Just booked a trip to Komodo/ Dewi Nusantara (Paradise Dancer)!!!!

[Cali_diver]

Very excited and after much deliberation we decided to go to Komodo for our 20th anniversary in June!!! Hoping to get a few days in Bali as well. We are still trying to figure out where to stay in Bali so any recommendations would be appreciated. We like the sounds of Nusa Lembongan......

 

[Shasta_man]

Congrats! Will be as good a trip as you think it will be. We stayed in Kuta. It's one of the regions of Bali in the city itself.

Paradise Dancer was fantastic in Raja Ampat. Awesome boat. I just happened to watch an awesome video from the Dewi Nusantara because I was thinking of a return trip. Check it out by searching for "Raja Ampat - Paradise Dancer - Dewi Nusantara" postedf by michealbarnesfcca on Youtube. That is EXACTLY what we saw in Raja Ampat and you'll see similar things in Komodo. The woman at the beginning of the video with shades and hat is the cruise director. She knows her stuff. Good luck. Bring the stuff to dry ears and fix ear infections. After so many days, it's easy to get ear infections which prevent equalization. The cruise director I mentioned saved my trip by having such medicine.

 

[Darnold9999]

My recollection is that her name is Wendy. Great cruise director.

Very nice boat. Went on one of the first cruises on this boat. Everyone's reaction was wow when doing the tour. Captain's cabin is very special.

You will have a great time.

As much as it is a cliche (from the book eat pray love) if I were staying any more than a day or two I would stay in Ubud. For a day or two Kuta would be my first choice. We stayed in the far west and toured most of the island over three weeks. Would not recommend staying in that part of the island. The road to the Jakarta ferry is just too busy and you have to take it to get anywhere if you are on the south west coast.

 

[Cali_diver]

Shasta_man...Thank you for video link that was great. I am so psyched about going that I have no idea how I am going to get any work done between now and then!!!! We are going to Belize in April so at least I get a little dip in the pool!!!!! I will look into Kuta!

 

[yogen]

If you want to treat yourself to something special for the 20th Anniversary away from the crowds in Kuta.. have a look at the Ayana in Bali.

 

[Cali_diver]

Ayana is beautiful and amazing but the Newi Nusantara is our special anniversary treat. I want to find something less expensive for that little pre stay! Our flight to labuanbajo to catch the boat leaves at approx 8:30-9:30 so we have to be able to get to airport early and I don't want our commute to the airport to be too complicated. We would also like to get in some dives in.

 

[Shasta_man]

WeWendy, exactly. She's the one with the pink tank in the videos. After hearing about good dives they were having I asked to switch over to the group she was leading near the end of the trip. The last dive was amazing and I didn't want it to end, holding them up for 10+ minutes while saying last goodbyes to the reef. We saw so many things on that dive, from a baby wobbegong, to tons of red shrimp, nudibranches and pipefish and eels and a little tiny ghost pipefish so small I don't know how she found it, etc, etc. The sun was perfect on that day and the video I took was great. I'm rolling around on the floor remembering what a great time it was.

Kuta is down in the city and we stayed at a hotel across the street from Kuta Beach. I can't say it's the best place to stay but it was very interesting to be down in the city and walking around amongst the people. We hired a driver and guide who drove us around all day for $40, going out to the monkey forest and riding elephants and the wood carvers. We stayed for about 3 days but could have done so much more. I think we stayed in Ubud before getting on the boat so didn't get so much time up there. We were leaving out of the harbor there on the Komodo Dancer which I also recommend though there have been changes apparently. Must do dives in Komodo and the adjoining area were Cannibal Rock, Batu Balong, Shotgun, Manta Alley, Moyo reef, and many more. ONe of my best dives ever was a nice dive at Pink Beach where I saw at 30 different critters of all types, most in shallow water and many I never saw before. Only to surface to a beautiful night. You couldn't buy memories like that. Get your buoyancy perfect so you can hover and check stuff out. Even a pound can make a difference. Wendy uses a large magnifying glass. On her boat, you will have no problems and the greatest time. I'm considering going back, this time with the wife, or to PNG. Funny that I'm wondering whether PNG, one of the diving holy grails, is going to work out as well...

 

[Gabster]

Hi Cali_divergirl,

You won't regret your decision to book there. I came back last month from a trip with them and it was fabulous. The boat is amazing, cabins really lovely and well fitted out (particularly lovely bathrooms/great showers - also make sure that you go and look at the master cabin at the front of the boat) and the crew were fantastic - can't do enough to help. Dive guides are great - no more than 5 divers per guide (but mostly less than that). Everything was well organised and ran pretty much without hiccups (1 non-filled tank which was obviously spotted before leaving the dive tender was about the worst - just went back for another). They have some great little 'extra's' (eg a box of everything that you can think of to clear masks, neck and shoulder massage after the dives, warm towels, shampoo, shower gel and conditioner in the cabins etc). I can't comment on the diving because I wasn't in Komodo but those people that I know who've been to Komodo on other boats say very positive things about it. The skiffs (or whatever you want to call them) had an 'easy to climb' ladder which might not sound like much but I've been on some that have been pretty difficult to get out from, even without kit !

Food was good - I preferred the lunchtime Indonesian food compared to the evening western food but that might be just me. I can particularly recommend the banana pancakes for breakfast.

Have a totally amazing time - I'm really excited for you. Please come back here and let us know how you got on, who you met, what you saw etc etc so that I can carry on dreaming of going back ! Thanks.

 

[Cali_diver]

Thanks Gabster...It sounds wonderful. We are counting down the days!!!!

 

[LiquidDivingAdventure]

If you think you might want to travel to Indonesia again after this trip, check out the Arenui. This is without a doubt my favorite ship sailing Raja Ampat, Komodo and Alor. We are booking cruises on this ship in 2013 and 2014.