We are planning a stay of about 7-10 days in either Malaysia or Indonesia in November 2012. We are pretty new to diving and are looking for places with good biodiversity and other activities (walking, kayaking etc) available. We are looking for suggestions about locations and places to stay :) While not budget travellers we will be at the tail end of a 16 week round-world trip and will be looking for something mid-range in terms of cost.
Thanks in advance!
Cheers
Gerry
November is not an ideal time to dive in Sipadan but better in pernisular Malaysia.
Indonesia is a massive and widepread archepelago and dive conditions vary a lot from one region to another. November is NOT a good season to dive Bali-Komodo, Flores etc but absolutely ideal for what is probably the No:1 dive destination on the surface of this earth - Raja Ampat in Iriyan Jaya. (West Papua)
But it is not easy. It takes several flight connections to get there, the several liveaboards are expensive and get booked-up in advance. I do not think there are many land based dive centres. But if you do go there in November, you are guaranteed a diving experience of a lifetime.
Check out with Detlef "Beef" Sarrazin+ of Dive the World or +Anh Austin of Symbiosis Travel. The latter may have a larger choice of boats.
I've done dives in each country but not that time of year so I'll defer to the poster above. How many dives though are under your belts? The reason I ask is because a lot of the diving that I did (Sipidan, Komodo, etc) had very strong currents when I was there. The kind of currents that can kill you. It made the dives fantastic and kinda like a roller coaster. However in my case I had like 60 dives at the time and I could do them while I watched those with say under 15 dives get brought to bays and what aren't even dive sites since no dive master was willing to take them to the real sites with that kind of current. They sat on the boat and ate lunch when we dove.
Actually, #2 has it partly reversed. November is not an ideal time to dive in any part of Malaysia, and November diving in peninsular Malaysia is practically non-existent, available only on the western side of the peninsula, where the diving is not worth the effort. In November, Sipadan is diveable, though you should expect degraded visibility due to the northeast monsoon that brings wind and rain at that time of year. However, the monsoon season means that there are fewer divers competing for the limited number of park passes/permits-to-dive available for Sipadan Island dive sites, so there is an upside to going to Sipadan at that time of year.
It's also not the ideal time of year for most of Indonesia. The main part of Indonesia that is "in season" in November is very remote and rather expensive given that it requires multiple flights to reach. This area is called Raja Ampat, and while it may very well be in the apex of wonderful dive destinations of the world, after a 6-month RTW trip, it might be more than you are ready to deal with as well as take longer than you have stated you want to dedicate to this segment of your trip. Another part of Indonesia that is great in November is the Togians of Sulawesi, but that place is even harder to get to than Raja Ampat!
One Indonesia dive destination that wouldn't be too difficult to get to and yet would offer good, laid-back diving is Pulau Weh at the northern tip of Sumatra. Or if you're not set on Indonesia for other reasons (flight connections, etc.), you might consider a Thai destination right on the border with Malaysia and Indonesia--Koh Lipe.
With travelling in Indonesia, it is better to check for flight schedules of the local airlines. These keep changing and sometimes new flights are added. Local airlines like Merpati Nusantara and Sriwijaya Air are on the expand and latest information is not always available on-line. Worth asking a local agent to find otut.
It's not an ideal month for diving in Peninsular Malaysia (East Coast) but I've done it before when the monsoon started late. It can be as early as October or as late as end of Nov but it's still a risk as no one can predict exactly when the monsoon will be coming.
So dive centers will focus on the West Coast of Peninsula Malaysia where their destination will be Pulau Sembilan, Pulau Paya (via Langkawi) or Pulau/Tukun Perak (only hardcore divers/dive centers will organize this trip due to the distance).
For Malaysia in Nov I'd just focus on Sipadan, I've done diving in Mabul/Sipadan in Dec. Yes, the viz is not the greatest but there's no bad day diving in Sipadan (after 8 trips with about 200 dives in Sipadan). Bear in mind on a choppy day it may take 90-120mins of fast boat ride from Mabul to Sipadan and vice versa vs 30mins on a good day.
And the current can get very strong which can be a problem for inexperience divers.
Indonesia - Nothing can beat RAP - Raja Ampat Papau. Yes getting there is an experince itself. The fastest I've done it from KL (Kuala Lumpur) via Jakarta to Sorong (stopover to refuel in Ujung Padang - Makassar). RAP is not cheap, the diving and the air ticket itself could get you 2 trips at Mabul/Sipadan but diving there is something else. The mantas practically kissing me during my dives with them. My trips to RAP have been on land based minus LOB.
I do agree with Quero the easiest bet for Indonesia in Nov is Pulau Weh. Good diving, relax atmosphere, could rent a motorbike for the island tour. Easy/Cheap connection with Air Asia from KL to Banda Aceh (BTJ) or Fire Fly from Penang to Banda Aceh. Book very early to get good discount.
As much as I love Indonesia, my favorite dives-"spot", I migth have considered the Phillipines... (auch... that hurt!)
But since you are not that experienced, I would actually recommend you to take a look at Bali and Lombok. Northern side of Bali will be diveable, maybe even quite good, depending on how much rain is already comming down. If the conditions are fair, your visibility will be ok, and places like the Tulamben-area and the western marinpark of Nusa Menjangan will be lovely. Has a lot to offer, and plenty of challanges for beginner divers that is within the reach of what you can safely do. If the weather is not as good, go to the Gili-islands (name makes no sence... translates into island-islands..), stay at Trawangan if you want the party-spot option, or Air if you want more natural, everyday life option. Dive one day, go sigthseeing or if conditions are ok, go to Rinjani and do the climb (NOT recommended if the rain has started!). A lot of stuff to do, easy but very nice diving. Good luck!