Tips on where to go east of Bali for three weeks?

[ocdiver1]

Thanks for the additional info Luko, ocdiver and Kevster!

Ambon and Alor sounds like a very nice trip. Read some good stuff about them topped off with all of you giving the places great remarks make them top contenders

"ocdiver, how did you end up trying East Timor? Up until a year ago the Swedish government discourage people to go there due to the old conflict.'

Kevster, do you know roughly how long does it take to get to the dive sites in Komodo if not done by live aboard? Komodo dragons would be something spectacular to see at least once in a life time (though it doesn't have to be on this trip). Don't even know if it's possible/safe, but in my mind (that doesn't hold any facts about the place) it sounded like an awesome thing to do a day of adventure trekking with a guide whilst getting rid of some nitrogen after a couple days of diving.

Does anyone have any experience of Lombok?

Best Regards,
Vigfus

Hi Vigfus, the first time i went I was in Darwin, there happened to be a cheap flight and it sounded like the type of out-of-the-way new destination that I'm always interested in trying. The second time was from enjoying the first time so much, with being in Bali and having another airline start flying there, bringing down what was originally a pretty high airfare. There was a big different from the first and second time i went (was last there a little over a year ago)...UN presence still there but not nearly as prominent as the first time, and no reports of unrest as the first time years prior. I felt completely safe there. Nice added benefit to the incredible diving is that diving is done right out of the capital of Dili...so fly right in and just 10 minutes to where you'd likely be staying/diving with. Many of the sites are essentially right in Dili, or a short drive up the coast.

 

[Kevster]

Thanks for the additional info Luko, ocdiver and Kevster!

Ambon and Alor sounds like a very nice trip. Read some good stuff about them topped off with all of you giving the places great remarks make them top contenders

ocdiver, how did you end up trying East Timor? Up until a year ago the Swedish government discourage people to go there due to the old conflict.

Kevster, do you know roughly how long does it take to get to the dive sites in Komodo if not done by live aboard? Komodo dragons would be something spectacular to see at least once in a life time (though it doesn't have to be on this trip). Don't even know if it's possible/safe, but in my mind (that doesn't hold any facts about the place) it sounded like an awesome thing to do a day of adventure trekking with a guide whilst getting rid of some nitrogen after a couple days of diving.

Does anyone have any experience of Lombok?

Best Regards,
Vigfus

If you do Komodo land based its likely you will stay in Labuan Bajo.(I think there is a new resort in Komodo that is closer to the good dive sites)
Most of the dive boats departing LB are "slow" fishing type boats. It wil take approx 1.5-2 hours from LB to the best dive sites in North Komodo. Sometimes these boats will visit South Komodo , but the travel time is even longer typically 3-4 hours each way. Staying in LB , by the time you have breakfast, meet at the harbour, travel to the dive sites and back , is a long day. I have been to Komodo 3 times. My first visit was land based & i did 3 day trips (basically i was leaving my hotel by 7 am and getting back to my hotel around 6-7 pm).

Komodo is my favourite dive spot in Indo but i would highly recommend a liveaboard.
Check these guys out if you are on a budget , daily rates are $210-240. These guys have an excellent reputation & have been diving Komodo a long time, just do not expect luxury service. Grand Komodo Liveaboard Diving Schedules, Prices, and Booking.

Lombok is ok for a holiday. Topside is great , really nice backpacker place. Great beaches, nice cafes, bars , good place to chill out for a few days. However diving is average compared to other locations in Indonesia. Much better diving available in Komodo,Alor.

 

[Vigfus]

Hi Vigfus, the first time i went I was in Darwin, there happened to be a cheap flight and it sounded like the type of out-of-the-way new destination that I'm always interested in trying. The second time was from enjoying the first time so much, with being in Bali and having another airline start flying there, bringing down what was originally a pretty high airfare. There was a big different from the first and second time i went (was last there a little over a year ago)...UN presence still there but not nearly as prominent as the first time, and no reports of unrest as the first time years prior. I felt completely safe there. Nice added benefit to the incredible diving is that diving is done right out of the capital of Dili...so fly right in and just 10 minutes to where you'd likely be staying/diving with. Many of the sites are essentially right in Dili, or a short drive up the coast.

Thanks ocdiver! You know it's been good if the same people come back for a second visit

Best Regards,
Vigfus

---------- Post Merged at 10:31 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 10:10 PM ----------

If you do Komodo land based its likely you will stay in Labuan Bajo.(I think there is a new resort in Komodo that is closer to the good dive sites)
Most of the dive boats departing LB are "slow" fishing type boats. It wil take approx 1.5-2 hours from LB to the best dive sites in North Komodo. Sometimes these boats will visit South Komodo , but the travel time is even longer typically 3-4 hours each way. Staying in LB , by the time you have breakfast, meet at the harbour, travel to the dive sites and back , is a long day. I have been to Komodo 3 times. My first visit was land based & i did 3 day trips (basically i was leaving my hotel by 7 am and getting back to my hotel around 6-7 pm).

