Komodo: land-based diving

[silent running]

Each to their own I guess, but I quite liked Labuanbajo - still a sleepy, dusty little port town, but changing fast - when I was there last year there was a new place (The Lounge) which served tapas, humus, olives, multigrain breads - very cosmopolitan, LOL!

Thanks for the update BH, good to know there's now some dining options in LB, unlike Alor, which has only 1 restaurant, a just OK Chinese place. Still, no matter where you are in Indo, the food will always be better than the local cuisine in PNG...

 

[silent running]

I only dove Komodo a few times but enjoy staying in Labuanbajo. I rather like Indonesia and it's people and like to do stuff besides dive.

DP, I'm not trying to give you a a hard time, but who among us doesn't like Indonesian people? It's entirely possible to enjoy the company of locals, but still not prefer the particular place in which they live. Modern Cozumel comes immediately to mind. I've met many nice people from places I'd never spend time and money to get to. Been to LB twice, and other than the nice view of the harbor from the hill, I didn't find anything to recommend it. Neither did my friend who spent 6 months there, maybe I'm missing something and I'd be happy to find out what it is, but as BH said, to each his own.

(probably the wrong thing to say on this forum, but 5 dives a day is more than I need)

I usually don't do more than 3 dives a day, that's not why I prefer liveaboards. It's because they are able to cover a larger area more comfortably than a small, pitching boat, not to mention the nice, slow pace and the pleasure of a night sky in a remote area. As we all know, diving is hard enough on our bodies without having to brace for the hardship of 10-15 hrs a on a small boat in a place known for having difficult sea conditions. I try to imagine selling the idea of such a multiple day trip to my girlfriend and the married rebreather diving couple I travel with, wouldn't even bring it up.

When I give advice, I assume that the person is unfamiliar with the subject and less inclined to endure hardship than myself. Otherwise, why would they be asking? Can one have an enjoyable dive experience in Komodo on a day boat over multiple long, bouncing, pitching days? Sure, I could. But apparently I'm unusual, given how many people get certified and then give up diving soon after. I'm guessing that after having to travel a very long way just to get to LB harbor, most will not. -Andy

 

[Wayan]

Each to their own I guess, but I quite liked Labuanbajo - still a sleepy, dusty little port town, but changing fast - when I was there last year there was a new place (The Lounge) which served tapas, humus, olives, multigrain breads - very cosmopolitan, LOL!

Trips to the south need to be timed right, due to the tides - the route is through a narrow channel between islands, and its a raging river that boats can't go against if they time it wrong. I've been to Cannibal Rock and other dive sites down there a couple of times, very beautiful, its about a 4 hour trip - a long day - but not boring as the scenery is fantastic. Worth doing IMO.

Yes absolutely correct it is a long journey no matter which way you go (there are 3 different ways) This is why Live-aboards dive their way in an out of the park and normally (depending on where the live-aboard departs from LBJ/Bima/Bali.....) they do nt get into Horseshoe bay until their 2md or 3rd day in the park. This is also why a lot of the smaller days boats operating out of LBJ only do the northern dive sites, however the best diving in Komodo is still down in Horseshoe bay - we would spend 2 1/2 - 3 days down there with 4 to 5 dives a day and were never board. Cannibal rock is something you can do all day and still find new critters etc. Also gives time to monitor the conditions so as you can gey out to the pinnacle (a great dive just fo the north eastern end of Nusa Kode. It would be such a shame to do komodo and not do Horseshoe bay. But then each to their own as they say you can lead a horse to water but not make him drink.............

 

[Bora_Horza]

I'd like to hear anyone's personal experience on day-trip diving from Labuanbajo to the Komodo area, particularly south Rinca Island and the Gili Lawas. I know that there are dive ops in Labuanbajo that advertise going there (ReefSeekers, for one), but wonder how long and difficult the trips are. I also am fairly certain that an ideal scenario would be a liveaboard, but that isn't an option for me right now.

I've had 3 holidays where I did daytrip diving from Labuanbajo. The first time was with Bajo Dive, and I had an excellent time with them. We'd set off between 7 and 8 am, and with the boat they had at the time it was about 2 hours to the central part of the KNP (Bato Balong, Tatawa Kecil and Besar, etc). 4 hour trip to Manta Alley (South Komodo), 3 hours to North Komodo (Gili Lawa Laut). 3 hours to Pillarstien / Three Sisters.

