The best dives in Indo

[elilang]

Hi SB,
My girlfriend and I are heading to Indo for a 2 month diving trip. we are both instructors with >2000 dives each, but neither of us have dived indo much (only a bit in bali). I have read so much about the different areas my head is spinning. We will be starting our trip early april. Trying to keep costs down but are there to dive.
Here are my questions,

Sipidan - over dived? over crowded?
Suluwesi - north or south?
raja ampat - worth the trip / expense?
Komodo - how good is it? can it be dived without live aboard?
Lombok? Gillies? how are they?
your favorite?

Any other information would be appreciated. If you give me good beta I will tell you where an incredible secret dive site I found is.

Thanks
Eli

 

[Kevster]

I have approx 250 dives in Indo. For a 2 month trip i would recommend;
Bali- Especially Tulamben
N.Sulawasi- Bunaken,Bangka & Lembeh
Ambon
Alor
Komodo- Cannibal rock & crystal rock are among my best dives.

I have done komodo land based & liveaboard. Liveaboard is the better option. Some budget boats out there.
Lombok is great topside but the diving is just so-so. Much better diving elsewhere in Indo.
RA is good, but very expensive, especially if you are travelling for 2 months on a budget.

April/may is a good time of year to dive Indo.

 

[Torben]

Hi

Komodo is best access by livabord, you might get a cheap on by flying to florence and walk on. Otherwise I know there is cheap livaboards going form bali/gili, might be worth checking out.

Gili is diving is good if you are looking for animal diversity, but the corals life is bad. I personally love the place, the mix of good diving and relaxing atmosphere. If you want to see turtles go to gili, it is a turtle paradise, they are a sure thing.

If you do decide to go to gili, the take a few more days and go to south lombok. is is 3 hours drive from the gili islands, and the diving is amazing and untouched. I thing the operator is called dream zone, it is definitely worth going there.

 

[iaiapepe]

Hi,

I think you cannot miss Sipadan... Sipadan is a good compromise between macro and pelagic. Stay at Mabul Smart resort, it's not expensive, good food and not bad diving.
Ciao, Stefania

 

[jcclink]

Bali - Tulamben, Seraya, Amed, Puri Jati, Secret Bay, Padang Bai. Great for macro.
Misool - great reefs (southern part of RA)
(Sipadan is Malaysia)

 

[Bubbledup]

I and my wife have made seven dive trips to Indonesia. We take pride in the fact that we've dived all across that giant archepelago, from Kilometer Zero on Sabang (northwestern Sumatra) to Raja Ampat. We've done four liveaboards which took in Lombok, Komodo, South Sulawesi and Raja Ampat, with stops in Flores and lesser known islands. It's all good.

Getting there from the U.S. is sometimes stressful, but the trip is worth the trouble. I recommend Singapore Airlines if you have a choice. They go to great lengths to make you as comfortable as possible.

If you're on a tight budget, there is plenty of excellent diving around Bali.

I couldn't possibly list all the good dive sites in Indonesia, but a good itinerary would be Bali, Manado, and Raja Ampat. RA is expensive but worth the cost, in my opinion.

Finally, I have to mention Wakatobi, southern Sulawesi. It's a wonderful, but expensive, dive resort that has everything.

Hope you decide to make the trip.

Richard

We've also made two trips to Mabul for diving around Sipidan. This is great diving also.

 

[instructorchick]

Hi Eli,
Wow, 2 months around Indo! You'll be spoiled beyond belief!
There are many good budget hotels/resorts/dive ops in North Sulawesi if you're trying to stick to a strict budget. The great thing about starting in North Sulawesi is that it is easy to get to from Singapore, and from Manado you can get to the rest of Indonesia very easily. There are flights to Sorong 5-6x a week, and daily flights to Bali on either Garuda or Lion Air. Flights to Ambon are also easy from Manado.
Places to dive:
North Sulawesi: Lembeh/Bangka (some operators work together for this combo to make your transfers easy and seamless, contact info@lembehresort.com for more info)
North Sulawesi: Lembeh/Bunaken
Bali-lots of great diving, like jcclink listed above
Komodo-a must see! Cannibal Rock (south Rinca) and Crystal Rock (north Komodo, Gili Lawa Laut) best to do by a liveaboard
Raja-beautiful reefs, incredible diversity, huge area, can be dived from resort or liveaboard, depending on your budget.
Good luck on your trip, have fun and happy diving!!!

 

[funscuba]

Hi Kevster, you are talking bout budget liveboards, can you name a few of them as I will also be going to komodo in end of april or may ?

I have approx 250 dives in Indo. For a 2 month trip i would recommend;
Bali- Especially Tulamben
N.Sulawasi- Bunaken,Bangka & Lembeh
Ambon
Alor
Komodo- Cannibal rock & crystal rock are among my best dives.

I have done komodo land based & liveaboard. Liveaboard is the better option. Some budget boats out there.
Lombok is great topside but the diving is just so-so. Much better diving elsewhere in Indo.
RA is good, but very expensive, especially if you are travelling for 2 months on a budget.

April/may is a good time of year to dive Indo.

 

[highdesert]

elilang ...

Have you checked out this thread? I have no personal knowledge of this operation, but for a seriously budget liveaboard, perhaps worth investigating ... and you should not miss Komodo if you have that much time in Indonesia.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/indonesia/373223-trip-report-cn-dive-komodo.html

 

[BLUESEASONBALI]

There are many dives sites around Bali that really are a must for the experienced divers like yourselves. The USAT Liberty Wreck is a world famous wreck dive that is covered in marine life and is so accessible (by shore entry) that is makes it an unmissable option for you in your time here in Indonesia! Around that same area as Tulamben you have dive sites like Seraya Secrets, Amed and Coral garden that have again a world class reputation for macro dives with Mimic Octopus, Hairy Frogfish, Pigmy Seahorses, Harlequin Shrimp and much much more.

The beauty of Bali is that within such a small area there is such a variety of dive sorts - Drift, Mola, Manta, Macro, Wreck, Walls all of the highest quality!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/blueseason.bali