Where in Indonesia in March 2013?

[rcaqua]

Hi all,

Very new to this forum so apologies for any netiquette violations (also for boring questions...)

Going with friends to Indonesia for a week / ten days of diving next March. Looks like either Manado/Bunkaen/Lembeh or Komodo could be on the menu. What do you advise (divers are reasonably experienced (100plus dives in Red Sea and Thailand))? We are looking for the big guys bit also for the macro, and nice coral (Thailand was "disappointing"...)... Most importantly, the dive outfit has to be really competent and professional....

I used Wicked once in Thailand, do you recommend them for a liveaboard in Komodo?

If we choose Manado, is Murex a good bet or are others better (I have read horror stories on the level of professionalism at some dive centres)?

Any hotels you can recommend (not five star, but comfy, please) at Manado or at Labuan Bajo?

Thanks for any assistance!

Best,

Rene

 

[pughio83]

Sounds like Komodo will be much better for you if you want bigger stuff and some macro and nice corals. Bunaken is wall diving and to be honest you will be lucky to see anything big, lembeh is pure macro really, bangka more pinnacle diving but all essentially better for smaller stuff. Loads of accomm to suite all tastes, depends on budget I guess. Komodo often has stronger currents so bare that in mind too and is better done from a liveaboard.

 

[DiveExploreIndonesia]

As pughio83 already suggested... If you are more focused on big fish, I would suggest Komodo as a better option than Manado. Of course macro can be found at both destinations, but Komodo has some Mantas and more chances to see sharks, eagle rays, ect..

Komodo is definitely a live aboard destination and the choices are huge.

March is only the beginning of the season and the visibility might not be at its best…

 

[matt215]

Komodo definitely over lembeh. I just got back from Komodo on the Arenui and I recommend it highly. Based on your timeframe, I'd look at Raja Ampat. I believe it is more "in season" at that time of year.

 

[Utila Simon]

Hi, as above if you want a range of big and small then Komodo or Raja Ampat are the way to go.
Komodo is fine at this time of the year, I dived there this year at the same time and we had warm water (it gets COLD in south Komodo a this time of year) and excellent vis, really beautiful. It is rainy season so it might rain a bit, but what the hell, you are going to get wet anyway! The other nice thing is that the regular season for Komodo is now and there are lots of liveaboards there, March you will only see maybe one other on your whole trip. On the whole I would do this, by Liveaboard, if you can.
Raja is amazing too. This is in Season so there will be plenty of options here, but this also means plenty of other boats and maybe competition for dive sites. You can do one of four resorts if you prefer, three in the north or one in the south, or liveaboard.
It sounds like your group are breaking in to Asian diving and Indo will not disappoint, it will certainly be better than Thailand.
Have fun
Simon

 

[gee13]

Komodo definitely over lembeh. I just got back from Komodo on the Arenui and I recommend it highly. Based on your timeframe, I'd look at Raja Ampat. I believe it is more "in season" at that time of year.

So how was it? Any photos to post?

 

[buiszie]

In march the first live aboards are starting to do their trips to Komodo. I love komodo but my dream will be to go one time to RA

 

[tsvetanstoev]

Komodo or Raja Ampat. We did Komodo - liveaboard trip in August and it was amazing. Great snorkeling with more that 20 manta rays We did liveaboard trip to Raja Ampat in March - again very nice dives, big and very beautiful corals. The both are great, but Komodo is still our favourite

 

[Warmwater Wank]

Rene--First off, welcome to SB! About your "week to 10 days" in Indonesia. If that is exactly the time you have, consider your choices carefully. Places that "seem" like they should be easy to get to usually are not that easy, time-wise. Matching up your arrival flight w/ a domestic flight often means using up valuable time, sometimes overnight etc. Consider, for example, flying into Bali (Denpasar/DPS) if you want to do Komodo, since many liveaboards either depart or return there.

Myself, if I only had a week or so, I'd just stay on Bali and dive Tulamben/Amed etc. Great introduction to Indonesia and some great diving, even if it isn't the "best" Indonesia has to offer. (Spoiler alert: To me, the "best" diving may be seeing some weird critter on an otherwise so-so dive site, it's not all about obvious big stuff!) I'm not making this an argument that "You HAVE to do Bali!", I'm just saying that in order to maximise your diving, pay attention to travel connections not just destinations.

We love Raja Ampat and are headed back there next month--but I sure wouldn't try to do it in a 7-10 day time frame. Getting to Sorong where the liveaboards depart is a mini-travel epic in itself! Certainly if you are flying into Jakarta you have lots of flight choices for your ultimate destination but pay attention to domestic flight connections and don't expect the same attention to "on-time" departures/arrivals you might be used to. Given the 24 hour no-fly "rule" after diving, adding in the general challenge of ground transportation and the usual hassle of getting around in a country where you don't speak the language (I presume) I'd say keep it simple.

Best thing is to do a search on this forum. Your question gets asked a lot and a whole lot of great advice has been offered. As you get questions from your searches just ask them, it's how a lot of us discovered what a great place to dive Indonesia can be! // ww

 

[jcclink]

Komodo liveaboards are typically 7 (depart Bima) or 10 days (depend Bali). You will need at least one day of domestic travel on each end of trip once you're in Indonesia . So on a 10 day trip (that's 10 days in Indonesia) you probably could do a 7 day Komodo trip. I'd also suggest that diving Bali might be a better plan for a limited stay. Nothing big but some great muck sites as well as good reefs in some areas.