If you love diving, then Maumere is the best place to be if you want to have the dive sites to yourself, unlike Bali, where you now see more tourists underwater than fish. Diving in Maumere has lots of features that make it a great place for a wonderful diving experience. The proximity of the deepest ocean crack at 9000 meters gives room for plenty of big fish activity. It offers a stunning diving experience with turtles, sharks, and you might see whales if you visit in November.

 

1. Getting to Maumere

From Bali, getting to Maumere won’t take more than two hours, we have the new direct flights from Denpasar to thank for that. Garuda is the best airline to go with, they are very reliable and permit luggage weight of about 20kg. Getting to the dive resort from there will take just 20 minutes by car.

 

2. Where to stay when diving Maumere

Maumere is a remote location, if you are expecting a luxurious accommodation, strike that out. But that does not mean you won’t enjoy your stay in this relatively undeveloped place. Ankermi happy dive – a simple resort by to the sea – is the best place when diving in Maumere. They offer different kinds of bungalows like backpacker rooms with shared bathrooms, and luxurious bungalows (also called lilyponds bungalows). Besides the beautiful sea view surrounded by palm trees and fish ponds offered by this resort, those luxurious bungalows also have AC and hot water located on the side of the resort, offering a private sea view terrace with lounge chairs.

It is advisable to book three to four months in advance due to the popularity of this resort in high season, especially if you are interested in staying in the lilyponds bungalows. The beach in front of the resort is not good for swimming because it is rocky nature. There is a little beachfront café where most people visit after diving; you can hang out there and share your diving stories at the end of the day. We saw two large yachts anchored in the bay during our visit, so this is a nice option for yacht owners.

The hosts are fantastic, Ankermi and his wife Claudia usually hang out with guests during sunsets to share fascinating local stories. I strongly advise you to shun the review of this resort on tripadvisor, do not believe the bad reviews you see there. This place is simple but delightful.

 

 

3. Diving in Maumere

From the resort to most dive sites takes about 60 minutes. The area is not that crowded, we were there for 5 days, and we did not come across any other dive boats.
Ankermi diving is so cool, even though their noisy motorboat is not big enough and feels overcrowded when full. If you are expecting a luxury dive trip, you will be disappointed. Stay focused on the diving and go with the flow if you want to enjoy this dive trip.
You should also watch out for the many walls around the islands, covered in large stag coral tables and beautiful gorgonian fans (sea fans), and entwined with different varieties of anemone flowers and neon coloured Alcyonacea (soft corals), and lots of reef fish you can think of.
Despite its healthy coral, the water visibility can be limited but you can’t compare it to the 40 meters visibility that you usually get in places like Alor or Komodo. Diving in Maumere is really good, but I feel the water visibility might prevent Maumere from becoming one of the world’s best diving locations as it is a bit harder to get clear pictures.
One of the dive sites, Babi island has a unique surface interval that is a paradisiac beach. I don’t usually wish for longer surface intervals but I could have stayed on the Babi island beach for the whole day!
During our stay, we saw dolphins on a daily basis; they enjoy swimming with the boat. An amazing experience even if we did not get to see them underwater.

 

 

4. Dive sites near Maumere

Check out the description below about the site’s features.

The Channel

This is a slop linking down to a sandy bottom, it is framed with big gorgonians, coral gardens, and sponges. You are more likely to see ribbon eels, ghost pipefish, lionfish and frogfish in this area. If you are lucky, you also get to look at hunting hammerheads and eagle rays in this area due to the strong current.

The flow of current through this 2km wide channel is pretty strong, so this dive site is not for amateurs but experienced divers. You can down to the deeper part through the coral garden scattered with sand; this area features a giant mountain of sand with sea fans and coral blocks. You can observe the amazing underwater scene in this area (about 30 meters deep) featuring marble rays, eagle rays, tunas and mackerels on the sand surface. Continue flowing with the current until you arrive at the stunning coral garden.

