Ambon, Indonesia dive info and lodging help?

Hello

I'm joining a group next year on a live-aboard which departs from Ambon, and some of us are considering arriving early to get in a few local dives before the larger trip. I've been beating the bushes for lodging and dive op info and have found some information that indicates there can be soom pretty good local diving, but I'd love to hear from anybody who might have visited and dived there, or otherwise has knowledge of the location.

I'm mainly trying to find a comfortable and safe hotel, and a dependable dive op.

Thanks.

Mike

Hello

 

I'm joining a group next year on a live-aboard which departs from Ambon, and some of us are considering arriving early to get in a few local dives before the larger trip. I've been beating the bushes for lodging and dive op info and have found some information that indicates there can be soom pretty good local diving, but I'd love to hear from anybody who might have visited and dived there, or otherwise has knowledge of the location.

 

I'm mainly trying to find a comfortable and safe hotel, and a dependable dive op.

 

Thanks.

 

Mike

I just go back from a live-aboard trip that started in Ambon. Yes, there is good diving there, most notably one of the best critter sites outside Lembeh. It's over by the airport at the Laha jetty. We dove there for most of a day before leaving to dive our way up to Sorong. There also some acceptable reef and wall dives there, too, as well as a wreck in the harbor that is a decent dive. I ended a trip there last year as well and our trip organizer went ashore to check out the dive resort. It is basic but apparently safe enough. I know she has arranged for some other folks to stay there. They are called Maluku Divers. Website is:

http://www.divingmaluku.com/index.html

If you PM me, I may be able to find someone who has stayed at the resort relatively recently -- no guarantees, but I could try.

Mike

I just go back from a live-aboard trip that started in Ambon. Yes, there is good diving there, most notably one of the best critter sites outside Lembeh. It's over by the airport at the Laha jetty. We dove there for most of a day before leaving to dive our way up to Sorong. There also some acceptable reef and wall dives there, too, as well as a wreck in the harbor that is a decent dive. I ended a trip there last year as well and our trip organizer went ashore to check out the dive resort. It is basic but apparently safe enough. I know she has arranged for some other folks to stay there. They are called Maluku Divers. Website is:

 

http://www.divingmaluku.com/index.html

 

If you PM me, I may be able to find someone who has stayed at the resort relatively recently -- no guarantees, but I could try.

 

Mike

Hey Mike, thanks for the quick reply! I found this same op on the net and I'm in touch with them already. Glad to hear from somebody who has been there. A friend of a friend who also has visited described the lodging owned by the dive op as pretty primative, with only a couple of AC rooms, and while the rep for the dive op promises upgraded and renovated lodging by the time we arrive, I choose not to depend on that until I see it. So, we are definitely searching for other good places on Ambon that can accommodate up to 10 divers in safety and relative comfort. If you have any tips on that front they would be appreciated.

Mike, do you think there is sufficient diving variety there to keep a group interested for three days? We are all critter lovers and mostly photogs.

Hey Mike, thanks for the quick reply! I found this same op on the net and I'm in touch with them already. Glad to hear from somebody who has been there. A friend of a friend who also has visited described the lodging owned by the dive op as pretty primative, with only a couple of AC rooms, and while the rep for the dive op promises upgraded and renovated lodging by the time we arrive, I choose not to depend on that until I see it. So, we are definitely searching for other good places on Ambon that can accommodate up to 10 divers in safety and relative comfort. If you have any tips on that front they would be appreciated.

 

Mike, do you think there is sufficient diving variety there to keep a group interested for three days? We are all critter lovers and mostly photogs.

I know of no other dive operator there. Ambon is still recovering from some serious violence a few years ago and, in fact, had a small bombing in March (Google it for articles). Having said that, the government has sunk a lot of money into the town to try to rebuild its image and built a brand new and very nice airport. So, I don't know how I would feel about trying to find a hotel in town and commuting to the dive operator every day, though when members of our group went into town last year, there was a festival and the locals were very friendly. Not sure what your definition of and/or tolerance for "primitive" is . I can ask the person who organized out trip this year and see if she knows of anything, but she is currently in Thailand so I don't know how quickly I'll get a response.