The second time I visited I was going to go with Bajo Dive again, but they were a bit low on customers at the time, so could not guarantee going out to the dive sites for just one diver... So I went with Reefseekers, and they were also very good. They also had a bigger, faster dive boat, so only 1.5 hours to Bato Balong and The Airstrip. Trips to the north of Komodo were regularly done (Gili Lawa Laut), to divesites like Crystal Rock, Full Moon, The Cauldron, Lighthouse, etc. These took 2.5 to 3 hours or so.

All the trips I've done (I've visited around Easter each time) the sea has been flat, with no big waves or swell, possibly because of all the surrounding islands inhibits wave buildup. Some interesting upwellings and currents and stuff though, and beautiful scenery and islands, and occasional pods of dolphins. You'd just chat with other divers, have some tea and coffee and biscuits, and chill. On the Reefseeker boats they'd do these half hour or so talks on different marine critters - nudibranchs, sharks, corals, etc, very informative.

The only time I really saw big sea swell was when we went to the South dive sites - Manta Alley and Cannibal Rock, where we'd be exposed for a while to the open southern ocean, then there was a bit of up and down on the boat.

After the first dive you'd have lunch and a surface interval, the boat would move to the next divesite, you'd do the second dive, then make the trip back to Labuanbajo...

 

[Valwood1]

Thanks for your very informative reply, BH and all others.

I was convinced before posting my original thread that a liveaboard is the best way to go, and still believe that to be true. But, I'm having a problem finding one that fits my schedule, and hence am considering land-based plans.

 

[kopin]

I've been to LBJ for once. During the five days there, I dived at the north Komodo and visited the dragon lizard at Rica Island.

The best and popular way to visit Komodo could be the livbeaboard trip. I chose the land based tour because of the budget and time concerns. However, it is still excellent in this way.

I was there at the end of the dry season (Aug). Those dry islands were really impressive when considering the amusing contrast that they are located in the water (ocean). If you take the flight from Bali to LBJ, surely you can't miss the chance to look down.

LBJ is a small palce. I didn't have any memory about this place except for the look out sunset view from a hill top restaurant. (please go the the below link to see this sunset view).

The trip to Rica isalnd is also interesting. I really like the wild feeling there.

The most interesting thing there is snorkeling with the mantas. I was very lucky to snorkel with the same manta for miuntes(please go the the below link to see the photos I took). The snorkeling trips were arranged during the rest time before the 2nd dive.

About the diving, I think they are good. Sorry that the memory of the other activities has occupied my mind now.


Kopin's Trip Report

 

[dutchpickle]

kopin - very nice

silent running - I wasn't trying to be caustic, just offering a rebutle to the "liveaboard is the ONLY way to go statement"

For a 100 dollar bill you can have a great day diving and see a lot of mantas.

The OP is not on a budget but others (ie-me) might be and I don't want them to be put of going to Lubuanbao and doing shore based diving.

Shore based diving in Komodo was the first and only time I saw over 100 mantas in one day. (with john of Bajo Dive)

It's also the only time I watched the same 3 mantas for over an hour at close range in heavy current. (with Kath and Ernest of Reefseekers - definately one of my most memorable dives)

cheers

dp

 

[silent running]

kopin - very nice

silent running - I wasn't trying to be caustic, just offering a rebutle to the "liveaboard is the ONLY way to go statement"

For a 100 dollar bill you can have a great day diving and see a lot of mantas.

The OP is not on a budget but others (ie-me) might be and I don't want them to be put of going to Lubuanbao and doing shore based diving.

Shore based diving in Komodo was the first and only time I saw over 100 mantas in one day. (with john of Bajo Dive)

It's also the only time I watched the same 3 mantas for over an hour at close range in heavy current. (with Kath and Ernest of Reefseekers - definately one of my most memorable dives)

cheers

dp

Yes dp, glad to know you had such good diving with the local operators. My 2 trips to Komodo were both on the same budget liveaboard and there's no way I'd pay $300+ a day for any of the current big name boats. Day boat diving in Komodo can be an excellent value, but I was a bit put off of the idea after watching a local operator's boat pitching around in rough water in Manta Alley. There was water coming over the side of their boat and they were really struggling to get the divers out of the water and I couldn't help thinking that after all that, they still had that long ride back to Labuanbajo... -Andy

 

[dutchpickle]

silent running

cheers

I really love cruising around through those islands. For me that is part of the fun.

dp

 

[silent running]

I really love cruising around through those islands. For me that is part of the fun.

dp

Yes indeed dp, the scenery is really spectacular, the steep slopes of the islands around Manta Alley are particularly dramatic. Hope to see it again in the not too distant future... -Andy