Best Diving in Indonesia?

[scubajunky17]

Hi all,
I'm in R4 now, third time here, dove Komodo twice by liveaboard, also Bali, Bunaken, Lembeh.
Is it worth it to go to Bandaneira in August?
Where else is the same standard as Raja Ampat?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Luko]

Where else is the same standard as Raja Ampat?

My personal top3 destinations for Indonesia is R4, Komodo and Alor.

June to August in Central Maluku are not the best time to travel could be raining bucketloads with risks of high seas.

 

[scubajunky17]

Yes, guess it's no fun if it's raining constantly. Must get there sometime though.
Is Alor comparable to Komodo and R4?

 

[Luko]

Is Alor comparable to Komodo and R4?

In terms of overall quality I'd say it's comparable to Komodo (went 5 times to Komodo, 4 times to Alor), I still put R4 above.
Keep in mind it's very different from Komodo, the currents are IMO fiercer and harder to control because unlike Komodo it's mostly wall diving, the strait between Alor and Pantar is deep and hardly provide any shelter unlike Komodo. It's much better dived with a resort than Liveaboard because the diving must be timed very precisely otherwise you could be in heavy trouble, good knowledge of the reef and tides is key (I've seen liveaboards pushed backwards by the current, finally ending at the housereef of the resort because they didn't know where to shelter).
The water is uncomparably blue with great visibility, very good coral and abundant reeffish life, there are chances around full moon to spot lots of sharks and hammerheads in the north and on some other parts of the strait threshers and Molamola. Even blue whales in october, as well as gigantic pods of dolphins.
Alor is also great for muck/macro diving especially in Kalabahi bay even though last year was not good at all on that respect : usually lots of rhinopias, frogfish nudis, crustacea (harlequin, coleman, etc.)...

 

[scubajunky17]

Sounds great, are there many land based dive options that don't break the bank ? But you still think R4 is better?

 

[cetacean]

@scubajunky17

I would add that several of the more reputable liveaboards that have experience diving the Maumere-Alor route, the LBJ-Kupang route, or even the Kupang-Saumlaki route do a good job diving the region (ex: the Damai boats).

Having done a couple of these routes before I would say the diving is as good or better than Komodo, in part because there are many (many) fewer boats. In addition to the very good diving, on one of our trips we came across (and snorkeled with) a pod of pilot whales, as well as finding a blue whale (didn't snorkel with this giant).

We've also heard many good things about East Timor (technically no longer Indonesia as of ~20 year ago) - large pelagics (incl. cetaceans) and very good macro, with the added bonus of being able to connect through Australia.

 

[scubajunky17]

But you still think R4 tops it ?
I've heard good things about Timor too.

 

[Luko]

Sounds great, are there many land based dive options that don't break the bank ?

I am a customer of Alor Eco Divers which is a comfortable midmarket option, they were the second resort to establish in Alor (I think 2006) after La Ptite Kepa which is budget but has not resumed diving since COVID (their dive center closed but I think the accoms are still there and Lazy Turtle dive center caters to their guests).
There's also a local operation that has been there for 6 or 7 years Air Dive Alor, otherwise some other ops have opened recently like Nautika.
I'll skip Alami or some other more expensive options, as well as other historical operations who either operate from a boat or caters to mini groups.

But you still think R4 is better?

Overall I think there's more fish in R4 that's why I'd put it above, however I think the point is not about which is "better" but rather worth it because the diving is quite different, for instance you'll never have Alor incredible visibility nor spot hammerhead "walls" in R4.

 

[scubajunky17]

Is it any good there in August?
Where would I fly to to get there?
Is it well connected to Jakarta?
Do they have Mantas ?

 

[cetacean]

@scubajunky17

I've been diving for quite a while. One of the things I've learned about myself (as well as my wife, and our kids when they dive with us) is that "great diving" often is defined in the context of what we want to look for or experience.

For example - we've been to the Wakatobi region a number of times. The diversity isn't as high as R4, however the reefs are as good or in better shape, depending on what you're looking for (although no sharks, no mantas, fewer turtles).

For macro (in Indonesia) Lembeh (& Alor) is better than R4.

For mantas we've had more luck (and better experiences) around Sangalaki (Kalimantan).

For us, it often depends on where we've recently been, and a desire to experience something else.

After diving R4 and Komodo earlier this summer my son mentioned that he was kind of missing a more "target rich" macro environment for u/w photography. We're going to Anilao end of December because of this.

After 25 years of diving my wife recently discovered she really likes muck diving as well as black water diving. We haven't finalized our plans for next summer, but that will be a key criteria for choosing where we go.

My daughter wants the opportunity to capture images of whale sharks, so we're going to try Triton Bay in the spring. After that, she really wants to dive East Timor.

So where does R4 rank for me? The answer I would give you is.. "it depends" (usually on the last place we dived).

I know this is mostly an unhelpful answer, but this is very much how we plan our next trips.