bshort4
Contributor
71 year old male who is retired and on a somewhat limited budget. Believe me I like all the amenities that would come with a more expensive liveaboard boat--nice cabin, a/c, big soft bed etc. But my choice was pick a local budget liveaboard I can afford and dive in Komodo or stay home and watch YouTube.The thought of being on a backpacker type boat with a lot of 20 something year old's that I share no life experiences or interest with was something I wasn't looking forward to. But screw it--I'm going to Komodo to dive! The reality--I couldn't have been more wrong in my thinking and perceptions if I tried---those 20 year old "kids" and 30 year old "kids" were some of the best fun I've had diving in years--I thoroughly enjoyed their company and have made some new friends--it's good to know even a old fart can learn new things once in awhile and have his eyes opened to new experiences.
The company: Uber Scuba liveaboard Amalia. I read trip reports on TripAdvisor--yes I use TripAdvisor--read reports on many dive shops in Labuan Bajo. I contacted six or seven different dive ops asking for information etc. This all happened about six months from when I had planned to go. It was going to be in combination with a trip to the Philippines after Komodo so I was looking for certain dates. Several shops couldn't promise me they would go out if they didn't have enough bodies to make it worth their time--scratched them from the list. Uber ticked all the boxes and always replied fast to my questions and the dates all lined up great. My choices were a 7 day/6 night trip or 4day/3night trip. Not knowing if I could handle the longer trip I went with the 4 day trip. But I wanted to do more diving there so I scheduled two days of three dive day trips after the liveaboard also with Uber---more on that later. The cost of the 4 day trip (10 dives) was $815 US dollars--minus $10 a day if you had your own equipment which I did. Plus the National Park fees that had to be paid once you got there only in the local currency. The park fees went up before my trip started and Uber contacted me to let me know the new prices---275,000 IDR a day (approx. $18). They required a 40% deposit paid through PayPal and the rest when you arrived--I paid the balance in US dollars--only $100 and $50 dollar bills accepted. All my dealings with Ubers office were great and professional and timely.
Getting there: Flew United to LA, Eva air to Taiwan with a four hour layover then direct to Bali. My return flight would be out of Manila to Colorado so I had to book a separate flight on Cebu Pacific from Bali to Manila. I spent the night in Bali at the Harris Hotel Turban which was only about three blocks from the airport---the hotel picked me up for free and transported me to the hotel and back to the airport the next morning. Basic hotel but a good bed and good a/c for $35 a night---I used them again when I came back from Komodo before flying on to the Philippines.From Bali I flew Garuda to Labuan Bajo (booked through Nusatrips). I knew they gave a better luggage allowance for dive gear--no problems. But flew Nam air on the return to Bali and they had a 20 kilo limit on checked luggage and mine was 3 kilos over but they said nothing and didn't charge me--they never weighed the carry-on. The Nam air flight was three hours late leaving and I thought it would be cancelled--Nam air was about $45 cheaper than Garuda but if I made the trip again I think I'd just use Garuda and be done with it. Taxi from the airport to my hotel was 50,000 IDR--it seems all taxi rides are the same price no matter where you go. I stayed the night at the Komodo Lodge before starting the liveaboard. Komodo Lodge was a bad choice--don't do it! Bad bed, bad a/c and bad free breakfast--there are better choices out there for about the same price.
Part Two to follow----
The company: Uber Scuba liveaboard Amalia. I read trip reports on TripAdvisor--yes I use TripAdvisor--read reports on many dive shops in Labuan Bajo. I contacted six or seven different dive ops asking for information etc. This all happened about six months from when I had planned to go. It was going to be in combination with a trip to the Philippines after Komodo so I was looking for certain dates. Several shops couldn't promise me they would go out if they didn't have enough bodies to make it worth their time--scratched them from the list. Uber ticked all the boxes and always replied fast to my questions and the dates all lined up great. My choices were a 7 day/6 night trip or 4day/3night trip. Not knowing if I could handle the longer trip I went with the 4 day trip. But I wanted to do more diving there so I scheduled two days of three dive day trips after the liveaboard also with Uber---more on that later. The cost of the 4 day trip (10 dives) was $815 US dollars--minus $10 a day if you had your own equipment which I did. Plus the National Park fees that had to be paid once you got there only in the local currency. The park fees went up before my trip started and Uber contacted me to let me know the new prices---275,000 IDR a day (approx. $18). They required a 40% deposit paid through PayPal and the rest when you arrived--I paid the balance in US dollars--only $100 and $50 dollar bills accepted. All my dealings with Ubers office were great and professional and timely.
Getting there: Flew United to LA, Eva air to Taiwan with a four hour layover then direct to Bali. My return flight would be out of Manila to Colorado so I had to book a separate flight on Cebu Pacific from Bali to Manila. I spent the night in Bali at the Harris Hotel Turban which was only about three blocks from the airport---the hotel picked me up for free and transported me to the hotel and back to the airport the next morning. Basic hotel but a good bed and good a/c for $35 a night---I used them again when I came back from Komodo before flying on to the Philippines.From Bali I flew Garuda to Labuan Bajo (booked through Nusatrips). I knew they gave a better luggage allowance for dive gear--no problems. But flew Nam air on the return to Bali and they had a 20 kilo limit on checked luggage and mine was 3 kilos over but they said nothing and didn't charge me--they never weighed the carry-on. The Nam air flight was three hours late leaving and I thought it would be cancelled--Nam air was about $45 cheaper than Garuda but if I made the trip again I think I'd just use Garuda and be done with it. Taxi from the airport to my hotel was 50,000 IDR--it seems all taxi rides are the same price no matter where you go. I stayed the night at the Komodo Lodge before starting the liveaboard. Komodo Lodge was a bad choice--don't do it! Bad bed, bad a/c and bad free breakfast--there are better choices out there for about the same price.
Part Two to follow----
