Best dive spot you can get to from Delhi in < 8 hours

[Stargazer]

My wife and I are going to be in India for a week in March, but she stays longer and I get to fly somewhere to dive for a week. I have been thinking Andamans (Havelock) but am wondering if I would do better flying another couple hours to get further east and south. Last trip was to Ambon so looking for something that will measure up to that if possible - any suggestions ? Opinions on Andamans on this board seem to vary a lot.

 

[NYCcowgirl]

Did you go? How was it??? Tell us more!

 

[Stargazer]

Yes, I just got back three days ago.....ended up flying from Delhi to Bali (about 9 hours total), spent a wonderful week at Padang Bai diving with Geko Dive (an excellent outfit in my experience, which I learned about on Scubaboard), then another superlative week on a liveaboard in the Komodo Islands (Komodo Dive Center's boat, Mastro Aldo - also highly recommended....great crew, divemasters, and food). It was definitely worth the extra flying time to get to these spots. Macro life in Bali was quite good, better than I expected, and everything from macro to whale sharks was on in the Komodos. As the moon was at mid-point, currents in the Komodos were relatively mild, and even though March is at the tail end of the rainy season, there wasn't much rain. So that was my trip in a nutshell - great diving, a bit further from India.

 

[NYCcowgirl]

Sounds like an awesome trip! I am headed to Havelock next month so I will try to contribute some updated info when I get back

 

[Stargazer]

Will be interesting to find out what Havelock is really like....I did pass it up because Indonesia seemed to offer more, but that was based on the info I found on Havelock, which was fairly minimal. Look forward to your report when you come back - enjoy the trip!