UKC

I know, I know. I said I would never do a bucket list. (Well at least it's a bucket with only one thing in it).

Got 2 weeks this summer. Want to go diving. Some fixed complexity (daughter joining from Thailand) means probably Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam or Philippines.

Have alighted on NW Salawesi as it's relatively easy (and cheap) to get to from Jakarta, which is, in turn, relatively easy to rendevous at. But happy to be persuaded elsewhere.

Two questions:
- What's the best area to stay in/around jakarta and what must we do whilst we're there (other than graze amazing food continuously)?
- Is Manado or Lembeh the better diving (or somewhere else fairly accessible from Jakarta)?

I looked at Truk/Palau/Sipidan but it was over £3k each for the flights!

Vietnam looked dynamited to hell; Thailand is wrong season...

Any suggestions? We've dived in many amazing places so quality important!

And while we're at it, this is a climbing forum but more alive than any dive one I could find! Is there a good, lively dive forum where these quesitons would be better posed?

Thanks

In reply to JJL:

I dived there with Paul Bennett of this parish about 20 years ago. We dived off Monado Tua(?) in the Bunaken National Park. It was amazing, like dropping into an aquarium. For fish and marine life it is the best place I have ever dived.
I'll forward this to Paul as I can't remember ho we dived with.
Cheers
Steve

In reply to JJL:

The diving in Bunaken National Park is fantastic. Like you I have dived in some amazing places but Bunaken is the only place I have returned to. Most of the diving is around Bunaken and the adjacent volcanic island of Manado Tua. The accomodation and dive operators are on the mainland (it is also possible to stay on Bunaken) so you have a 30-60 minute boat ride to the dive sites. This adds to the enjoyment because the islands are separated by a deep channel so there is always plenty of life to observe from the boat. You are likely to see large numbers of dolphins and pllot whales on the daily journey. On one crossing we saw Sperm Whales .
The diving is very varied. Spectacular walls and drop offs and beautiful coral gardens. The biodiversity takes your breath away. Loads of Shark, Turtles, large schools of Jack and Barracuda, Bump Head Parrot Fish, huge Wrasse, Sea Snakes etc etc on every dive! I hope 20 years on the marine park is still as good as Steve and I remember it.
Both times I visited I dived with a dutch couple, Juud and Roel. They have now set up there own small resort and dive operation. Their website is http://lumbalumbadiving.com.
There are also some great excursions should you fancy a break from the diving. I have not dived in the Lembeh Strait though I understand it is very good.
Paul

In reply to JJL:
As above on the high quality of the diving . I stayed on Bunaken in the late 90 s so not really sure how useful this is . It was cheaper staying on the island than going out each day from the mainland but the accommodation was poor and the food worse , but we'd paid upfront and we're kind of stuck. The gear we hired was on the borderline of what we considered to be safe again ... pay peanuts get monkeys . If I were to go back again , very unlikely , I would stay on the mainland and do a lot of research before hand about the operator . We were on our way to aus after a few months climbing in Nepal and it was very much organised on the fly. Also we travelled up to whatever the jumping off point by Local mini bus and I suspect we were very lucky not to be victim of "pull over in the middle of know where and relive the foreigner s of all there gear Type scam" as we both felt that something was "wrong" on the journey . I think a man in uniform got on and scuppered the plan . (Before any body jumps in , yes , I have travelled in Asia and Africa quite a bit) . Sorry to say these are my main memories. Oh and seeing seeing a group of hammer heads on the wall that was 10 minutes swim out from the beach outside our hut . We stopped elsewhere on manado and went snorkelling and it was like something out of a film (a good one !) . I should add that my then partner was into diving and I just tagged along . I m trying to rember the fun types but I see to think apart from the actual diving ....type 3 ?

In reply to Paul Bennett:

It looks like Maxi is still there!! Probably still diving a whole week on one tank

In reply to Paul Bennett:

Cracking information - thanks everyone

In reply to sjminfife:

It looks like he manages the place now. When I went the second time with Janete he was courting a local dive guide called Maria. She liked him but thought he was not serious enough. Maria still works there, does all the administration and succumbed to Maxi's overtures. I think they have two kids now. I will never forget Maxi. A great guy.