Just joined. Will fill out profile little later. Need info and feedback rather fast. Planning trip to southeast asia in August and September(only time we could go). Have list of places to go,need to narrow a bunch down to 2 or 3. Wife does not dive, so need somewhere she has something to do while I am in the water. Only have about 10 dives in, 2 in perhentian islands malaysia, 6 in Bunaken Indo(wow, what a start!). Thinking about Mabul malaysia (Sipidan), Komodo and Flores islands Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Kerala India,Redang Malay., Nusa Lembongan(mola mola time), Papua, Palau. Cost is an issue, we are pseudo backpacking because of the duration of the trip. Need to figure out how to search and navigate existing forums to save you all time in replying to so many places. If anyone can help with either, I'd appreciate it. The t in unodt stands for Thom. Thanks in advance, and even though I barely use Facebook, this may be my new Facebook! Ciao!
Hi there, from tropical storm central Sarasota!
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Nishan
Contributor
If it was all about diving then Palau, Indo and Sipadan but obviously you are looking for a bit more from your holiday 
Sipadan has amazing diving but not a great place for a non diver unless you do a few days diving there and then go explore rest of Borneo. Problem si due to the permit system I always recommend at least 4-5 days to really enjoy diving Sipadan. Indonesia has a whole range of both underwater and topside attractions and is great value for money as well. Sri Lanka is great for advanced wreck diving but for reef and general diving does not compare with some other places on your list. But the country has loads to offer on land so good place to travel with some decent diving thrown in. India is an amazing place but mainland India doesn't really have great diving. And personally I would do an entire vacation in India rather than fit in a week or so there. Its a massive country with so much to see! Palau again great for diving but not sure about topside and as a backpacker destination. Places like Papua and Palau are also expensive to get to.
Maybe something that includes Indonesia and Malaysia which will work for diving and topside attractions, and both countries are value for money backpacker destinations. You should also consider Thailand. Not the season to dive the Andaman Sea where the best Thai diving is but you could fit in some dives on the east side. Depending on time available and budget you could do Sri Lanka, or head towards Palau for better diving but wont be as interesting above water as SL.
Good luck!
Sipadan has amazing diving but not a great place for a non diver unless you do a few days diving there and then go explore rest of Borneo. Problem si due to the permit system I always recommend at least 4-5 days to really enjoy diving Sipadan. Indonesia has a whole range of both underwater and topside attractions and is great value for money as well. Sri Lanka is great for advanced wreck diving but for reef and general diving does not compare with some other places on your list. But the country has loads to offer on land so good place to travel with some decent diving thrown in. India is an amazing place but mainland India doesn't really have great diving. And personally I would do an entire vacation in India rather than fit in a week or so there. Its a massive country with so much to see! Palau again great for diving but not sure about topside and as a backpacker destination. Places like Papua and Palau are also expensive to get to.
Maybe something that includes Indonesia and Malaysia which will work for diving and topside attractions, and both countries are value for money backpacker destinations. You should also consider Thailand. Not the season to dive the Andaman Sea where the best Thai diving is but you could fit in some dives on the east side. Depending on time available and budget you could do Sri Lanka, or head towards Palau for better diving but wont be as interesting above water as SL.
Good luck!
