Komodo LOB + Raja Ampat - suggestions invited

[JRM-TX]

Hello all, appreciate your suggestions to help me optimize plans for a 4 week trip leaving US in mid/late November or early December.

Current rough plan: leave Houston say 25th November (departure window is 15.Nov or later). Fly to Bali as entry point & get VOA. Chill for a few days, maybe some diving. Fly to LBJ for a Komodo liveaboard trip (6d to 12d, several options, Southern itinerary this time of year). Fly to Sorong & take ferry to Wasai. Spend a couple weeks shore-based in Kri / Mansuar / Waigeo area (Dampier St). For diving & lodging, am ok with either all-in resort or dive center + homestay. After RA, fly back to Bali & spend any remaining time in that area. Fly back to US before the visa expires.

For context - experienced diver >500, both LOB & land based, lots of places. In Indonesia, been to Bali, Bunaken, Lembeh & RA once. Travelling solo. Retired so somewhat flexible on dates. Budget is middle of the road; seeking good value but will spend more for great experiences. Not searching for any special critters, interested in great reefs and overall good time. Any topside activities are secondary. Not a serious photographer, just a GoPro. OK with currents, seas, water temps, etc. Aircon not essential.

Potential alternatives to improve the trip. RA is my favorite place to dive so far, intend to spend at least 2 weeks there. Maybe replace the Komodo LOB for one in RA, and focus the entire trip on RA (say 21d total LOB + shore based), plus 7 days in Bali area (added benefit of less time on flights & transfers). Back to Komodo LOB, I gather that the iconic dives are mostly in the North but it's not the season, so is the South going to be worth it? Or maybe replace the Komodo LOB with something like an Ambon-to-Sorong trip, or Ambon/Banda LOB (Pindito has a 12d whale trip leaving 21.Nov, $6k, worth it?). Would Bangka be a good substitute for Komodo, or more like a downgrade? Anywhere else that would be better than Komodo this time of year? Again, all scenarios have at least 2 weeks in RA, the question is where to dive the other 2 weeks. Also, I think Bali is a better entry & starting point than Jakarta for this trip, but if I'm wrong please say so, United will take me to either.

Thanks in advance for your comments & suggestions. Have a great week.

 

[Luko]

. Would Bangka be a good substitute for Komodo, or more like a downgrade? Anywhere else that would be better than Komodo this time of year? Again, all scenarios have at least 2 weeks in RA, the question is where to dive the other 2 weeks.

As much as I like Bangka for ONE site and smaller critters, I don't think you'll find the thrill of Komodo.
My Indonesian winners are Raja Ampat, Komodo and Alor. November is a very good season for Alor.
Look for Alor divers (Mid market VERY good bang for bucks, great accoms) or Alor Air (budget). It takes 2 flights from Bali and one overnight in Kupang (eventhough you can make it directly on return flight). You can couple one week Alor, one week Komodo it's in the same Nusa Tenggara Timur area.

 

[JRM-TX]

Luko, thanks for your reply, very helpful. Btw, I really enjoy your pictures, amazing photography. Your work embodies the visual aesthetics which draw me to Indonesia.

Two quick questions ...
* Which do you rank higher, Alor or Komodo? I'm leaning toward a ~10d LOB in Komodo. With flights/transfers, a few days in Bali, and ~2 weeks in RA, that's the full 4 week trip.
* Due to weather patterns in Nov-Mar, the Komodo LOB trips are Southern itineraries. Is it still worth doing a Southern Komodo LOB this time of year, or better to wait until the Northern trips restart in ~April?

Fwiw, I've always wanted to do a Komodo LOB and that's my first choice for this trip. It looks like most boats relocate to RA for ~Oct thru ~March, but some stay in Komodo and do the Southern route. It sounds like a Southern trip will still be very good. But if the Northern trip is significantly "better" then I'll switch things around and do Komodo another time.

 

[dirtfarmer]

I prefer Southern itinerary's over northern ones. During that time of year the water is typically clearer and seas calmer. Lots of the acclaimed Northern sites are high current dives some where you just hook in and enjoy the show. Not my preferred style of diving. Don't get me wrong theres some great reefs in the North/Cental part of Komodo The Southern sites are more reef style diving and also Manta Alley which i prefer to Makkasar (manta dive site in central komodo,) for manta action.
And on LOB you will most likely be able to do some of the fantastic muck dives.
On a Southern route you there are some really dives in the Padar area. Three Sisters is a fantastic site of 3 submerged pinnacles.
And then yes on Southern trip there is Horseshoe Bay, one of my favourite spots to dive in the world. Rumor has it that the famed site of Cannibal Rock . Rock has been bombed but the bay holdssome other spectacular sites, including what can be incredible muck-macro diving.