 

 

The Crack

The crack was formed by an earthquake that ripped the reef open in 1992, lots of little fish and corals love to hide in this spot. It is located about 20 metres in a reef beneath the water, the length of the 70 centimetres crack is about 30 meters. You will find a steep wall filled with corals as the follow the crack. You may be lucky to see rays and sharks if you look down the crack.

 

 

Majella’s Ledge

This is a nice spot to view nurse sharks, reef sharks, and hammerheads – if you are that lucky. This deep ledge is located at 35m.

 

Marajagong

This region has a touch of everything you can ever imagine, it is a steep wall with different jutting platforms. Reach for the wall down the slope to the platform; it’s about 14m. This fantastic spot features different varieties of reef fish, lobster, frogfish, sharks, sea turtles, nudibranchs, octopus and colourful corals, this spot is well known for schooling tuna and mackerel.

 

Babi Island wall

Pulau Babi, also known as the pig island faces the Flores Sea and is bordered at the north end with coral reef. You will find a small tidal flat where two villages were built if you go down south. In 1992, a tsunami – with waves topped at 5.6 meters – hit Pulau Babi and destroyed the villages found on the flat sandy land. About 263 out of the 1093 people living in the location lost their lives to the tsunami. The villages had to be abandoned, and reconstruction was not permitted when the region was declared too risky to be inhabited. You will only find makeshift bamboo huts in the location currently, there are used once in a while for fishing.

You will find the barrier reef tappers at the southern end of the island, you will see a lot of crevices and crack with corals in the shallow. The Palau Babi wall is a nice drop off with lots of corals, and relaxing on the beach in-between the dives is amazing; we were opportune to see a few turtles and sharks.

Muck dive in front of the resort

There are different suitable dive sites on the coast for muck diving. You get to see frogfishes, mimic octopus as well as nudibranchs. Another unique feature of this dive site is that it features lots of endemic species. According to reports, Rudie Kuiter – a photographer – has cataloged over 1200 fish species in Maumere Bay alone, including species new to science.

5. Diving in Maumere: best time to go

Maumere also experiences rainy seasons. It is advisable you plan your diving in Maumere between April to October if you want to avoid the rainy season and enjoy calm sea  and stunning visibility during your dives.

The high season falls between July and August. It is advisable you book in advance to secure a spot due to the limited boat and accommodation capacity.

You can also visit during November and December periods; you are more likely to see whales during this period.

If you are a fan of large sharks, visit during April and May, these are the best periods to see a whale shark.

6. Other activities besides diving in Maumere: the Kelimutu volcano

An interesting thing about your visit to Maumere is that you get to do other things besides diving. You can visit the Kelimutu volcano in Kelimutu. Get the most out of your visit to Maumere by visiting this three coloured lake; it’s only 3 hours away from Maumere. If you plan on spending your whole day here, the trip is worth it. The hike is also easy; it will not take more than 30 minutes.

The 3-colored Lakes are unique for natural phenomena. The constant changing of colours and different varieties of colour in the lake makes it so beautiful. The local inhabitants in this region see the lake as a place where the departed souls reside. They believe that the god of the afterlife, Mae, as well as the people who died, will sit at the base of the lakes according to their good deeds in life. Thus, the names of the lake are connected to it. When translated, they represent the souls of the people, the spirits of young people, and the spirits of soothsayers.

The dramatic and unpredictable change in the lakes’ colour makes it one of the natural phenomena one needs to see; colour changes from blue or green to red or black. Furthermore, the steep road to the lakes is precarious, making it more mystical and mysterious.

There is no strong evidence to describe what is responsible for the changes in colour, but scientist believes that volcanic gas activities are responsible for the chemical reactions between the natural minerals in the lakes.

 

Maumere is only a short direct flight away from Kupang and Komodo that both offer really good diving. Read my review of Kupang diving and Komodo diving. There is also interesting tribes encounters in West Timor and the possibility to cruise Komodo water or stay in Luxury at Komodo latest luxury resort.

Have you ever experienced diving in Maumere? I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a comment below.