Komodo Diving Day Trip- Worth it?

[BubbleBubble7]

Hello, we'll be traveling throughout Indonesia for a month, including an 11 day liveaboard in Raja. The Raja portion is obviously dive focused but the rest of trip is a mix of activities. We do not have time (or funds) to add a Komodo liveaboard, but will be in Labuan Bajo for a couple of days.

Is a Komodo SCUBA day trip worth it from LB? Especially considering we're going to be doing lots of diving in Raja Ampat? Or should we just skip it?

We've already got land based stuff planned in the area (hiking, dragons etc.)

(If worth it, I'm open to dive shop suggestions).

Thanks in advance.

 

[howswedeofme]

I'm not sure if you've done any heavy current diving but Cauldron/Shotgun can apparently be a really unique experience. We missed the tide change but did a current dive the day prior and it was like nothing I've ever done before. Batu Bolong was also very beautiful. I don't know how Raja Ampat diving would compare and I don't know if you would be able to pick the dive sites or shop around for the different ops schedules to get dive sites that you like, but if you could, I think it would be worth it.

We did a LOB with Dragon Dive Komodo in May. They do day trips, as well. I thought that the dive instructors on our boat (we had Ben and Guillaume but they rotate between LOB and day boats) were quite good.

 

[Lorenzoid]

My vote would be yes! If you're already going to be in LBJ with your dive gear, why not? It may not be as spectacular as RA, but it's still better diving than in most of the world. Now, if you had said you were going to be in Bali and asked for input on whether to make your way over to Flores just for a day of diving, I might say otherwise.

 

[BubbleBubble7]

Thanks, my experience with currents has been mostly Cozumel and Apo Island but we'll be in Flores about a week after the full moon so currents may be a bit weaker.

I'm assuming day trips from LBJ are going to be on the northern sites, which I understand are warmer? So I could use the 3mm I'm bringing for Raja (anything below 80f/26c necessitates a 5mm for me).

 

[charlier]

Another yes vote, depending on the season. FYI, a few sites in RA during the full or new moon have moderate currents, similar to Komodo. The only downside is north central Komodo is crowded and you will see lots of bubbles at the popular sites.

 

[divinh]

I did the Komodo liveaboard and Cauldron/Shotgun were pretty tame compared to what I experienced going down Tiputa Pass, French Polynesia especially compared to going down the center of Tiputa Pass. Shotgun, I remember distinctly, as being pretty barren. Fun ride, but not for taking photos, if that interests you.

LBJ has a lot of dive shops, from what I saw. Plenty to choose from, hopefully in advance, to get schedules.

I did the liveaboard with just a dive skin. I used a 3mm twice, first when I got there, then realized from the dive computer that the water was pretty warm, and second, on a night dive to keep warm on the tender back to the main boat. Of the 20+ dives, only once did it go down to 25 C, the rest were 27-30 C.

 

[Luko]

Add me in the yessers group.
Komodo and R4 are pretty different, Batu Bolong is definitely a world class spot you won't see alike in R4, I've never seen such coral colors like in Tatawa besar. Just for these two I think diving Komodo is worthwhile.

Batu Bolong

Tatawa Besar

 

[dirtfarmer]

Add me in the yessers group.
Komodo and R4 are pretty different, Batu Bolong is definitely a world class spot you won't see alike in R4, I've never seen such coral colors like in Tatawa besar. Just for these two I think diving Komodo is worthwhile

You'll see colors like that in the Misool region in RA. And the sea fan color variety is spectacular.
That said, Komodo is still awesome and worthwhile.

 

[Luko]

You'll see colors like that in the Misool region in RA. And the sea fan color variety is spectacular.
That said, Komodo is still awesome and worthwhile.

Tatawa besar is remarkable for the glowing orange tint of dendronephthya, there are lots of dendronephthya all over the SEA, lots in Thailand, bunches in Fiji too, none come close to the ones at the beginning of the Tatawa besar drift.
The closest color I've seen are Pescador and Sahaung but still Tatawa's have that eye burning saturation I've never seen elsewhere.
Perhaps it's just a photographer's view , seafans are really different, they seem matte color, and don't shine like dendronephthyas, that's why I enjoy them less.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Absolutely, without a doubt, worth doing. Komodo is amazing.