Snorkeling Indonesia

SNORKELING INDONESIA - GUIDE / COMMENTS (AND SOME DIVING)

Bali - Lombok - Flores - Komodo - Sulawesi - Sumatra - Maluku (including Banda Islands) . We did not visit the Holy Grail of the underwater world (Raja Ampat), which many consider the best snorkeling and diving in the world.

Comments are our opinions based on our experience of five months in Indonesia 2008-2009. We returned to Indonesia 2011-2012.

Banda Islands (Maluku)

Pulau Weh (Sumatra)

Red Beach (Komodo)

Bunaken (Sulawesi)

Lease Islands(Maluku)

Banda Islands (Maluku)

Togean Islands (Sulawesi)

Pulau Weh (Sumatra)

Gili Air (Lombok)

diving with manta rays, Komodo

snorkeling the Banda Islands

muck diving Ambon harbor

Excellent: Banda Islands, Pulau Weh, Komodo, Bunaken & Siladen, Lease Islands

Very Good: Tulamben, Pulau Menjangen

Good: Togean Islands, Padangbai

OK: Amed/Jemeluk

Fair: Gili Trawangan, Gili Air

Poor: 17 Islands Marine Park

Apologies to Alor, Derawan and Sangalaki(not visited) which are reputed to have excellent snorkeling. The latter offers snorkeling with manta rays. Raja Ampat (Papua) would be worth a journey.

GENERAL COMMENT: Indonesian reefs offer an astonishing variety of critters. However, the waters have been subjected to intense fishing including dynamite bombing and cyanide poisoning. Some areas have (limited) protection. Bombing and cyanide fishing are illegal but still continue to a lesser degree. In most places, we found the fish are naturally shy of snorkelers but less afraid of divers at depth. Add global warming to the mix and it is not a pretty picture. Get there quick because it is not getting better!

EQUIPMENT: Best to bring your own mask, snorkel and fins. Rentals vary in quality. We also brought rash guards, booties and 0.5mm wetsuits (Probe and Mares make them). The suits provide protection from the odd stinger, the sun and warmth for longer sessions (Komodo has cool water, eg 23C).

EAR CARE: we met plenty of divers and snorkelers with ear issues in Indonesia. Perhaps it is the result of frequent algae blooms encountered, pollution or simply so much time in the water. It is worth doing some research and seek medical advice before visiting Indonesia even if you have never had ear problems. Consider, for instance, bringing a drying agent such as isopropyl alcohol 95% / glycerine 5% which we could not find in Indonesia. We settled on an acidifier as preventative action: a few drops of diluted acetic acid (vinegar) every snorkel day. We did find full-powered antibiotic drops for ear infections while we were in Indonesia (Otozambon).

WHEN: study the climate charts etc.(e.g. weatherbase.com). We found that wet season is feasible in some places such as Komodo in December (passing showers). Pulau Weh is very wet in the monsoon (Sept-Nov and then some) but dries up before other regions. The Togean Islands have a surprisingly uniform climate; they are in a rain shadow and don't have a rainy season.

Pulau Menjangan (day trip from Pumeteran-Jubawa Home Stay). Very good experience. Lovely wall snorkeling. Moderate number of fish. The boat cartel, entrance fee & mandatory guide cost ~ 50 USD for 4 people.

Amed & Jemeluk - decent coral and moderate number of fish from shore. Just OK. Rainy season brought sediment and poor viz when were there. Good value accomodation in Jemeluk.

Tulamben (Liberty wreck) - just 50m off shore from Puri Madha Bungalows (recommended). The top of the wreck is only 2m below the surface. There are plenty of fish at the surface including a school of trevally. Snorkel it before the hordes of divers arrive late morning. Recommended. Also snorkel the nearby coral gardens with surprising fish numbers.

Padangbai - snorkeling was surprisingly good (with good viz) at nearby Blue Lagoon Beach which is a short walk from town. There are a couple of pleasant warangs at the beach and the town offers a good choice of accommodation and restaurants. A worthwhile stop.

Nusa Lembongan - we did not visit so no opinion offered.

Gili Trawangan - Most of the reef is destroyed by dynamite. Visit the Gilis for the island experience as the snorkeling is poor. However, we recommend Nusa Tiga (accomodation) at the northern end and access to best snorkeling on the island. Try walking to NW of the island and drift back over coral debris (good for turtles) and onto coral gardens in front of Nusa Tiga. Don't miss the Recci Living Room restaurant in town.

Gili Air - the coral is also largely destroyed by dynamite. We stayed at Sandy Bungalow at the NE corner and found some OK snorkeling at the NE corner, including turtles. Gili Air has a nice mellow atmosphere.

Riung & 17 Islands Marine Park - makes for a very pleasant day outing. You might be the only tourists out on the islands. It is very pretty. Boat charter only. Coral was bleached and the water was very warm. Snorkeling was mediocre.

Maumere - not visited but were advised that not much snorkeling there.

