Need a little help picking a destination for our 1st trip to other side of the world

[Centrals]

Travelling in Indonesia is never easy.
Take a look at the Visayas Region in Philippines which covers Apo Island, Bohol, Dumaguete, Malapascua, Moalboal and Southern Leyte etc. Bus and ferry will cover them all. Language is never an issue, can't say the same in Indonesia.

 

[EL Pistoffo]

From the discussions I've looked over, Bali, Komodo, Bangka, Bunaken, Raja Ampat seem to be the ones that stick with me the most. Considering our group, 3 of us are divers and 1 that is not. There may also be a child with us. Budget is going to be an issue as well so I think live-aboards my be out of the picture. That might factor into our picks. Which of these places, or others, could we hit up for dives without live-aboards or very expensive resorts? I'm pretty damn sure that I will plan a future return trip geared specifically for live-aboard/diving with larger budget, but I gotta take this cheap flying offer when it comes.

 

[rakay]

We have done Indonesia every year since 2006. Sometimes twice in the same year. Just keep going back.
First: you need to look at flights that are available to get to where you are planning to go. Raja Ampat is difficult and expensive just for flight. The flight from Jakarta to Sorong just ran us about $500US each person. So you will run up a bill just from the flights.
Bali is easier to get to from the US. If you so Bunaken (wall diving) and/or Lembeh (muck and macro diving), you can get there flying from Singapore to Manado.
Second: Pick your dive resort.
We have been to Bali, Bunaken, Wakatobi X 2, Lembeh X 2, Lembognan, Sipidan and now heading off to Raja Ampat. Wakatobi is very expensive.
You can PM me if you want for more details. I usually book all of our flights and have done many resorts on my own. Most resorts have email and are very responsive.