Raja Ampat, Palau, or Maldives

[Medas2005]

We are a group of six divers from California with 60 to 175 dives. Currently we are planning for our May 2011 trip and are looking in to Raja Ampat, Palau, and Maldives. Having done,
California Coast
Greece
Hawaii
Mexico
Belize
Bonaire
Turks & Caicos
Thailand
Curacao

I have come across some contradictory information about Raja Ampat, Palau, and Maldives and need some help.
Could you please provide some info. if you have recently traveled to any of these destinations.
I am trying to stay away from live-aboard if possible. I get seasick and don't think I could handle 7 days on the boat.
A great plus besides the diving is good/luxury accomidations.


I do apreciate your input.

thx

In Raja Ampat, I would recommend the Misool Eco Resort. We were there on a liveaboard last spring and stopped. The resort is spectacular and in the middle of the best diving.

In Palau, all of the best dive sites are a long ways removed from land. I would say this is risky if you have bad weather.

I would highly recommend Gangaa in Sulawesi. The resort is easy to get to, they can go to Lembeh and Bunaken. The diving nearby is also very good.

 

[Shasta_man]

I'd agree with Mossman that the diving in Tahiti and Fiji is probably the best for easiest to get to and good diving. Fiji diving can be really good and the people are fantastic and friendly. It's reasonably priced and an easy but long single 11 hour flight from LA. There are quite a few land based dive spots. You really have four spots to choose from: Taveuni for the Somosomo Strait (renowned diving): numerous luxury to mid range resorts, requires a short flight out there, the Bligh Waters which is much closer to Nadi and has some of the best diving though not so many resorts, Kakadu (sp?) which is on Astrolabe reef though I think most resorts in this end are more backpacker type places, and world renowned Beqa Lagoon mostly known for shark diving (this diving can be really good with a large tiger shark in attendence, though diving focuses on the shark feeds. Videos of these dives show some amazing stuff. Have to go someday.).

Tahiti diving can be good and I have been to Rangiroa. Actually it can be very good with lots of sharks and pretty amazing pelagics and current action. My impression though is that it's tougher to dive here because they like their locals. I'd say it's more expensive here as well. There are numerous resorts here. If you can stay in the overwater bungalow, it's worth the considerable expense. It's ultimate luxury and ruined my valuation for hotel rooms. Hotel rooms are absurdly expensive compared to what you get here. It's a bure over the water connected by walkway. The entire wall of the bure opens for a full view of the ocean and sunset. A deck leading down to a water level deck with a swim ladder gives direct access to the ocean. Swim around the reef then come back for a sip of your drink without getting out. No washing off sand, or walking in coral. We found a big moray in the coral head behind the next bure. Eagle rays swam through the area under the bures every morning. Very cool. Only stay in the overwaters or the beach bungalows because you are eaten alive in the "garden" bungalows.

Nearly all my trips have been to the Pacific, so I can only speak about that area.

I can fully appreciate how bad you could feel and more than a little motivation to avoid it. I'd also agree with Damselfish about working through seasickness as you can though doing it when not on the big trip. For most of the time, there is little movement on most of these boats. Komodo was great but I could show video that would turn away quite a few customers for them, but it was a fun experience. I was up at 3 AM enjoying the ride one night when the entire 5 gallon water dispenser dumped over the salon due to the action. The Paradise Dancer on the other hand was a rock of stability. The boat is really big and such a low center of gravity. Many time, you could not tell you were on a boat or moving.

It's always nice sharing these experiences, and then man I want to go TOO!

 

[Shasta_man]

Also agreed Mossman and HighDesert. They answer questions with nothing more than links to their website which show lists of resorts they sell. They can't be objective because they cut out the other resort. There is an inherent conflict of interest in the info they provide because of that. They're welcome to sell their services but not in the forums. I need to know the reality of someplace not the travel literature I can find anywhere. I try to always buy directly from the boat operator and they usually have travel service to help with hotels and getting there.

