I am thinking of doing a fall diving trip to N.Sulawesi this fall. Would December be a good time? Could go as early as mid september if that would be better. Or would I be better looking for another destination for this time of year.
N.Sulawesi - when to go (sept,oct,nov or dec)?
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BlueBayDivers
Registered
hi sea star, it depends, where you want to go to North Sulawesi. at the Islands like bunaken or bangka the weather is mostly fine also in DEC. but at the mainland (manado) it will mostly rain in the afternoon, starting in OCT
Wisnu
Contributor
We visited N.Sulawesi dec. 2008 - 4 days at Bunaken and 4 days at lembeh; all days were productive we do not miss any single dives.
AlanWald
Contributor
Always check the seasonal airfare changes that are often totally unrelated to dive seasons.
For example, Singapore Airlines flight from Los Angeles usually goes up in price on April 1 and comes down early September. A few years ago this was about a US$600 difference. I flew on March 30 and got the low season fare for both outbound and return (which was end of April well into the high season) flights You can find this information under the FARE RULES or ask a specialist travel agent.
Be sure to do as many night dives as you can, especially in Lembeh. Also North Sulawesi is great for cuttlefish and other cephalopods. But keep your hands to yourself. They do have the blue ring Octopus which while not aggressive while bite you if you harass it and its bite can be fatal.
There is a web site called YAPTA.com which lets you enter a possible flight date (they do cover Singapore Airlines now, but not all major non-US based airlines yet) and the web site will email you when the price has gone down or up (you specify the minimum change, e.g. $25) Very often flights will go down in price several hundred dollars at 2 AM only to go back up at 8 AM.
For example, Singapore Airlines flight from Los Angeles usually goes up in price on April 1 and comes down early September. A few years ago this was about a US$600 difference. I flew on March 30 and got the low season fare for both outbound and return (which was end of April well into the high season) flights You can find this information under the FARE RULES or ask a specialist travel agent.
Be sure to do as many night dives as you can, especially in Lembeh. Also North Sulawesi is great for cuttlefish and other cephalopods. But keep your hands to yourself. They do have the blue ring Octopus which while not aggressive while bite you if you harass it and its bite can be fatal.
There is a web site called YAPTA.com which lets you enter a possible flight date (they do cover Singapore Airlines now, but not all major non-US based airlines yet) and the web site will email you when the price has gone down or up (you specify the minimum change, e.g. $25) Very often flights will go down in price several hundred dollars at 2 AM only to go back up at 8 AM.
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Travelnsj
Contributor
I've been to Lembeh and Raja Ampat in October, December and January. Weather has been perfect. Going back this November.
song
Contributor
Great info, AlanWald. I'm just starting to check into options for Indonesia, maybe in February or early March. Is that the Singapore Airlines flight that refuels in Moscow? Just didn't quite like the sound of that but I don't know why. Will check Yapta from now on.
Everyone, keep that advice coming. That's why I love ScubaBoard.
AlanWald
Contributor
The flight on Singapore Airlines from Los Angeles either goes non-stop (more expensive) or (if they are still running it) one stop via Tokyo (cheaper). No Moscow
No matter which flight you take, you end up connecting with the same Silk Air (subsidiary of Singapore Air) flight to Manado. There are also flights to Manado via Kuala Lumpur on Air Asia.
I prefer the one stop, it gives me a chance to get off the plane for an hour in Tokyo, plus if you are lucky, more people get off at Tokyo then get on, and you may gain a few extra seats to stretch out on and it is cheaper.
One advantage from LA of the Singapore Silkair flight is that the Piece concept ( PC) for baggage (it used to be two bags each up to 50 lbs per bag, always get current info on baggage allowance as t changes, used to be 70 lbs per bag a few years back) is applied because it is considered a flight from or to North America. The stop in Singapore does NOT matter as it is considered required part of a continuous flight on one ticket (even though you change carriers, Singapore air owns Silk air)
From Singapore Airlines web site Flights to USA operated by SQ's Codeshare Partners
For flights to/from USA/Canada, the Checked Baggage allowance is for two pieces of Baggage, the weight of each piece of which shall not exceed 23 kilograms (50 pounds)
Silk Air web site explains the weight and piece concepts
SilkAir : where the world unwinds
Singapore Airport is amazing. Free Wifi hot spots, free Xbox games (upstairs from the area near the Orchid Garden in Terminal 2 maybe elsewhere too), free use of internet connected computers in the main areas and even in the departure lounges. Free local calls to Singapore (look for phone on the walls).
Don't miss the Orchid Garden with Koi pond. Each terminal has a few nice indoor gardens. Terminal Two has a rooftop Sunflower Garden which is where the smoking area is located. Also nice to go out to at night for a nap but be aware, all night long security does check passport and boarding passes, so have your papers handy.
But if you were to fly on Malaysian air to Kuala Lumpur and then change to a different airlines say, Air Asia, then the weight concept would apply from KL to Manado which is two bags with total of 20 Kg (or 44 lbs) for economy. This is because it is considered a break in the journey, so once in KL you are no longer considered flying from or to US/Canada.
I don't know the fares now, but a few years ago I got a fare from the Singapore airlines web site that was $45 cheaper than what my friend who works for a major ticket agency in the US could get wholesale. So keep checking.
When you fly LAX to Manado via Singapore Air and Silk Air, you just check your luggage straight thru so you do not have to handle it in Singapore, so bring in your carry on anything you may need in Singapore airport,
There is an Ambassador Transit Hotel Ambassador Transit Hotel in each terminal on the thrid level that rent small rooms (minimum is 6 hours, and then you can add one hour blocks) as well as a new fancy five star hotel attached to the new Terminal three. To go to the transit hotels you don't leave the airport, you just go upstairs.
