Indo vs. Phi

[Wingy]

You would be but don't have to miss out on Bangka. Depending on your op at Lembeh you may be able to arrange a day trip to Bangka Island. Beautiful place with some lovely dive sites.

 

[Dan]

I did a day trip to Bangka, while in Lembeh and took the picture above.

 

[Luko]

View attachment 382518

I did a day trip to Bangka, while in Lembeh and took the picture above.

Don't get me started on Bangka corals or syngnathidaes...

https://flic.kr/p/rbLqxn

https://flic.kr/p/rbLqxn

 

[gassed]

Wow. Okay then, are we saying Bangka over Lembeh or a nice addition too?
Are there land based in Bangka that one may choose in place if Lembeh?
I guess what I am really asking is if this is the last trip if my life what are the MUST SEE locations?
I think the Raja live aboard to either Misool or Triton will start the trip. Lembeh seemed like the other obvious but I have done little or no research on Bangka. Will we see any of the same things in Bangka we will see in Raj is is Bangka famous for more or better of something? Is Lembeh really the muck Capitol of he world? If it us I must go but if Bangka offers anything as Best in the world then it would be crazy to miss out.
Sorry for so many questions and thank you for all if your experience!
And then there are the dive op questions.........

 

[AmphiBee]

Hi Gassed, Lembeh is good but a bit overcrowded sometimes, but definirely a good spot to find rare macro and take your time to take pictures (many diving centers provide a private dive guide with a fee). Easy...
Then, you can find perfect conditions to see rare macro stuff in Alor, Triton Bay, Sangihe Islands, Halmahera, Banda Neira and many more in Indonesia.

 

[Darnold9999]

Thank you all for the qualified responses. It sounds like a Raja liveaboard followed by a few days in Lembeh at a land based would tick a few boxes. Would we be missing out on anything outside of Dragons with that plan?

Personally I would do it the other way around. Lembeh first, then Raja. Done it both ways and Lembeh first works better.

 

[Alice Goot]

Hi Gassed,

When are you traveling? You've probably researched it already, but I didn't see travel dates in your thread, maybe I just missed them. Raja Ampat (north vs south) and Triton are seasonal. Lembeh can be done year-round, but Bangka can have winds and rough surf at certain times of year too, making it difficult to get to some of the best sites.

Cheers

 

[gassed]

Hi Gassed,

When are you traveling? You've probably researched it already, but I didn't see travel dates in your thread, maybe I just missed them. Raja Ampat (north vs south) and Triton are seasonal. Lembeh can be done year-round, but Bangka can have winds and rough surf at certain times of year too, making it difficult to get to some of the best sites.

Cheers

No dates set yet. We are still stashing cash, rolling over extra vacation time and building flight miles. Late 17 at the earliest. Maybe 2018? Either way we have some flexability in our scheduling.
I will start adding weather patterns to my research. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[gassed]

Personally I would do it the other way around. Lembeh first, then Raja. Done it both ways and Lembeh first works better.

Thanks for the insight. Could you give some more detail? I was thinking land based after live aboard would be a better "decompression" period. After 10-12 days (40 dives) on a boat one or both of us may have ear or other issues. My thoughts were that it would be more comfortable land based if it was physically challenging to dive. But we have not done a live aboard outside of 3 days so I am speculating.
Why do you prefer the other way around?
Thanks!

 

[Luko]

Thanks for the insight. Could you give some more detail? I was thinking land based after live aboard would be a better "decompression" period. After 10-12 days (40 dives) on a boat one or both of us may have ear or other issues. My thoughts were that it would be more comfortable land based if it was physically challenging to dive. But we have not done a live aboard outside of 3 days so I am speculating.
Why do you prefer the other way around?
Thanks!

I was also better off doing Lembeh/Bangka after a week in Raja Ampat. First Raja Ampat diving is more demanding and secondly I would have felt guilty to miss a dive while I could rest a bit in Lembeh after intense diving and sometimes skip a dive or two without any remorse.