Triton Bay or Halmahera?

[jjmochi]

Starting to plan my trips for 2025 and trying to decide on one of the two for April timeframe
1) Lembeh - Halmahera - Lembeh on White Manta - 5 days at Halmahera w some extra dives in Lembeh (26 total) for US$2900
2) a week at Triton Bay divers - seems to be 5 days of diving (3x/day for 15 dives, night dives not guaranteed as a solo traveller) EUR$2729

I am set to return to Komodo and Raja Ampat this year on the Blue Manta, and have softly penciled in a Palau spawning trip in Feb 2025 and a Ambon - Banda - Alor - Maumere trip on Mermaid I for Oct 2025, which I plan to get off 1 day early and spend an extra week at Alor Divers Eco Resort.

The Halmahera trip starts/ends in Manado which is super easy direct 4h flight on Scoot from SG. I can easily add on a few days in Lembeh to get my macro fix in.
Triton Bay seems much harder to get to, but can still be done within the same day as arrival in Sorong, and on the reverse will take 3 separately booked flights but theoretically I can still make it back to SG on the same day (assuming no delays or cancellations.... but will be tight... and I've read cancellations are common?)

Cost is not really a main consideration (but Halmahera looks to be better value), but time is important to me as vacation days are limited - I would hate to lose extra days because of unreliable flights. Assuming all goes well getting to Kaimana will cost me 1 more day than getting to Manado (can leave in the morning and be diving by the afternoon...). I'm also a bit hesitant on the lack of 24h electricity.

Since my one year absence it seems Triton Bay has gotten a lot more popular - and I think I've read a few reports now about how it's even better than Raja. Certainly one of the key pluses would be the whale sharks, but curious if anyone has done both Triton Bay and Halmahera and can compare the rest of the diving. Last time I was in Lembeh the resident photographer at Bastianos told me his favorite place to dive is Halmahera but other than that I haven't heard much first hand experience on Halmahera.

Macro is not really a big focus for me for this trip because Lembeh, Anilao, and Tulemban are all within a short 3-4h flight from me and I can go on a long weekend. So I guess I'm really asking to compare: 1) overall reefs - health, color, soft vs hard corals etc, 2) fishiness, 3) sharkiness.

Is the extra hassle for Triton Bay worth it? Will one better complement the rest of the year vs the other?

 

[underwater_j]

Hello J,

Me and my husband are also looking in at the Lembeh-Halmahera-Lembeh trip with White Manta. Gathering information right now.

Recently someone wrote a trip report Triton Bay, I linked it here for you to check it out.

Trip Report - Triton Bay Divers Resort Review

Our take is : If you have dived Raja Ampat like us, then it is worth going off the mainstream areas like Triton Bay. We have not dived Triton Bay yet but plan to do so by this year or next.

Another option for you and it is in season is Alor (which is in season). For us Alor deserve to be on a trip itself because LOB only touches the popular dive sites at the area. We also stayed with Alor Divers and honestly it was really good. Get the newly renovated bungalow with the patio. Cleverly designed bungalows with a second door that leads straight to the open shower at the back.
We had wonderful dives at Alor and the reefs (soft and hard corals) are very healthy. As for sharks, if you are right in the full moon period you are able to see some nice schooling hammers at this dive site called Yellow Wall or Monaseli (locals call it). Alor offers great muck diving too and chances to see rhinopias.
For returning flights : You can transit Bali back to Singapore I presume?

Also, I have seen you softly penciled Palau, I would recommend you not probably change that to permanent marker because we just got back from Palau aboard on the Black Pearl LOB for the new moon bumphead parrotfish spawning trip. Such am awesome experience!!!

As for cancellations/delays of flights, it is not as common with Indonesian airlines however it is best to allocate more time in between transfers (i know sometimes it is hard) in case of any issues.

Hope the our suggestions and information helps.
J

 

[jjmochi]

Actually I see now that White Manta has a Triton Bay trip on Jan 26-Feb 2 - 20 dives across 6 days for $3300. Not sure how I missed it. This actually ticks most of the boxes - comfy cabins, AC, 24h power, all 6 days of diving in new-to-me Triton Bay vs repeating Misool, and no min 2pax requirement for night dives. Plus it's right in the middle of CNY holidays so only need to use minimal vacation days. But if I do this one it would mean no Palau.

