October trip - Tioman or TARP ?

[C-fan]

Hi all,

I'd like to add a few dives to my log in october, but I'm hesitating between Tioman and TARP, can you cast your vote for one or the other ?

Please consider the weather/visibility at that time of year in your vote, and feel free to elaborate.

With regard to fish action I like big and small and all shapes and colours so not really an issue.

Thanks

PS : good news, there seems to be water on the moon!

 

[Bronson]

Well it depends where you are coming from. Both are the same with no big fish as they are being eaten tonight. If you are in KK anyway than TARP. If you are in Singapore or KL than Tioman . both before mid november with the monsoons rolling in the place gets blown out.

 

[Bronson]

By the way, check out Waikiki.com -- Hawaii's Brand -- Waikiki Activities - Waikiki Dining - Waikiki Attractions - Waikiki Events - Waikiki Discounts - Waikiki Hotels and Resorts - Waikiki Shopping - Waikiki Aloha to the World -- Gateway for Waikiki Hawaii and ask for Stella for her to give you ideas. I use them alot. If you want a thrill try Welcome to Whitemanta.com for a weekend liveaboard for week trips from Singapore.

 

[Bronson]

sorry wrong Waikiki. Try Singapore PADI Scuba Diving Centre:.Waikiki Dive Centre:.Five star Training Agency:.Scuba Equipment Retailer:.Deepoutdoors:.Tilos:.Henderson:.Camaro:.Mares:.Dacor:.Sherwood:.Tusa:.Bare:.Mask based in singapore. i used them for Tioman this past weekend.

 

[Zippsy]

I have only been to TARP during the off season but I've have hundreds of dives around Tioman. I'd say the diving in the two places is fairly similar with maybe a better shance for bigger things or deeper dives in Tioman. The difference is most notable topside. Tioman is a lovely tropical island with a vast variety of places to stay. You can get cheap bunks to stunning spas. You can have the beach bum life or be pampered next to a pool. At TARP, you could stay in KK and enjoy all the charm and excitement of that city. As Bronson said, it also depends heavily on where you happen to be. If I was in Borneo, I would not fly to Singapore / KL just to go to Tioman. If I was in Singapore / KL, I might go to KK but not if it was only for the diving at TARP.

 

[C-fan]

I'm in Singapore and don't have any leave left so I can only do a strict 2-day week-end trip.
Tioman is probably a bit nicer but more of a pain to get to.
Dived Tioman once last year but wouldn't mind giving it another go.
Haven't done TARP yet even though I've been to KK (and liked it).
I was actually looking at Waikiki, how was your trip with them ?

Thanks guys

 

[Zippsy]

If you live in Singapore and can only go on weekend trips, I'd stick to Tioman or Aur or someplace the live-aboards out of Singapore go to. If you fly to KK on Friday night, you can do maybe 3 dives on Saturday but then have to go sight-seeing the rest of the weekend while off-gassing before the flight home on Sunday. For trips to Tioman / Aur / Anambas, you get 4 dives on Saturday and 2 on Sunday before getting back at a reasonable time.

Your options range from budget trips (bus up to Mersing, midnight or dawn transfer to the island, immigration / customs fun, 4 to a room shack, bumboat) to luxurious (LOB directly out of Singapore with ensuite 2 person cabins). The LOB's are usually more expensive but also go to places that are not visited by island based boats.

I have not dived with Waikiki but I am sure they can at least provide the same budget service that all the other shops do. They have been around for quite a while and are one of the more established and bigger outfits.

 

[C-fan]

Seems like white and black mantas do three-day trips from SG, so not an option for now...

Tioman with SG dive centre looks like the best option for my end-of-season bubble fix.

Bronson and Zippsy thanks for giving your opinion on this delicate matter (yeah right) !

 

[Zippsy]

The White and Black Manta and the Samudera Quest usually leave Friday evening and return Sunday evening, just like all the local dive shop trips. When there is a national holiday near the weekend, they usually add that in to make it a three day weekend.

 

[C-fan]

You're right I had only checked the weekend of 17/18 October.

For some reason (could be deepavali, but the 19/10 is not a holiday) they're doing three days for that weekend (coming back monday night).