The critter diving is quite good -- you could easily do several dives at Laha and not get bored if you are a serious critter person. Three days might not be out of the question going land based. There will be a boat ride from the operator's shop to any of the sites, I think. Keep in mind that the your live-aboard would be doing a disservice to the other passengers (assuming there are some) if it didn't stick around to let them dive Laha at least a time or two whether you had been there already or not . . .

Mike

I know of no other dive operator there. Ambon is still recovering from some serious violence a few years ago and, in fact, had a small bombing in March (Google it for articles). Having said that, the government has sunk a lot of money into the town to try to rebuild its image and built a brand new and very nice airport. So, I don't know how I would feel about trying to find a hotel in town and commuting to the dive operator every day, though when members of our group went into town last year, there was a festival and the locals were very friendly. Not sure what your definition of and/or tolerance for "primitive" is . I can ask the person who organized out trip this year and see if she knows of anything, but she is currently in Thailand so I don't know how quickly I'll get a response.

 

The critter diving is quite good -- you could easily do several dives at Laha and not get bored if you are a serious critter person. Three days might not be out of the question going land based. There will be a boat ride from the operator's shop to any of the sites, I think. Keep in mind that the your live-aboard would be doing a disservice to the other passengers (assuming there are some) if it didn't stick around to let them dive Laha at least a time or two whether you had been there already or not . . .

 

Mike

Anything you can find would be great, Mike. As for lodging amenities, the minimum for me are safe, clean, good working AC, and en suite toilet. A plus is a view and food nearby.

As for myself, I can dive the little critter stuff all day and be happy.

If you hear from your contact in Thailand, please do pass it on. And thanks again.

Mike

Mike I was there last year with Maluku Divers. You are probably using Archipelago's Adventurer II. John "Buck" Randolph who runs Archipelago also runs Maluku Divers in Ambon (not to be mistaken for Kurt's operation in Pulau Saparua). Best to get the most up to date info from him. I was also there in April on another liveaboard and I think PP was there too.

As for the ops itself, pretty basic operation with clean but spartan rooms with only 1 room that has hot water and ensuite bathroom. Others are shared everything. Food was ok and the guides were good. Service overall was very good and the locals are very eager to please. My trip was a bit of a fiasco with the dive company organizing a trip to a place they hadn't gone before and they showed purdy brochures and website. Many guests were sort of shocked at the reality, especially since they paid full rate and the resort was offering major discounts to the organizer. Anyhow just expect spartan and basic and you'll be fine. The ops is about 45 mins car ride from the airport (brand new Dutch sponsored airport, where many things like gate lifts aren't working, neither is the a/c or do they give you trolleys. Make sure the Maluku guys (Joseph(if I remember correctly) is the local travel rep for most of the dive ops, I see him everytime a dive group comes in for different boats) arrange to meet you as you have to report with passport/visa to the local police for registration. Not something you want to do yourself unless you speak Bahasa. I did that last year and it was not fun.

I urge you not to look at the hotels in town. The trip is about 20-25 mins and really unnecessary. It's quieter at the resort and clean enough. If you must go to town for some fun, there is this disco called moon something which was pretty fun.

As for the diving, the best sites are Pintu Kota (hard to dive because it has to be done at the right time or it's a flyby current dive BUT amazing coral growth and even pelagics sometimes), Twilight Zone (Laha) (legendary muck site since the 90s, gone down a lot but still great), the Caves (pretty site with swim through). There are also some awesome sites on the smaller islands. The wreck is also pretty fun.

The dive guides are competent and good for critter spotting. One of the guide's brother is the legendary Tommy from the 7seas and the great eyes is apparently hereditary.

For the uninitiated, what you'll find is marine biodiversity, often subtle. Eg, scorpionfish you'll see are maybe 12 different species in one dive, with subtle variations. Their ID books weren't the best so it'd be wise to bring your own.

Hope this helps.

Since my stuff isn't online:

Check out this dive club's video on youtube:

[googlevideo]5398175577372539836[/googlevideo]

I dove there three years ago and I liked it but we were on a kind of exploratory trip and was something like "we can jumping here or there...".

I recommend you download number 16 of X-Ray:

http://xray-mag.com/

It has an article on Ambon...

