South East Asia December/Jan

[curlywurly321]

I'm looking to go somewhere for a couple of weeks diving within a reasonable flight from Perth, Australia. I want a fairly cheap break so am thinking Philippines or maybe Indonesia. I'm after decent visibility and plenty to see - wrecks, reef, big stuff, not picky! I'm leaning towards the Philippines as I've never been but open to ideas! The only places I'd rule out in Bali/Lombok.

Does anyone have any recommendations of where's good that time of year? I've been to a few places that have unlimited diving on the house reef in addition to boat dives, I'd be interested in possibly spending a week somewhere with that kind of arrangement and getting plenty of dives in.

Thanks for your help

 

[Goodtime Adventures]

No personal experience of Bali or Lombok, but was very impressed by the diving in the Philippines, and by the Philippines in general to be honest. Friendly people, stunning scenery, clean, quiet beaches, clear water with good visibility (25-30m) and an abundance of varied marine life.

There's over 7000 islands, so you'd need to do some research and narrow down your area depending on what you want to see and do underwater. Too much internal travel becomes more expensive in terms of both money, and in time deducted from your holiday. I'd recommend not spending too much time in Manilla, its just a city, with none of the bonuses of other Asian countries that have had ancient civilisations resulting in impressive architecture or other cultural attractions.

 

[Wingy]

From Perth North Sulawesi is easily accessible - grab a cheapy flight to bali then connect (asap LOL!) through makassar to manado where you have three options - Bangka for pinnacles, Bunaken for walls, Lembeh for muck. Phillipines - easy access to either Anilao or Sabang Puerto Gallera from Manila. Cheapest way I found to get to PG was scoot from perth to singapore then cebu to manila. Hundreds more options in both countries but these were easy and quick from Perth for me and offered good diving.