Looking for advice for a trip with kids

[Will Rogers]

Howdy divers,

We are heading to Indo next May/June with our two kids, who will be 8 & 10. Both are avid snorklers, but obviously not divers.

My wife and I spent two months in the country 16 years ago (where did the time go?), and did some great diving around Bali, Flores (north east side) and up at Manado.

We would like to do some very good diving and have a reasonably high budget (it is a 50th birthday trip), but would like to dive in such a fashion that we can drag our kids along. We are planning about a 3-4 week trip.

Early contender are Wakatobi, though it is very proud of itself and perhaps some sort of 2-4 night LOB out of Labuanbajo. We would plan to do lots of snorkling of course and dive a bit in Bali as well, if it worked out. It appears that Raja Ampat would be logicstically more difficult, though it does sound amazing.

So, my experienced travelers, what do you think? Any suggestions on the diving or Bali in general would be ever so much appreciated!

Thanks,

Will

 

[divewench1]

Obviously you and your children will thoroughly enjoy the snorkeling, but have you considered that the children are now old enough to start their own dive adventures?

8 year olds can do the Scuba Rangers or Bubblemaker course, and the 10 year old can complete the Junior Open water course.

Although the younger child would not be able to join you both in the ocean, and the elder child will be restricted to a shallower depth, you could still make this a family diving holiday.:cool2:

 

[Wisnu]

will,
we're regularly traveling in SEA region since our kids were 5 years old. They're snorkleing or ocean buble maker (8 years old) when I was diving. Most of resort in Bali or North sulawesi are family friendly. You can ask for a guide to accompany them for snorkeling. Note = even if they are good swimmer I'll let not kids snorkeling without guardian.

Check at my kids blog (particulalry Melati at 2010 and before she's certified jr. aow) below my signature, how they enjoy our trip.
You can see the locations where they had ocean bubble maker or shallow diving

 

[Luko]

I have been dragging my non diving wife and daughter for more than 10 years in SEA, it happens their avorite place is not exactly Indonesia but nearby Sipadan in Malaysia. For your case and your budget, I think it should be a must dive, I could almost commit to refund if they don't like the snorkeling on Sipadan .. the first time I went, my daughter was 10 and she just LOOOOOVED snorkeling on the wall above the whitetip sharks and the turtles. :blinking:

Otherwise I could root for Gangga island in N/Sulawesi budget permitting, I was in Bangka area two weeks ago, although I already knew (already 2 trips) it simply blew my mind with colors and fauna. If Gangga island (for me the best dive center I have ever experienced in terms of organization) is steep price wise, then Murex Bangka has got a good beach and really good dive guides.

It happens that after Bangka I also stayed in Bali for a week in Pemuteran and Tulamben. Clearly the highlight is on the Liberty werck, I missed a whale shark while I was busy photographying a pygmy seahorse, Tauch Terminal was a good and confortable place to stay (The way they built their hotel is very clever, completely oriented towards and along the seafront, which makes it feel both sunny and breezy.) but I prefered to dive with Liberty Dive Centre who could provide me with private guiding.
Of course I can't make a general statement with only 15 dives around these two locations in Bali, though I felt that the diving quality is a step below the amazing Bangka where each dive is an amazement.

Loved Labuan Bajo/Komodo area too, great diving, though not for kids or snorkelers.

Wakatobi still on my to do list if I get better prices than what the resort lists, otherwise I can have Solomons or PNG for the same array of prices.

 

[DiveExploreIndonesia]

Another option is diving in Alor. it is great diving and the resort is situated on a sandy beach, ideal for children. The house reef is excellent for snorkeling and your children could accompany you on the boat whenever the dive spot is good for snorkeling as well. The resort in Alor is not high end but it is luxurious enough for a 50th birthday trip J. On top of it is small with max 10 divers, so very personalized service. The diving conditions in May and June are generally good and Alor could be easily combined with diving in komodo (Labuanbajo) or Bali. Diving in Bali is good as well. if you don’t want to spend much time in a car then we recommend you stay in Tulamben (north Bali) from where you have many dive spots reachable within short time. Or you could do Bali safari, which means you are located in a nice hotel and the car takes you every day to different dive locations. For both options is possible to find reasonably high budget accommodation.
And like you said – diving in Raja Ampat is excellent but logistically more difficult if you travel with children.

 

[buiszie]

A lot of diveshops on the Gilis offers diving for Kids, like bubblemaker and junior open water courses. Most of the shops have a pool were the kids can play around. Also the shops have divegear for the kids, smal masks, fins, tanks and bcds. They will make the experience fun with games. Its better to do the courses with shops that have these kind of equipment than your kids get bad experiences cuz everything doesnt fit.

 

[Will Rogers]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm looking into Gangga - it looks quite nice.

Anyone been to both Gangga and Wakatobi who could compare?

Lastly, any particular recomendations for a LOB in Komodo that would be kid friendly?

Thanks,

Will

 

[jcalheiroslobo]

Hi

I have been this year in Gangga with my kids( 5, 8 and 10) and last year in wakatobi with my wife.

Both are very good in terms of service, facilities and diving

For adults, I would choose Wakatobi.
IMO Gangga is more appropriate for small kids, because the beach is better and they have daily snorkelling trips to nearby islands(5 to 10 min), with very easy snorkelling.
The house reef is a lot better in Wakatobi, but I would not consider it appropriate for snorkelling with kids(too much current).
Both have very good bungalows, good food, and beutifull sea views.
I hope I have been of some help

Joao