeh for the 2nd time in February and hoping to add on a visit to Bangka this time around. I've heard good things.
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