3 week Indonesia trip in June/July

[bballnut90]

I'm thinking about taking a trip to Indonesia in June/July and doing a few weeks of diving....I have my AOW and 71 dives under my belt. Comfortable in currents, although I do prefer less current if I'm on a reef. Not a fan of down current/washing machine currents...had a pretty terrifying experience at Crystal Bay (Nusa Islands) getting my AOW years ago. Fine with stronger currents if it means pelagic life.

Top priorities for me include:
-big stuff, love sharks/rays/groupers/schools of fish, etc.
-gorgeous reefs with tons of fish/critters
-night dives (not a must but I do enjoy them)

Not huge on macro but I still enjoy it.

Couple of other things:
1. I have no problem with long travel times to get to remote spots, I'm not sure when I'll have this much time for a trip again so spending a couple extra days on the road to get to a unique spot that is less trafficked would be worth it for me
2. Visited Bunaken/Lembeh last year so I'll skip those this time. Really enjoyed both spots.
3. Prefer warmer water (26C and up) if possible, this isn't a deal breaker
4. Prefer land based diving and staying at a dive resort to liveaboards
5. Budget isn't an issue, although I'm not looking to fork out Layang Layang kind of $$
6. Open to going outside of Indonesia too

Based on preliminary findings the following spots have piqued my interest, but wanted to hear about any other sites people enjoy or recommendations for a well rounded 3 week trip:
Kalimaya
Komodo (planning to also do a liveaboard in 2020...would this be overkill?)
Alor
Raja Ampat (is land based diving still a good option there?)
Banda Island
Bali (starting/ending point)

 

[matts1w]

Based on your time of year I think you have to pass on Raja Ampat. Based on what you want Komodo and Alor are your best bets. That being said, Komodo is best done by liveaboard and you already have a trip planned there(?) and Alor is cold. I dont know anyone who has been to Kalimaya. I am very interested but the price is pretty brutal.

 

[Luko]

Not the best idea for Raja4 in June/July.
Would say Komodo, it never disappoints even for a repeat, I have dived Komodo every year for the 3 past years, while I dived Alor for the 3 years before in a row.
Alor is miminum 9 days, so I think, and mandatorily from Alor Eco divers, Komodo can be done in 6-7 days, much better in a liveaboard (how about being woken up with mantas circling around the boat in a northern Komodo bay) provided you will only go central and north at this time of the year. Keep south Komodo for your next trip -(but then plan March-May or October-December).
I went to Kalimaya last year (search for my report on this board), I find this place is to be spared when you have already plyied Komodo, the big boon is that you can dive Sangeang volcano from there, that is mainly black sand and awesome macro, there are Komodo/Alor like dives (mantas, schools of fish) but they are further away from the resort and really weather dependant, that's the problem with this area. Keep Kalimaya for your next visit in august to november (couple it with your Komodo liveaboard 2020)
Banda is a no no at this time of the year. The waves can be huge, historically that's one of the reason why the portuguese invaders couldn't get to the Banda islands and why the place is still remote. (Though the dutch and british ships were sturdier than the portuguese)

 

[reubencahn]

I've been to northern Raja twice in July/August, and diving conditions were excellent. Calm seas and clear blue water. It's only the south that's not diveable.

 

[Luko]

I've been to northern Raja twice in July/August, and diving conditions were excellent. Calm seas and clear blue water. It's only the south that's not diveable.

Dampier can be dived in July August (more august than july from what I've been told).. but the manta rays are supposed to be gone too.

 

[RobinC.]

My 2 cents of advice, you don't want to spend to much time travelling around, i would focus on a particular area and do several spots around.
According to your requirements i would suggest to look up to Wakatobi. Walls are impressive and coral health is amazing. You could definitely combine it with the maluku islands, both of them being not that far away.
Let me know if you want more infos about the south east sulawesi area, i ve been around the last two years and would happily share my knowledge of the area.

Disclaimer : I am gonna soon start an operation in the region, in the meantime i could point you to reliable and safe operators in the area.

 

[bballnut90]

Thank you all for the recommendations....very helpful stuff. I think I will take the plunge and go with Komodo since it seems like it has it all and is easy to get to. How many days would you recommend diving here? Was thinking of doing a 3/2 LOB or 4d/3n LOB, and then maybe sticking around 3-4 extra days before or after-- would this be too long in Komodo? For reference, I did 4 days in Bunaken (11 dives) and 3 in Lembeh (10 dives) and felt like it was a great amount...more would've been overload for me.

Might do some non-dive exploration across Flores or check out Maumere before heading back to Bali. Would also consider squeezing in Gili if I have time but not dead set on diving in Bali or Gili. Thanks again all--especially @Luko for your trip review and other information on here that has been immensely helpful.

 

[chillyinCanada]

My 2 cents of advice, you don't want to spend to much time travelling around, i would focus on a particular area and do several spots around.
According to your requirements i would suggest to look up to Wakatobi. Walls are impressive and coral health is amazing. You could definitely combine it with the maluku islands, both of them being not that far away.
Let me know if you want more infos about the south east sulawesi area, i ve been around the last two years and would happily share my knowledge of the area.

Disclaimer : I am gonna soon start an operation in the region, in the meantime i could point you to reliable and safe operators in the area.

Please do tell me more!

 

[RobinC.]

South-East sulawesi is an incredible region diving wise and yet still almost unexplored.
Bau-Bau and Wakatobi are the two main hotspots for diving.

Wakatobi is oneof the oldest national park in indonesia and it is an aquipelago of 4 main islands (WAngi-wangi,KAledupa,TOmia,BInongko).
The four islands are surrounded by amazingly healthy coral reefs and walls and have some fresh water caves to dive to.
I would say that the coral health is at a top level, fish density less than Raja Ampat.
All the dives are boat dives and the operators can easily arrange kind of a safari between all the islands.
Access wise, there is an airport in Wangi-wangi. Be ready for a long trip though, paradise is not easily accessible

 

[Indah]

Best time of the year for Magic Bay Rao, near Morotai, North Moluccas.