KOMODO (based from Labuanbajo, Flores)

This area offers some of the best diving in the world, especially when the manta rays prevail (especially last and first few months of the year). Snorkeling is also excellent, though difficult to see the manta rays because of the currents. The best snorkeling option is to charter a multi-day boat (sleep on covered deck) with a small group (~1,000,000 rupiah/day for boat and meals in December 2008). You'll want to visit Red Beach off Komodo with its lively coral garden and drop-off alongside it; when the current flows, the fish abound. We spent a full afternoon at Red Beach and wished we had more time there. We snorkeled other sites including Kahawa Island and it was pretty good too - the bungalow operation looked depressing. We missed Seraya Island due to illness, so no comment. We heard that the snorkeling near Labuanbajo is only fair due to bombing. The tourist boats that ply between Lombok and Flores (Perama boat, S.K. boat) make short snorkeling stops along the way and the quality drops off away from Komodo.

Togean Islands - don't be put off by the sometimes confusing boat schedules; just go there! There has been a lot of bombing and intense fishing by subsistence fishermen so the snorkeling is merely good with moments of brilliance. Sharks and turtles are in short supply.

- Malenge (Lostari Bungalows) has an interesting house reef and the snorkeling boat excursions are recommended. There are excellent hard corals, particularly on the outer reef (#4 &5) though the fish were not prolific.

- Katupat (Fadhila Bungalows) offers some OK snorkeling and the lion fish population along the channel drop-off and dock is staggering; worth the stop alone. While we were there, we suffered with the poor food, otherwise, we would have stayed longer. Bolilangga Cottages were in hibernation when we passed through.

- Kadidiri. The house reef was OK (though bombed and heavily fished). We also found some interesting stuff by the Paradise Resort dock (seahorses, archer fish), but the best snorkeling was around Taipi island and on the outer reefs. Pondok Lostari offer daily snorkel trips. The Paradise Divers usually allow guests to accompany the dive boat to the outer reefs such as Taipi wall or let you off at Taipi island. The same for Black Marlin, though their dive operation was quieter when we were there. There are three accomodation options on the Kadidiri beach. The Lostari was a great experience (basic accommodation), Black Marlin had comfortable bungalows with very good food, while Paradise cost a bit more and the food was said to be very good except when the resort got too busy. The diving was also very good with less damaged landscapes at depth. Una Una is a 1 1/2 hour boat ride away; we could not get a group together to share a snorkel boat trip but it is meant to be nice, though being rapidly fished out.

- Bomba. We didn't visit but understand that there is a choice of two accommodations. We didn't hear great things about the snorkeling (bombing).

Bunaken and Siladen - many divers we spoke with were slightly disappointed with Bunaken (especially when compared to Komodo, Lembeh or Sipaden) but snorkelers had nothing but praise. The currents are strong and can change quickly; you can often go with the current and exit elsewhere and walk back to your start point on a good cement track. The Bunaken wall is magnificent, especially on the east side of the island. There can be lots of floating garbage on the west side, from Manado. The further that you stray from the major sites, the more bombing destruction you will encounter. Even so, the north side offers good snorkeling, so rent a boat for the day and circle the island. We stayed at Daniel's HomeStay (good food and reef access). Access from Lorenso's (a dump, in our opnion) can be tricky due to wild currents. Although the reef is splendid, we felt that a five day stay was sufficient. The reef in front of the village at Siladen island is also excellent (accomodation available). The island further north had reefs that had been annihilated by carpet bombing. Sad.

Pulau Weh. Although it may lack somewhat in coral, Pulau Weh more than makes up for it with fish. The coral is in fairly good condition with little bombing and one area wiped out by the tsunami. We stayed at Iboih Beach and never got to Gapang. There is excellent snorkeling west of Yulia Bungalows (carry on into the next large bay) and across the channel (300m) to Rubiah Island. The coral is better on the north side of Rubiah but the snorkeling on the channel side of Rubiah (west of yellow dock) is also rewarding. Turtles (mostly hawksbill, occaisional green), black tip reef sharks, moray (the honeycomb variety are sweet), snakes, scorpion fish, lion fish, octopus, cuttlefish, schools of fusilier, surgeon fish, snapper and a myriad of reef fish are easily seen over a few days of full-on snorkeling but you want to stay longer. The Gapang house reef is meant to be quite good too with resident turtles.

The diving was also very rewarding, especially sites on the west coast such as the Canyon. Even the Sabang wreck was a worthwhile dive. Pulau Weh arguably offers the best Indian Ocean land based diving of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The local Iboih diving outfit (Rubiah Tirta) was competent but it is not the most professional in the region. Whale sharks have not been sighted in years.

Note that there are direct flights between Penang (Firefly) and KL (Air Asia) to and from Banda Aceh but no Visa on Arrival offered (though it is straight forward to get Indonesian visa in Penang or KL).

