Dive Review of Maluku Divers in
Indonesia/Ambon

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Maluku Divers, Oct, 2012, by linda rutherford, CA, US ( Contributor 17 reports with 7 Helpful votes). Report 6784.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	After a live-aboard cruise from Sorong to Ambon, we opted to stay nine additional nights with Maluku Divers in Ambon before going Lembeh Straights for two weeks. We were pleasantly surprised when we saw our large air-conditioned bungalow, complete with two large desks. The room had no mini-bar, but the bar was nearby for getting cold drinks. Hot coffee and tea was always available. The covered outdoor restaurant had a constant breeze that was very pleasant. Internet was available, but unreliable, in the open-air lobby and in the bungalows. The Manager, Marcel, gives all newcomers an orientation and makes sure that you have everything you need. The camera room is large and has good lighting. This October, the wind and small waves hitting the beach, made diving on the resort side of Ambon Bay murky with stirred up silt. So most mornings we got into one of their three boats and went to the other side of the bay. This is a fifteen-minute trip. The boats have a covering for shade and are comfortable. The dive guides were very professional. There is no dock, so getting to the dive boat means wading in the water of a rock strewn shore. This is not a problem because you will not be wearing your weight belt, bc or tank. Everything is brought to the boat for you ahead of time. If you have a physical handicap, you can request special assistance getting to the boat. The schedule is 7:15 am breakfast; 8:10 dress for diving; 8:30 leave for a two-tank dive with a one-hour surface interval on the boat. Dive times averaged about 70 minutes. Divers returned to the resort around 1pm, had lunch at 1:30pm and got ready for the afternoon dive at 3pm. Night dives were not scheduled, but were available upon request. I won’t list all the critters we saw, but the Rhinopias, eels, muck critters and pygmy seahorse, make Maluku worth a visit. In short, the muck diving and the dive operation are good. Prices for dive packages are very reasonable. In a one-week stay you can easily see most dive sites. We were taken to their best dive sites three or four times over our seven days diving. You can purchase a two-dive a day package and use the spot for relaxing after a cruise that ends in Ambon. A minor annoyance were the bugs that dropped from the thatched ceiling of our bungalow. A two-inch spider dropped on my face in the middle of the night and a caterpillar with stinging quills fell on my husband’s pillow. A net over the head of the beds would be nice, for those of us who are not fond of bugs. Considering this is the only dive resort in Ambon, this probably can be tolerated. The only real negative is the massive amount of garbage in the water and floating on the surface: thousands of plastic bottles, plastic bags, shoes, paint cans, food wrappers, diapers, everything and anything. The garbage washes up on the Maluku beachfront and fouls the props of the dive boats. Maluku Divers is a new resort and as time passes, I am sure they will attempt to tackle this situation. Maluku Divers is thinking of building an incinerator so they would have a way of disposing of it. While the volume of garbage is too much for them alone to eliminate, it would be a step in the right direction to start a year-round program. If every guest was charged $25 for a clean-up program, I doubt anyone would object. They could pay someone to go to schools and churches and teach people how to take care of the environment. In spite of the garbage, I still recommend the resort. Over time, I hope eco-tourism can lead to change in local behavior.
Websites	Maluku Divers
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	various worldwide
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	79-82°F / 26-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	10-45 Ft/ 3-14 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	no unusual restrictions other than the normal common sense restrictions
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals	N/A	Tropical Fish	N/A
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	The boats had no special handling for cameras, but cameras could be rinsed thoroughly as soon as we were back ashore. The large camera room was well lit and convenient.

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Dive Review of Maluku Divers in Indonesia/Ambon

Maluku Divers, Oct, 2012,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Maluku Divers in
Indonesia/Ambon