Indonesia

Situated in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is the world’s largest island country, making it ideal for scuba diving vacations. A paradise of stunning natural landscapes and seascapes, it is known as the emerald of the equator for its rich natural and cultural treasures.
Indonesia is located between two continents, Asia and Australia, and two oceans, Indian and Pacific. As such, nowhere in the world will divers find 34,000 miles of coastline containing the greatest variety of marine life.

Scuba Diving in Indonesia

With over 17,000 islands comprising the Indonesia archipelago, the country is renowned for the best scuba diving in the world. As the epicenter of biodiversity, Indonesia is home to a greater variety of marine life than anywhere else in the entire world. The underwater world features over 72% of the world’s coral species, numerous species of seaweeds and seagrasses, and 25% of the world’s fish species, including the spotted seahorse, two-line monocle bream and emperor angelfish. The diversity of Indonesia’s islands caters to all diving enthusiasts. At many popular dive areas, both novice and experienced divers can seek their preferred diving level.
The easiest and best access to popular dive sites are on Indonesia liveaboard cruises. A live aboard puts you right in the action. With over 3,000 fish species and 600 coral, diving Indonesia offers just about everything!
Some dive resorts offer live aboard options. The Wakatobi Dive Resort in Sulawesi gives visitors the option of either staying at its luxury dive resort or staying on its Pelagian liveaboard, or even doing a combination stay, to explore the surrounding area and luxury islands with a world-class house reef. Wakatobi is known as one of the most thrilling diving destinations in Indonesia. The area features the highest coral reef biodiversity in the world.

Bali – The Island of the Gods
The stunning island of Bali is a good starting point for scuba diving in Indonesia. It’s an excellent place to stay for part of a dive travel vacation and then connect with an Indonesia liveaboard cruise. Diving in Bali offers many shore-based diving options. Shipwreck diving is a must at the notable World War II Tulamben USAT Liberty wreck. Off Bali’s Nusa Penida, expect frequent glimpses of sunfish, mantas and mola molas. East Bali, on the other hand, has an awesome mix of dive sites, walls, muck and shipwrecks covered with incredible and rare critters.

Komodo – A Natural Wonder
East of Bali, diving in Komodo awaits, with an abundance of spectacular coral gardens and marine life. Because Komodo is situated between two oceans – the Pacific in the north and the Indian in the south – it has two very distinct marine environments. Divers can experience exceptional biodiversity from north to south all in one dive trip. For divers wanting to cover a large area, a Komodo liveaboard cruise in Komodo National Park is a great option. The park is one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature and home to the infamous Komodo dragons. These lizards are the largest and heaviest on earth! Diving in Komodo is noteworthy for its thrilling drift diving, amazing reefs, awesome rock formations and caves, and more than 1,000 species of fish. Expect to see reef sharks, manta rays, seahorses, trevallies, cuttlefish, turtles, frogfishes and loads of critters.

Banda – Indonesia’s Oldest Treasure
The Banda Sea is the remote portion of the horseshoe-shaped Ring of Fire in the Pacific Ocean. Formed by volcanoes, this 40,000 kilometer ring of islands stretches from South America to New Zealand. Because of the remoteness of the Ring of Fire in Indonesia, the islands can be reached only by liveaboard. The unpredictable underwater conditions make for some spectacular diving with fantastic visibility. These volcanic islands hold a wealth of biodiversity, including pristine reefs, incredible reef diversity, from vertical walls to steep slopes and wondrous drop-offs, and schools of hammerhead sharks, rainbow runners, redtoothed triggerfish, emperor fish, fusiliers, dogtooth tunas, surgeon fish, many whale species, and so much more. Under the crystal clear waters of the Banda Islands await deep walls accented with exquisite coral gardens, giant barrel sponges, bumphead parrotfish, schooling fish, Napoleon wrasse, mandarin fish, soap fish and turtles. Possible encounters include hammerhead sharks. The legendary Spice Islands, where nutmeg, cloves, mace and pepper were once produced and traded around the world, have become a diving mecca. Now known as the Maluku Islands, this group of small islands is home to an array of species, like razorfish, filefish, Coleman shrimp and mandarinfish. The reef varieties and fan corals are truly impressive.
Sea snake lovers should head to the volcanic islands of Manuk and Gunung Api, where the curious snakes swim right up to divers. Gunung Api, also known as Fire Mountain, remains an active volcano, creating deep and rocky dive sites. Besides sea snakes, hammerhead sharks, Napoleon wrasse, jacks and tuna are abundant. The Forgotten Islands in the Banda Sea are a popular stop on Banda liveaboard cruise itineraries and offer some of the best scuba diving in the world. As its name suggests, diving the Forgotten Islands will not soon be forgotten as divers explore deep walls topped with coral gardens as they are greeted by schools of bumphead parrotfish, barracuda, bigeye trevally, Spanish mackerel and hammerhead sharks.
Each of these isolated islands in the Indonesian archipelago makes scuba diving the Banda Sea an adventurous liveaboard diving cruise.

