FairyBasset
Contributor
I just got back from a whirlwind business tour of Asia, which left me in Indonesia over a weekend - with enough time either side of flights to get myself underwater!
Thanks to some recommendations I received here on Scubaboard, I managed to book myself a quick dive trip just outside of Jakarta on the 1000 Islands (Pulau Seribu), at Putri Island. I booked through Kristal Klear, who offer different trips each weekend:
Kristal Klear Dive Shop in Jakarta, Indonesia
Kristal Klear are basically almost like a tour operator, they organise your gear, rooms etc, but they do not have a DC out at Putri. I think the Instructor (Andi, very nice Indonesian guy) works for them though, as he seemed to be doing open water exams with KK students.
We left Ancol harbour on Saturday morning at around 8am, arriving an hour and a half later a Putri. It was really sad to see the brown (rather than blue) sea around Jakarta and the amount of rubbish floating in the open water. It does get better the further out you go, but even at Putri, on the far outskirts of Pulau Seribu, there is still so much junk floating around.
We couldnt check into the rooms on arrival - check in wasnt til 1pm. So we had to leave all our gear in an open room, which was a bit concerning, but apparently they put a guard infront of it (!).
So... our first dive was about half an hour after arriving on Putri!
Dive site was Mata Hari, on an island close by.
Water was 30°c, medium viz. I was buddied up with a really nice lady and we dived alone with no guide.
Basically it was a drift dive along the reef and we were picked up by the launch at the end of our dive. The current was steady but not particularly strong.
Parts of reef were pretty broken and dead, but parts of it were really nice.
Saw plenty of things, from crown of thorns to nudibranches, lots of baby sponges growing in beautiful colours, some box fish etc. No shoals of fish though.
Got back in time for the buffet lunch. It was ok - it tasted better than it looked - thank God - as it looked AWFUL!!! Every meal was similar from that aspect... dont come here expecting a gourmet Indonesian food experience! It was nice to see the big monitor lizards guarding the entrance to the restaurant!! There was some other interesting wildlife on the island too. They also have some bizarre aquariums with enormous sweet-water fish... not sure why really!
Had to skip the afternoon dive as urgently needed some sleep! I had paid for a single room. The room was very big, the bed was huge and extremely comfortable, bathroom was basic but fine. There was TV and aircon. It wasnt luxurious, but it was clean and comfortable and perfectly OK if you are not looking for something glamourous.
Did 2 dives on Sunday. First was a drift dive most of the way around a small island off Putri. The current was really strong, so speeding was great fun! The reef there was good, saw plenty of stuff from clownfish, starfish, nice sponges and corals etc. The viz was fine, water was 30° and so it was a great dive.
2nd dive was off the pier at Putri. They have sunk some old aquarium structures to make an artificial reef which was teaming with fish and had plenty of coral growing on it. The water was pretty murky here, but the artificial reef was really nice.
We left at around 2pm to come back to Jakarta, after another "delicious" lunch!
All in all: The trip was (as we had already been told) very expensive for what it was.
I paid 3.4 mio rupiah for the trip, single room supplement, food, diving plus gear rental (= circa 300 EURO / 380 USD). The accommodation and food was average. The diving was pretty nice, but definitely not the best you will see in the region. I was told that a company called Divemasters in Jakarta does the same trip for quite a bit less money.
However... I was on a business trip, so it was the perfect way to relax over the weekend, as any day diving is better than a day in meetings or on a plane! So I would recommend if you are in the same situation I was in, to do a weekend trip with Kristal Klear. Its far better than wandering the shopping malls or catching up on emails in your hotel room!!
Happy Diving!
:balloons:
Thanks to some recommendations I received here on Scubaboard, I managed to book myself a quick dive trip just outside of Jakarta on the 1000 Islands (Pulau Seribu), at Putri Island. I booked through Kristal Klear, who offer different trips each weekend:
Kristal Klear Dive Shop in Jakarta, Indonesia
Kristal Klear are basically almost like a tour operator, they organise your gear, rooms etc, but they do not have a DC out at Putri. I think the Instructor (Andi, very nice Indonesian guy) works for them though, as he seemed to be doing open water exams with KK students.
We left Ancol harbour on Saturday morning at around 8am, arriving an hour and a half later a Putri. It was really sad to see the brown (rather than blue) sea around Jakarta and the amount of rubbish floating in the open water. It does get better the further out you go, but even at Putri, on the far outskirts of Pulau Seribu, there is still so much junk floating around.
We couldnt check into the rooms on arrival - check in wasnt til 1pm. So we had to leave all our gear in an open room, which was a bit concerning, but apparently they put a guard infront of it (!).
So... our first dive was about half an hour after arriving on Putri!
Dive site was Mata Hari, on an island close by.
Water was 30°c, medium viz. I was buddied up with a really nice lady and we dived alone with no guide.
Basically it was a drift dive along the reef and we were picked up by the launch at the end of our dive. The current was steady but not particularly strong.
Parts of reef were pretty broken and dead, but parts of it were really nice.
Saw plenty of things, from crown of thorns to nudibranches, lots of baby sponges growing in beautiful colours, some box fish etc. No shoals of fish though.
Got back in time for the buffet lunch. It was ok - it tasted better than it looked - thank God - as it looked AWFUL!!! Every meal was similar from that aspect... dont come here expecting a gourmet Indonesian food experience! It was nice to see the big monitor lizards guarding the entrance to the restaurant!! There was some other interesting wildlife on the island too. They also have some bizarre aquariums with enormous sweet-water fish... not sure why really!
Had to skip the afternoon dive as urgently needed some sleep! I had paid for a single room. The room was very big, the bed was huge and extremely comfortable, bathroom was basic but fine. There was TV and aircon. It wasnt luxurious, but it was clean and comfortable and perfectly OK if you are not looking for something glamourous.
Did 2 dives on Sunday. First was a drift dive most of the way around a small island off Putri. The current was really strong, so speeding was great fun! The reef there was good, saw plenty of stuff from clownfish, starfish, nice sponges and corals etc. The viz was fine, water was 30° and so it was a great dive.
2nd dive was off the pier at Putri. They have sunk some old aquarium structures to make an artificial reef which was teaming with fish and had plenty of coral growing on it. The water was pretty murky here, but the artificial reef was really nice.
We left at around 2pm to come back to Jakarta, after another "delicious" lunch!
All in all: The trip was (as we had already been told) very expensive for what it was.
I paid 3.4 mio rupiah for the trip, single room supplement, food, diving plus gear rental (= circa 300 EURO / 380 USD). The accommodation and food was average. The diving was pretty nice, but definitely not the best you will see in the region. I was told that a company called Divemasters in Jakarta does the same trip for quite a bit less money.
However... I was on a business trip, so it was the perfect way to relax over the weekend, as any day diving is better than a day in meetings or on a plane! So I would recommend if you are in the same situation I was in, to do a weekend trip with Kristal Klear. Its far better than wandering the shopping malls or catching up on emails in your hotel room!!
Happy Diving!
:balloons:
Attachments
Last edited:
. I understand your ideas about food on Putri- which is why I am such a fan of Tiger Island. Nonetheless, Putri is by the the best place for diving in terms of service and convenience. Anyway, I am glad you had a good time.