Mike I was there last year with Maluku Divers. You are probably using Archipelago's Adventurer I or II. John Randolph who runs Archipelago also runs Maluku Divers in Ambon (not to be mistaken for Kurt's operation in Pulau Saparua). Best to get the most up to date info from him. I was also there in April on another liveaboard and I think PP was there too.

As for the ops itself, pretty basic operation with clean but spartan rooms with only 1 room that has hot water and ensuite bathroom. Others are shared everything. Food was ok and the guides were good. Service overall was very good and the locals are very eager to please. My trip was a bit of a fiasco with the dive company organizing a trip to a place they hadn't gone before and they showed purdy brochures and website. Many guests were sort of shocked at the reality, especially since they paid full rate and the resort was offering major discounts to the organizer. Anyhow just expect spartan and basic and you'll be fine. The ops is about 45 mins car ride from the airport (brand new Dutch sponsored airport, where many things like gate lifts aren't working, neither is the a/c or do they give you trolleys. Make sure the Maluku guys (Joseph(if I remember correctly) is the local travel rep for most of the dive ops, I see him everytime a dive group comes in for different boats) arrange to meet you as you have to report with passport/visa to the local police for registration. Not something you want to do yourself unless you speak Bahasa. I did that last year and it was not fun.

I urge you not to look at the hotels in town. The trip is about 20-25 mins and really unnecessary. It's quieter at the resort and clean enough. If you must go to town for some fun, there is this disco called moon something which was pretty fun.

As for the diving, the best sites are Pintu Kota (hard to dive because it has to be done at the right time or it's a flyby current dive BUT amazing coral growth and even pelagics sometimes), Twilight Zone (Laha) (legendary muck site since the 90s, gone down a lot but still great), the Caves (pretty site with swim through). There are also some awesome sites on the smaller islands. The wreck is also pretty fun.

The dive guides are competent and good for critter spotting. One of the guide's brother is the legendary Tommy from the 7seas and the great eyes is apparently hereditary.

For the uninitiated, what you'll find is marine biodiversity, often subtle. Eg, scorpionfish you'll see are maybe 12 different species in one dive, with subtle variations. Their ID books weren't the best so it'd be wise to bring your own.

Hope this helps.

Boy, does this help! I've certainly come to the right place for info, I wasn't too hopeful for such a remote locale. The best bit of info is that the owner of the boat we are on also owns Maluku Divers. You wouldn't by chance have an e-mail addy for him, would you?

If this works out, I'll definitely print this and take it along.

Cheers,

Mike

Mike you're getting lazy. Any cool concerts lately?

info@archipelago-fleet.com

Tell Buck and Andy you hate me... that'll get you great service. Btw John doesn't know Archipelago. but first you should make sure you are ON the Adv II, there are a few boats operating out of Ambon nowadays.

PP has been on the Adv II and can tell you about the boat. It's a very luxurious boat with big rooms that are well appointed. A little top heavy in heavier seas but where you'll be should be fine. The good thing is they've put in camera tables and can accomodate serious photog trips.

Mike you're getting lazy. Any cool concerts lately?

 

info@archipelago-fleet.com

 

Tell Buck and Andy you hate me... that'll get you great service. Btw John doesn't know Archipelago. but first you should make sure you are ON the Adv II, there are a few boats operating out of Ambon nowadays.

 

PP has been on the Adv II and can tell you about the boat. It's a very luxurious boat with big rooms that are well appointed. A little top heavy in heavier seas but where you'll be should be fine. The good thing is they've put in camera tables and can accomodate serious photog trips.

Oh, a few. I have a Gov't Mule show coming up next weekend I'm looking forward to.

Yep, we are on the Adv II and I keep hearing great things about it.

And it turns out Andy's e-mail was being blocked and he was trying to reach me. Right now, only one room is available with en-suite facilities, only one place to eat, and the small group I'm doing this add on with is a little hesitant to stay there. We are looking at Bali now since we have to fly through there anyway.

Maluku promises lodging upgrades soon, to 6 rooms with full facilities, but I don't think I would count on that until I see it completed.

Anyway, thanks again for chiming in and bringing the good data Drew.

Mike