Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
IMHO the southern sites in Missool overall are better than the North.
Of course there are a few of exceptional sites up north as well (Sardine Reef, Cape Kri, Batu Burung (nee Melissa's Garden) to name a few, however overall Missool offers a greater variety and more options depending on weather
Really? You have far more experience in Indonesia than we do, so I respect your opinions, but I can say that after our trip to Misool/Triton Bay last November, I would not go back. Yes, it was our only trip to RA (with a boat very experienced in the area), and I know conditions can vary, but I would not go back if there was a chance the diving was similar to what we experienced on that trip. And if you feel that Misool is better in general than the northern sites (which we have not visited), then I really would have reservations about going north.
.... but I can say that after our trip to Misool/Triton Bay last November, I would not go back. ......., then I really would have reservations about going north.
I'm not sure what are you looking for but RA is famous for it's pristine reefs, which still are and macro critters, which are in abundance when I visited. Diving conditions (weather, sea conditions etc) can vary. We called this Mother Nature at work!
Hopefully your experience did not make you lose your faith in the great diving Indonesia has to offer. Let us know what happened.
Happy bubbles,
Jovin-
Viz in Triton Bay extremely poor, to the point that we left after one day, which was frustrating given it's almost 300 miles from Misool. I understand that visibility is impacted by nutrients in the water, which yields denser aquatic life ... but when the dive guide points at a vague shadow off toward the deep, and the viz is so poor it could have been a big yellow school bus going by and we wouldn't know it, well, that has an impact on the quality of the experience.
Did you check with the dive guides (1) Is visibility usually bad at that time of the year (Nov)?; (2) What is the best time to dive Triton Bay? If I remember correctly, my dive guide from MV RA mentioned that the Southern sides (Fak Fak/ Triton Bay) are BEST dived between Feb to May due to weather/sea conditions.
As I said, YMMV ... I understand that another trip could yield different results. But given the cost and difficulty of getting to RA, I'm not sure I'd do it again. I can certainly say that our experience did not warrant all of the RA hype in print. And I'd never give up on Indonesia ... we're just about to commit to another trip there this fall ... to a different area.
Not saying that the diving was uniformly poor ... there were some very nice dives. Gorgonian Passage had the biggest fans I have ever seen, and it was one of the days when viz was better while we were there. But there was a fair number of very average dives, and some that didn't rate as well as average. Regarding nudis and other critters, I would rate Wakatobi higher by far for the number of them, though we did see some very unusual ones in RA. Fish count higher in RA, and more species. Viz in Triton Bay extremely poor, to the point that we left after one day, which was frustrating given it's almost 300 miles from Misool. I understand that visibility is impacted by nutrients in the water, which yields denser aquatic life ... but when the dive guide points at a vague shadow off toward the deep, and the viz is so poor it could have been a big yellow school bus going by and we wouldn't know it, well, that has an impact on the quality of the experience. This was a group with 300-1000 dives, many on Indonesian trips, and everyone shared similar opinions and expectations.
As I said, YMMV ... I understand that another trip could yield different results. But given the cost and difficulty of getting to RA, I'm not sure I'd do it again. I can certainly say that our experience did not warrant all of the RA hype in print. And I'd never give up on Indonesia ... we're just about to commit to another trip there this fall ... to a different area.