Help me plan my vacation in SE Asia?

[kathydee]

I agree the PI would be a good option (Apo Island is a very nice beginner site and there are many others).

Bunakan in Sulawesi Indonesia and several spots in Bali Indonesia are both very nice, and offer beautiful sites to fit your budget & experience level.

Feel free to PM me for more details .

 

[lilylily]

As already mentioned, Oz is pricey, so good thing you have family/friends to stay with. I was in Philppines last March- Donsol, Tubbataha Reefs and Malapascua. Donsol is great for whale shark snorkelling (you can only snorkel with them) but there is a season which I believe is from March-June, and Malapascua has thresher sharks. It takes a bit of a shuffle to get there- from the airport it's a drive 2.5 hours and then a boat 30 min. It's a pretty island but I wouldn't stay more than 1 week.

 

[Scuba Steev]

Great now I don't know what to do....
Before it was so simple. Go to Aus see the family, dive off the Barrier reef then Singapore, then two weeks diving and touring in Thailand and finally a day or 2 in HK and back to work.

Now.... I don't know

I really was growing to love the idea of a 5/6 night live aboard. Now I'll look into the PI some more and see. The idea of getting the best bang for my buck is always a good thing.

Thanks everyone for the input.

 

[dangles]

Give that you will be in Australia you would be crazy not to head to Indonesia to dive. Many Australian cities (espescially Perth) offer extremely cheap flights to Bali. The diving in Bali itself is quite good, but there are endless opportunities for world class diving throughout the archipeligo.

From Perth you can fly on Air Asia to either Bali or KL. Air Asia also offer a KL to Banda Aceh flight. There you can dive Pulau Weh. You could also head east from Bali and dive around Komodo from Labuan Bajo. If you want to sample the best of the very best I would suggest Alor or Raja Ampat. Google Wallacea dive cruises who offer good value liveaboards and Alor divers. I've dived with these people and they are fantastic. Have a look at World Divers on Nusa Lembongan too.

If it was me planning the trip I would fly into Australia in Queensland and out via Perth to Indonesia which is a three and half hour flight to Bali. I've just checked the Air Asia web site, you can get a ticket from Perth to Bali for $212 AUD. You can also flly directly from Cairns to Perth.

 

[gee13]

Not sure if strong current destinations Alor, Raja or Komodo would be suitable for someone less than 20 dives.. I would say Tulamben in Bali is very accesible and suitable for beginner..also good way to mix topside with some diving, plus plethora of things to do and places to visit. Also make sure you checkout some Great White shark diving in local perth waters whilst you are here..

 

[Bubble Junky]

I'd fly into HK for a few days, then head over to Thailand. You can fly into Phuket and make the short trip north to Khao Lak for the Similans. After that I'd travel by land (mostly) down towards Singapore, stopping at places like Phuket, Phi Phi and/or Lanta in Thailand. From there you can get to Penang in Malaysia by road very easily and catch a flight accross to Banda Aceh for a few dives in the super chilled out Pulau Weh. From Banda Aceh, you could then maybe fly to Singapore for your flight to Oz... Just an idea...

 

[paolov]

aw c'mon, stop pushing Philippines.

Philippines isn't in the list, it was specifically not listed.

skip the Philippines , just go to Maldives and look for the new dive shop there,

To say Philippines, he may go to some other places like batangas, puerto galera, moalboal, malapacua, balicasag, not to mention boracay, camiguin, coron, dumaguete, apo reef, apo island, subic bay, saranggani bay, balayan bay, verde island, panglao, secret bay(shhhh its a secret where critters are for macro) and the least of all manila bay . then go whalesharking, 8 hour white water rafting, do the under water cave that ends up at the other end of palawan, wreck diving, then theres the tarsiers, so he may go where moonie once visited a few years back.

so stop the confusion

 

[gee13]

Dont forget San Miguel on tap...

 

[Centrals]

Camotes Island, Sipalay, Siquijor, Sogod Bay and Tubatthaha etc etc.
Surfing at San Fernando and Siargao.
Trekking at Mt. Apo.

 

[paolov]

anyone here tried the 8 to 12 hour white water rafting off Cagayan de Oro?

i could not believe it when they told me, 8 hours!!!

they got zip line too