@JRM-TX is the Komodo LOB your looking at coming out of Bali or Labuan Bajo?

 

[JRM-TX]

Hello Dirtfarmer, thanks for the great input! It sounds like the Southern trips are worthwhile in their own right, and that's what I was trying to understand.

I haven't picked a specific date or boat yet, but the leading candidates are based in LBJ.

Have a great week.

 

[drrich2]

I prefer Southern itinerary's over northern ones. During that time of year the water is typically clearer and seas calmer. Lots of the acclaimed Northern sites are high current dives some where you just hook in and enjoy the show. Not my preferred style of diving. Don't get me wrong theres some great reefs in the North/Cental part of Komodo The Southern sites are more reef style diving and also Manta Alley which i prefer to Makkasar (manta dive site in central komodo,) for manta action.

Thanks for the insightful explanation. In researching Indonesia dive destination options, I saw that southern Komodo National Park has nutrient rich, cooler waters with somewhat lower viz. than the north (if I understood correctly); most people like high viz. and warmer water, so I've wondered whether the south had any advantages.

 

[jjmochi]

I was in Komodo at the end of Aug / beginning of Sept w Mermaid I and we only ended up doing 1 dive in the south (Manta Alley 3x - 10/10 for mantas) plus a few protected bays for night dives. We were told it was recently dynamite bombed and the other famous sites like Cannibal Rock was “not much to see”… have not seen photos but I have no reason to doubt the cruise director. Sadly I don’t think it would be recovered in a few months. I’m in Sipadan now where it turns out there was a huge ghost net that destroyed a big portion of the reef and killed a lot of the turtles/sharks/fish and it definitely will take years if not decades for the corals to grow back…

I wouldn’t call Bangka a downgrade from Komodo, the best site in Bangka I think rivals the best sites on Komodo. But Bangka had like a couple of these mind blowing wow! sites (one of which I requested to go back every day for 5 days lol) while Komodo I can look back on my one week trip and identify at least 5-6 wow! sites I want to go back and do again. Bangka is nice for a week, Komodo I can see myself doing 2 weeks if I had the vacation days. Komodo is harder work for sure current wise. Both have pretty good variety when it comes to macro too- I was surprised I ended up using my macro lens for almost half my Komodo trip!

If you’re considering liveaboards the Mermaid I does 75min dives as standard instead of the usual 60. In 6 liveaboards this is the first time I’ve came across this and omg it’s so nice.

 

[drrich2]

I was surprised I ended up using my macro lens for almost half my Komodo trip!

Interesting statement I'd like to get some follow up on. In the Caribbean, Cozumel is a popular dive destination known for drift diving and features a good array of creatures, some quite small. I don't normally think of it as a 'macro destination,' because I (just a snap shooter) think of macro shooting as something often needing substantial time to study an area to find the subject, set up the shot (e.g.: narrow depth of field?), etc... I get the impression from posts on ScubaBoard macro enthusiasts often like to proceed slowly. Since Cozumel is mostly drift diving, it doesn't lend itself to that.

Now you indicated you dove Komodo, which if I've read correctly tends to be a more aggressive current destination than Cozumel, and you used your macro lens on almost half the dives.

So how did that work? Am I missing something? Was it 'sorta macro but not little bitty nudibranchs,' or what?

 

[matts1w]

Now you indicated you dove Komodo, which if I've read correctly tends to be a more aggressive current destination than Cozumel, and you used your macro lens on almost half the dives.

With the exception of the manta dives and Shotgun, many dives are spent in eddies between the current or kicking briefly into a modern current, hooking in, then drifting back to the lee side to hide from the current again. Other dives start in calm, pick up for a few minutes, then end back in calm and nothing is more significant than what one would feel in the Keys or Coz. When people speak of the incredible currents in Komodo, we ain't diving in them but often right next to them. Heck, one can sometimes look up and see a river of water racing by several meters away while easily hovering over a nudibranch.

 

[Mr.Poseidon]

I just returned from Komodo about a week ago. Like stated above, our Cruise Director confirmed Cannibal Rock was destroyed.

Regarding macro, I had the opportunity to dive South Komodo in 2019. Honestly, it was some of the best macro diving I’ve ever experienced (Thanks Dirtfarmer for all the educational posts over the years).

This year, we mostly dived Central/North Komodo. Macro was pretty much non existent, but marine life was great!