Scuba Diving In Asia

jergensaddict Hi Chris,

I'm really intersted in diving and am thinking of taking advantage of SEA's relatively cheap diving opportunities.

Do you have any recommendations as to where to go to get PADI certified? I'm looking for somewhere relatively cheap but with good waters and good instructors. I've looked into Two Fish Divers, Dive the World, and Lumba Lumba, but am wondering if you had any other recommendations.

Many thanks,
Genevieve

divehappy Hi Genevieve
depends what you want besides diving at your destination. Lumba Lumba (at Palau Weh, yes?) will be quite quiet, as will Lembeh Strait -- if that's what you want, cool. If you want to meet other people and have a bit of nightlife and other daytime activities, Koh Tao in Thailand is the place to go - probably also the cheapest place to go too.

It also depends what time of year you come - Koh Tao has monsoon season during Oct to December so not a good time to go - I forget the monsoon seasons for Palau Weh and Lembeh, but if you google it you'll find it easily.

Bali is also a very good choice for doing your OW - cheap, very easy diving at Tulamben, and a beautiul island to explore too.

Hope this helps
Chris

jergensaddict Hey Chris,
Sorry to bother you again. But in light of recent events, it doesn't look like I'll be heading to Indo/Bali anytime soon. Do you have any recommendations for diving in Malaysia? Preferably near the Sarawak area... but if the West. P offers better dive sites, then any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm planning to head out sometime mid August.

Thanks a bunch!

Genevieve

divehappy Hi Genevieve, no problem. Sabah has the best diving in Malaysian Borneo - Sipadan is the holy grail, with Mabul and Kapalai nearby. Make sure whichever operator you go with definitely has permits for you to dive at Sipadan - there is a strict quota system for the number of divers there each day, and there have been quite a few occasions where operators have failed to get the necessary permits, meaning their divers can't actually dive Sipadan.

Also further up the coast is Lankayan off Sandakan - this is easier, shallower diving, some impressive reefs and marine life

Kota Kinabalu has a marine park right in front of it which is fun to explore too, and the island of Mantanani a couple hours away has some nice diving too

On peninsular Malaysia, Redang, Tioman and the Perhentians are all diver hotspots - Borneo is definitely better though - more expensive as well sadly

Have fun
Chris

jergensaddict Thanks for the info, Chris!

I'm looking into Sipadan now and am wondering if you can give me any recommendations for OW PADI companies. The best budget prices I've been able to find now are with Scuba Junkies and Sipadan Scuba (though somewhat pricier). The only thing though, is that I've been reading a couple bad reviews with regards to Scuba Junkie's rental gear and their reliability in getting Sipadan permits. I haven't been able to find much though, on Sipadan Scuba. Could you point me in the right direction?

Many thanks again!

Genevieve

ally007 Hey Chris, I'm taking a ISS scuba diving course so I can go scupa in Thailand. We are planning on staying on Ko Phi Phi for a couple of day, can you tll me which scuba diving trip I should take, I'm not sure I'll be able to spot the right agency, quality wise... Thanks

divehappy @jergensaddict - I haven't dived with Scuba Junkies or Sipadan Scuba - I'd suggest you check on Scubaboard.com for other people's recommendations for Sipadan schools. I dived with Borneo Divers, Sipadan Water Village and Kapalai resort

divehappy @ally007 I'd recommend The Adventure Club on Koh Phi Phi, run by an English guy Andrew Hewett who has been living on the island for years. He helped organise the massive job of cleaning up the island's reefs after the tsunami.

divehappy @ally007 if you're interested, here's a link to a story I wrote about the Koh Phi Phi cleanup for Asian Diver magazine
http://divehappy.com/uncategorized/koh-phi-phi-reborn/

musicalbadger Hi Chris,

I'm going to Manado next month for five nights, as part of a trip around Indonesia. I'd like to dive around Bunaken and also in the Lembeh Straits.

Do you think it is better to stay in one place on the mainland near Manado and take day trips to these areas to dive, or to spend a couple of nights in each location? Also, can you recommend any dive operators in that area?

Thanks!

divehappy Hi Badger
Manado is actually quite far away from Lembeh and Bunaken. It's an hour and a half drive to Lembeh, probably the same for Bunaken. Definitely best to spend a few nights at each place rather than daytrips.

