Where to go?

My wife is turning 50 next year, so we're planning our trip. I'm looking for some recommendations.

We've been to Bali (Tulamben), Lembeh, Micronesia (Palau, Yap, Guam), Hawaii, Costa Rica, and most of the Caribbean.

We are going for a month starting in December.

My thought was some combination of Australia (want to get shots of Leafy Seadragon) maybe Whitsunday Islands, then PNG, but would like some recommendations.

My wife is not a big fan of liveaboards, so if we do one, it needs to be really nice.

Thanks,

Corby

I'd also consider Raja Ampat for that time of the year. There are some very nice liveaboards. Professional photogs that I have traveled with, have told me that they prefer Raja to PNG. Not by a great margin though. I've done Lembeh and found that Raja was more diverse. Others will disagree I'm sure.

Tough decision.

For leafies in ADL, call Carey Harmer. He's an expert guide who's led many a people, including Alex Mustard.

On Kangaroo Island,the nicest places are far from Kingscote but nice. Southern Ocean Lodge is on the other side of the island but has a spa. A bit closer is Sky House, which is awesome and the chef is excellent.

Oz must dives is the Yongala, which is easiest done from Ayr. It is just bursting with life. Forget Whitsundays and go to Osprey and Coral Sea. Plenty of luxury liveaboards out of Cairns like the Spirit of Freedom.

PNG is awesome for macro in Milne Bay, good for pelagics. Fiji has big pelagics like sharks and gorgeous soft coral, but not a lot of biodiversity. Solomon is similar but has more WWII wrecks.

Raja Empat is certainly a top choice and there are plenty of luxury liveaboards. There are also nice resorts like the Misool Eco Resort, which sits on some of the best dive sites in Southern R4. If traveling from Oz, I'd stay for a few days in Bali, although Dec is kinda wet.

Thanks for the info. I'm leaning more towards Raja Ampat now. Just need to figure out the liveaboard.

Misool eco resort in Raja Ampat is supposed to be very nice too. The diving off Misool is fantastic and that would solve the issue with liveaboards...

There are also other places beside Tulamben in Bali that offer great diving whether you like macro or big fish.