Komodo water temps in Central/South Central/South sites in late Sept/early Oct?

[outofofficebrb]

Hi, everyone.

We are heading on our first teaser LOB for 3 nights, 4 days at the end of September, early October in Komodo and are headed to the central to southern areas. We are trying to figure out the wetsuit game plan...

My options are a 5mm full, 3mm full, 6/5/3 hooded vest, and gloves. I don't think I want or need the 8/7 semi dry. i'm a warm water whimp and I'm usually in a 3mm full and happy at 85-90F.

What will the temperatures be like in late September/early October?

Thank you!

 

[jcclink]

Sea water temperature Komodo today, yesterday and tomorrow. Komodo Pulau Komodo sea surface temperature now. Komodo average monthly sea temperatures. Asia Indonesia.
Check here for average temps in the area. There are a few areas in Komodo that are colder then normal, like north of the Natl Park jetty (Pink Beach I think). Normally a new 3-5 mm is adequate. (High stretch neoprene takes a permanent compression after a couple of weeks diving, & is not as warm as new. My experience has been a 5mm compresses to a 3mm.) Take a 3mm vest just in case.

 

[dirtfarmer]

I use a 3mm full with a vest and cap. Sometimes I use the cap and sometimes I dont. I like the cap as it gives me a lot of control to regulate my comfort. I've used a 5mm there before and in the north have been too hot. The south can be quite a few degrees cooler. Wish I had temp reading for you but my the temp on my computer hasn't worked for years.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Thank you to both of you for the info! I really appreciate it.

If anyone else has feedback, info, tips....it is still welcome. The more data points for me, the better. Thanks!

 

[Dan]

It's in the equatorial zone so it shouldn't vary too much all year. It'll be from 80 to 84F. During rainy season (October-April) may be a couple degrees cooler than the dry season (April-October). As dirtfarmer says, the south is a bit cooler than the north since it faces the Indian Ocean. Except for Crystal Bay, Bali, where the temperature could be as low as 68F (20C) in July due high current from Australian winter Indian Ocean to Java Sea flowing through Lombok Strait, I'm fine with 3mm w/o hood all year long in Indonesia, including in the south Komodo, but everyone has different tolerance with water temperature. So, I give you the exact temperature readings during my 3 visits there.

Browsing through my logbooks, just the lower (deeper) end of temperature readings, since you seem to be more concern of:
Jun 2008: Pink Beach 82F, Manta Alley 80F, Loh Namu 80F
Dec 2012: Cannibal Rock 82F, Yellow Texas Wall 82F, Torpedo Rock 81F, Crynoid Wall 81F, Tanjung Lehoksera 81F, Damar 80F, Pink Beach 81F
Aug 2014: Wanilu 80F, Yellow Texas Wall 78F, Cannibal Rock 76F, Torpedo Alley 75F, Manta Alley 75F, Pink Beach 77F

Enjoy the trip!

 

[Dan]

Sea water temperature Komodo today, yesterday and tomorrow. Komodo Pulau Komodo sea surface temperature now. Komodo average monthly sea temperatures. Asia Indonesia.
Check here for average temps in the area. There are a few areas in Komodo that are colder then normal, like north of the Natl Park jetty (Pink Beach I think). Normally a new 3-5 mm is adequate. (High stretch neoprene takes a permanent compression after a couple of weeks diving, & is not as warm as new. My experience has been a 5mm compresses to a 3mm.) Take a 3mm vest just in case.

My 11 years old 3mm full wetsuit by now is probably compressed to 1 mm with few holes here & there, but it's still comfortable with South Komodo in the last time there, 2 years ago down to mid 70'sF.

 

[Lorenzoid]

My wife and I did one of those shorter Komodo liveaboards, too, though I can't recall the time of year. The few dive sites that we had heard could be 75-77F prompted us warm-water wimps to bring our 5/4 suits. The liveaboard made a big point of letting us customers know in advance that there could be a few chilly dives and to bring appropriate suits. As it turned out, there was exactly ONE dive on which our computers registered under 80F and we felt a slight chill and were thankful we had the 5/4s instead of our more typical 3/2s. In hindsight, a 3/2 would have been fine for this trip. But again, I don't remember what time of year it was.

By the way, which liveaboard did you choose? We did the Black Manta and loved it.

 

[outofofficebrb]

My wife and I did one of those shorter Komodo liveaboards, too, though I can't recall the time of year. The few dive sites that we had heard could be 75-77F prompted us warm-water wimps to bring our 5/4 suits. The liveaboard made a big point of letting us customers know in advance that there could be a few chilly dives and to bring appropriate suits. As it turned out, there was exactly ONE dive on which our computers registered under 80F and we felt a slight chill and were thankful we had the 5/4s instead of our more typical 3/2s. In hindsight, a 3/2 would have been fine for this trip. But again, I don't remember what time of year it was.

By the way, which liveaboard did you choose? We did the Black Manta and loved it.

We're going through Komodo Dive Center and going with the Mastro Aldo. This one was on a whim on the high recommendation of a lot of members. I wasn't going to do a LOB in the area until you all convinced me otherwise. Already dropping the $ for Spirit of Freedom in October so this was my middle ground....Doing it without sticker shock. My minimum requirement was AC and private rooms...I got a bonus and got private bathroom as well!

I contacted the dive shop/LOB folks directly and they responded with a 24C (75F)-30C (86F) range. At 22C (72F) I'm happy in a 7mm with hood....Haha. At 30C (86F...okay, even 89 or 90F) I am happy in a 3mm. So 24-30C tells me I should either bring a 5mm full or a 3mm full with hooded vest and then bring the gloves just in case. I don't think I'll need the 5mm with hooded vest..................

The itinerary is supposed to be central, south central or south areas so it's a bit chillier than the north. Thoughts?

 

[dirtfarmer]

The itinerary is supposed to be central, south central or south areas so it's a bit chillier than the north. Thoughts?

Your in for a treat, I like the sites in the central and south the best. At this time of year the colder water is in the south. The best sites are there also. Eagle Point is my favorite. Even more than Cannibal Rock which is world renowned.
Torpedo Alley is a fantastic muck dive. All three are in Horseshoe Bay.
Then you have Manta Alley, which is currently producing good manta action. Pink Beach is a great site also. Horseshoe Bay is as far south as you get. The Padar area has some great sites also. Three Sisters is three pinnacles that are covered with life. Then as you get to the Central Area the most popular site is Manta Point.
I like the central area a lot too it has some really great sites. I can't remember most of there names as they aren't in English and I don't keep a proper logbook.
I love Komodo for its mix of big stuff and macro. ( I think that Komodo has better macro than Raja Ampat).

I hope you have a great trip, right now I'm so excited for my trip in Nov, Komodo is awesome and can produce lots of epic dives.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Raja Ampat didn't blow my mind with the macro either. It was most everything else.