Bandasea in may

[thesyntax]

Hello everyone!

Has anyone been to the Banda Sea in may?
I saw a lot of great fotos/videos including schools of hammerheads, but they were all from trips in September/October.

The trip I'm thinking about would be from Ambon to Maumere at the end of April to early May.

Thanks a lot for every comment!

 

[dirtfarmer]

From talking with guides, and cruise directors sept-nov is the best bet.
I did a Nov trip a few years ago and the hammers were epic.

 

[charlier]

Spring is a lovely time for a crossing trip. We have seen a few hammerheads in April as well as many schooling fish including tuna, mackerel, trevelly, etc. Although the fall is best for hammerhead, it’s never a guarantee and each season and site offers its own narrative.

 

[Wingy]

I did an October LOB - cannot comment on any other time of year.

 

[frogfone]

We did the May Banda Sea crossing in 2016. We spent a fair few dives wondering why most of our group were floating in the blue below 30m. I believe one or two hammerheads were sighted but frankly, the depths they were diving at they were probably narked!! Given that the Banda Sea itinery is probably one of the most remote trips you can do in Indonesia with 8 out of the 10 day trip with no mobile phone reception this behaviour seemed crazy to me.

If you are desperate to see Hammerheads then pick a different trip. If you want to dive stunning, remote reefs with only the other divers on your trip for miles around then it is certainly worth it. We loved the Alor section of the trip so much we returned 5 months later.

Sharon

 

[thesyntax]

Thx for all your inputs.
October doesn't work for us, but we'll see.

@frogfone: Thank you for the details. If we go in May, we will let the hammerheads come to us and not search for them in the blue

 

[charlier]

Thx for all your inputs.
October doesn't work for us, but we'll see.

@frogfone: Thank you for the details. If we go in May, we will let the hammerheads come to us and not search for them in the blue

Rather than searching blue water for large pelagics, seek out structure, such as a ridge, wall, or area that provides a nice cleaning station. Depth is a proxy for cooler temperature - seeking a thermocline or stratified cold layer is key.

 

[acidrush]

The thermoclines are deeper in the banda sea during may, so seeing them might be difficult. However May in the Banda sea is beautiful with nice warm blue waters and amazing visibility. In september-november, thermoclines are much shallower so much more chances of schooling h2sharks. However it also means visibility of 10-15m and greenish cold water.

Go with the Manta boats if you're looking for h2sharks. They seem to have a very good hit rate in the last few years.