Thanks for the feedback on Alor, I was convinced by folks here on Alor 2 years ago and already have a deposit with them. I plan to do 1 week at Alor Divers in Oct, after doing the Banda crossing with Mermaid I from Ambon to Maumere (getting off early in Alor).

Looking at White Manta's schedule I'm also now tempted by Sagalaki as well, which would tick the box for jellyfish lake that I would miss out on by taking out Palau. But the overall reefs don't look as pretty as Halmahera and definitely not as pretty as Triton Bay (I am partial to soft corals).

 

[underwater_j]

Ahh great to hear about White Manta's trip to Triton Bay next year.

In my humble opinion, Triton Bay vs Palau during CNY. I would rather do Triton Bay than Palau. It is during CNY and Palau is a famous dive destination for Chinese divers from mainland China. Personal experience with Chinese divers....I would try to avoid them if I can.
Nothing personal just that I would rather dive with folks who knows how to do a safety stop together as a group.

Sangalaki is a good choice as well! The jellyfish lake at Kakaban island is way way way way much better than Palau. When we there in Palau Jan 24, there were sadly only 4 jellyfishes and an extra usd 100 of marine park fee. The reefs on Barracuda Point dive site is one of the healthiest and colourful between the 4 islands : Derawan, Sangalaki, Kakaban and Maratua. It really depends on what you want to see. Maratua has the barracuda wall, Sangalaki has mantas and Kakaban has thresher shark (Kelapa Dua dive site).

Have you decided on Lembeh-Halmahera-Lembeh route yet?

J

 

[jjmochi]

Oh no on the Palau jellyfish! That was one of my two main reasons for wanting to go to Palau (the other being the unique spawning event). I think you've just sold me on the Triton Bay trip in lieu of Palau.

Halmahera looks really good too, and Lembeh is my favourite place for macro. I'm still doing a bit more research but I think I'm also decided on that one, with an extra few days tacked on in Lembeh or Bangka before or after.
Found this video which suggested Halmahera has almost the same amount of biodiversity as Raja (803 vs 828 species).

Thanks for the tip on Sangalaki! I didn't realise they had threshers too. Did you go to Sangalaki on liveaboard or with Scuba Junkies? Scuba Junkies is much cheaper (~1/3 of WM).

If I do all 3 I think I would've covered most of Indo's best diving in this year / next!

 

[underwater_j]

Maybe the jellyfish will come back but we just wouldn't know when. When we were in Misool the last time in 2021, there were also very much less jellyfish compare to what we see on YouTube or social media.
Your. best bet might be the one at Kakaban
Honestly Palau is a must go, aside from the spawning the amount of sharks are and how healthy the ecosystem is just incredible. In terms of marine diversity, Raja Ampat or Komodo is still the best!

We did Lembeh end of last year (our first time) and we are longing to return with a new set of checklist after ticking off mandarin fish mating, blue ring octorpus and wonderpus. So that is why we are so interested in the Lembeh - Halmahera - Lembeh with White Manta cause it is our plan to dive the off beaten areas this year. Who did you went with in Lembeh? We dived with Dive into Lembeh, it is on the mainland not the island and had a great time there. Smaller setup compared to Lembeh Resort run by husband and wife team.

Yesss! We saw two threshers at Kelapa Dua (Kakaban). The place is slowly becoming famous around Indonesia and around for threshers. Of course it's not gonna be like Malapascua where the chances are very high. However, if your local guide bring you at the right time which is earlier in the morning, you should be able to see them threshers.
We stayed with Sangalaki Resort (the only resort in the island), honestly we wouldnt recommend that because the place is only open whenever they have divers/bookings. Slightly rundown, food not that great and there is zero network on the small island. Plus point is that you get to see turtles laying eggs. On some nights we saw up to three mama turtles coming up to lay their eggs. Also, you get to release the baby turtles every night.

Scuba Junkie is at Derawan island which is slighlty further away from the three islands : Sangalaki, Kakaban and Maratua where all the diving action is. So travel time to dive sites would naturally be longer than you stay Sangalaki or Maratua. No resorts in Kakaban because it is a gazetted national park. However we heard that there are some good muck sites at Derawan island but we have not dived there before. One plus point I can think if when staying at Derawan is that is quite near to the whale shark dive where the traditional fishermen ships called the "bagan". You do not have to get up like 5 or 6am in the morning to make your journey if you want to see whale sharks.