 

[fearlessdiver]

I doubt they have this type of statistic or that it would be very meaningful for any one person on any given trip. And I'm not sure it's the sort of thing you want to rely on statistics for anyway.

Different conditions or movements bother different people. For example, I have one friend that is very prone to seasickness, yet finds he quickly gets used to the motion on the typical liveaboard and is just fine after a bit. My husband can't deal with boats of any sort using anything but the Scop patch, but with that he's perfectly fine. I have another friend that seems to handle rougher conditions better than gentle rocking motions, and has learned the hard way that pills like Dramamine you really need to take ahead of time, not once you're already sick. (She's also discovered the patch works well for her - but only if she cuts it in half, a full dosage actually makes her nauseous, and I have heard that from other people.) Lots of people seem to have problems on a boat but are fine once they hit the water, which sounds opposite of you.

So if you haven't explored the various seasickness remedies and the right ways to use them, and understand what sorts of things bother you, it is something I'd suggest working through if at all possible. Avoiding boats and liveaboards really does limit your (and your groups) dive possibilities but may be quite easily solvable.

Don't automatically assume a liveaboard is a bad idea if you have problems with seasickness. especially if you are comparing against dayboats. Remember that liveaboards are much larger and any movement, for better or worse, is going to be different than a dayboat. While it may seem counter intuitive, you might very well prefer a liveaboard in some places. For example as mentioned, the waters where they cruise and anchor in Palau are pretty calm. The Aggressor is especially stable as it's a cat. You might find living on a cat floating in a bathtub with short trips on a skiff much more palatable than the long trips on the dayboats there.

thx for the fantastic input.

 

[gee13]

I would say Palau is the best bet as the best dive sites are accesible from the resorts. But you'll have to contend with a lot of time boating out to the dive sites anyway so may well get seasick. Maldives is do-able from resort but if you're looking for the best sites liveaboard is the only option as there is a lot of ground to cover across the atolls. I recently did liveaboard and land based in Maldives. Despite the resort having one of thest house reefs and close to some great sites in North Male atoll, the liveaboard was my best experience as I got to dive the best sites in one week.. And we had nothing but calm seas throughout! Raja Ampat...well that's really liveaboard territory from accounts. Though there are land based resorts you wont get the opportunity at all the best sites in one week.

The key factor for you is also May... I would scrutinise the weather reports for May diving. I know May is good for diving in Malaysia and parts of Indonesia.

Wet season starts in May in Maldives.

 

[broadreach]

I have been lucky to have dived at the Maldives, Palau and Raja Ampat; so I'll try to offer a comparison. This is a bit of a long post, if you want the short version scroll to the bottom and read only the conclusion. Otherwise keep reading.

1. Maldives:
Weather: In the Maldives, May marks the beginning of the southwest monsoon and is the most rainy month of the year. The exact start of the monsoon can't be predicted. I went during the northeast monsoon season, which is the dry season and the best time to dive the Maldives.
Marine life: abundant fish, good coral, high likelihood of seeing mantas, reef sharks are common but usually just a passing sight.
Liveaboard vs. Landbased: Maldives cover a huge area. A liveaboard gives you the advantage of covering the large area and shifting to better spots if conditions are not ideal. Keep in mind that if the weather is calm, seas are completely flat. My wife gets seasick easily but was perfectly fine on a liveaboard. We only had one day with increased winds and bigger waves.
There are land-based resorts in the Maldives. Look for ones focused on diving and not luxury resorts that happen to have a small dive shop attached.

2. Raja Ampat
Weather: May is also the start of the rainy season in Raja Ampat. Straddling the equator means that there is more variability in weather patterns. You can still expect generally flat seas and calm conditions.
Marine life: Extremely healthy and diverse coral reefs. Fantastic hard and soft corals. Guaranteed sightings of pygmy seahorses and wobbegong sharks. High likelihood of sighting large mantas. When dived properly the good sites are so *fishy* its incredible. Good opportunities for great macro subjects that are rare in both the Maldives and Palau.
Liveaboard vs land-based: As stated above, RA is huge and best covered on a liveaboard. During my 11 days stay, we had flat seas every day except one. I believe that this is the norm.
There are some resorts that offer access to some of the best sites as well.