Komodo is my favourite dive spot in Indo but i would highly recommend a liveaboard.
Check these guys out if you are on a budget , daily rates are $210-240. These guys have an excellent reputation & have been diving Komodo a long time, just do not expect luxury service. Grand Komodo Liveaboard Diving Schedules, Prices, and Booking.

Lombok is ok for a holiday. Topside is great , really nice backpacker place. Great beaches, nice cafes, bars , good place to chill out for a few days. However diving is average compared to other locations in Indonesia. Much better diving available in Komodo,Alor.

Thanks for the additional info Kevster! Then we can take Lombok of our list. Those live aboard rates weren't too bad at all. Too bad the prices aren't in Euro since the swedish Krona is getting stronger compared to the Euro on a day to day basis at the moment

Best Regards,
Vigfus

 

[dangles]

I've done Komodo on liveaboard and from Labuan Bajo. The liveaboard experience is far superior.

The diving in the Gili islands of Lombok is average compared to all of the other places mentioned in this thread, although I believe there is good diving in the south of Lombok that I havent tried yet. Another place you may want to consider is Pulau Weh, I havent been there yet but people I know who have rave about it. Coming from Europe you can get a direct flight from KL to Banda Aceh.

 

[Luko]

Another place you may want to consider is Pulau Weh, I havent been there yet but people I know who have rave about it.

Woudln't recommend for more than 3-4 days...Clearly not on a par with Eastern Indonesia (From my own experience, august 2011).

 

[Vigfus]

Thank you for the extra input dangles and Luko!

A friend went to Pulau Weh and liked it (when he's offered unlimited reef dives he's in the water 25!h a day ), but it would have to be part of another trip as it's not really close to the other places we're looking at.

After looking closer at the flights to Ambon we felt Ambon would fit better in a Gorontalo/NE Sulawesi trip. Since we did NE Sulawesi last year that part will have to sit out this year. Atm were're thinking Flores would be a nice fit with Alor since they are fairly close to each other which hopefully would cut down on travel time. Fly to Flores, then head over to Alor and maybe get a few days on Bali on the way back to Singapore or the other way around. It's been five years since we were on Bali so it would be fun to see some of the dive sites again. Only for a few days though. Not as one of the main two stops. However, we haven't found much information about diving in Flores. Has anyone had any experience of Flores when it comes to land based diving and travelling to/from Alor?

Read your informative report from Maumere Luko and were wondering if you might think it's a good muck/macro destination despite your misfortune/misunderstanding.

Best Regards,
Vigfus

 

[ocdiver1]

Hi Vigfus. Can't help with land based info in Flores, but because I am leaving in a week for Alor, and going there from Flores (Labuan bajo) to join a liveaboard, I can tell you a little bit about what I found on flights. Unfortunately, even though Flores and Alor are very close on a map, it doesn't mean that there are a great deal of options to get there. The only flights to/from Alor (Merpati and Transnusa) go via Kupang, so you have to transit there. There are early am flights on both Lion and Merpati to Labuanbajo (but not a daily flight), but none of the flights from Alor are early enough to connect to it, so you'd have to overnight in Kupang. But if you're flying M,W,F, there is an afternoon flight to Labuan bajo on Transnusa, so if you take am Merpati flight you can connect all the way into Labuan bajo in one day. Something practical to thing about if you are flying from Bali to Alor...there are only three days per week you can connect all the way without an overnight in Kupang...Thurs, Sat, Sun (either Garuda or Batavia to Kupang, then afternoon flight on Transnusa on to Alor).

Unfortunately, as much as I've wanted to get to Maumere this trip, it didn't turn out, but I did do some checking into flights...easy to get to from DPS, as is Labuan bajo, but i don't remember any of the connections working Kupang-Maumere, or Maumere-Kupang so that an overnight could be avoided in Kupang either way. I believe Lion, Merpati, and Transnusa all flew that route on certain days. One other complication I ran into was potentially flying Maumere or Labuan bajo, or reverse, I believe only Merpati flies it and only 1 or 2 days a week.

Thought I'd tell you what I found out since I just went through all that!

 

[Vigfus]

Thank you ocdiver! Flights and connecting flight to remote areas are a big hazzle so we really appriciated all that info!

Hope you have a great time on your trip!
Best Regards,
Vigfus

 

[ocdiver1]

thanks Vigfus, leaving in a couple of days and looking forward to it!

 

[Luko]

Read your informative report from Maumere Luko and were wondering if you might think it's a good muck/macro destination despite your misfortune/misunderstanding.

Sorry Vigfus, couldn't read you before, I'm currently traveling Indonesia, in Lembongan right now (with a thresher shark spotting this morning).
So about Maumere,yes I still believe it's a prime destination for muck diving but you have to dive with the right operator which is Ankermi, unfortunately Seaworld dive centre is fine but not for macro/muck dives.