Diving Indonesia Periplus Adventure Guid. David Pickell
Komodo Island (home of the fabled "dragon," a large monitor lizard) and Labuhanbajo, Flores are speckled with small islands ringed with coral. It is also swept by fierce currents. There are several places in Labuhanbajo which sometimes offer day trips for diving.
For the best locations, try the inexpensive live-aboards the Komodo Plus I and II. These ships do not offer luxury, but their charts show all the best locations in this world-class area, all pioneered by the outfit.
Maumere, Flores. Early in the decade, Maumere Bay was hit by a triple whammy: earthquake, tsunami, and a cyclone. Many of the reefs were devastated, but there are still good locations. Life is returning to the area, and this process of recovery can be very interesting from a diving perspective. Diving services are now very limited, but the essentials are there.
Sumba. It's no piece of cake to get there, but the south coast of Sumba offers a top location, dubbed Magic Mountain. It's an undersea mound, teeming with large fishes. The resort on land has been bought by the internationally acclaimed Oberoi chain.
Kupang, West Timor, and Roti and Alor. This area provides the closest diving for North Australia-based divers. The marine life is plentiful, and the operators are very good, experienced and enthusiastic. The only drawback to Kupang is the visibility, which is poor to just fair by Indonesian standards: 6-12 meters. Roti is better.
For the best diving, the operators have pioneered Alor Island, where a couple of dozen spots, along with some in the Banda Sea, top our best-of-the-best in Indonesia list. Currents can be strong, but for hard core divers, Alor gets our highest recommendation. Now the live-aboards Komodo Plus I and 77 also visit Alor.
Sulawesi. The steep coral walls ringing the islands off Manado are some of the very best in the world. The visibility is very good, and the variety of marine life is superb. Some of the dive operators could use more reliable dive boats, and English-speaking dive masters with international certification. Bangka Island offers excellent spots, without the crowds at Bunaken. A new dive center, quiet and luxurious, offers very good diving from just north of Bitung, on the other side of the peninsula from Manado. The waters of the Lembeh Strait are very rich, and hold interesting wrecks.
The Serenade and its daughter ship Arlena, both operated by Murex, and the live-aboard operated by Liburan Adventure Diving Tours, all run out of Manado to the Sangihe-Talaud Islands. The Spermonde archipelago off Ujung Pandang, Selayar island just off the southwest peninsula, the Tukang Besi archipelago off the southeast tip, and the Togian islands tucked away in the Gulf of Tomini in central Sulawesi all offer exciting exploratory diving opportunities.
East Kalimantan. Manta rays and a salt-water inland lake are the top drawing cards here. World-famous Borneo Divers, the folks who pioneered Sipandan diving, started operations in Sangalaki. After a period of suspended operations, they are planning to reopen their dive business with a new Indonesian partner. Another dive outfit, based on nearby Derawan Island, also offers diving on Sangalaki, and this has evolved into a well-run operation.
A school of pennant butterfly-fish, Heniochus diphreutes. Swarms of these beautiful butterflyfish are a common sight on Indonesian reefs.
Ambon. Dive operations in Ambon and the Lease Islands are smoothing out. Operators now have adequate boats, with all the essentials. The diving here is very good and there will be no crowds at all. But the quality of dive personnel varies greatly. New sites here are still waiting to be discovered.
Our favorite live-aboard, the wooden Pindito, operates out of Ambon. Most of the year, it covers the Banda Sea. When the weather gets bad there, it runs dive cruises to Irian Jaya. The Pindito has pioneered most of the best dive spots in the Banda Sea and they know the area well. With the deepest seas in Indonesia and islands jutting up from abyssal depths, this is truly spectacular diving, second to none.
Unfortunately, the Pindito is quite expensive, and markets chiefly to Europe. Other live-aboards that make Banda Sea runs can be found in Bali.
Banda Islands. The Banda Islands are a tiny group rising incongruously out of the middle of the wide Banda Sea—the Hawaii of Indonesia. Some of the dive sites here are fantastic, and large pelagics are commonly seen. There's not always someone around with formal dive training, although recently a European divemaster has taken up residence in Banda. The real problem is getting to these beautiful islands, however. They are really out of the way, and the bottleneck is the final leg on a small plane from Ambon.
Irian Jaya. Abundant reef life and little-explored ship and aircraft wrecks make diving in the Raja Ampat islands and Cenderawasih Bay on the north coast of Irian Jaya exciting adventures. A new hotel on the tip of Biak Island also offers diving in the Padaido group.
Exploratory dives
In addition to the few locations in Indonesia where compressors, tanks, weights and guides are available, dozens of others have been prospected, and await investment to be opened. To this list, add hundreds of sites—a few "discovered" but most unexplored—accessible only by the live-aboards.
You can also simply charter a large enough boat, and head off to a location of your own choosing. The problem, of course, is finding a compressor. This may be possible in Bali, however, which would open up locations such as the Kangean Islands, Taka Bonerate and the Bonerate group. This is territory for real explorers, and if you have the time, patience, and self-sufficiency, this could provide a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Scuba Guides: Variable
The quality of dive services and guides in Indonesia is, to be polite, "variable." Most of these guides have spent more time underwater than their customers, accumulating thousands of dives, and are excellent scuba divers. But this does not make them good guides. They usually fall short in emergency training and organization.
It best to dive with the fore-knowledge that you probably can not expect any help from your guide. Many guides may even have had some theoretical training in emergency procedures. But we have only rarely seen a first-aid kit on any of the local dive boats, let alone oxygen. Do not expect your guide to rescue you if you get into trouble.
This is not much of a problem for well-trained, experienced divers, particularly those who are traveling as a group. In fact, if you fall into this category, Indonesia is going to be a paradise for diving—no crowds, virgin reefs, and a lot of underwater time for your buck.
Beginners, on the other hand, are advised to use extreme caution—especially those who take a resort course after arrival here. Instructors' command of English is usually incomplete, and safety procedures are sometimes neglected. Being "certified" in Indonesia does not make you a competent diver. If a resort course here is your only diving experience, stick to the easy locations, and be very particular in choosing an operator and guide.
In all cases be extremely wary of rental gear. This equipment is very expensive to buy with Indonesian rupiah, and operators use it to within an inch of its life. If maintenance were regularly scheduled and carried out properly, this wouldn't be a problem. But spare parts are expensive and very hard to get here, and training in repair and diagnostics of dive equipment is basically non-existent.
In most places, dive guides and assistants will ready your gear for you, but we suggest you do this yourself. If you are in the habit of just looking at the pressure gauge to make sure you have a good fill, you better change your way of thinking in Indonesia. Test everything—regulator, gauges, BC valves and straps. You should infer from this advice that we highly recommend you bring your own gear.
Indonesia is not the place to push your limits as a diver. We discourage dives below 30 meters, especially if decompression stops are required. Take your dive tables (better yet, a computer) and follow them scrupulously. Don't even think about a decompression chambers being available—except perhaps in Bali and Manado, they are too far away.
Dive-tour operators, particularly in Europe, are reluctant to send their clients to Indonesia because of the poor training of local guides. This situation will be remedied only when more dive guides receive adequate instruction in dive planning, emergency