Diving with Mantas in August - Where to?

[Cali_diver]

If you do not want currents then please do not go to Komodo. It is not a dive destination for the inexperienced or current avoiders. If you want to go to Indonesia, then Bali is a great place to start...you can take a day boat to Nusa Pendida (or go stay for a few days in Lembongan) where you could also see a Mola Mola if you are lucky. The mantas (lots of them) are always there and it is a relatively easy dive with some surge. There are lots of other dive opportunities around Bali and it is an amazing place to visit.

Palau is another option for Mantas... LOB or resort!

 

[Centrals]

1. Maldives is great for manta but you have to choose the itinerary carefully. There are many options
2. Manta allay in Komodo is boring because there is not much else to see. And the manta is usually quite a distance away. The dive site is pretty shallow so the vis is not that great. When I was in Komodo 3 yrs ago there was hardly any current during the whole week! Going back again soon and condition might be different.
3. Palau is another option but current is.......

The animal love current.

 

[smellzlikefish]

Thanks. The Manta Ray night dive is on my bucket list but the LOB is sold out for August. Plus, I'd probably visit that when I'm not travelling alone.

I live in Kona and have to ask: why would you do a liveaboard in Kona? The hotels are great, the diving is minutes from the harbor mouth (and often in the harbor mouth), and if all you want to do is see mantas, the Aggressor will only be there 1 night out of 7.

 

[smellzlikefish]

I met a guy this weekend that has done thousands of dives. He said that although Indonesia has some great diving, if I want to see a Manta Ray then I should go to Kona and do the night dive. He said I can see them all week long and they get very close. He said in Indonesia, they may get close and I may see them but nothing is really guaranteed.

Kona would be cheaper but there are no liveaboard options out there and I'll be there solo. I don't think Hawaii is the best place to go alone because most of the islands will be full of couples and such. A liveaboard would be perfect but their one and only liveaboard is full for all of August.

Still, I could travel there and stay in a hotel I guess.

LOTS of single travellers come here and have a blast. If your goal is mantas, Kona is your option. Seriously.

 

[Dan]

1. Maldives is great for manta but you have to choose the itinerary carefully. There are many options
2. Manta allay in Komodo is boring because there is not much else to see. And the manta is usually quite a distance away. The dive site is pretty shallow so the vis is not that great. When I was in Komodo 3 yrs ago there was hardly any current during the whole week! Going back again soon and condition might be different.
3. Palau is another option but current is.......

The animal love current.

Hmmm, are these sights boring? How far do you think I was from them? How bad was the visibility do you think? Notice the date stamp on the pictures? That means I don't zoom in the pictures to make them look closer than the actual case. I could touch them if I want to, of course I didn't. Those scenes were in Manta Alley.

 

[tholden1]

That's exactly it. I have no dive buddy. On a LOB I would have one. Plus, I know sometimes in other places I have dove, if there weren't enough people singed up then they wouldn't even go out on the boat unless you rented the whole thing. I want to be able to dive four times a day and have a buddy, but not have to pay for a divemaster to have a buddy.

A LOB costs less when you factor in food, lodging, and diving.

But, maybe I can find some good deals on VRBO for a rental, and maybe I could find a dive package to save money there.

My goal is Mantas. So, that's what the other guy said too -- Kona is the place.

LOTS of single travellers come here and have a blast. If your goal is mantas, Kona is your option. Seriously.

 

[tholden1]

I did notice that Indonesia seemed cheap. The flight is expensive for me now booking last minute, but it does seem like everything else would be pretty cheap once I was there.

I'm sure the diving is great, but I'm looking for big stuff, mainly Mantas. It's good that you saw some.

I dove Komodo for 4 days and saw them on the last day. We had 3 dives with them. They weren't at all their usual suspected places in September until the last place we tried. Then again, nothing is guaranteed but without the mantas, it is still AMAZING diving there. You would be surprised how inexpensive Indonesia is. On a per day basis with diving, food, and accommodations, Hawaii is much more expensive.

 

[Dan]

I did notice that Indonesia seemed cheap. The flight is expensive for me now booking last minute, but it does seem like everything else would be pretty cheap once I was there.

I'm sure the diving is great, but I'm looking for big stuff, mainly Mantas. It's good that you saw some.

As a bonus, during surface interval, you will see these guys. No where else in the world other than going to the zoo.

 

[Russjstewart]

We did 3 days in Pohnpei on our way back to Oz from Chuuk, with Club Pareo. In July
Each Manta dive was in roughly the same place and we saw Mantas every time. Mostly single rays, occasionally two at a time. The vis was better than we had experienced at Nusa Penida in Indonesia , and there were a lot less divers in the water.

The site was a bit current prone but the dive op seemed to work around the current quite well.

 

[Dan]

We did 3 days in Pohnpei on our way back to Oz from Chuuk, with Club Pareo. In July
Each Manta dive was in roughly the same place and we saw Mantas every time. Mostly single rays, occasionally two at a time. The vis was better than we had experienced at Nusa Penida in Indonesia , and there were a lot less divers in the water.

The site was a bit current prone but the dive op seemed to work around the current quite well.

I saw these "big stuff" in Nusa Penida also in August. There is one guy we called "Darth Vader" just because it has black color body all over. What do you think the water visibility then?

The Oceanic Mola Mola was also huge in comparison to the dinner-plate size Emperor Anglefish that were busy cleaning it.