No matter which flight you take, you end up connecting with the same Silk Air (subsidiary of Singapore Air) flight to Manado. There are also flights to Manado via Kuala Lumpur on Air Asia.
I prefer the one stop, it gives me a chance to get off the plane for an hour in Tokyo, plus if you are lucky, more people get off at Tokyo then get on, and you may gain a few extra seats to stretch out on and it is cheaper.
One advantage from LA of the Singapore Silkair flight is that the Piece concept ( PC) for baggage (it used to be two bags each up to 50 lbs per bag, always get current info on baggage allowance as t changes, used to be 70 lbs per bag a few years back) is applied because it is considered a flight from or to North America. The stop in Singapore does NOT matter as it is considered required part of a continuous flight on one ticket (even though you change carriers, Singapore air owns Silk air)
From Singapore Airlines web site Flights to USA operated by SQ's Codeshare Partners
For flights to/from USA/Canada, the Checked Baggage allowance is for two pieces of Baggage, the weight of each piece of which shall not exceed 23 kilograms (50 pounds)
Silk Air web site explains the weight and piece concepts
SilkAir : where the world unwinds
Singapore Airport is amazing. Free Wifi hot spots, free Xbox games (upstairs from the area near the Orchid Garden in Terminal 2 maybe elsewhere too), free use of internet connected computers in the main areas and even in the departure lounges. Free local calls to Singapore (look for phone on the walls).
Don't miss the Orchid Garden with Koi pond. Each terminal has a few nice indoor gardens. Terminal Two has a rooftop Sunflower Garden which is where the smoking area is located. Also nice to go out to at night for a nap but be aware, all night long security does check passport and boarding passes, so have your papers handy.
But if you were to fly on Malaysian air to Kuala Lumpur and then change to a different airlines say, Air Asia, then the weight concept would apply from KL to Manado which is two bags with total of 20 Kg (or 44 lbs) for economy. This is because it is considered a break in the journey, so once in KL you are no longer considered flying from or to US/Canada.
I don't know the fares now, but a few years ago I got a fare from the Singapore airlines web site that was $45 cheaper than what my friend who works for a major ticket agency in the US could get wholesale. So keep checking.
When you fly LAX to Manado via Singapore Air and Silk Air, you just check your luggage straight thru so you do not have to handle it in Singapore, so bring in your carry on anything you may need in Singapore airport,
There is an Ambassador Transit Hotel Ambassador Transit Hotel in each terminal on the thrid level that rent small rooms (minimum is 6 hours, and then you can add one hour blocks) as well as a new fancy five star hotel attached to the new Terminal three. To go to the transit hotels you don't leave the airport, you just go upstairs.
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song
Contributor
on a whim I plugged a random set of dates in March into a Yapta.com search for LAX-MDC roundtrip, coach. It came back with 4 choices, all with the flight that stops in Narita, all with the same beginning and final arrival times and same total travel hours. The prices varied from $1156 to $3162. Looked like some of them had different flight numbers assigned, despite the seemingly same schedule. Couldn't find the details, maybe the higher prices are for fully refundable tickets. I've always known airline fares were screwy, but this is ridiculous.
AlanWald
Contributor
$1156 is excellent. I think I paid a shade less than that March 2007. You are basically getting entertained and fed and housed for a few days and traveling about 20,000 miles and you get to fly over the middle of Borneo which is very cool. Unfortunately, the cheaper flights do NOT give frequently flyer mileage. That is another explanation for the price difference.
I take the one stop via Tokyo, not only does one have an hours to walk around Tokyo airport they have seats that have no separators (like at LAX) so you can stretch and get a bit of sleep. I am not sure about schedule now, but the one stop leaves mid day which makes it easier to get to the airport, the non-stop leaves later and you will end up heading to the airport during evening rush hour. Also the one stop gets to Singapore earlier (like 1 AM) so you have more time on the ground in Singapore to sleep.
Also cheaper flights are often ones that are midweek (this applies to most airlines)
Also certain Asian holidays like Chinese New Year or a multi-holiday period in Japan called Golden Week or the Olympics in Beijing can cause high air traffic and high prices for the whole region because so many people connect thru KL or Singapore.
Also some of those high prices could just be temporary, looking for people willing to pay that, and if they don't then the price will drop a lot. After a few weeks you will get a sense of how they are gaming the ticket prices as Yapta will keep a history of the prices. Yapta was started by some people with decades of Airlines reservation experience. If you have any problems or suggestions email them, they will probably answer. They answered me. Pretty rare nowadays, an email from a real person.
I take the one stop via Tokyo, not only does one have an hours to walk around Tokyo airport they have seats that have no separators (like at LAX) so you can stretch and get a bit of sleep. I am not sure about schedule now, but the one stop leaves mid day which makes it easier to get to the airport, the non-stop leaves later and you will end up heading to the airport during evening rush hour. Also the one stop gets to Singapore earlier (like 1 AM) so you have more time on the ground in Singapore to sleep.
Also cheaper flights are often ones that are midweek (this applies to most airlines)
Also certain Asian holidays like Chinese New Year or a multi-holiday period in Japan called Golden Week or the Olympics in Beijing can cause high air traffic and high prices for the whole region because so many people connect thru KL or Singapore.
Also some of those high prices could just be temporary, looking for people willing to pay that, and if they don't then the price will drop a lot. After a few weeks you will get a sense of how they are gaming the ticket prices as Yapta will keep a history of the prices. Yapta was started by some people with decades of Airlines reservation experience. If you have any problems or suggestions email them, they will probably answer. They answered me. Pretty rare nowadays, an email from a real person.
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