Banda Islands are a big step above the rest. The islands offer the best snorkeling sites we have been to anywhere so far. They offer astounding water clarity, astonishing fish numbers, excellent coral and deep blue open water. Worth a journey. We returned to Banda 2011/2012 and observed many fewer sharks than our previous visit; apparently a Chinese operation had cleaned them out in the interim.

- Bandaneira is a good base to visit the reefs from as day trips; Vita Guest House was the tourist "hub" when we were there. There were enough tourists around to share boat charter costs. Pulau Ai is well served by public boat and it also offers reasonably comfortable accommodation and walking access to the Ai reefs ("Green Coconut" has a nice waterfront location).

- Hatta: we snorkeled it twice and both times were excellent. It is the best of the Bandas. The Western reef (long beach) and less so the NW reef (off a small islet) offers superb snorkeling. The reef was in excellent condition with plenty of reef fish and a smattering of reef sharks and turtles. The atoll southeast of Hatta is largely bombed out.

- Banda Besar (NE shore, Karnobol) has a nice drop off and relaxed Napoleans

- Sjahrir (Pisang) and Batu Kapal (Ship Rock): we had an excellent snorkel off Batu Kapal at slack tide with plenty of fish, schooling tuna, big moray eels in the rocks while Pisang has nice drop offs and slopes all around the island.

- Keraka (entry to Bandaneira harbor): pleasant coral gardens and nice rock walls is a very good site but not quite up to the quality of other Banda sites.

- Gunung Api: we visited a northern site at the base of a lava flow- interesting hard coral but not a winner.

- Bandaneira: we never visited Molele Beach or the base of the airstrip but they are supposed to be OK. The mandarin fish are not to be missed. They are easily seen in the rocks outside the Vita Guest House about half hour before sunset.

- Ai: the Western Reef is excellent, especially at the Southern end of the beach. This is a great place to get your fill of black tip reef sharks as they parade along the beautiful coral covered bench. The Northern (village) reef is not pristine but has nice sand falls and plenty of fish. The Eastern reef requires slightly more effort to access and is also worth a visit; we saw a number of Napoleans there.

- Run & Neilaka: we visited the NW coast. It was another beautiful reef with greater fish numbers at the drop-off between the two islands at high tide.

Lease Islands; snorkelers should bring their own equipment as we saw none for hire. Not much English is spoken. The Lease Islands remain less traveled and early on the "tourist curve".

- Ameth, Nusa Laut: we snorkeled the Ameth reef for 2 days, after visiting the Banda Islands which was a tough act to follow but the Ameth reef was "Banda quality" in many places. The protected section has superb coral. There were fewer fish than in the Bandas but we saw plenty of reef sharks and turtles. A shoal of 300+ trevaly made an appearance on both days. It is possible to see hammerhead sharks in the depths in the right conditions. On our first attempt, we were stymied by very strong currents and thereafter we chartered a long boat (100,000rp) each morning. The reef west of the pier is also excellent. A user fee of 25,000rp/person was money well spent, rewarding reef preservation. We did not snorkel Akoon on the SE corner of Nusa Laut. The Ameth penginapan was welcoming, but afternoons were hot and long.

- Molana Island: although it is frequented by live-aboard dive boats, it is relatively unknown for snorkeling. We were the first guests in three months at the Molana Island Bungalows! We have a soft spot for snorkeling right off the beach and Molana hit the spot. The bungalows are on the northern point of the island, offering two reefs and gorgeous sunset views. The NW reef is perched above a wall, while the NE reef is along a sandy slope. There are plenty of sandy patches, some harboring garden eels. There were plenty of blue spotted rays and we saw 2 different eagle rays during our 3 day stay. Flounders are on the sand off the beach, rocks hide snowflake & spotted morays with plenty of zebra lionfish about. Add black tip & white tip sharks, hawksbill turtles, sea snakes and even a large nudibranch to the mix and it all added up to a terrific visit. Molana Islands Bungalows has a simple website for contact details. The owner and staff open the resort on demand: we were offered the bungalow at the lower room rate, food was 25,000 rp per meal. The transfers were relatively expensive. It would be more cost effective to arrange your own boat charter from Haria (Pulau Saparua) to Molana.

- Itawaka, Saparua: is worth a visit if you are on Saparua. We used public bemo from Kota Sapurua to Itawaka and then followed a coastal path through plantations to pebbly beaches. It was a beautiful setting. We found a nice drop-off near a couple of limestone islets. The reef was lovely, reef fish were in reasonable numbers including emperors and snappers and a huge grouper. Two black tip sharks cruised by. Strong currents limited our visit to a quick drift dive. Once the currents subsided, the viz deteriorated but what we saw looked good.

Ambon harbor (near the airport): we made two muck (scuba) dives with Blue Rose Divers (Sampai Beach). It was worth every penny. We saw plenty of weird fish and nudibranchs at Rhino City and Laha Jetty. Divers should not miss this opportunity! We made a return visit to the harbor in 2012 and were not disappointed.

Not visited