diving in indonesia?

hi out there!
can anyone give me some hints where to go to in indonesia for good
diving? would be nice if you could include information about prices too.
planning to stay there for 6 weeks starting july 4th. we start in
jarkata and want to look around in sumatra, java, bali, lombok, flores. etc.
thanks in advance
phil

In article <z8Gpc.105051$O9.71491@news.chello.at>,
quics-remove-this-to-email-me@flashmail.com (Philipp M.) wrote:

> want to look around in sumatra, java, bali,

Bali is very inexpensive, we used Aquamarine diving and they looked after
us very well.

Dave Morgan @ Work in the UK
Take out the "goes diving" bit....
Trip photos on line at www.morg.co.uk

"Philipp M." <quics-remove-this-to-email-me@flashmail.com> wrote in message news:<z8Gpc.105051$O9.71491@news.chello.at>...
> hi out there!
> can anyone give me some hints where to go to in indonesia for good
> diving? would be nice if you could include information about prices too.
> planning to stay there for 6 weeks starting july 4th. we start in
> jarkata and want to look around in sumatra, java, bali, lombok, flores. etc.
> thanks in advance
> phil

If you have the money and they have the opening on the boat, book
yourself a trip with the liveaboard "M/Y Pelagian". I had an
excellent 2 week trip with them a few years ago that left from Bali's
harbor. We dove around Lombok and Flores and then off of Komodo
Island's protected marine sanctuary. They also do a land tour on the
island of Kimodo itself that takes you trekking thru the jungle in
search of komodo dragons in the wild... and you will see them !!
It was an excellent ship, friendly staff and great diving. Here's
their site. Look at 'destinations' esp because they switch up each
year but I know that they are back off of Bali this year.

http://www.diveasiapacific.com/

I got the PADI advanced certification with Bali Scuba (www.baliscuba.com)
last October (2003). The dive operation was very well run. The
owner, Chris, struck me as a remarkably honest and kind business man,
something that is harder to find in Indonesia than I wish it was. All costs
were clear upfront, and were reasonable for the region - as opposed to the
typical "bule" gouging and surprise fees. For instance, a driver and porter
met us at the airport, carried my gear to the van, and drove us 30 minutes
to our hotel for about $2. The hotel for the first night was $15 or so,
right across the street from the dive shop, and quite nice inside. They
even had a good selection of XL gear, not a common thing there.

My divemaster/instructor, Simon Gilbert, was patient and unendingly helpful.
He's their best English speaker, being from England, and a really good guy.
The other dive master of theirs that I met, Minyan, also seemed nice.

We dove all our dives in Tulamben. The visibiilty was quite poor due to mud
runoff into the water, and I know the effect was expected to be long term.
If I was making dive plans for Bali today, I would try to get updated
information about the water visibility.

The wreck there is large (100 meters) and very cool to explore. There are
over 400 species of fish and such making their homes in/around the wreck,
and another 50 or so species that visit.

All the dives we did were an easy shore swim.

I highly recommend the operation Bali Scuba. My sweetheart, who is
Indonesian from Jakarta and lived there until last December, was also
impressed with them. They can set you up with wherever on the island you
want to go.

I understand that the best diving in the region is likely found at Sulawesi,
but I don't have any local info. Feel free to email me if you would like to
know more about my experience in Indonesia. My sweetheart can also help you
translate Indonesian if you find yourself trying to understand a website
full of Bahasa.

Cheers!

David Luecke

"Philipp M." <quics-remove-this-to-email-me@flashmail.com> wrote in message
news:z8Gpc.105051$O9.71491@news.chello.at...
> hi out there!
> can anyone give me some hints where to go to in indonesia for good
> diving? would be nice if you could include information about prices too.
> planning to stay there for 6 weeks starting july 4th. we start in
> jarkata and want to look around in sumatra, java, bali, lombok, flores.
etc.
> thanks in advance
> phil
>

Interesting that this topic would pop up today, as I'm looking for the
same thing. We may be taking our family there, and the older kids
would enjoy learning to dive while there. We'll probably be in Bali
for most of our trip, but want to take a tour of Borneo as well,
because I wrote a book that is set there, so we kind of want to see it
first hand.

Randy Farnsworth
Author of "A Stand Yet Taken"
http://randyfarnsworth.com/

"Salty" <babette7401@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:e673a058.0405171633.24f56bb2@posting.google.c om...
> "Philipp M." <quics-remove-this-to-email-me@flashmail.com> wrote in
message news:<z8Gpc.105051$O9.71491@news.chello.at>...
> > hi out there!
> > can anyone give me some hints where to go to in indonesia for good
> > diving? would be nice if you could include information about prices too.
> > planning to stay there for 6 weeks starting july 4th. we start in
> > jarkata and want to look around in sumatra, java, bali, lombok, flores.
etc.
> > thanks in advance
> > phil
>
> If you have the money and they have the opening on the boat, book
> yourself a trip with the liveaboard "M/Y Pelagian". I had an
> excellent 2 week trip with them a few years ago that left from Bali's
> harbor. We dove around Lombok and Flores and then off of Komodo
> Island's protected marine sanctuary. They also do a land tour on the
> island of Kimodo itself that takes you trekking thru the jungle in
> search of komodo dragons in the wild... and you will see them !!
> It was an excellent ship, friendly staff and great diving. Here's
> their site. Look at 'destinations' esp because they switch up each
> year but I know that they are back off of Bali this year.
>
> http://www.diveasiapacific.com/

As Salty says, depending on your budget: I might suggest ***trying*** to get
some spots on Wakatobi. Their private plane leaves from Bali and heads to
the island in Southwest Sulawesi for 1 week stays, returning to Bali. I have
never seen or dived better reefs than there, even comparing them to other
Indonesian, PNG and Solomon reefs of 20 years ago. They are quite
astounding.

It is generally booked a year in advance but Crispin (onsite) told me a few
weeks ago they had some spots open up during the summer period. It is
inexpensive for an all-inclusive (don't mistake that for the Mexican,
Jamaican, Mallorca type all-inclusives). Wakatobi shares the island with no
other restaurants, resorts, hotels or diving ops. On my trips I have paid
about $ 2,300 US for the Grand Bungalow accommodations and it is less
expensive for the rooms at the Main House. Price includes air from Bali.

Really a pretty cool place with exceptional diving. I have booked for
another return next year in the Spring.

I don't know where your budget or schedule lies but you can't go wrong with
diving Wakatobi.

They can be found at www.wakatobi.com