Palau:
Weather: Again, May is the start of the rainy season. Not the worst weather of the year, but still very wet. If you go, take a jacket for the dive boat. Getting caught in a rain storm will get you shivering very quickly if you're not prepared.
Marine Life: Palau is great for the big stuff. Expect dozens of reef sharks in the good spots, mantas, schooling jacks, barracudas, snappers, napoleon wrasses, hump-head parrotfish etc. What you don't see in Palau is the small stuff.
Liveaboard vs. Landbased: While many people like to do a liveaboard in Palau, I would argue that Palau is perfectly suitable for a land-based operation. Most sites are within 60 to 90 minute speedboat ride from downtown Koror. Even if you go further out to Peleiliu (highly recommended - but prone to rougher seas) it is totally doable on a day trip. Your surface interval is always on some beach on a beautiful island. There's not much to do in Koror but you can sleep on land every night and get awesome diving by day.

Other comments to all three places - make sure everyone is comfortable diving in strong currents, has an SMB, a reef hook and knows how to use them. To get the best of diving in all of these locations, you want to dive when currents are running.

Conclusions:
If you are curious about coral diversity and macro critters that do not exist in your previous diving destinations, then go to Raja Ampat.
If you want picture perfect island destination with some excellent diving, go to the Maldives.
If you want adrenaline infused shark action, go to Palau.

I hope this helps.

 

[fearlessdiver]

broadreach thank you very much. That was a great set of information down to the point and extremely helpful.


thank you so much.

 

[scorpiofish]

I'm a little late to this thread, and I haven't got any thing more profound to say than what has already been stated, but I'll pile on for reinforcement.

While you can do land based in Palau, it's not convenient, as in potentially very long boat rides.

Palau is nice, but not on my must return list.

Maldives, other than some really intense manta action (not in May), is not on my list either. BTW, I have a photo with 14 mantas in it from northern Raja.

Indonesia is my favorite place to go, and Raja is my favorite place to dive within Indonesia. As noted, May is a little late in the season. Many boats have left the area by that time.

The land based resorts will welcome you with open arms in May, as they are still open. The down side is that they can't hit all the areas of the fuzzy area called Raja Ampat. There is "northern" and "southern" Raja, although not very well defined, other than Misool is in the southern part of the itinerary. The diving is great in both areas, trying to choose one over the other is difficult.

The better resorts, Misool Eco Resort and Sorido Bay are expensive, but so are upscale live aboards ($400-$500 per day). I really like Misool Eco Resort. I would stay there in a heart beat, but then I would miss my favorite northern sites.

No one can help you on sea sickness as it is a very individual issue. My wife experiences it more in smaller craft like day boats flying through chop than on large live aboards. If scop patches or bonine works for you, then you should be OK.

 

[jake11]

Let me throw a monkey wrench into the mix! A GREAT land based option that has both pelagics and macro is Sipadan! There are many land based options to choose from and the boat rides to the dive sites are all pretty short. We loved it here in May a couple of years ago. I also agree with Shastaman that the Paradise Dancer is extremely stable!
I have been on that boat 2x and have never gotten sick.( I do wear a Scop. patch whenever I go on liveaboards) I believe the Paradise Dancer usually moves up to North Sulawesi in either April or May. We have also been to Lembeh in May and had great weather and cool diving! Think about Sipadan, it is worth checking it out.
That is a place that we will return to. Indonesia is also amazing and we have been there 6x and going again in November. The diving in all of the places in Indonesia has been superb and I place Sipadan right up there with Indonesia!

 

[crayolabarb]

I'm trying to put together a "wish trip" for a travel scholarship I'm applying for and really appreciate your thoughtful and knowledgeable comments Shastaman and Mossman. While I definitely want to do a couple of dives most days, I also would like to have a day here and there of land exploring and hiking. NO shopping or cruise ship destinations please- just relaxed, comfortable and beautiful. Any suggestions? Thanks!