Which Scuba Destinations Do You Consider Rather Dangerous?
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Did you read the same page last year? The year before? I haven't either, but I would suspect that after every one of the incidents that has happened over the past dozen years or so, the same sorts of warnings have remained posted for some time. Aceh, Sulawesi, and before that the Bali bombings--nothing new. There have been travel warnings about Indonesia as far back as I can remember looking (which would be the early 2000s).
That sort of defensive response is why this information is best left to sites like TripAdvisor. That way defenders can respond to a negative post without obscuring it. Readers can access the information and form their own opinions!
dirtfarmer
Contributor
I'm not really a fan of this thread but I'll comment anyway. IMHO yes it is good to be informed of possible dangers and be aware that somewhere
you are considering going to might have risks.There are destinations that I have shied away from due to risks, mostly area's that have low level conflicts recently, or multiple kidnappings.
I have traveled to Indonesia many times and will continue to do so. Why? the diving ranges from great to absolutely mind blowing. Currently I'm over nighting in Sorong after a crossing trip from Ambon thru the Banda to Raja Ampat. The trip was epic from large packs of hammerheads, to visiting a village that the liveboard company aides to encourage the locals to protect the hammerheads from finning, to absolutely mind blowing dives in the Misool area. I've been blessed to have done quite a bit of diving throughout the Coral Triangle and after my first dive in Raja Ampat it has topped my list of destinations. I am about to get on another Raja Ampat liveaboard and can hardly wait. I will be returning to Indonesia in January for again more epic diving. During this trip my wife who does not dive was home and seeing the news confirming the downing of the Russian plane was a bomb started to panic about my safety despite my last email from Jakarta. I was staying in Ambon a few days before boarding the liveaboard and could not email her of my safe arrival and impending departure, she tried to contact where I was staying and due to bad internet service didn't receive a reply, she eventually contacted the booking company and the liveboard company and of course due to time differences spent a few days worrying, they replied as soon as the received the emails that I had arrived in Ambon safe and sound and boarded the boat and was safe and enjoying diving with the large packs of Hammerheads. I told her that contact would be very limited maybe not possible at all yet she worried and worried. Thankfully she did not have to wait till I reached Sorong to hear about my safety or she probably would have been banned from leaving the house ever again. She should probably worry more about my safety driving in the early morning on my way to a farmers market then when I am traveling, I nearly was injured or killed entering my DRIVEWAY being hit by huge pickup traveling at unsafe speeds,
If not for the lucky angle of the collision I might not be typing this.
My point: This is a trip of my lifetime so far, I turned 50 this year traditionally the age one might start to consider their mortality and if I died in two weeks from now of any cause I will have died happy with fantastic memories of an epic trip. Everyone has to consider their own safety and mortality, but I think westerner's tend to focus on terrorism as a threat to their personal safety when they have more chances of being killed in car accidents or their diets.
you are considering going to might have risks.There are destinations that I have shied away from due to risks, mostly area's that have low level conflicts recently, or multiple kidnappings.
I have traveled to Indonesia many times and will continue to do so. Why? the diving ranges from great to absolutely mind blowing. Currently I'm over nighting in Sorong after a crossing trip from Ambon thru the Banda to Raja Ampat. The trip was epic from large packs of hammerheads, to visiting a village that the liveboard company aides to encourage the locals to protect the hammerheads from finning, to absolutely mind blowing dives in the Misool area. I've been blessed to have done quite a bit of diving throughout the Coral Triangle and after my first dive in Raja Ampat it has topped my list of destinations. I am about to get on another Raja Ampat liveaboard and can hardly wait. I will be returning to Indonesia in January for again more epic diving. During this trip my wife who does not dive was home and seeing the news confirming the downing of the Russian plane was a bomb started to panic about my safety despite my last email from Jakarta. I was staying in Ambon a few days before boarding the liveaboard and could not email her of my safe arrival and impending departure, she tried to contact where I was staying and due to bad internet service didn't receive a reply, she eventually contacted the booking company and the liveboard company and of course due to time differences spent a few days worrying, they replied as soon as the received the emails that I had arrived in Ambon safe and sound and boarded the boat and was safe and enjoying diving with the large packs of Hammerheads. I told her that contact would be very limited maybe not possible at all yet she worried and worried. Thankfully she did not have to wait till I reached Sorong to hear about my safety or she probably would have been banned from leaving the house ever again. She should probably worry more about my safety driving in the early morning on my way to a farmers market then when I am traveling, I nearly was injured or killed entering my DRIVEWAY being hit by huge pickup traveling at unsafe speeds,
If not for the lucky angle of the collision I might not be typing this.
