Question Samambaia Live Aboard in Dec- Raja Ampat - logistics

[ConeyIslander]

Langkawi and Koh Lipe! You like beaches.
The sun is a lot stronger so do not get "roasted".

LOL yes for sure. I don't know if I will do any diving on Langkawi, but Koh Lipe fore sure. I was on Lipe in January and really liked it so I am heading back in Jan 2023. Its my first time going to Langkawi. The plan is to ferry from Langkawi to Koh Lipe then to Koh Lanta (dive Hin Daeng and Hin Muang and Koh Ha which are some of my favorite dives) then ferry to Krabi then to Phuket and do dive master training.
I am at some point I am going to reach out on the Malaysia board to see what the diving is like on Langkawi but if anyone viewing this here is familiar, please feel free to advise.

 

[Centrals]

Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand in one trip. All you need is to add Philippines to complete the "grand slam"!
The East coast of Peninsular Malaysia has better and more choices than the west unfortunately Jan is the wrong time.

10 best dive locations in Malaysia | FAQ | Wonderful Malaysia

Malaysia has numerous great dive locations. The best dive sites in Malaysia can be found in the southeastern region of Sabah (on the island of Borneo). Easiest to reach are the dive sites at the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, but this region is prone to the yearly monsoon season between...

www.wonderfulmalaysia.com

No idea how accurate it is.

 

[Luko]

what the diving is like on Langkawi

I only dived once in Langkawi (20 years ago or so?), they had a mix of tourist/diving speedboats going to Pulau Payar NP, 1,5 or 2hrs trip south of Langkawi going through karstic rock formation a bit like Phang Nga bay .
Very shallow bottom , meaning poor viz but surpringly great soft coral coverage and lots of blacktip reef sharks.

At lunch time you land on one the island, take a veeeeery long break, crowds of chinese tourists with yellow life jacket and oversized sunhats try to feed the puppy sharks in 20cm of water with the remains of their chicken leg lunch.
You could then hear lots of ooohs and aaahhs, gazillions of camera shots were taken... mass tourism at peak, I don't think it could have improved (especially with the number of digital cameras in use and the increase of chinese tourist attracted by Langkawi tax free shopping).

North of Langkawi is Koh Lipe hence, I would rather recommend diving the sites from Lipe operations (I used to go with a canadian shop based on "Pattaya" beach, the only one using a big fishing boat instead of the hear aching longtails but that was more than 10 years ago).

Edit : Jeeze... Payar is even worse than I thought now, they even put concrete on what was a beautiful beach (National park?! ... what a joke, this is fishfeeding hell... hahaha). Pls note lifejackets are now red.

Pulau Payar – GEO Travel & Tours

www.geotraveltour.com

 

[Shiqi]

I am on the same boat haha but I plan to dive around Sorong before the liveaboard, see you on the boat! (Fingers crossed no more lockdowns)

 

[Tippytoes12]

Honestly, it’s super easy to get from Lembeh to Sowrong, there is at least one direct flight at about 7 am. The diving is wonderful with great operators who will take great care of you. Loved Black Sand Dive Retreat so much, met a couple who stayed ther for a few days, them went on a LOB and came back for a few more days. None of uk know how long we can dive for, or if there will be another Covid wave, use these days better.

 

[ConeyIslander]

I am on the same boat haha but I plan to dive around Sorong before the liveaboard, see you on the boat! (Fingers crossed no more lockdowns)

Very cool!! We look forward to meeting you. It is shaping up that we will be in Sorong a full day before the boat embarks, but I don't think we will dive. Just check out the town and chill.

 

[Shiqi]

Very cool!! We look forward to meeting you. It is shaping up that we will be in Sorong a full day before the boat embarks, but I don't think we will dive. Just check out the town and chill.

I have the same idea ha, except I will be flying to Jarkata from Sydney and then on to Sorong 12/15, will spend a week at Agusta Eco Lodge then head back to Sorong to board the boat on 12/23, maybe we can meet up on 12/22 in Sorong, I haven't booked any lodging for the 12/22 night, figured anything close to the boat would do, did you book via their US agency subculture LLC?
very much looking forward to this trip.

 

[Centrals]

Swiss-Belhotel in Sorong.

 

[ConeyIslander]

I have the same idea ha, except I will be flying to Jarkata from Sydney and then on to Sorong 12/15, will spend a week at Agusta Eco Lodge then head back to Sorong to board the boat on 12/23, maybe we can meet up on 12/22 in Sorong, I haven't booked any lodging for the 12/22 night, figured anything close to the boat would do, did you book via their US agency subculture LLC?
very much looking forward to this trip.

No we have not booked a hotel for 12/22 either. I was going to try and stay where Centrals mentioned the Swiss-Belhotel, seems to be the best option. There are a couple of Youtube videos where it is mentioned. I am not familiar the US agency subculture LLC, what exactly is that?
It nice that you will have had done some diving right before the boat. By December I will not have dived since July, which are my last planed dives before this trip.

 

[Dan]

I typically dive a 1/2 shorty during the day

Have you dove in Raja Ampat? If you wear shorty, keep eyes on hydroids. Your exposed knees, shins and ankles may accidentally brush against the hydroids and ended up just like brushing against poison ivy.