Manado or Komodo

[anovitske]

I have about a week available for diving and need to decided which location. It is possible I'll be able to do the other at some point (but not a definate). Please help! Thank you.

 

[AlanWald]

Where are you coming from? Since you have a short time, you need to make sure that don't spend too much time getting to your dive destination. If you choose the Manado area some dive operations have both Bunaken side operations and Lembeh operations. If not they may still be able to coordinate transfer from a Bunaken side Resort to a Lembeh side resort. You can easily get to the Manado area on Silk Air from Singapore. I typically fly Singapore Air from LAX to Singapore, overnight there and take the Singapore Airline subsidiary Silk air direct to Manado.



I do not know about Komodo. You will need to fly from Bali to get to the port where the dive operations are based (day trip or liveaboard)

 

[Big fish63]

what are you interested in?
if you just want macro go to bunaken for a few days then over to lembeh.
if you want both big stuff and macro go to komodo.

if you are arriving from outside of asia you will probably have to go to dps first then get a flight to manado or bima/laubon bajo depending where you choose...

i've been to bunaken and komodo before. i will certainly be returning to komodo, i can't wait for that day. i won't bother going back to bunaken.

 

[kilo_fox]

i've been to bunaken and komodo before. i will certainly be returning to komodo, i can't wait for that day. i won't bother going back to bunaken.

I couldn't have said it better..
+1 vote for Komodo.

 

[anovitske]

Thank you everybody. Actually looks like I'll have an opportunity to both. Going to Komodo this week, but have friends that should be still kicking around Manado in a couple weeks after I finish up a trip to Papua. (In Indonesia for 2 months.)

 

[kilo_fox]

Thank you everybody. Actually looks like I'll have an opportunity to both. Going to Komodo this week, but have friends that should be still kicking around Manado in a couple weeks after I finish up a trip to Papua. (In Indonesia for 2 months.)

that's even better!

If you like muck diving, it might be an idea to see if you could do a few dives in Lembeh (also in North Sulawesi, close to Manado), in fact there is a few dive shops that have a base in both Bunaken and Lembeh, which makes the transfer issue a very easy one..

Enjoy Indonesia, it's a great place.. :cool2:

 

[Big fish63]

was it hard to get a 2 month visa? how much extra was it?

 

[AlanWald]

If you live in a city that has an Indonesian Consulate (like Los Angeles) it should be easy to get to a sixty day visa.
Consulate General of Republic of Indonesia - Los Angeles - Consular/Immigration is the LA Consulate's web site

From that site:
Visitor's Visa (for Tourists, Business, Social-Cultural, Journalist, Research) - Extendable : Visitor’s Visas are given to Regular Passport holders and issued to applicant who visits Indonesia with the purpose of directly related to Tourism, Business, Social-Cultural, Journalist and Research for up to 60 days. (Single/Multiple) Visitors Visa US$ 45.00 Can take three business days if you drop it off and pick it up in person Located on Wilshire Blvd, just west of downtown Los Angeles.
Requirements
Valid Passport (at least 6 months beyond entry date/passport expiration date)
Two recent color passport size photograph
Copy of Itinerary/Return or onward ticket
For non-US Citizens : copy of valid Green Card (please show the original)/ Valid US Working Visa/Employment Authorization
Guarantee Letter from sponsor or employer describing the purpose of the visit and guaranting all transportation and living expenses that willincur in Indonesia / copy of Supporting Letter
(you would have to ask exactly what they want, maybe a letter from the Dive Resort saying that you have booked for a certain time period)
Two Visa Application Form (can be found at the bottom of the actual web page)
Receipt payment from Cashier