Komodo, Sipadan or Solomons

Thinking of a trip for the end of July this year. I am considering Komodo, Sipadan and the Solomon Islands. Would do a liveaboard on all but Sipadan. Which do you think would offer the best photography and video? I haven't read much lately on peoples experiences in Sipadan or Solomons. Any recommendations you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Dustin

Depends on what you like. Komodo can be a macro paradise with WA opportunities. It certainly has the best biodiversity in coral and fish. That's my top choice. But the currents can be gnarly and conditions can be iffy (viz etc).

Solomons: it's not crowded and it's relatively healthy. Big fans etc but biodiversity is lacking being an isolated group of islands. Nice mix of wrecks and reef, with decent pelagics. Great viz! Isolated and the flight there is via Oz, the land of draconian airports!

Sipadan: now has limitations on divers going to the island. Still plenty of turtles and schooling fish, but nothing like it use to be. Crowded! Good mix of macro around Mabul/Kapalai and Sipadan bigger fish.

I'd also consider PNG: Milne Bay/New Britain and other areas are very nice. The mix of pelagics/macro is almost as good as Komodo, with slight better conditions.

Palau is also nice, but crowded.

Even though i love the solomons, if I had to choose id go to komodo.

Would either of you still go to Komodo at the end of July? I am researching and it is saying that the weather can be bad, so boats don't go to the south sites...

Never been there in july, so I dont know about that.

I would probably recommend Komodo at that time of year.

I have been to Solomons early Aug 11. Was very windy cloudy. We had bad luck with weather & it did impact the diving. We could not hit some of the better sites. The island crossings were rough.

I have been to Sipidan in Aug 08. Weather was ok. Journey to Sipidan was a bit bumpy but otherwise ok.

Been to Komodo Aug 08 & Oct 09. Aug was windy. Oct was much better conditions.

I have found much better to travel mid spring/mid autumn rather than summer months.

You cannot go wrong with either Solomons or Komodo. The number of divers would put me off returning to Sipadan.

Never been to Sipidan, but agree with the others, while a tough choice I would go back to Komodo. Oh, we are going back next month, lol. (One of the few places we have repeated) There are trip reports, galleries and MultiMedia shows for each at our site just to confuse things more. www.aquabluedreams.com

Never been to Sipidan, but agree with the others, while a tough choice I would go back to Komodo. Oh, we are going back next month, lol. (One of the few places we have repeated) There are trip reports, galleries and MultiMedia shows for each at our site just to confuse things more. www.aquabluedreams.com

Thanks for the info. By the way, my wife and I love your site and your trip reports!! We are waiting for you Maldives report! We are headed there in a month.

What I am worried about is not being able to dive the south sites in Komodo. I would be going on the Indo Siren, and so I am not sure of the odds of them not doing the south side are. Am I being overly analytical? from my research it looks like Cannibal rock and Manta Alley are some of the best sites in Komodo. And if we can't do them.....well.....that would suck.

Would either of you still go to Komodo at the end of July? I am researching and it is saying that the weather can be bad, so boats don't go to the south sites...

I was in Komodo this past July, however we were there early in the month. We had great weather and water conditions were good. Strong currents in some places, but that's to be expected. We spent several days diving south Komodo & Rinca Islands.

Note that in the south the water temperature is significantly colder -- about 10F colder than it was in the north. Bring either a thicker wetsuit or hooded vest if you go.

-Gina

I was in Komodo this past April. It was fantastic. Loads of manta, incredibly healthy reefs and loads of fish.

Do you like Macro or WA better? While there was some WA, I think it is more geared towards macro (ghost pipe fish, mantis shrimp etc..). Solomons I would say is more WA.

I would think about what you want. Right now my next big trip will be WA so I am looking for shark spots and great viz. I would plan this trip accordingly.

We were on the Indo Siren the second week of September last year. Unfortunatly weather prevented us from getting furthur soth than Tigadara were water temp had fallen to 20c. Still that allowed us furthur dives at both castle and crystal rocks that ranked as the best of the trip.

Great boat, great crew and wonderfull video opportunities.

So my next question is, if we weren't able to dive the southern sites, because of weather, would you still choose Komodo over Solomon's ?