Question Where to go: Indonesia or Maldives ?

[kmn1992]

Hello All,

I am hesitating and unsure where to go: The Maldives or Raja Ampat in Indonesia. Dates: End August - 2nd week of September.

Here are the main criteria and some things I can't figure out:

- Price: about the same, Maldives will run a few hundred dollars more
- Marine Life: A priority for me. Both have beautiful sharks and sea life, but where is it more abundant & where am I more likely to actually see it on my dates ?
- Weather: Sunny weather is obviously ideal.
I read This is the rainy season in Raja Ampat, so I asked the dive clubs and homestays, who all say the weather's ok for diving and that it isn't raining a lot.
But they were somewhat vague (the weather's good"), and this contradicts weather forecasts online, which aren't necessarily always accurate) -- who should I believe ? Is now a good time to go to Indonesia ?

I would hate to waste money and my very limited vacation days, so thank you for helping out !

 

[drrich2]

Haven't been to those places. Did you see Dan's thread Carpe Vita Real Time Review: March 7-18, 2021 Trip to Maldives Deep South? @Dan noted in Post #2:

I think Maldives is better than Red Sea but not as biodiverse as Indonesia.

Granted, that was a different time of year. In Post #6, he noted:

Looking back to my earlier liveaboard trip report on Maldives Aggressor II (see the link in earlier post), they also do 3 dives / day, except for 2 days, where we have night dives with mantas and nurse sharks. Those are fun dives. I hope Carpe Vita would do the same. II’ll be on Emperor Leo after this trip and their itinerary is similar, i.e., 3 dives / day, except for the night dives. So, I think 3 dives / day in liveaboard is typical, here in Maldives.

Dan, what's typical in Raja Ampat - 4 dives/day? I ask because even if all else were equal, a liveaboard trip with 4 dives/day vs. one with 3 dives/day could make quite a difference.

Regarding how the diving depths in the Maldives compared with Raja Ampat, Komodo or Palau, he wrote:

I would say we dive deep more frequent in Deep South route of Maldives due to the underwater profile of the Atolls, the Kandus (channels) and Thilas (underwater mount / plateau formation were around 90-110 ft deep facing the Indian Ocean seem to be the favorite place for the Sharks to cruise around. I see similar places like those sites in Palau (Blue Corner & Peleliu Cut) also in Maratua Atoll in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. I haven’t seen them in Komodo or Raja Ampat.

I'm fair but not great on gas consumption, so deep (not just max. but also average depth) diving profiles get my attention.

You’ll see more sharks in Maldives than Raja Ampat or Komodo or Palau, but nothing compare to Cocos, Socorro or Galápagos.

I threw this in since the OP mentioned sharks specifically.

 

[kmn1992]

Haven't been to those places. Did you see Dan's thread Carpe Vita Real Time Review: March 7-18, 2021 Trip to Maldives Deep South? @Dan noted in Post #2:

Granted, that was a different time of year. In Post #6, he noted:

Dan, what's typical in Raja Ampat - 4 dives/day? I ask because even if all else were equal, a liveaboard trip with 4 dives/day vs. one with 3 dives/day could make quite a difference.

Regarding how the diving depths in the Maldives compared with Raja Ampat, Komodo or Palau, he wrote:

I'm fair but not great on gas consumption, so deep (not just max. but also average depth) diving profiles get my attention.

I threw this in since the OP mentioned sharks specifically.

Nice source, thanks!

 

[Cali_diver]

I would pick Indonesia any day over Maldives, but they both offer great diving. You might consider Komodo at that time of the year instead of Raja.

 

[runsongas]

2nd to the idea of komodo instead. maldives is more convenient to fly to from europe for some though.

 

[Centrals]

Komodo vs Maldives in Aug/Sep.

 

[Dan]

Haven't been to those places. Did you see Dan's thread Carpe Vita Real Time Review: March 7-18, 2021 Trip to Maldives Deep South? @Dan noted in Post #2:

Granted, that was a different time of year. In Post #6, he noted:

Dan, what's typical in Raja Ampat - 4 dives/day? I ask because even if all else were equal, a liveaboard trip with 4 dives/day vs. one with 3 dives/day could make quite a difference.

Regarding how the diving depths in the Maldives compared with Raja Ampat, Komodo or Palau, he wrote:

I'm fair but not great on gas consumption, so deep (not just max. but also average depth) diving profiles get my attention.

I threw this in since the OP mentioned sharks specifically.

Yes. 4 dives/day is typically done in R4.

 

[Dan]

Hello All,

I am hesitating and unsure where to go: The Maldives or Raja Ampat in Indonesia. Dates: End August - 2nd week of September.

Here are the main criteria and some things I can't figure out:

- Price: about the same, Maldives will run a few hundred dollars more
- Marine Life: A priority for me. Both have beautiful sharks and sea life, but where is it more abundant & where am I more likely to actually see it on my dates ?
- Weather: Sunny weather is obviously ideal.
I read This is the rainy season in Raja Ampat, so I asked the dive clubs and homestays, who all say the weather's ok for diving and that it isn't raining a lot.
But they were somewhat vague (the weather's good"), and this contradicts weather forecasts online, which aren't necessarily always accurate) -- who should I believe ? Is now a good time to go to Indonesia ?

I would hate to waste money and my very limited vacation days, so thank you for helping out !

You’ll see more sharks in Maldives than in Raja Ampat in general. In Maldives I have seen Tiger, Blacktip, Silvertip, Whitetip Reef, Grey Reef, Nurse, Whale and Guitar Sharks. In R4, I have seen Blacktip, Whitetip Reef, Grey Reef, Bamboo, Zebra, Wobbegong & Walking (Epaulett) Sharks. So, it all depends on which one you want to see. You may not see all of them in a single trip. I made 3 trips to Maldives & 8 trips to R4 to see those that I listed above.

To me biodiversity of R4 wins over Maldives. Maldives coral is pale in comparison to R4.

Go to R4!