Misool or Triton Bay?

[Luko]

Alor has all the 3 kind of rinophia ,

Hello Paolo, sorry to contradict but Alor CANNOT have three kinds of Rhinopias.
Lacey Rhinopias (Rhinopias Aphanes) is a Pacific ocean rhinopias only present in PNG, New Caledonia, etc. Alor only has Eschmeyeri and Frondosa.

It's a pity the guides are not so experienced with Alami. I still think Alor Divers and La P'tite Kepa are the two best operations in Alor. La ptite Kepa more macro oriented and Alor divers more a mix of the two.
Other than that August is not the best month for macro in Alor, better months are either as I've been told May or November.

 

[paolobl65]

Yes Ludovic , you are right .
thanks

 

[calliejlong]

Aloha Paolo, Thanks so much for taking the time to answer all my questions. You gave me a lot to think about and I believe that the picture of the view from your room in Triton bay absolutely took my breath away! WOW! You definitely have me leaning towards Triton Bay. Just have to save my money and plan around taking my son out of school for a long trip to Indo (part of our deal is that he gets to spend about 8 days there surfing in Sumatra and then we spend about the same time diving somewhere together). Wish it didn't take so long to get over that way and that diving was good in summer instead!

 

[Dive Explore Indonesia]

Hey Calliejlong,

My 2 cents regarding Triton Bay and Alor:

Having been to both, the feeling is a bit different. Triton Bay is way more far and harder to reach than Alor which is just two flights away from Bali or Jakarta. However, the feeling when yout set foot in Kaimana and the 90 mn boat trip to Triton Bay Divers is Amazing... You can ask Jimmy or leeza to show you the "prehistoric" painting on the way which is pretty cool

The diving is amazing in both as previous people said, I was lucky enough to see the Wobbegong in Triton Bay but unfortunately missed the whales sharcks. In Alor you can see with a bit of luck some hammerheads, really wonderfull...

From Alor Divers you can also have the chance to see the whales migrating just in front of the resort... It's just ... wonderfull... (You also have a huge beach and no Muesin around Really nice house reef too, I don't know how it is for La Petite Képa and Alami, maybe they have a nice one too?

The feeling of peace and tranquility in both is extraordinary, and considering the remoteness of both, the level of comfort (even without 24h electricity in TTBD) is really impressive... Specially the food in Alor Divers

Hope that helps and feel free to ask if you have any questions!

Fred.

 

[calliejlong]

Fred - thanks so much for your response. Great to hear from someone who has been to both locations. I actually do have some questions for you...Between Triton bay and Alor - which place had the oddest nudibranchs you have seen before? I'm a nudi/macro freak! Also, how is the macro in Triton bay - is there much to be seen or is it a lot better in Alor? Maybe you could describe the diving differences in both locations? Thanks in advance, I appreciate your insight!

 

[calliejlong]

For everyone who have been to Alor or Triton Bay...has anyone needed to use or has used malaria meds for traveling in these two areas? Mosquitos love me but I hate to take more meds than needed. Just curious......

 

[Luko]

Alor, I didn't take anything.
I usually prefer anti mosquito sprays than tabs, since dengue or other mosquito borne diseases are also a risk. That said I don't remember having been bitten by mosquito at the resort.

 

[Dive Explore Indonesia]

Sorry for late reply ...
Diving wise , it is always difficult to compare 2 destinations based on 1 week diving...so to try to be as objective as possible i will have to rely also on the information i got from divers that have been to both places and to dive master that have been working the area. So speaking for underwater only :
Triton bay has tons of fishes, profusion of soft coral, great macro also high in number, the whale shark dive is a must if you are lucky they are here ( around 70% ) ...BUT because there is a big but , the visibility is not always great, and if you are unlucky you might dive a week in green water , of course if you like only macro this will be less a problem for you ...I’m more of blue water guy and i must say that i will have difficulty to answer your question about nudibranch. From what i remember i was not more impress in one place than another, but my feeling is that triton has more of them that Alor. It might be a question of season also.
Alor has also tons of fishes, great hard and soft coral and a great mix of macro / blue water dives. From dive master working there the best time is a week before full moon up to few days after .

 

[calliejlong]

Fred - thanks so much for giving me some more info about Triton Bay. Can I ask you one other question? Did you take anything for malaria or weren't you concerned about getting it there?

 

[Dive Explore Indonesia]

Hey Callie,

You're welcome

I don't take any tabs anywhere in Indonesia.

There's always a chance to have Dengue or Malaria but I like to live on the edge

More seriously, I think there's few places, if any, in SE Asia without Dengue / Malaria, so I personnaly never take anything.

I went to Triton Bay several times and on one occasion stayed one month sleeping in Hammock in the area, which was just mind blowing, and I was very surprised that there was actually not many moskito at all. I was camping, so outside at all times and had no problems with bugs. Maybe I was just lucky, it was in september / october and I had no rain for a month, so maybe that's why too.

However, I really don't want to give you a bad advice and feel guilty if you get sick afterwards, so it's really your call :/

Let me know if you have any other questions

Have a nice day!

Fred.