Question Raja Ampat+Komodo? OR Raja Ampat+Halmahera+N. Sulawesi?

[Grm]

First option gets my vote, I stayed with Papua Explorers for 12 days last Nov/Dec, amazing diving and their service was top notch. Coralia was moored out front and looked fantastic.
if you can’t get Komodo to work just do more days at the resort as there are more than enough different sites and a good number you will want to do 2-3 times

 

[dirtfarmer]

Pass on the 14 day trip, as @Darnold9999 says there are some spots on that trip that are pretty poor. Definitely do the 10 day LOB thru all of Raja Ampat. You definitely don't want to miss Misool Then the rest depends on how many more flights do you want to endure. Getting to Komodo from Sorong or vice versa takes some doing. Most likley easyest thru Bali as it's a short 1.5 hr flight from Bali. Komodo is awesome, the diving is a lot like Raja. The 4 day LOB you mention will be going to either North-Central-South Komodo, I much prefer the South over all the other regions.

And you are now aware of Lembeh, (and you are now thinking of North Sulawesi) which has fantastic muck-macro diving. I love it there been 5x, its a great combination with R4. Check out some videos on youtube of muck diving in lembeh to see if it might be your thing. It's like a treasure hunt with little creatures being the treasure. I love me some good muck diving. So Lembeh might just be the start of new chaptersin your dive log with you hitting all the classic muck-macro heavens.

Be aware that it's Indonesia delays happen, have a buffer day before your LOB, in general the later the flight in the day the more likely it will be delayed. Your in for a treat and what may be the start of many return trips to get wet in the many top notch dive locations that Indonesia has. Indo is addicting and a hard habit to kick, it gets ahold of you and beckons for you to return.

 

[Cali_diver]

If I was putting together a Raja/Lembeh trip I would dive Raja (LOB) and then fly to Lembeh and dive with a local land based op. They know the critters and where to find them which is very important. It is also very easy to fly from Sorong to Manado. Then you get best of both worlds. Getting to Komodo from Raja can be problematic so I think best to leave that as another trip to Indo. Believe me once you dive there you will want to go back... best of luck!

 

[outofofficebrb]

Option 1 without a doubt. Maximize your dive time in Raja Ampat and then you also get to dive Komodo - 2 of my favorites in Indonesia. The 14 day sailing will be underwhelming in comparison considering the locations. I just stayed with Papua Explorers for 2 weeks and they were great. (I just left and arrived in Singapore and am in transit on the way home.) I also toured the Coralia while I was there (on a surprise, unscheduled visit while they were on as ailing). Fantastic boat and rooms.

 

[outofofficebrb]

That's a great point about flights, @Centrals!
If I go with the Coralia, I'd have 4 or 5 days after the LoB, so now I am thinking of going to North Sulawesi instead of to Komodo for those days, like @Darnold9999 suggested. The flights from Sorong to Manado are much easier than to Labuanbajo, and this would give me an extra day of diving.

Thanks again!

Wide angle in North Sulawesi (Bunaken, Bangka) IMO do not compare to Komodo. (I'm mostly a wide angle photographer.) If you're going after Raja Ampat, you'll be even more disappointed in Bangka and Bunaken. Plus, you also get mantas in Komodo. (I just dived Bunaken and Bangka so can finally compare them all.)

Northern Sulawesi covers Bunakan, Bangka and Lembeh. Would you be satisfied just to dive Lembeh only?

Lembeh is a good contrast to Raja Ampat after mostly wide angle. Raja has some macro, but not like Lembeh of course. I'd personally skip Bunaken and Bangka and favor Komodo; I liked the diving in Komodo better than the 2.

 

[Centrals]

Lembeh is a good contrast to Raja Ampat after mostly wide angle. Raja has some macro, but not like Lembeh of course. I'd personally skip Bunaken and Bangka and favor Komodo; I liked the diving in Komodo better than the 2.

Two of my buddies and I went to Bunaken and Lembeh on two different trips. We all agreed Lembeh is NOT worth the bother. Non of us is photographer.
Wall and lively reefs are what we preferred.
Komodo is better than Bunaken? YES.
Sangalaki etc is as good as Komodo but difficult to get there.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Two of my buddies and I went to Bunaken and Lembeh on two different trips. We all agreed Lembeh is NOT worth the bother. Non of us is photographer.
Wall and lively reefs are what we preferred.
Komodo is better than Bunaken? YES.
Sangalaki etc is as good as Komodo but difficult to get there.

I can understand and agree that if you're not a photographer, Lembeh, or any muck diving, can make it more difficult to enjoy. There are definitely non-photographers who do enjoy it but I don't think it's as common based on my experiences. With that said, everyone enjoys something different when diving and that's okay.

I will go out on a branch and say that I enjoy Ambon more than Lembeh. *runs*

 

[Centrals]

We are have different taste in life.
We went to Lembeh to see what the fuss was all about! It was NOT that difficult for us to get there when Silk Air was still alive and kicking. Late flight to SIN, few hrs at the airport transit hotel and then early flight to Manado following morning. Same day return on the inbound leg.

 

[Dan]

Lembeh is a good contrast to Raja Ampat after mostly wide angle. Raja has some macro, but not like Lembeh of course. I'd personally skip Bunaken and Bangka and favor Komodo; I liked the diving in Komodo better than the 2.

+ 1 for Komodo instead of Lembeh.

I’ve been to Lembeh twice. Muck diving there is fun, but you can do it also in Raja Ampat, especially inAlgae Patch, Batanta

 

[Darnold9999]

I will go out on a branch and say that I enjoy Ambon more than Lembeh. *runs*

Sacrilege! I am heading back to Ambon this fall. My take is that Ambon has a bit more variety in its muck sites. i.e. there are more structures (rocks etc.) with more creatures that are easily seen in Ambon whereas you sometimes really have to work to find anything at all in Lembeh but there is more variety when you do find them. We will see, it usually takes me more than a couple of visits to a location before I start to really see what is there.