Indonesia & Phillipines diving question

[shiri]

Hi all,
We (2) still can't decide where to go diving, Indonesia or the phillipines.
We have a month vacation in October and we are about to lose our minds will all the incquiries.
We want to combine diving and traveling.
And here comes the questions :
1. Where is prefered to dive and how (liveaborad or beach) ? Phillipines = coron , malapasqua, el nido. Indonesia = Komodo, Komodo + Bali + Lombok.
2. What is it to see in any any country or sites ? (Sharks, manta rays, turtles...)
3. Which has a nicer atmosphere above sea level ? (population, sites...)
4. Any recommendations for liveaboard with Symbyosis travel agency ?

Any comment is appreciated.
Thanks,

 

[chip104]

Hi shiri, all those places you mentioned in the philippines you can do day diving and stay at a resort.

I am biased towards the philippines and I've never been to Indonesia, but I have heard that the diving is superb in both places.

For the philippines, there are lots of sites you can venture to during your extended SIs: small towns, local landmarks, waterfalls, etc.

sorry I can't be of more help. If you want to combine travel with diving, check out mactan, cebu & panglao, bohol. Both are premier dive sites of the philippines and are in close proximity of each other. They both have great sites to see when not diving. From there, you can also head over to malapascua, cebu or moalboal, cebu or down south to dumaguete or apo island (both in negros oriental) for some more diving.

Happy & safe travelling! I love backpacking around here.

 

[Spoon]

everything you need is in the philippines ofcourse im biased. there are numerous sites and liveaboards you can check out. tryt tubbataha and apo reef.

 

[ssra30]

I dove a couple of places in the Philippines: Puerto Galera and Dumaguette, Indonesia: Lembeh, Komodo, Bunaken and Sangalaki. Komodo has as good a macro site as any other place I have ever been, if not better with extensive coral reef that bigger and more prestine than Apo Island and chances to see lots of palegics, sharks, mantas etc. Water is colder and it is more difficult to get to. You also pretty much have to do liveaboard and the cost is going to be much higher than the Philippines.
The Philippines is by no mean bad, I actually enjoy diving there a lot but if I can only pick one place, I would pick Komodo.
If you enjoy muck diving for macro stuff, Lembeh Strait will be hard to beat. I was a bit disappointed with Sangalaki.

 

[pakman]

1 month... wow I'm jealous... I would almost recommend that you do both indonesia and the philippines if its within your budget. I think there were connecting flights from manado to/from Manila. Manado/Bunaken would be a good recommendation and you get a very good variety of diving. If you're really keen on macro, you've got lembeh straits nearby. Komodo was a very nice experience but best experienced thru a liveaboard (if you got 1 week to kill and money to burn) plus you can stop thru Bali on the way out or back. If u did Manado and/or Komodo, diving in Bali will probably be underwhelming unless you happen to get lucky and spot mola mola...

As for the philippines: The wrecks in Coron are great, but I'm not sure if Oct is too early in the season? As the other guys suggested, I hear tubbatha reef is impressive and maybe you can arrange to stay at a nice resort around El Nido after the liveaboard as I think most depart from Palawan.

Lots of options... It will depend on how much diving you want to get in, how much $$ you want to spend, and what level of comfort you need. Your money may stretch out longer if you did a Philippines only trip. Island hopping can get annoying as a lot of times you have to fly back to Manila or take slow ferries.

edit: don't waste your time diving on Lombok... On our Komodo trip, I was told by our Indonesian DM the dive sites aren't worthwhile... And I hear the beaches aren't as nice as they used to be (I guess they've gotten somewhat developed as well). I was surprised at all the resorts on the Lombok Gili Islands nowadays. remember going there almost a decade ago and it just being a few losman on the shores. I guess it was only time before all that development in Bali oozed over to Lombok.

 

[Bora_Horza]

El Nido is amazingly beautiful abovewater - all those islands and beaches..., but the diving there was only OK (still nice though). Coron has its wrecks (I stayed at http://seadiveresort.com/), which were interesting. The more 'colourful' diving in my experience was down in the Visayas, especially Apo island - http://www.apoisland.com/, and Malapascua was also a pretty island to stay at, with some nice dives.

Komodo was the tops though - diving from Labuanbajo, Flores is a cheaper way to see the Komodo National Park, I did a trip report on my time there, see http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=61872

Have fun, whaever you chose - both are great destinations!

 

[shiri]

Hi,
Thanks a lot for your reply.
Some more questions:
1. Is it possible to get to the good dive sites, if I stay in Flores?
2. Is there any problem of malaria in Flores and Palawan (or other areas)? In case of a liveaboard, is ther also a risk like that?
3. I dive a lot in the red sea, including Sinai. I saw you were in Dahab - how are the diving in Indonesia & Philipines, compare to Sinai?
4. And finally - because this is a vacation and we want to relax and have some fun and see enjoy the landsacpe, which is more fun and beautiful to travel?

