kiwidiver87
New
Hi,
I am a brand new member of scubaboard, but have used it many times for info on other dive centers etc. Me and my girlfriend are both instructors with 1000+ dives and work in semporna malaysia. I have just had such a great trip that i feel as though it is now my turn to give something back.
We first found out about Condo and his company CN dive, through friends that found out we were planning a trip to Komodo. We then contacted him to find out about availability and get a quote via email. Him and his wife share the emailing responsibility's and keep the replies very short and to the point, email replies can be quite sporadic and often don't really answer all your questions so you have to be a bit persistent.
Once we arrived in Labuan Bajo everything went as smooth as silk. We had someone at the airport to pick us up, which was great as CN dive no longer has an office in town. We then went to met condo at his house to discuss the itinerary we had booked, a 5day 4 night trip. Condo seemed a very genuine man who really loved the area in which he had been diving since 1984. He then informed us we could get out to the boat that night(1 night earlier than expected) and also gave us a very good price for the whole trip including the first night for free. Now it took a few hours waiting at the jetty for him to get everything organized and then a few more hours waiting on the speed boat, on a mooring line at sea for the liveaboard to arrive and meet us, but it's not like we had anything better to do so this was fine with us.
Once we got onto the liveaboard embun laut(misty sea), we found it to be fairly well what we expected. There were 3 rooms with double beds of which we occupied one and then a few others with bunks or single beds, all in all they said the boat sleeps 10 comfortably. The whole time we were on the boat, it was just us and 2 other couples, also instructors. Our room was small but plenty comfortable, we shared two bathrooms/cold water showers up on deck level, there was also plenty of space up on deck for longing around between, before and after dives. All in all the boat his fairly basic, but has everything necessary to give any serious dive a good time. Food on the boat was always good, pancakes before the first dive in the morning usually around 7.30am, second breakfast after first dive, lunch was usually ready after the second dive, cold beers and snack after third dive and before a tasty dinner. One thing is you need to let him know if you want any beer on the boat and he will organize it for you, otherwise it's just water and soft drinks. Luckily we asked about the beer situation before going out or it could of been a very thirsty trip!
Dive masters Harry, Hanky and Wally knew the area very well, condo won't allow anyone guide on his boat with less than 5 years diving experience in Komodo, good policy considering the currents we were facing. The diving was amazing, we were there in late may and could not dive the south because of the whether conditions, we dived in the north with vis averaging 20-25 meters, 1 dive with 10+ manta rays some really close, plenty of hunting giant trevally's, giant Napolean wrasse, lots of white tip reef sharks, a few black tips and grey reef sharks. Then towards the end of the trip we did some easier dive and saw a bit more macro, pygmy seahorse, indian walkman, loads of leaf scorpion fish and some beautiful nudi branchs. The coral reefs in this area are beautiful, full of color and teeming with life.
In terms of price, value for money, crew, experienced dive guides, all round komodo experience and interested in the diving more than a luxury boat then you cant do better than CN dive!
I am a brand new member of scubaboard, but have used it many times for info on other dive centers etc. Me and my girlfriend are both instructors with 1000+ dives and work in semporna malaysia. I have just had such a great trip that i feel as though it is now my turn to give something back.
We first found out about Condo and his company CN dive, through friends that found out we were planning a trip to Komodo. We then contacted him to find out about availability and get a quote via email. Him and his wife share the emailing responsibility's and keep the replies very short and to the point, email replies can be quite sporadic and often don't really answer all your questions so you have to be a bit persistent.
Once we arrived in Labuan Bajo everything went as smooth as silk. We had someone at the airport to pick us up, which was great as CN dive no longer has an office in town. We then went to met condo at his house to discuss the itinerary we had booked, a 5day 4 night trip. Condo seemed a very genuine man who really loved the area in which he had been diving since 1984. He then informed us we could get out to the boat that night(1 night earlier than expected) and also gave us a very good price for the whole trip including the first night for free. Now it took a few hours waiting at the jetty for him to get everything organized and then a few more hours waiting on the speed boat, on a mooring line at sea for the liveaboard to arrive and meet us, but it's not like we had anything better to do so this was fine with us.
Once we got onto the liveaboard embun laut(misty sea), we found it to be fairly well what we expected. There were 3 rooms with double beds of which we occupied one and then a few others with bunks or single beds, all in all they said the boat sleeps 10 comfortably. The whole time we were on the boat, it was just us and 2 other couples, also instructors. Our room was small but plenty comfortable, we shared two bathrooms/cold water showers up on deck level, there was also plenty of space up on deck for longing around between, before and after dives. All in all the boat his fairly basic, but has everything necessary to give any serious dive a good time. Food on the boat was always good, pancakes before the first dive in the morning usually around 7.30am, second breakfast after first dive, lunch was usually ready after the second dive, cold beers and snack after third dive and before a tasty dinner. One thing is you need to let him know if you want any beer on the boat and he will organize it for you, otherwise it's just water and soft drinks. Luckily we asked about the beer situation before going out or it could of been a very thirsty trip!
Dive masters Harry, Hanky and Wally knew the area very well, condo won't allow anyone guide on his boat with less than 5 years diving experience in Komodo, good policy considering the currents we were facing. The diving was amazing, we were there in late may and could not dive the south because of the whether conditions, we dived in the north with vis averaging 20-25 meters, 1 dive with 10+ manta rays some really close, plenty of hunting giant trevally's, giant Napolean wrasse, lots of white tip reef sharks, a few black tips and grey reef sharks. Then towards the end of the trip we did some easier dive and saw a bit more macro, pygmy seahorse, indian walkman, loads of leaf scorpion fish and some beautiful nudi branchs. The coral reefs in this area are beautiful, full of color and teeming with life.
In terms of price, value for money, crew, experienced dive guides, all round komodo experience and interested in the diving more than a luxury boat then you cant do better than CN dive!
