Triton Bay or Halmahera?

[MissMango]

@MissMango We did Halmahera in March of 23 and had a great time (it was my second visit to the area). At the time it was great... super fishy and great mix of critter diving and reef diving. We saw way more sharks than we have ever seen in Raja. Our trip started in Raja and at that time Misool was coming off a rough algae bloom which really took a toll on many sights. We were blown away by the fish in Halmahera coming from Misool. Misool has since bounced back thankfully. We are heading back to Halmahera next month. What makes the itinerary that you mentioned great is that you can start your trip with a nice resort in Lembeh for a few days before the lob and have some spectacular critter diving and still end the trip with Raja. I would highly recommend that itinerary. Which boat are you looking at?

Thank you so much for your reply! This gives me hope.
The idea was indeed to dive from a resort before heading on the LOB! We had booked Sulawesi twice now and had to cancel twice...3rd time may be the charm!

We are looking at White Manta. We just returned from a trip with them and it was simply perfect!

 

[Cali_diver]

You can't beat Lembeh for the critters and you for sure have better dives with local resorts but I can also tell you that so many of the Indo guides on LOBs are actually from Manado so you get the best of both worlds. I really like trips where you are basically repositioning the boat from one area to another area it is really amazing to travel and see more than just one area. The other great thing about Halmahera is there just aren't as many boats doing it so you don't have to worry about fighting for space on dive sites or having other boats jump right on top of you. I will give you an update after my trip next month. We are doing 2 back to back trips ending in Raja so I should have a good idea of how things are looking nowadays.

 

[MissMango]

You can't beat Lembeh for the critters and you for sure have better dives with local resorts but I can also tell you that so many of the Indo guides on LOBs are actually from Manado so you get the best of both worlds. I really like trips where you are basically repositioning the boat from one area to another area it is really amazing to travel and see more than just one area. The other great thing about Halmahera is there just aren't as many boats doing it so you don't have to worry about fighting for space on dive sites or having other boats jump right on top of you. I will give you an update after my trip next month. We are doing 2 back to back trips ending in Raja so I should have a good idea of how things are looking nowadays.

We juuuust returned from Misool/Raja!
It had been our first liveaboard experience and now we're hooked....

Kri area had, unfortunately, very obvious signs of mass diving and coral bleaching. Don't get me wrong, it was still very very good diving!

Misool was magical! I really like how, in Misool, the dive sites are managed and only one operator at a time can dive a site.

The schedule we are looking at for 2026 starts in Lembeh beginning of June and finishes in Sorong mid-June. It could be interesting diving Raja outside of the busy season.

I think we'll go for it!

I appreciate everybody's input!

 

[outofofficebrb]

I'm curious to hear about your Halmahera trip.
Did you enjoy it? How was the diving?

We're looking at doing a LOB Lembeh-Halmahera-Raja and I've heard very mixed reviews of Halmahera. Some were super positive while others were more of a "meh...okay".

I did Ternate to Ternate round trip and I loved the diving so much, I’m going back again 12 months later but with a group. I did not see any dynamite fishing anywhere. I think each person’s account and experience will depend on who they sailed with. Any mixed itinerary won’t see as much of Halmahera as much as a Halmahera exclusive itinerary. Anything that’s combining raja, Halmahera, and/or Banda is a disservice to all 3 because they each deserve their own trip to see in detail. Halmahera is some of the best diving I’ve done in Indonesia and is now one of my favorites that is worthy of repeating. It’s very reminiscent of the best of Komodo or Raja Ampat without the mantas and other people; I’m a serial repeat diver of those other 2 places as well. We never shared a dive site with anyone and never saw another liveaboard. We saw the land based resorts passing by in some areas more south but that was it. It was amazing. I sailed with the Ambai and I’m also returning on the Ambai later this year.

 

[Laval]

Thank you for sharing your experience! Could you please share your video or photos from that trip?

 

[outofofficebrb]

Here are photos. @Laval

 

[paolobl65]

Here are photos. @Laval

nice album !!
I'll be there mid August on Ambai .... can't wait !
May I ask you if there are opportunity for half -half photos during the cruise ?
many thanks
Paolo

 

[Cali_diver]

nice album !!
I'll be there mid August on Ambai .... can't wait !
May I ask you if there are opportunity for half -half photos during the cruise ?
many thanks
Paolo

I Can't give experience with Ambai, but for Halmahera there is definitely opportunities for over unders. The hard coral there is beautiful and the Anthias are mindblowing! We were just there and islands are lush and beautiful. The only drawback might be the amount of trash since there is a bit of plastic bags and such floating in the water column. This shouldn't effect over unders but the amount of hard coral might since you will have to be very careful not to break. Hope you enjoy your trip. We are going back in October as well. It is really nice not seeing other boats. I hope it doesn't get too crowded in the future.

 

[outofofficebrb]

nice album !!
I'll be there mid August on Ambai .... can't wait !
May I ask you if there are opportunity for half -half photos during the cruise ?
many thanks
Paolo

Yes, there are opportunities. I have a wet lens so it’s not conducive to split shots which is a bummer. I look forward to hearing your review of the Ambai and the diving. Their crew is some of the best in the industry. The service and care is amazing!

I Can't give experience with Ambai, but for Halmahera there is definitely opportunities for over unders. The hard coral there is beautiful and the Anthias are mindblowing! We were just there and islands are lush and beautiful. The only drawback might be the amount of trash since there is a bit of plastic bags and such floating in the water column. This shouldn't effect over unders but the amount of hard coral might since you will have to be very careful not to break. Hope you enjoy your trip. We are going back in October as well. It is really nice not seeing other boats. I hope it doesn't get too crowded in the future.

I know trash really depends on where/when relative to tides. We didn’t see any memorable trash on surface or in the water column but we did find a little trash and a ghost net at the bottom on a site which we took care of and removed.

A lot of places have been loved too much and have been hit by tourism way too hard unchecked. I love that Halmahera isn’t that and I agree, I hope it stays that way. It’s not that difficult to get to, relatively speaking, so I am uneasy about its future. I guess we are here sharing about it so there’s that.

 

[Cali_diver]

Yes, there are opportunities. I have a wet lens so it’s not conducive to split shots which is a bummer. I look forward to hearing your review of the Ambai and the diving. Their crew is some of the best in the industry. The service and care is amazing!

I know trash really depends on where/when relative to tides. We didn’t see any memorable trash on surface or in the water column but we did find a little trash and a ghost net at the bottom on a site which we took care of and removed.

A lot of places have been loved too much and have been hit by tourism way too hard unchecked. I love that Halmahera isn’t that and I agree, I hope it stays that way. It’s not that difficult to get to, relatively speaking, so I am uneasy about its future. I guess we are here sharing about it so there’s that.

For sure it is dependent of tides, rainfall runoff and many other things but having been to Halmahera a few times, I have always seen the plastic there. On every dive we all came back with pockets full of plastic bags. We also frequently pulled and untangled them them off of coral heads and sea fans. It has always been a known factor for me for this region. I am glad your group didn't experience it.

I am really hoping that it doesn't fall prey to the same "over loving" that Banda has recently experienced but I think it may be futile. With more and more boats being built they have to start going to other locations especially with the dive site/diver limitations that are thankfully being placed on the best Raja sites. I fear both Triton and Halmahera are next on the next "Instagram" moment invasion.