Thanks in advance,
Shiri.

El Nido is amazingly beautiful abovewater - all those islands and beaches..., but the diving there was only OK (still nice though). Coron has its wrecks (I stayed at http://seadiveresort.com/), which were interesting. The more 'colourful' diving in my experience was down in the Visayas, especially Apo island - http://www.apoisland.com/, and Malapascua was also a pretty island to stay at, with some nice dives.

Komodo was the tops though - diving from Labuanbajo, Flores is a cheaper way to see the Komodo National Park, I did a trip report on my time there, see http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=61872

Have fun, whaever you chose - both are great destinations!

 

[ssra30]

For Komodo, I really think that liveaboard is best because the area is quite extensive. It is possible to do landbase from labaun bajo but you will not be able to cover all the sites available unless you spend a lot of hours travelling each day. LB is not exactly a place I would want to spend many days at either. For relaxing topside, Komodo does not have much beside some treking on Komodo to see the dragon. I probably would plan to do some relaxing around Bali then off to Komodo for liveaboard divetrip.

 

[Deano2]

Hi,
Thanks a lot for your reply.
Some more questions:
1. Is it possible to get to the good dive sites, if I stay in Flores?
2. Is there any problem of malaria in Flores and Palawan (or other areas)? In case of a liveaboard, is ther also a risk like that?
3. I dive a lot in the red sea, including Sinai. I saw you were in Dahab - how are the diving in Indonesia & Philipines, compare to Sinai?
4. And finally - because this is a vacation and we want to relax and have some fun and see enjoy the landsacpe, which is more fun and beautiful to travel?

Thanks in advance,
Shiri.

Hi Shiri,

I've been to Indonesia many times in the past 3 years for work and for diving. Never been in the Phillipines. Indonesia is a wonderful country. I'm not sure about diving in Flores but the diving in Komodo and Sulawesi is excellent. There's also Sumatra with the north part of Sumatra having great diving. I just got back from Komodo and met a couple who had spent 3 weeks traveling across Flores and Sumbawa before getting on the liveaboard to Komodo. They loved it. Don;t forget there's also Kalimantan (Derawan and Sangalaki) and Papua. Kalimantan and Sumatra can be a bit rough but the nature is fantastic. I met two 55+ ladies on a recent trip who'd spent 3 weeks in Papua before heading to Sulawesi for 10 days of diving. To top off the trip, a few days in Bali for some pampering and shopping before heading back would make a great trip.

I wouldn't say that Indo is a place for big stuff although mantas are certianly found regularly on the south of Komodo and in Sangalaki but check the seasons when they are there so you won;t be dissappointed. Some sharks about mostly white tips and black tips with a scattering of grey reef sharks. But the macro, amazing stuff. get the latest copy of Asian diver and you'll see 10 amazing critters that can be found in Lembeh.

As far as malaria is concerned, it is endemic so you need to take the tablets just to be on the safe side although throughout my travels there I always stopped taking it and just used lots of Deet. Liveaboards are at sea but if you make land excursions...

Tip: If you want to travel in Indonesia buy your plane tickets there. It costs usd 150,- to fly round trip non-stop to Manado from Jakarta.

I have some trip reports if you'd like more details, just PM me and I'll send them.

So, get on the plane and go have fun and for some of us even one life time isn't enough to discover all that Indo has to offer.

Deano2

 

[Bora_Horza]

Hi Shiri,

1) Yes, some truely amazing divesites. In 1.75 to 2 hours 'slow boat trip' you get to Bato Balong, Tatawa Kecil, Tatawa Besar, Tengha - all excellent sites! In about a 3 hour trip you can get to Crystal Rock, or Pillarstein/Three Sisters, and in a 4 hour trip you can get to Manta Alley. It does take time - a full day out - but it's worth it.
2) Malaria is there, myself I use lots of repellant and am paranoid about the first mozzie bite(!)
3) I only dived around Dahab, which was great, for me I'd say more colourful and diverse corals and fishlife in Indonesia/Philippines. But for the BEST you need to visit the right sites (i.e Marine Sanctuary's), as there is a lot of fishing in Indonesia/Philippines.
4) Not easy to compare, as Indonesia and the Philippines each have their own 'flavor', and very different cultures. Indonesia a bit more 'rough and rugged' to travel, and is much less 'westernised', with very hospitable and friendly people. And because going east of Bali it is less developed you really feel like you are getting away from 'the outside world', if you know what I mean, which I enjoy. In places like Labuanbajo you still meet up with backpackers, etc, which is fun. The Philippines are a little easier (quicker) to get around, and once you are away from the big cities its got a lot to offer the traveller. A bit more 'organised', with good beach resorts, great beaches, too much to go into here! I liked visiting Camiguin and Siquijor, very nice 'low key' relaxed, quiet islands to visit and explore... Maybe not quite as many backpackers in the Philippines though. You of course would meet plenty of other divers however! Hope this helps, cheers!