Diving Indonesia

[8newk8]

Hello,

I'm about to embark on a trip through Indonesia. I'm starting in Bali and then plan to head East, ending perhaps in Manado. What I want info on are not-to-be-missed sites and reasonable and reliable dive operations for the following potential destinations:

Bali
Lombok
Komodo
Flores
Sulawesi, Manado


Appreciate any info you can give!

 

[elsa]

I was on a dive trip in Indonesia two years ago.
On Bali the Menjangang dives were the best, they're in a marine sanctuary. We saw perhaps 5-6 turtles in one dive and the biggest barracuda I have ever seen.
You wouldn't miss out if you don't do the Tulamben wreck, it's a bunch of scrap iron with tons of bubbles... There are better dives on Bali.
In Sulawesi I thought that the diving in Togians was really good. The dives "Turtle wall", "Dominique Rock" and the plane wreck were all fantastic.
We were also in Manado (Bunaken) but I think that we had really bad luck. The visisibility was not that good, there was lot's of plastic in the water (from the river going through Manado) and we didn't see much. Most people who go to Bunaken are really happy with it, though, so I think this was exceptionally bad luck!
Be sure to check the sequrity situation if you plan to travel around Sulawesi, there are problems around Poso.
Have a great trip.

 

[karens]

I have just returned from Indo and am so sad about the recent tragic events. My heart goes out to all those affected both in Indonesia and elswhere.
I loved Flores and diving around the Komodo NP/Labuanbajo. I am not hugley experienced but talking to others who were they rated it as one of the best places they had been. There is much prisitne coral and amazing variety of fish life. Was lucky enough to dive with about 15 Manta Rays at "Manta Alley". I was also very impressed with "Batu Bolong" and "Crystal Rock" dive sites, not to say the others were lame just that these were really outstanding.
I dived with Reefseekers and CN Dive both of whom I would recommend. CN do not have credit card facility so you will need sufficient travellers cheques or cash. Prices ranged from $50 USD to $100 USD per day depending onthe proximity of the site.
I thought that in comparison the Gili Islands were disappointing. although worth a look for the turtles. The coral there is largely destroyed by bleaching and bomb fishing.
Good luck

 

[Thistle]

I was in Manado couple of years ago and I was very happy with it. The Bunaken Marine Park is really good. The dive operator I used was called Blue Banter and the guy in charge was Bruce Moore. The dive center was located in the Novotel Hotel (easy to find since there is not a lot of choice in the area).
There is also a site on the net, bluebater something, I sent it once but did not check since.

 

[Mikimaru]

Thistle, Novotel pulled out of Manado. The hotel is still there but under local management. It is now called the Ritzy Hotel. It is supposed to be a "four-star" hotel. I had to stay there one night a few months ago while transiting through Manado. In my opinion, it was one of my worst hotel experiences. The service was terrible. The staff tried to keep my ID. There were no towels or soap in the room. Pay-per-view movies were advertised, even in the room, but there weren't any. The hotel was badly in need of renovation. I had paid for breakfast and was assured it would be available even though I had an early international departure to catch. There was no breakfast at 5:00AM as promised.

Blue Banter was still located there and I have heard good things about them and Bruce. Just avoid the hotel . . .

 

[clive francis]

probably not a good idea at the moment

one of the UK newspapers said it was unadvisable to go to any far eastern country (Malasia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand) and Egypt, so that just about wipes out the best places we Europeans have to go diving!!! ;-0

 

[diverkim]

Clive,

You still have the Red Sea right in your backyard! Also the countries you mentioned are not the Far East but rather SE Asia.
Maldives is a super and safe destination. You can also go in the other direction to the Caribbean.

 

[Christian]

Clive,

You believe to much of the things you read in papers

Seriously, this terrible acts can happen in a lot of places. At this point I'd say Bali is probably the place least likely to have another terrorist-attack. I'd say London or Paris is more likely as the next target. Both have history as terrorist targets from variuos organizations, why not again!

My basic stand point is that I don't want terrorist to hinder me, or people who are dependant on the dive industry for their livelyhood. I'm prepared to take a bit of a risk to get to good diving and also to give my support, as long as local people want me as their guest. If everybody listens to "don't go, it's dangerous", the terrorists will win and everybody else loose.

It is of course up to each individual, but I say:

Give your support to the local people in theese countries, go diving.

/c

 

[clive francis]

easy for you to say, my wife is 4 months pregnant, i would like to see my child born!

this was taken from www.skynews.co.uk

"New intelligence was received by the Australian government, which immediately told its nationals to leave Indonesia and warned they could be at risk in Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.

Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said "the information we have relates more broadly to Westerners", not just Australians."

 

[clive francis]

diverkim once bubbled...
Clive,

You still have the Red Sea right in your backyard! Also the countries you mentioned are not the Far East but rather SE Asia.
Maldives is a super and safe destination. You can also go in the other direction to the Caribbean.

the red sea is fast becoming an out of bounds place, there is still the threat of a few years ago, when they shot the tourists, armed police every where.

i was out there end of august, begining of september this year, and they were getting funny, saying the yanks had invaded IRAQ, we put them right, but they were just waiting to kick off