New diver spending 5 weeks in Indonesia...yeah!

[Sebastien Major]

@Centrals : I will need to go to the Indonesian embassy to get my VISA before I leave but should not be any problem. I have all the paperwork and requirements in order. I can't apply more than 30 days in advance though

 

[FindingMenno]

So... here's the plan so far, started to send a couple of emails for diving and accomodations :

Day 1-3 Flight Canada-Bali
Day 3-9 - Padang Bai or Ahmed, not sure yet...
Day 9-14 - Nusa Lembongan
Day 15 - Flight Bali-Manado
Day 15-22 - Bangka
Day 22-27 - Lembeh
Day 27-33 - Bunaken
Day 34 - Flight Manado-Bali
Day 35 - Flight Bali-Canada

Does that make any sense?

Thx again guys, you are helping a lot!

Cheers.

Sebastien.

First of all, 5 weeks in Indo is going to be awesome!

For Bali diving, I really liked Nusa Lembongan (best diving in Bali IMO) and would certainly recommend a few days there. From a diving perspective, I would however recommend swapping Padang Bai / Amed for Komodo. It is just a cheap short flight away at that point, and the diving is IMO so much better. Currents are manageable if you do the dives correctly, and any decent dive center and guide will make sure they do it safely.
If you want to do Amed/Liberty or Padang Bai area, you could always do that as a (longish) day trip with any dive shop in Sanur. Also Amed is quite a bit of muck diving, and you'd already going to do that (better) in Lembeh.

Another option to throw in the mix, by your time a lot of liveaboards are relocating from Raja to Komodo, and do that as a longer 'expedition' style trip with some awesome diving.

Realize I'm not helping narrowing down your options here, but Indo has so much to offer!

 

[outofofficebrb]

I love this thread. I’m so excited for the OP. If I had 5 weeks in Indo to dive all in one chunk, I’d be screaming with joy into my pillow, Lilo-style.

 

[Luko]

Sebastien you can check all theses destination into my Flickr gallery.
I have been a regular diver in Indonesia 3-5 weeks a year for 15 years, particularly Bali.

So... here's the plan so far, started to send a couple of emails for diving and accomodations :

Day 1-3 Flight Canada-Bali
Day 3-9 - Padang Bai or Ahmed, not sure yet...
Day 9-14 - Nusa Lembongan

You can access Nusa Penida from Padang Bai, Geko divers provides daytrips with such schedules that you're
early morning underwater to be the first boat on the most popular spots, thas to their powerful speedboat. I don't believe anymore that it's necassary to stay on Nusa Lembongan which has lost a lot of its quaint charm.
I would suggest 5 days in Padang Bai then move to Tulamben for 3 days, which I take as a rival to Lembeh for small critters when you dive with a good private guide (Liberty dive centers provide some of the best guides).
I don't think Amed is worth the dive.

Instead you shoud really hit the sky after day 10 and fly to Labuan Bajo for superb diving in Komodo NP : try Dragon Dive Komodo, they can provide both hostel or hotel type of accomodation and a speedboat to go to fast to the further sites.
You'll be back on day 16 then reconnect to your N/Sulawesi trip :

Day 15 - Flight Bali-Manado
Day 15-22 - Bangka
Day 22-27 - Lembeh
Day 27-33 - Bunaken
Day 34 - Flight Manado-Bali
Day 35 - Flight Bali-Canada

However if you are the more adventurous type of traveler, I would highly recommand going to Maluku at this season :.I find 3 weeks diving N./sulawesi a little long (esp Bunaken!!)

 

[Lorenzoid]

Another leg of your trip of Bunaken combined with Lembeh might be a good choice? Bunaken is mostly walls which you would most likely enjoy. But Lembeh might not be up your alley. Lembeh is mostly about muck/macro critter diving. Some divers like me Love muck/macro others find it uninteresting. You might be following you guide and saying to yourself this looks like a barren boring bunch of black sand, and now he is showing me some tiny stupid critter i can hardly see. I would recommend watching some videos of Lembeh before you head there. In Lembeh other activities are limited as you are at a dive resort and generally isolated there, on Bunaken you can walk all over the island. If muck don't seem apealing it might be best to skip Bunaken/Lembeh and get yourself to Komodo.

I do not agree with this.The last 16 years we had many guests with very little dive experience which really fell in love with Lembeh Strait. I am sure that other resorts here have the same experience. These new divers liked it very much to see the seahorses and all other beautiful creatures at their own pace. Our style of diving (2 guests 1 guide) makes it extra comfortable. Totally different the drift dives within a large group.

