Pulau Weh - worth a stopover ?

[Luko]

Divingwise, I think it's waste of time. It's a profusion of green chainsaw corals and anthias, morays sometimes reef mantas and you get the picture. I haven't been much impressed by the macro neither, there are much better sites in Indonesia. There is one decent site which is called the canyons, down 35m on a profusion of gorgonians and fish, it's often beaten with currents

Accomodation and practicalwise, not many comfortable accoms : either you stay on the north part with the dive centres and you get basic lodging, or you're staying on the sandy east coast and it's a PITA with a 40mn ride to Iboih, but that's the price to pay for more comfortable accoms and decent food.
[Mod edit]

Would I come again, no way. Better spend your money in Alor knowing that it's the best season there and it can go rainy and windy in nov. in the Gulf (From what i was told by Weh locals, the best season for flat seas should be april to september, start and end of the year shoud be avoided).

For a comparison :
Raja Ampat > Alor >=Komodo > Maluku > =Bali >=N/Sulawesi > Weh

 

[chillyinCanada]

Divingwise, I think it's waste of time. It's a profusion of green chainsaw corals and anthias, morays sometimes reef mantas and you get the picture. I haven't been much impressed by the macro neither, there are much better sites in Indonesia. There is one decent site which is called the canyons, down 35m on a profusion of gorgonians and fish, it's often beaten with currents

Accomodation and practicalwise, not many comfortable accoms : either you stay on the north part with the dive centres and you get basic lodging, or you're staying on the sandy east coast and it's a PITA with a 40mn ride to Iboih, but that's the price to pay for more comfortable accoms and decent food.

Would I come again, no way. Better spend your money in Alor knwoing that it's the best season there and it can go rainy and windy in nov. in the Gulf (From what i was told by Weh locals, the best season for flat seas should be april to september, start and end of the year shoud be avoided).

For a comparison :
Raja Ampat > Alor >=Komodo > Maluku > =Bali >=N/Sulawesi > Weh

What is a chainsaw coral please? Photo?

 

[AlMitch]

@AlMitch thanks for your insight.
How would you compare the diving at Pulau Weh to the diving at Gili islands?

I have not been to the Gilli's. But from what friends have explained and from the reports here on SB I would imagine the diving would pretty much be on a par, with more turtles at the Gilli's and more eels at PW. The Gilli's certainly has a million more accom options. I have seriously considered going to the Gilli's to chill on the beach with the family and get the odd dive in. But honestly I do not think I will ever head back to PW. BUT I have been there 3 times so I can at least say "Been there done that!", so if you are like me and like to explore...then explore away.

 

[Luko]

What is a chainsaw coral please? Photo?

That's one from Weh. It's a Tubastrea kind, dark green, with apparent polyps cups on a branch, very hard and very slimy, hence the "chainsaw" nickname.

 

[Immeriswas]

Divingwise, I think it's waste of time. It's a profusion of green chainsaw corals and anthias, morays sometimes reef mantas and you get the picture. I haven't been much impressed by the macro neither, there are much better sites in Indonesia. There is one decent site which is called the canyons, down 35m on a profusion of gorgonians and fish, it's often beaten with currents

Accomodation and practicalwise, not many comfortable accoms : either you stay on the north part with the dive centres and you get basic lodging, or you're staying on the sandy east coast and it's a PITA with a 40mn ride to Iboih, but that's the price to pay for more comfortable accoms and decent food.
[Mod edit]

Would I come again, no way. Better spend your money in Alor knowing that it's the best season there and it can go rainy and windy in nov. in the Gulf (From what i was told by Weh locals, the best season for flat seas should be april to september, start and end of the year shoud be avoided).

For a comparison :
Raja Ampat > Alor >=Komodo > Maluku > =Bali >=N/Sulawesi > Weh

Thanks for your advise Luko !
Knowing that you are one with the most profound knowledge about diving in Indonesia I will change our plans.
Maybee not towards Alor , because its to far off our way, but just spent more time on the Phillipines our second stop.

 

[DownUnderwater Dan]

I have not been to the Gilli's. But from what friends have explained and from the reports here on SB I would imagine the diving would pretty much be on a par, with more turtles at the Gilli's and more eels at PW. The Gilli's certainly has a million more accom options. I have seriously considered going to the Gilli's to chill on the beach with the family and get the odd dive in. But honestly I do not think I will ever head back to PW. BUT I have been there 3 times so I can at least say "Been there done that!", so if you are like me and like to explore...then explore away.

Gilli's a beautiful place! But in terms of diving in my personal opinion, I rate it the lowest for the diving that I've done in Indonesia. On the other hand Southern Lombok@ around Belongas Bay, on a good day is up there with my best in terms of diving "exploring & adventure"...schooling hammerheads & rays, and beautiful sites

PW is a bit far & domestik airfares in Indo have pretty much doubled or tripled in the last 18 months, so I'll probably only go there if I'm around in that region again

But I don't think I'll be back to the Gilli's again. Chilling out & diving in Bali, Nusa Penida/Ceningan/Lembongan is 10X better for me

 

[Centrals]

Maybee not towards Alor , because its to far off our way, but just spent more time on the Phillipines our second stop.

Monster Divers · diving in Pulau Weh · Sumatra · Indonesia

I have dived and travelled in many places and never let anyone to change my plan!
Be your own judge.

 

[MomZo]

I've been there twice.
Without being the best diving destination in Indonesia, you can still have a great time underwater, especially on some dive sites such as Canyons, Batee Tokong or Arus Palee.

There is a season when big schools of devil rays and eagle rays are often seen, and a huge resident round ribbontail ray is haunting the house reef during night dives.

I did notice the reefs were getting worse (damages, bleaching...) between my 2 trips in 2013 and 2017.

If you decide to give it a try, go with Lumba Lumba Dive Center as they are on the island since the beginning of the diving industry and owns several big speedboats which can quickly go everywhere no matter the sea conditions. This is not true with the other dive ops so you can miss going on signatures dive sites because of the sea or other customer preferences... (I went with Bubble Diving the second time and even if they were nice, I regretted this choice because of their small boat)

Here is the video I made during my last diving trip to Pulau Weh:

 

[Immeriswas]

Thanks for sharing the video!
It shows better than any words , how it looks like underwater there.
But I must admitt that ,compared to the places like Siau, Halmahera or RA, the reefs , beside maybe the canyon, are not comparable in aspect of healthy corall and density of growth.

 

[AlMitch]

Thanks for sharing the video!
It shows better than any words , how it looks like underwater there.
But I must admitt that ,compared to the places like Siau, Halmahera or RA, the reefs , beside maybe the canyon, are not comparable in aspect of healthy corall and density of growth.

Yup pretty much what we said!!