I think it depends how long you're away and if the trip is only about diving. For me, Alor and Raja are the jewels in the crown of Indonesian diving — I like Alor so much that I'm starting my divesaster there in a few days. In terms of places you might not have considered, I love Maratua, Kakaban, and Sangalaki too! I guess there's also the question of where you've been in the Bali area. My favourite sites are in Candi Dasa (Taked, Tepekong), even though so few people talk about it, and Blue Corner in Lembongan is great too. Can easily combine those with Lombok too if you want to mix it up. Belongas in Lombok is tricky to get to and has little infrastructure, but some of the sites are awesome. I'm a big fan of Gili Sarang and Manta Pot, which I prefer to The Cathedral and The Magnet (a bit hit and miss, and the visibility is usually rubbish). On the other side, Blue Marlin in Kuta goes to some nice sites, like Gamechanger (lovely coral). But the west is better. One thing to note is that several of those areas are tricky dives. The currents in Alor are VERY unpredictable and can be sketchy. Belongas isn't as bad as people make it out, just LOTS of surge. Can get very strong currents at some sites at Maratua and Kakaban too, as well as at Blue Corner of course (all a bit stronger than Komodo, if only in my experience). I've only done Banda briefly by liveaboard. It was good, but not my favourite. I'm afraid I haven't been to Wakatobi yet, so can't comment on that. Have heard it's nice, but not the best of the bunch. Hope that helps!
