Top 10 Dive Spots in Indonesia

Raja Ampat. Utter these two words in a coterie of erudite divers and knees weaken. In slack jawed wide eyed day dreams, cameras are clutched and exotic itineraries purchased. Raja Ampat presents the bulletproof thesis in the lengthy tome of Indonesian diving. A place so pure that its strongest ally in its quest for preservation is its remote location, it calls out to the world's divers in a tantalizing whisper from a far out land.  It is a better version of Sipidan without the tshirts and dive centers fist fighting over the daily diver quota. Hitting Raja Ampat 10 years ago was like catching Springsteen at his elementary school talent show. Hitting it today is more the same, albeit with more shutterbugs jockeying with flashbulbs for wobbegongs. But it is not all about r4 as it is known colloquially, the whole of Indonesia diving has sort of an indie rock charm that eludes divers in mega locations like The Great Barrier Reef or Thailand. Spreading out across the equator for 3000 miles from Pulau Weh in the west to Papua in the East, the bustling residents and corals of Indonesia's underwater scene remain consistently brilliant.

Here are 10 superb Indonesian diving locations

1. Raja Ampat (4 Kings), West Papua 
 
2. Komodo, East Nusa Tenggara
 
3. Bunaken, Sulawesi 
 
4. Lembeh Straits, Sulawesi 
 
5. Wakatobi, Sulawesi 
 
6. Nusa Lembongan, Bali 
 
7. Tulamben, Bali 
 
8. Pulau Weh, Sumatra 
 
9. Banda Islands, Molluccas 
 
10. Find a new place with a local guide and name it something menacing like Shark's Fang Pinnacle