I have been to NAD Lembeh resort - http://www.nad-lembeh.com - twice in the last 12 months and found it a good budget option. It's under new management with Mike and Simon and they are good guys. I wrote a full report here
http://divehappy.com/indonesia/nad-lembeh-trip-report-lembeh-strait-indonesia-august-2008/

I've only dived Bunaken from a liveaboard (the Ocean Rover) so I can't really comment on the best resorts etc

Please let me know how you get on and your thoughts on resorts etc when you get back. Happy diving!

bayu Hi,Chris.
Im went to karimun jawa a month ago, do you know, where is the best islands to dive, near the karimun jawa islands? cause there so many small islands between the sea of karimun jawa.
cheers.

phillipscabo Hi Chris,
You seem to be the "Go To" man. Thx! My family and I are considering a trip to Malaysia or Cambodia, both would involve diving, but not solely. We are 3 different levels from advanced to novice. Time of year would be Christmas/New Year's. Have you ever dived Cambodia? I looked at your website and I didn't see it listed. Any thoughts, comments, opinions, advice, etc. would be greatly helpful. You have a lot of SE Asia experience. Thanks in advance! Ciao

divehappy Hi Phillip, thanks for the kind words. You're right, there's no info on Cambodia on Divehappy.com as I haven't dived there - and I've not heard much to make me want to do so. If you're passing through Sihanoukville en route to somewhere else, then a few dives with a knowledgable guide could be fun - but the general opinion is that the reefs are largely overfished, damaged and silted out .

Malaysia on the other hand has an embarassment of riches. Malaysian Borneo in particular has Sipadan, Mabul, Kapalai and further north, Lankayan.
It's monsoon season during Xmas so conditions on the surface can be quite rough, but underwater viz etc is not affected that much.

On peninsular Malaysia there's Palau Tioman, the Perhentians and my favourite, Palau Radang. I think all of these will be closed down due to the monsoon during Xmas Malaysian Borneo is awesome, but can be quite expensive.

phillipscabo Hi Chris,
Thanks so much for your quick response. BTW I'm Mrs. Phillip. Need to change my username eventually. Your comments about Malaysia have confirmed everything that I've read about diving there. Christmas is not the right time of year. Besides, many of the dive sites on the east side of the peninsula seem to be for more advanced divers. Our daughter just learned and has about 5 dives logged, including her class dives. I'm really disappointed about your comments re: Cambodia. It's still not out as the holiday is cultural as well, but the diving side is not as exciting as I had hoped. Sihanoukville would be our homebase. The dive website that I've been looking at says that the dive sites are 1-2 hrs away by boat. I'm ok with that. Not the best of situations. Any other advice? Thanks again for your comments! Carol

divehappy Hi Carol - sorry for the name confusion! The only other thing I can suggest is to try and fit a few days in Thailand - diving there is excellent during Xmas period.

However, if Cambodia is the only option then you might find inspiration in this Asian Diver article written by my friend Sol Foo (former editor of the mag)
- the link goes direct to a PDF.
http://diveshopcambodia.com/images/asiandivers.pdf

Check out http://diveshopcambodia.com -- they seem to be the most knowledgable dive shop there so if you're going to dive in Cambodia, probably best to do it with them.

phillipscabo Hi Chris, Thanks for the addl research; that was really kind of you! I read the article and it does sound hopeful. Also, it was written over a year ago so maybe things are even better. Also, thanks for the dive shop recommendation. I was considering them or Dive Nation. We are going to move ahead with Cambodia so after our trip, I will definitely let you know how it went. Maybe it will become your next dive destination. :) Thailand is a defininte option for next year. I like the idea of SE Asia as a rendez-vous point for the family. Happy Diving! Carol

musicalbadger Hi Chris - thanks for the advice on northern Sulawesi.

As a fledgling photographer I had never been presented with so many weird and wonderful subjects as in the Lembeh Straits. Frequently I had only just started snapping a dragon sea moth than my guide was tank-tapping and pointing at a mimic octopus... I'd start framing that shot and the guide would have moved on and be pointing at an orang utan crab... and that's pretty much how the dives went! Just superb.

In terms of a good budget resort I can recommend Two Fish. They have an operation on both Bunaken and Lembeh, so the great thing is that they can do you a single package which involves time on both islands, and of course includes the transfer between them which is really convenient. The resorts themselves, especially Lembeh, were very pleasant.

Anyway, thanks for the advice.

John.

startrekker Hi Chris, I'll take your offer on recommending a good cheap place to scuba dive in Thailand, I'll be there only 3 weeks, from Nov 3 thru Dec 12 (I'm saving a week for Cambodia). At this time of the year which will be the best place for good scuba diving? I read above Koh Tao will not be a good place for it because of the monsoon, well, there is where I wanted to go. Any other suggestions?
Cheers,
Estrella
(greetings from Mexico)

startrekker A Liveaboard would be great!!!!! Any recommendations?
Estrella

travelhappythailand Hi Estrella

best place to dive in Thailand in November is definitely the Similan Islands, or Koh Lanta -- check out www.phuket-diving-safaris.com for a well priced, reputable Similan liveaboard and www.amazinglanta.com for Lanta diving. Have a great time!