How to get to diving spots in Indonesia from Ho Chi Minh City
Replies: 9 - Last Post: Sep 13, 2012 1:45 PM Last Post By: Klemencja
jump to
How to get to diving spots in Indonesia from Ho Chi Minh City
Hi all,I will be in Ho Chi Minh City after travelling for a while, and I want to finish my holiday by going diving in Indonesia.
However, there are tons of islands and diving sites in Indonesia, and I am not sure which one to pick.. in addition, I need to get there easily (i.e., as fast as possible) from Ho Chi Minh City.
For this trip, I am not necessarily interested in seeing much of Indonesia (I mean I would like seeing Indonesia, but it's not my focus this time :)), but rather go and do several dives before going home. I am looking for the best diving experiences possible/available in this case!
I have got my Open Water and Advanced Diving certificates (got them in Koh Tao, Thailand).
Thanks for any advice!! :)
1
Unless things have changed in the last few months there are still no direct flights from Bali to Vietnam, Bali being one of the quickest areas to get to and with plenty of great diving available.You would have to route through Jakarta (KL also being an option) and the total flight would be around 10 or so hours.
2
depend on your budget and what you want to see, obviously.Best macro site might not include large pelagic fish and vv.
Bali has many good dive sites and is easily accessible from VN. A more focused way is to do LOB. Komodo comes highly recommended.
3
Komondo and Flores both have great diving...but on a time schedule...they are not practical.4
my suggest from ho chi minh flight to singapore and flight direct to Manado north sulawesi, in Manado a lot of spot diving specially in Bunaken national park5
Hi wazoozaw,AirAsia and Lion Air fly from Ho Chi Minh City to Jakarta, arriving in the evening. AirAsia has a direct flight; Lion Air flies via Singapore but has a free 20kg baggage allowance - you can choose which suits you best.
If you decide to go to Pulau Bunaken (Manado), one advantage of Lion is that you can book one ticket from Ho Chi Minh City through to Manado. (The Jakarta to Manado flight leaves at 01:45 am).
Alternately, you could spend a night at Jakarta Airport and then take:
- A flight to Pulau Weh (Banda Aceh) on Lion Air at 08:45 in the morning
- A flight to Labuan Bajo (via Denpasar) on Merpati Airlines at 05:30.
- An overnight or early morning flight to Raja Ampat (Sorong) on one of the following airlines: Batavia Air, Lion Air, Sriwijaya Air, Express Air, Merpati Airlines.
6
MadeIndra: Thanks, I mainly meant - flying wouldn't be much of a hassle, I think, but spending # hours in the bus and boat, would be..ndut: I am not sure what I would want to see during my dive :> Whatever is unmissable in Indonesia, I guess! Big fish?
Does it take long to get to Komodo from Bali?
makatana: Manado? Hadn't heard of that one yet, I'll look into it! :-)
therighteousdude: would you recommend any of these places as being the best one for diving? Thanks!
8
Hey Gary, thanks hehe. Just a little stereotype I was slightly afraid of.. ;) I live in New Zealand, so I've got a sliight idea what I am talking about ;)9
Ho Chi Minh City - Jakarta by Lion; Jakarta - Kupang by Lion, Batavia or others (2-3 hours); Kupang - Alor/Kalabahi by Transnusa or Merpati (only 50 min on the same day). The diving in Alor/Pantar Strait is world-class. You can book the Lion and Batavia flights online; Lion accept VISA, and Batavia have PayPal.Hotel in Jakarta; there is also a new backpackers hostel in the same street, the Six Degrees.