Cenderawasih Bay –Whale Shark Capital of the World
The local fishermen believe a whale shark sighting brings good luck. So, the good chance of spotting numerous whale sharks in one dive makes diving a good luck charm! Other incredible sites include World War II shipwrecks and macro life, like pygmy seahorses, shrimps, and nudibranchs. The black sand makes for some great muck diving, too, with sightings including snake eels, nudibranchs, pygmy seahorses, frogfishes, cuttles, shrimp, and perhaps the blue-ringed octopus.

When to Go

Indonesia has a tropical climate, ensuring consistently warm temperatures much of the year. Water temperatures are a diver’s dream, hovering around 27-30 degrees C (80-86 degrees F). Visibility ranges from 20 to 160 feet, with depths up to 140 feet. Currents are typically mild, but strong in some areas.
In general, Indonesia has a dry season and a rainy season. Dry season is April to October and rainy season is November to March. However, with 17,000 islands to dive, each with different seasons, Indonesia is a year round diving destination.
Ask our dive travel experts for advice. Certain areas have better dive conditions during certain times of the year.

Getting There

Most visitors arrive to Indonesia by air travel. The two main airports are Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang and Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali. The Bali airport is a common connection point for scuba diving liveaboard trips to Komondo, Ambon, the Banda Sea and Alor.
The Jakarta airport typically connects with Raja Ampat liveaboard cruises, as well as liveaboards for Lembeh, Ambon, the Banda Sea and the Cenderawasih Bay.
From these two airports, it’s easy to get domestic flights that connect to the other islands.
When considering liveaboard diving in Indonesia, many liveaboards provide transfers from airports to the departure point. It takes about 20 hours to reach Indonesia from the Americas and Europe. From Australia, it’s about 4 to 7 hours. Many direct flights are available.
The Port of Sorong in western New Guinea is a main departure point for Indonesia liveaboards cruising to Ambon, the Cenderawasih Bay, the Halmahera Sea and the Banda Sea. Raja Ampat liveaboard connections are also made at this port.

Visas and Passports

International travelers enter Indonesia through one of its 124 immigration checkpoints. All travelers are required to show a passport valid for at least the next 6 months and proof of return tickets. Foreign travelers who are citizens of countries on Indonesia’s 169 Visa Free Country List are not required to show a visa when entering Indonesia.
International travelers arriving from one of the 61 countries on Indonesia’s Visa on Arrival (VoA) list can obtain a visa at designated airports and seaports upon their arrival in Indonesia. To obtain a VoA, a round-trip airplane ticket, a passport with an expiration date that is valid at least 6 months after arrival date and at least one blank visa page are required. There is a VoA fee. Visitors from countries not on either list should apply for a visa from the Indonesia Embassies or Consulates in their home country. Before leaving on their scuba diving vacations, travelers should be sure they have all the required immigration and visa documents.

Time Zone

Indonesia has 3 time zones:

• Indonesia Western Standard Time, also known as Waktu Indonesia Barat (WIB).
• Indonesia Central Standard Time (WITA).
• Indonesia Eastern Standard Time (WIT).

Currency

ryjjy

Electricity

dfhyrhr

Language

The official language of Indonesia is Bahasa Indonesia. However, many Indonesians have their own ethnic language and dialect, such as Sundanese and Javanese.
Although English is not widely spoken, those who work in major cities, hospitality industries and tourist destinations can communicate in English at a basic to moderate degree.