Diving in April - Komodo, Raja Ampat, Somewhere Else?

[mattia_v]

Hi guys,

My girlfriend and I (both AOW certified, beginning divers with about 70 dives under our belts) are planning a 3 week trip in April, the most likely destination being Indonesia (which part t.b.d.), Malaysia is also on the table. A very good friend of mine waxed lyrical over his Raja Ampat live aboard experience, and while it sounds amazing, I think it's a little bit out of our budget - I'm looking to stay under 2000 US $ per person for the diving.

The amount of information on various diving options is overwhelming to say the least, so I thought I'd ask for recommendations here - quality of dives is more important the quantity, and paying a bit more to get better dives is worth it to us. We're open to resort diving as well, particularly if the topside are is particularly nice. Luxury accommodation or boats are not a necessity - I'm maybe a bit more fanatic about the diving than she is. We prefer nice corals and colors (with rich fish life) to much diving for macro, and I'm a big fan of the big game (sharks, mantas) if that helps narrow things a little; most of our diving has been in the Caribbean (Bonaire, Curucao), some in the Indian ocean (Mafia island) and we did the ribbon reefs (GBR) on a 3-day live aboard on Taka last June, and were lucky enough to encounter the Minkes on two of the three days.

So: if you had time off in April, and were pondering Indonesia, Malaysia (or the Philippines?), what would you recommend? This will be our first trip to the region, and flights to Bali, Singapore and Jakarta all cost about the same at the moment; for travelling around afterwards / around the diving, we're after a less touristy, more off-the-beaten-track sort of feel, which makes Bali a little less attractive from what I've gathered.

 

[metalinvader]

Hi guys,

My girlfriend and I (both AOW certified, beginning divers with about 70 dives under our belts) are planning a 3 week trip in April, the most likely destination being Indonesia (which part t.b.d.), Malaysia is also on the table. A very good friend of mine waxed lyrical over his Raja Ampat live aboard experience, and while it sounds amazing, I think it's a little bit out of our budget - I'm looking to stay under 2000 US $ per person for the diving.

The amount of information on various diving options is overwhelming to say the least, so I thought I'd ask for recommendations here - quality of dives is more important the quantity, and paying a bit more to get better dives is worth it to us. We're open to resort diving as well, particularly if the topside are is particularly nice. Luxury accommodation or boats are not a necessity - I'm maybe a bit more fanatic about the diving than she is. We prefer nice corals and colors (with rich fish life) to much diving for macro, and I'm a big fan of the big game (sharks, mantas) if that helps narrow things a little; most of our diving has been in the Caribbean (Bonaire, Curucao), some in the Indian ocean (Mafia island) and we did the ribbon reefs (GBR) on a 3-day live aboard on Taka last June, and were lucky enough to encounter the Minkes on two of the three days.

So: if you had time off in April, and were pondering Indonesia, Malaysia (or the Philippines?), what would you recommend? This will be our first trip to the region, and flights to Bali, Singapore and Jakarta all cost about the same at the moment; for travelling around afterwards / around the diving, we're after a less touristy, more off-the-beaten-track sort of feel, which makes Bali a little less attractive from what I've gathered.

for that budget (below USD 2k/person - assuming a whole week trip) in Raja Ampat and surrounding area, try Grand Komodo Liveaboard ( Grand Komodo | Grand Komodo Travel ). They are well recommended and have good operation. Give them a call or email to check their schedule and availability.

 

[Centrals]

2 grands for 3wk of diving!!
Try Philippines particularly the Visayas region.
Malapascua, Moalboal(side track to Oslob to see whalesharks)and Dumaguete. All connected by public transport.

 

[mattia_v]

No no, 2 grand for up to one week of diving. And more for airfare and general traveling around

thabks for the tips, more reading to do!

 

[Luko]

If you're looking off the beaten track and great diving then Alor might suit your needs. I'd recommend Alor Divers : great little resort, nice beach, fantastic diving.
Afterwards you may enjoy crossing Flores from Maumere to Labuan Bajo, it will take you about 5 days stopping at different places, you can arrange that cheaply and Flores is probably one of the most beautiful islands in Indonesia. You might stp a few days in Labuan bajo to see the Komodo dragons and/or take a week touring Bali on land (and why not having a dive day on the Liberty wreck for a change), at this time of the year you may not have all the tourist pression you have in july/august.

 

[Centrals]

No no, 2 grand for up to one week of diving. And more for airfare and general traveling around

So you have three wks and willing to spend 2 grand pp for a week of diving!!
Indonesia is pretty spread out and travelling is quite slow especially over water as there are plenty of islands to negotiate.
How about this:
Bali, fly over to Manado and dive either Bunaken or Lembeh, make your way to Torajaland and finally fly back to Bali from Ujung Pandang.
You can also fly from Bali to Dilli(East Timor)!!!!! There is diving there as well.

 

[Indah]

Dear Mattia,

You could think about the Halmahera Sea/Weda Bay. She offers everything you look for and more. A dive area as wide as Bunaken National Park and Lembeh Strait together. Priced at USD 190, - p.p for full board accommodation with three boat dives, without dive time limits.

 

[Namie]

I'm planning to dive Ambon and Banda Islands in April. I may have time to go to one spot, if I had to choose over Maumere or Alor which would you recommend?

---------- Post added January 10th, 2016 at 08:53 PM ----------

Hi Luko, I'm planning to dive Ambon and Banda Islands in April. I may have time to go to one spot, if I had to choose over Maumere or Alor which would you recommend?

---------- Post added January 10th, 2016 at 09:33 PM ----------

I went on the Taka liveaboard to dive with the Minke Whales too last July! If you have three weeks, Indonesia or Philippines have great diving, though traveling in between destinations may take longer as it takes longer to get to places. Philippines: I'd suggest Malapascua to see the thresher sharks, nice little island few tourists but hard to get to. All the places Central mentioned are good too. Moalboal has some great side trips to see three levels of waterfalls, there are millions of sardines just off the beach, snorkeling is a better way to see them than diving. From there you can go to Oslob I believe to see the whale sharks (though it is by feeding them). If you are going in April you can dive the Tubbahatta reef, where the diving season is from March to June only. Apo reef is supposed to be pretty good too, dont get it confused with Apo island (near Dumaguete).

Indonesia: Komodo has the best diving ever, lots of pelagics, amazing visibility. In terms of finances, I'd say Philippines has cheaper infrastructure (buses, planes, boats) to get to places, whereas Indonesia to get to the good diving spots (Alor, Ambon, Banda islands, Komodo) you have to fly and domestic flights are not that cheap about $150-200 per person one way!

 

[adamsnothere]

We did Gili Air, Nusa Lembongan and Komodo in July 2014, starting from a flight in to Bali. All were good, but Komodo definitely stood out with a number of out of this world dives. We did day trips from Labuan Bajo, which allowed 2-3 dives per day. Pricing was pretty reasonable. We found accommodations in Labuan Bajo a bit trickier as we didn't pre-book and there weren't a lot of options when we went (may be better now). If you do go, I can highly recommend Manta Rhei in Labuan Bajo, the team there was fabulous and the day trip on the boat was a lot of fun besides the awesome dives.

 

[Struth Ruth]

Alor was fantastic - went in October and returning in March. Totally recommended Alami Alor, great reef, wall and muck diving, also hammerheads around full moon time, super pod of dolphins, minke whales and swimming with mola mola, all in my first three days, loved it.