Question Indonesia itinerary August 2025

[Plutonist]

Don't overthink this. Chances are high that you will have a great time, unless something unforeseen happens (bad weather, guide you can't connect with, ear/respiratory tract infection) or perhaps you just don't like Indonesian diving and/or food. You wouldn't be the first.

I suggest you approach the whole thing without preconceptions and see what suits you. Even the people who racked up thousands of dives in Indonesia don't agree on what is good or not, so it's impossible to predict what you will like. Just be aware that four days might be short to judge a place. It's always a good idea to give every location a second chance.

Many people here think that Bunaken is boring after a few days, but I wasn't bored at all after more than a week of diving there as an absolute beginner. We had a cool guide with a slate, who would point out the various critters and write down their names. That knowledge helped me alot later in Raja Ampat.

I had the best (i.e. most nightmare inducing) night dive in Bunaken. Disclamer: I am not particularly fond of night dives. Never again seen such huge pencil urchins and decorator crabs and fields of yellow polyps(?), which would retract if shined on. I heard people rave about the night dives in Komodo, so I somewhat reluctantly did six of those recently and I found them very tame in comparison.

 

[cetacean]

Bangka has been consistently good through my 6 stays in various seasons, from Feb to September.
Sahaung is probably one of the sites I have dived the most in indonesia : it was always fantastic.
Not for nothing when Dr. Batuna was talking about Bangka and Sahaung, it seemed he had stars in his eyes.
So that's just not only my experience.
(FYI, probably the "less good" selection of dive sites in Bangka happened when I dived with Gangga island, although they probably had the best dive boats I have ever been on, lesser posh Murex Bangka had the best dive options. )

managers (btw completely different management style from Murex Manado or Murex Bangka resort), the number of divers on the boats where they mingled groups and individual divers, etc.

@Luko

I didn't respond for the original OP's benefit, but rather to provide some counter views to what you posted.

LR is both more comfortable than other resorts n Lembeh, with better food (not greasy when we were there), and the dive guides the 3 times I've been there were very good (easily as good as what we experienced at NAD last summer).