So if we were to return we will definitely stay at Maratua Island. Nearer to dive sites around, better network and more options for resorts. Some of the shortlisted resort we are looking at are : Green Nirvana (lots of Chinese divers), Sienna Resort and Maratua Dive Lodge.

Where else have you been in Indonesia?
We have a trip with Blue Manta in October this year for the Ring of Fire but that is still such a long way more to goooo!

 

[jjmochi]

Honestly Palau is a must go, aside from the spawning the amount of sharks are and how healthy the ecosystem is just incredible.

It's on my short list for sure, along with Socorro. It's just every time I look at flights it's so much longer and more expensive than Indo or Philippines. A Palau liveaboard is also $$$, $6k for the one I was looking at (10n on Palau siren). I had actually fully paid for a spawning trip in Feb 2023 (flights and everything) and was all set to go before finding out I was pregnant in Jan 2023!

Who did you went with in Lembeh?

I dove with Bastianos the first time in July 2022 - it's really the old Froggies. They combined during Covid and when I went I was the only guest there for half my stay. Got a private guide and he was awesome. 90+min dives, no current, tons of critters, almost no downtime!

I rebooked with NAD Lembeh for May this year - they came highly recommended from a few people I know and offer 2:1 guide ratio. They also do blackwater dives which Bastianos does not.

Sadly I was also fully booked and paid for an Alex Mustard macro workshop at Lembeh Resort in March 2023, which again had to cancel b/c of baby. I was told I could reschedule too but then it turned out the guy (Adam from Wetpixel) organising the whole thing was a fraud! I did look at them again but they were much more expensive than NAD so I figured I'll try NAD first.

You do not have to get up like 5 or 6am in the morning to make your journey if you want to see whale sharks.

Ooh I just checked their website and it is indeed a 5am start for the whale sharks. I'm leaning toward White Manta for this as well because I really hate long boat rides. I want to rinse my camera and get out of my drysuit after every dive...

Where else have you been in Indonesia?

I did both Komodo (10 days on Mermaid I+ a few days in Padang Bai beforehand), North Sulawesi (12 days across mostly Lembeh/Bangka with 1 day in Bunekan), and Raja Ampat (1 week at Papua Explorers and 1 week onboard the Carpe Diem) in 2022. I was landlocked all of 2023. This year I'm set to return to both Komodo and Raja Ampat (July and Dec) on Blue Manta (they were very good in allowing me to rebook my 2023 trips), then a short trip to Lembeh in May, plus a few days in Tulemban before Komodo. And then next year thinking Triton Bay, Lembeh+Halmahera, Sangalaki, Ambon+Banda crossing, and finally Alor. I try to take full advantage of my current base in Singapore and it helps that my husband lost interest in dive trips so I don't have to pay for 2 anymore!

 

[underwater_j]

Socorro! Maybe one day me and my husband will make it there
Palau is not very easy on the pockets but the diving is really good. The bumphead parrotfish spawning was really something.
Ahh congratulations on being a new mother!!

Ah Bastianos and NAD, have checked them out before and will keep in mind the next time we go to Lembeh! Thanks for the information.

Ah yes! After the Lembeh-Halmahera-Lembeh trip White Manta is heading towards Sangalaki.
By the way, we have just confirmed the Lembeh-Halmahera-Lembeh trip today. Should there be no unforeseen circumstances, we might cross path on this trip!

To get to Tarakan is fairly easy you get there via Balikpapan or Jakarta and then to Tarakan. As far as I remember, Garuda does not fly to Tarakan so I guess it would be Batik Air which you need to buy extra luggage on top of the free 20kgs if you bring your own dive equipment and camera.

 

[jjmochi]

By the way, we have just confirmed the Lembeh-Halmahera-Lembeh trip today.

Nice! I did as well. Look forward to it!

 

[Laval]

I would go to the Triton Bay Divers Resort. I see someone referred to my recent report Trip Report - Triton Bay Divers Resort Review. We spent there two weeks in January and already booked three weeks for February 2025. Triton Bay has a good combination of muck, macro and amazing corals. Visibility is not as good as in RAJA AMPAT, but if you like muck and macro diving, it is not a problem. Not having any other dive operations around is a blast. Last year we've been to Palau and RAJA AMPAT (Sorido Bay Resort-the 3rd time). Palau was nice, but we are not planning coming back. I started to post videos about diving in Triton Bay. If you are interested, you can check my Diver's Lens YouTube channel. Let me know if you have any questions.