Pulau Weh dive photos

[jake11]

thanks for the update!!

Thanks for the recommendation.
I went with LumbaLumba DC one week before Christmas last year.
It was as travelem said, the DC was very organized and clean. The staffs helped with cleaning the gears after each dive and they did really good jobs. The DMs and crews were very professional and helpful.
Fresh brewed Acehnese coffee was always available at the DC, and comfortable sitting areas to socialize etc.

The flight from Jakarta to Banda Aceh was pretty straightforward. Unfortunately we got stuck in Banda Aceh for one night as no boat dared to sail out due to bad weather. Luckily we found a modern hotel called The Pade, which was located half an hour away from the port. Same thing happened again on our return from Weh, but luckily there was one cargo vessel with big enough engine to go out. It was a mess, and not exactly the most comfortable ride, but it got us to the airport on time.

My dive experience was just ok, mainly because of rough weather and I was limited to beginner spots only. My travel companion, on the other hand, had a good time at Batee Tokong. There was quite a lot of varieties of things to see, including turtles, big fishes, and macros. But for the majority of our stay, visibility was so so, surface conditions were really rough, and boat rides were not that comfortable. After we left, another friend went to Weh for Christmas and reported 30m visibility and calm sea, so it's all about luck I guess.

The cottage lodging was a good experience too. Spacious bathroom with hot water. Kitchen corner with fridge, sink, and portable water boiler. You have to ask if you need daily cleaning and change of towels/sheets. There is no room service, so you have to order and carry food on your own. This was not a big issue for us as we can just order at restaurant next door.
They offered local cuisines and fresh juices at very reasonable price (but very slow service as only 1 person working in kitchen). Their curry Acehnese rice was my favorite.
Mama donuts was still selling fresh baked warm donuts every morning and tea time. It was a bit too sweet for my taste though.
Padang restaurant right outside DC entrance was just so so compared to other Padang food I've had.
LumbaLumba has informed me that they will open a restaurant in 2015, so I look forward to that on my next visit.
We also ran into an Italian guy who owns an Italian restaurant nearby, unfortunately we didn't get the chance to try.

Overall it was a good experience.
I would love to come back again but most likely on dry season only.

 

[AlMitch]

Information has slowly emerged about New Years Eve this year at Pulau Weh. Aceh is a unique region of Indonesia. Please do some research and make up your own mind. I hope this story is mostly baseless as the good, kind people Aceh don't need what little tourism they have destroyed by one interpretation of Sharia.

Hundreds of tourists cancel trips to Aceh | The Jakarta Post
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thornt...la/indonesia/caution-in-aceh-sabang-pulau-weh

This is so sad! I've stayed at Casa Nemo twice (back when Mars was still running it) and we loved the place. So peaceful and beautiful. It is right at the end of the beach and actually quite far away from the local community, so these thugs really would have to have specifically targeted the place.
Both times there we never ever felt the slightest hint of being unwelcome! Even when we gate crashed (we just stood at the back and quietly observed the function) one of the ceremonies commemorating the 5 yr anniversary of the Tsunami.

I really hope that this is an isolated incident in the area BUT considering the age we live in at the moment it seems to be a symptomatic problem and one that seems to be getting worse rather than better.
It's so sad because it takes years to build up a places reputation but one stupid incident like this to trash it!

 

[DWeh]

Great photos!

 

[Wingy]

As a female solo traveler I wouldn't want to put anyone off going through Aceh but I would say its prudent to check local papers and see what the morality police are up to - and keep your shoulders covered.

 

[charlier]

My group has worked in Banda Aceh and along the northern and western Sumatra coast for many years without any problems. Our local Achinese colleagues are fantastic and work female and male students with any bias or issues. I have always found that westerners are welcome, even in the most isolated and rural settings. Wingy, next time you are nearby, we should try to meet up for diving at P. Weh or near Padang at P. Cubadak.

 

[Wingy]

Thanks Charlier - I will definitely take you up on that some time if Cubadak will have me back - I broke it last time I was there the 8.6 and 8.2 quakes in one day! How good is that night dive spot at Cubadak!..I really like the night diving there. I havent been to Weh for a few years either - I did not have any hassles in Aceh but unfortunately Al Jazeera were there filming a documentary on the morality police while I was there so there was a bit of an edge to things. I really dont know why Sumatra gets ignored by divers, sure it isnt R4 but there is still some great diving and amazing countryside - the drive from Mingankabau airport to Chochoroc port to get out to Cubadak is quite special.

 

[kassj0peja]

Recently I was also diving with a divecentre from Gapang Beach the first few days. I did a few dives there but I moved to The Pade Dive Resort on the quiet westcoast. Great service and shorter boatrides to 2 of the top 3 divesites (Pantee Peunateung & The Canyon). From October to May it is also the leeward side of the island. So it is not windy. The divetrips to divesites that are not on the westcoast (and during May to October) start from Iboih Beach with a 5 minutes carride from the resort to the boat. So unlike all other destinations in the Andaman Sea there is diving all year round.

The Andaman Sea in Pulau Weh is more diverse than in Thailand or Burma, but because of the lack of soft corals, less colorful. There are approximately 20 divesites. 10 or 12 of them are very good or at least good. The divesites offer giant seafans (lots of them), topography (canyons and walls), wrecks, bigger stuff (tuna, reefshark, marble ray, eagle ray, giant trevally, turtle, morray eel) and makro (ribbon eel, frogfish, nudis, waspfish, ...).

Visibility was good between 15 and more than 30 metres. Some divesites can have strong currents including down- & washing machine currents. So check the tidetable first. I also experienced cold water currents and the temperture dropped from 29 to 24. Some of the divesites are very deep. I never made it below 40 metres though but I could see the bottom which was maybe 25 metres deeper. The Andaman Sea is very deep around Pulau Weh (600 and more metres).

My top 3 divesites were Pantee Peunateung, The Canyon and Batee Tokong. Others that are very good are Arus Balee, Batee Gla, Limbo Gapang, Seulako Cave and Bak Kopra. I did not dive the Sophie Rickmers Wreck (big 2nd worldwar wreck at 38m depth, decompression dive), Rondo Island (an island north of Pulau Weh) and Batee Meuduro (on the southside where even Thresher sharks have been seen in the past) but I was told they are very good as well.

 

[Angel61]

We intend to go to Pulau Weh mid March so will be interesting to see what the mood is like there. It would be a shame if recent events spoil it for people. We talked to the Dive Center at Gapang Beach and were told that although they had heard about the incident on New Years eve, they had no problems. Perhaps it is because they are the furthest away from the town.