Dive Review of Maluku Divers in
Indonesia/Ambon

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Maluku Divers, Apr, 2014, by Michael J. Millet, CA, US ( Top Contributor 96 reports with 61 Helpful votes). Report 7602.
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	Maluku Divers is located on the north side of Ambon Bay and specializes in muck diving and the crazy critters that make the black sand their habitat. With the exception of a dive trip to the south side of the island, ALL diving is muck diving. So if taking pictures of some rather small marine life is not your thing, then Ambon diving will not be for you. Of the 17 dives I did here, 14 were in the black sand. There is some very nice walls to dive on the south side of Ambon but this trip requires 6 divers and good weather so it is not done a regular basis. Too bad because it is a nice change from the muck. The typical dive day started at 8:30 AM with a 2 tank trip followed by lunch then an afternoon dive. The accommodations at Maluku Divers are quite spacious and set up to accommodate 2 persons. All bungalows are just a short walk from the restaurant and the dive center. Breakfast is buffet with an egg/omelet station. Lunch and dinner are plated but no choice is offered. Most of the entrees were chicken or fish and often over cooked. The soups were the best part of the meals. The resort offers a full bar at full Indonesian prices. During my stay the currents were really ripping perhaps due to the full moon. The dive staff advised that these swift currents were not normal. The currents whipped up the sandy bottom making photo taking quite challenging. The constant motion and particles of sand in the water column made it very difficult to focus especially when shooting small critters the size of a dime or smaller. I took many fuzzy photos. The strong current put gave 4 other divers and myself a "swallow-hard" moment when we were quickly pushed away from the dive boat. Fortunately, the current took us back to the resort where we made a shore exit. Taking one's fins off in choppy water on rocky bottom terrain with a tank on the back while holding on to a large camera rig is not my idea of an enjoyable dive. The most disconcerting aspect of this situation is that the dive skiffs do not have any way of communicating with the resort, other dive boats or divers using Lifeline. The dive skiffs do not carry radios or mobile phones. In order to contact the dive skiff driver who hopefully was out looking for us, the resort called a resident in the area where it thought the skiff might be and this resident went outside and yelled at the dive skiff. Very unsafe and very unprofessional. I brought this to the attention of the resort managers who did not seemed to be too concerned about it. Getting to/from the dive boats required wading from shore to the boat. At times when the tide was in, the water was 6'-7' deep -- over my head. The footing was quite unstable walking on a very rocky bottom. The resort is building a dock to remedy this situation. The staff and crew were generally friendly and helpful. I enjoyed my time there but Maluku divers and Ambon will probably not get a return visit from me.
Websites	Maluku Divers
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	All over the Caribbean; Galapagos, Socorro, Fiji, Solomons, GBR, Vanuatu, PNG, Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Yap, Kosrae
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	surge, currents
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	30-75 Ft/ 9-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No Deco
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		Tropical Fish
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	Ambon is the place for black sand (muck) diving. The dive guides were quite good at finding the small, unique critters that live here. The dive crew were careful carrying camera gear to/from the dive boats with a shore entry over a very rocky bottom. Soft-sided cooler bags were used to carry and protect the cameras. The dive skiffs had no camera rinse containers. The dockside facility had several large camera rinse tanks. Maluku divers has a good-sized camera room with several stations with many 220 electrical outlet and clothes. Up to 4 divers were assigned to a dive guide. So if all had cameras (likely), it could get congested while each took turns taking photos of critters.

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Dive Review of Maluku Divers in Indonesia/Ambon

Maluku Divers, Apr, 2014,

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