I'll add that to get the most out of Lembeh, one needs to have the skill to remain fairly motionless over whatever one is observing, AND have the ability to observe it. I am not a photographer, but I had a high-quality underwater magnifier that I was often able to hold very close to some tiny animal the size of a pinhead that the divemaster would point to. It also takes patience. I am the type of diver who could spend an hour hovering over a few square meters of bottom harboring little creatures and have a good time. Lembeh was my first muck experience, and I LOVED it. Some divers like to swim a lot and see things as they swim. They get antsy if they are not swimming. Lembeh is all about planting oneself in one area, and taking a good long look once something to look at has been spotted. Restless people likely won't enjoy it.

 

[billt4sf]

@Luko and @Menno - you are really sending a RANK NEW diver, with 0 - 25 dives, to Komodo?

REALLY?

- Bill

 

[outofofficebrb]

I'll add that to get the most out of Lembeh, one needs to have the skill to remain fairly motionless over whatever one is observing, AND have the ability to observe it. I am not a photographer, but I had a high-quality underwater magnifier that I was often able to hold very close to some tiny animal the size of a pinhead that the divemaster would point to. It also takes patience. I am the type of diver who could spend an hour hovering over a few square meters of bottom harboring little creatures and have a good time. Lembeh was my first muck experience, and I LOVED it. Some divers like to swim a lot and see things as they swim. They get antsy if they are not swimming. Lembeh is all about planting oneself in one area, and taking a good long look once something to look at has been spotted. Restless people likely won't enjoy it.

I wholeheartedly agree on this. My first muck diving experience was also in Lembeh this past October. I surprisingly loved it more than I thought I would. Honestly, I don't think I would have appreciated it earlier on in my dive "career" if you will....I think as I dive more, I appreciate macro more and more. When I first started diving, it was about the fish, the coral and sponges, the pelagics, the big stuff. Part of it is, my buoyancy wasn't dialed yet and I was still fussing with diving and it wasn't as natural so naturally, the bigger stuff caught my attention. I still love it now and still prefer it...don't get me wrong. It is definitely not for everyone.

Not only should your buoyancy be dialed, but your finning techniques should be good as well because that's one way to be an unpopular diver and one that no one wants to dive with if you're silting everyone out, especially the photographers. Think frog kick especially when you're at the bottom...reverse frogs...helicopters....anything that keeps your fins away from the sandy bottom. No flutter kicks!

 

[outofofficebrb]

@Luko and @Menno - you are really sending a RANK NEW diver, with 0 - 25 dives, to Komodo?

REALLY?

- Bill

I was a bit hesitant to recommend Komodo for this reason because of the ripping currents, etc. With that said, the OP will have more dives under their belt after their first week or two in Indonesia and I don't think it's necessarily out of the question. Granted, I think it's really important that the OP choose their operator and DM carefully because I am a strong believer in having a very experienced DM in Komodo who is familiar with the park. Their ability (or inability) to watch currents and tides can change a dive by picking it upside down and shaking it, thus turning it into a complete nightmare.

I went to Komodo when I was a relatively new diver. I'll have to double check but I want to say high 20's, low 30's in dives? However, mostof my dives previous to that were either in cold water with low viz or drift dives. I had an amazing time. I had a great DM and dive shop that I would wholeheartedly recommend (Komodo Dive Center) on the Mastro Aldo liveaboard. Only the OP will know what's within their comfort level. Maybe it's a call they make once they are in Indonesia and have been diving for a bit.

I know it's definitely a not miss because of how beautiful the diving is there but again, YMMV and use caution!

 

[dirtfarmer]

@Luko and @Menno - you are really sending a RANK NEW diver, with 0 - 25 dives, to Komodo?

REALLY?

- Bill

I started it.
OP says they are comfortable underwater, and I advised to go to Gillis do AOW get some more experience, get baptized to current at Lembongan then head to Komodo. I'm assuming the OP is youngish and somewhat fit.
Komodo these days is filled with rank new divers.

 

[JRM-TX]

Hi Sebastien,

Your itinerary looks good to me. The flights and transfers will be easy, and you'll get a good variety of different dive types. Dive quality in Indonesia ranges from great to awesome.

OOO-BRB said it well, "love this thread. I’m so excited for the OP. If I had 5 weeks in Indo to dive all in one chunk, I’d be screaming with joy into my pillow, Lilo-style. ". It's all good, there aren't really any bad choices, it's just what do you want to see. After this, you can decide if the next trip is a Komodo liveaboard or a mellow resort somewhere.

The people on this board are great, helped me figure out my upcoming liveaboard to Raja Ampat. In past threads, some people love Bunaken and think Lembeh is boring, for others vice versa. Bali is a great mix of fun above & below water.

For Lembeh, I'll give another shout out for DLL run by Rob / Indah. Went diving with him in late 90's before they bought the land and built the resort out on Lembeh Island, and then stayed at their resort maybe 3 times when it was fairly new. It's a bit isolated, but an exceptionally pretty location on a hilly peninsula with water on both sides. Their house reef is over-run by mandarin fish. Look at the pictures on their website, that's exactly what it's like.

Have fun, am very excited for you.