Indonesia....help me choose!!

Which is the best area to go in Indonesia? There are sooo many choices it is really difficult to narrow the list down. I want to do a liveaboard with a few days of land based sightseeing (at the main location we fly in to). My list of places is:

Komodo

Sipadan

Sulawesi

Raja Ampat

Wakatobi

I would like to go to an area where we can see both large and small things and where the corals are in great shape.

Anyone been to these places and what did they like best/worst about them? Although I am very familiar with the liveaboard in these areas, any recommendations?

Thanks!

I would like to go to an area where we can see both large and small things and where the corals are in great shape.

 

Anyone been to these places and what did they like best/worst about them? Although I am very familiar with the liveaboard in these areas, any recommendations?

 

Thanks!

Technically, Sipadan is not Indonesia, it is Malaysia. If you want large and small, then Komodo offers Mantas. Sipadan and Raja offer schools of fish.

Just put a box next to each and plan on doing them all. Throw a dart to select your first destination. That's what I'm doing. Hoping to get to them all before I'm too old to dive any more.

Hehehe Malaysia Tourism is having a fit being identified with Indonesia. You can only dive at Sipadan but will stay in Mabul/Kapalai (which have very nice critter sites all over the place).

For pelagics, you'll find Indonesia a bit lacking but a few sites in Komodo are good.

Komodo is also nice for critters in places like Horseshoe Bay, the Sangaeng Islands etc.

Sulawesi is more known for Lembeh Straits and muck/critter diving than big schools of fish. Most of the blacksand dives are 30 minutes from any of the resorts and have prolific critter life. There are a few corally sites on the eastern side of Lembeh Island but not too many land based ops will go out there. Bunaken and the Sangihe Talaud Islands, imho, is quaint and pretty but there are much better places in Komodo and Raja Empat.

So in my own rankings:

1. Raja Empat (mangroves, super coral reefs, biodiversity, topside with birds of paradise and Papua mainland jungle trek is awesome (beware of Malaria!))

2. Komodo (pelagics, critters, nice land excursions)

2. Lembeh (critters galore)

4. Sipadan/Mabul/Kapalai (nice mix but not as much biodiversity, primates are not as wild but cool nonetheless)

Raja Ampat and the Banda Sea on a live aboard will provide some of the best over all diving in the world.