My point: This is a trip of my lifetime so far, I turned 50 this year traditionally the age one might start to consider their mortality and if I died in two weeks from now of any cause I will have died happy with fantastic memories of an epic trip. Everyone has to consider their own safety and mortality, but I think westerner's tend to focus on terrorism as a threat to their personal safety when they have more chances of being killed in car accidents or their diets.
Seriously you can die in bed, or getting out of bed. 
would be interesting to see the stats but I bet more people die in bed than anywhere else 
but we don't consider beds dangerous.
I agree there are risks associated with Indonesia, people need to be aware of them and make their choices. I am hoping that we will get a chance to dive there again soon. My personal assessment is that the trip will be worth the risks.
The purpose of this thread is NOT to bad mouth or be a cheerleader about any destination or operator but to have an honest conversation. I personally think the chances of the average person being a victim of crime or a Terrorist attack is about the same as the chance of winning the lottery! Sometimes your number does come up, in which case you really don't care about the averages anymore.
You can do a couple things to change the odds.. buy a ticket or not buy a ticket... assess the odds and make an informed decision
would be interesting to see the stats but I bet more people die in bed than anywhere else but we don't consider beds dangerous.I agree there are risks associated with Indonesia, people need to be aware of them and make their choices. I am hoping that we will get a chance to dive there again soon. My personal assessment is that the trip will be worth the risks.
The purpose of this thread is NOT to bad mouth or be a cheerleader about any destination or operator but to have an honest conversation. I personally think the chances of the average person being a victim of crime or a Terrorist attack is about the same as the chance of winning the lottery! Sometimes your number does come up, in which case you really don't care about the averages anymore.
You can do a couple things to change the odds.. buy a ticket or not buy a ticket... assess the odds and make an informed decision
dark.knight
Registered
Well, fine, maybe i'm being an ass and i'm sorry.
Anyway, one of the destinations i consider dangerous is a diving trip to Pelabuhan Ratu. They have big waves over there, and very strong currents. the dive spot is a well kept secret under the name of "Karang Antuk".
You have to get to the target area ( an underwater plateau size of football field +- 20m) under strong currents with dropoffs in all sides +100m depth. But the good thing is they have beautiful reefs and due to the condition, a chance to see reefshark, manta ray, and various fishes.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Anyway, one of the destinations i consider dangerous is a diving trip to Pelabuhan Ratu. They have big waves over there, and very strong currents. the dive spot is a well kept secret under the name of "Karang Antuk".
You have to get to the target area ( an underwater plateau size of football field +- 20m) under strong currents with dropoffs in all sides +100m depth. But the good thing is they have beautiful reefs and due to the condition, a chance to see reefshark, manta ray, and various fishes.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Ditto that. We are off to Komodo next week. Raja Ampat was in March and we are doing a crossing trip like the one you have just completed next November. We are not risk takers, but quite frankly life it too short to stop and home and then die by falling out of bed.
Jumana Ameeri
Registered
Went on a diving trip to Sharm late September- October. Even before the incident, the security there was phenomenal especially at our resort.
Seriously you can die in bed, or getting out of bed.
I agree there are risks associated with Indonesia, people need to be aware of them and make their choices. I am hoping that we will get a chance to dive there again soon. My personal assessment is that the trip will be worth the risks.
The purpose of this thread is NOT to bad mouth or be a cheerleader about any destination or operator but to have an honest conversation. I personally think the chances of the average person being a victim of crime or a Terrorist attack is about the same as the chance of winning the lottery! Sometimes your number does come up, in which case you really don't care about the averages anymore.
You can do a couple things to change the odds.. buy a ticket or not buy a ticket... assess the odds and make an informed decision
Well said. To reiterate an argument I made earlier in this thread, when "really really low" odds increase to just "really low," should I change how I live? It's similar to the logic behind someone buying TWO lottery tickets instead of one. Your odds of winning are STILL infinitesimal. My logical self says I should not worry about become a victim of a terrorist act ... but of course my emotional self says I should.
gkrane
Contributor
The really really low odds are due to the statistics taking every worldwide location into one percentage. I imagine if you broke it down by individual location and for instance run statistics for 1000 US and European tourists taking a vacation in Syria for 7 days the really really low odds may change dramatically. Statistically one's chances of being attacked by a shark are infinitesimal but I don't see too many posts from people doing Great White dives from outside of a cage. Common sense is a factor here.
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