walindi or febrina?

Thinking about doing a week or so at Walindi or the 7 night Febrina cruise(Kimbe,Fathers,and lolobau) at the end of August. Would the diving be that much better on the Febrina...I suspect that I'd miss some of the PNG culture if I was not land based,but really better diving would be worth it. Any suggestions appreciated.

Hi bqualls, there is very good diving accessible from Walindi - although from memory the bigger stuff - sharks tuna and barracuda is further out. Fathers reef was a stand out on our trip. For me a key question would be do I want 4 or 5 dives a day or I am I happy with a couple. Either way it will be a great experience.

Alison

FeBrina...HANDS DOWN!!

While I really like Max and the Walindi experience, the day boats are expensive, have long rides and you simply can't get much diving done.

The FeBrina has FIVE dives a day, you are always on top of the next dive site (no long banging rides) and you simply suit up and step off. Alan Raabe is a hoot and is mostly responsible for putting most of the permanent moorings down thereby ensuring that minimal damage to reefs result. The crew is superb, meals great (and constant), and Alan gets you to farwaway great sites Walindi can't get to.

There is no comparison, IMHO.

Really depends what you want..

If you are a liveaboard person where you don't mind being restricted to a boat 24/7 then FeBrina is the way to go.
If you prefer to have your feet on dry land at the end of the day then Walindi is your choice.

Febrina allows you to do 5 dives a day, Walindi 3 dives a day.
Weather conditions late August should be good, so boats rides from Walindi will be fine.

Both operations allow you to dive Kimbe Bay, whereas FeBrina will take you out to the remoter areas of Fathers and Witus.

In terms of the 'cultural experience' West New Britain isn't really the best place for that, I would recommend a separate trip up into the highlands on the mainland to see the culture that PNG is famous for. Which can be seen at festivals like the Mt.Hagen show (August) and the Goroka show (September).

Hope this helps! Either way you won't be disappointed with the diving!

I'd go for the Febrina just because you'll get more diving done and won't spend time on a smaller boat getting out there and back and can relax properly. There isn't that much to do around the area although Walindi does run a few day trips (which I didn't do). Agree that it is expensive (but nice).

The crew on the boat are superb (although Alan wasn't there when I went) and you won't regret it. However whatever you decide, I'm sure it will be great.

I have not been to Walindi or on the Febrina, but many friends have. Consensus is that Febrina is better diving. You will also get cultural experiences on the boat as they will most certainly drop into villages and have locals come to the boat in canoes looking to sell goods.