Samarinda or Balikpapan?
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Hello,
I don't know about Samarinda.
About Balikpapan, I know there is no diving around Balikpapan, but "only" one hour away (by plane) you can be in Donggala (central Sulawesi) where the diving is really good: beautiful corals, great variety of fish, lots of nudibranches, etc... I spent one week there last year and really enjoyed it.
I don't know about Samarinda.
About Balikpapan, I know there is no diving around Balikpapan, but "only" one hour away (by plane) you can be in Donggala (central Sulawesi) where the diving is really good: beautiful corals, great variety of fish, lots of nudibranches, etc... I spent one week there last year and really enjoyed it.
Bora_Horza
Contributor
While I've not visited myself, I've heard of Pulau Derawan, which is part of the Sangalaki archipelago, a few 100km north of Samarinda. Berau is the town to get to, according to my Lonely Planet guidebook, then a boat to Tarakan and get off at Tanjung Batu, then find another boat to Derawan... Worth looking into I guess!
Balikpapan has a decent sized international airport that could be a stop on the way to Derawan / Sangalaki / etc but I don't think they have diving there. Samarinda has a pretty polluted river that didn't look promising. It's kind of inland a bit and I think nearby lakes are known to be very shallow, ie., a few meters deep. Samarinda is a great place to leave from to trek / canoe / boat into the interior of Borneo though.
It is not difficult to get to Donggala from Balikpapan. One hour flight to Palu (not Palau!), and then 30 minutes by car to the resort. From Singapour, it is worth it! I stayed at Prince John Resort and would go back there if there were not so many places to go to ! Also from Europe, it is much longer !!!
There was a post not so long ago by someone who went there and liked it to. http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/indonesia/267129-sulawesi-trip-report-dec-2008-a.html
But if you are in Singapore, you have plenty of choices of excellent diving !
Bora_Horza
Contributor
BTW, apparently you can fly to Berau, see Derawan Recommendations - Wetpixel :: Underwater Photography Forums for a bit more info...
Move to Samarinda????? I hope your job is to clean up the place. ALthough I like every place I visit that does not have a McDonalds, I have to say that Samarinda is the trashiest place I have ever been and I have been to many places. It kind of reminded me of Calcutta at the end of a three month garbageman strike.Thanks, will find out more bout Prince John Resort. Well actually there's opportunity to move there (samarinda) for work but lots of thing to consider....diving is one of it
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