Stopover in Taipei on the way to Papau/Indonesia for a scuba diving vacation - ??

I've made the slog to that corner of the world (with SCUBA gear duffel in tow) more than a couple times. It's a wonderful adventure. But yeah, it is a loooooooooong schlepp.

The answer to your specific question - should you make a stopover on the way (in TPE or anywhere) depends on multiple factors...

1. How much time do you have? Honestly, it is quite a project to just get your butt all the way there (and back). A stopover along the way is great, if you can "afford" it (time-wise). As long as it doesn't reduce your number of diving days, if you don't need to be back quickly and can extend the length of your trip, I'd sure do it.

2. What exactly is your routing? I'm not familiar with the resort you're going to (looks lovely, though!), but I've dragged myself all the way to Sorong, and then on a speedboat tearing across the open ocen for another 4 hours (in pitch darkness - exciting, to say the least!) so I know exactly the kind of grind that you'll be going through. We flew Seattle-Tokyo-Singapore-Jakarta-Makassar-Sorong...which took forever (we did stop and sleep for a few hours at a motel in the airport at Jakarta), then upon arrival in Sorong, we got on the speedboat. We were toast long before that, but it was, lets just say "thrilling". It sure felt good to get off that boat around 11 pm at our destination, surrounded by tiki torches and be walked to our over-water bungalo. Diving the next week was the best we've ever done - by far. My point here (other than to reminisce) is that I suspect your routing will involve multiple stops anyway - you might have a forced overnight somewhere even without adding the stop in Taiwan. You might consider which place to stop if you have options (nothing wrong with Taipei, but I'd pick Bali if I had a choice).

When we were coming back from Raja Ampat, our plans were derailed by a major volcanic eruption which caught us by surprise and after all the airports were closed (once we were stuck in Jogjakarta), required taking a 12-hour train trip across Java to make it to Jakarta to catch our flight out (our flight was one of the last allowed to land at Jogja - the sky was black and the ground and runways were covered with ashfall as we landed, booms in the distance form the mountain, it was surreal - we came home with some good stories from that!). Point being: crazy stuff happens there, be prepared to be flexible and adapt to the circumstances.

Note: Even without major volcanic eruptions, air travel in Indonesia can be a lot less reliable than we are otherwise used to elsewhere, especially once you get beyond Jakarta/Bali. Be sure your connections allow plenty of time. Also consider what happens if you miss a connection - the next flight out may not be for a day (or in remote locations maybe longer).

There is (or was) a decent enough "transit hotel" in the Jakarta terminal; we paid for a room and slept a few hours upon arrival and that helped, I felt it was worth it. We were still pretty wiped out downstream, but flying that far/long is going to always take its toll. I would avoid having to spend any more time in Sorong (aka "so wrong") if you can avoid it - not the tropical destination of your dreams.

If you can manage to fly business class or even economy plus, for the longhaul legs, it will make a big difference in your condition upon arrival. Remember, once you get there, you will want to dive right away, so do what you can to arrive in reasonable shape.

Regardless, I think your will absolutely LOVE diving in Raja Ampat. The best diving in the world IME. At least so far...we keep trying to beat it, but have not yet (Palau came close). You will come home with a serious problem, though: anytime you go diving anyplace else, it's going to be a bit of a letdown.

Happy to answer any questions you have here or by PM. Have fun - I know you will.

By the way, I'd really like to hear about your trip after you get back, so please do post a trip report. We loved our trip the Misool (not to far from where you're going) and always think about going back. Definitely an expensive splurge - but worth it!

I too have taken several trips to Papua New Guinea. It is indeed an adventure of a lifetime and the diving is unbelievable. My first trip was with a local a dive group out of Vienna, Virginia to Biak, Indonesia where we spent two weeks aboard a live aboard dive boat. We flew from Dullas Airport to Los Angeles then straight to Port Moseby. We then picked up a shuttle plane to Biak. The dive boat had a shuttle pick us up in Biak, Indonesia to take us to the dive boat. The diving was fantastic and full of sea life especially large Manta Rays. Coming back home there was a 12 hour delay as the plane out of Bali had engine trouble and had to turn around and a new plane was issued. I must admit Papua airlines hires Irish pilots to fly their planes. Not sure why but the Irish accent over the inter-come was really nice.

My second trip was solo to the Louisiade Archipelago, PNG. Dullas Airport to San Fransisco, down to Sydney, Australia, overnight there, then to Brisbane, then to Port Moseby, then to Milne Bay where we (three other people and myself) picked up the hired yacht, shipper and crew. It required almost four days to get there. We spent a month just doing nothing but eating, sleeping, and diving around the area. We stopped at several islands to get food (if they had any) and to just wander. Again, the diving was incredible! I saw so many sharks there just are not words. One gal in the group was a dive master and was financially supporting herself on the diverse dive boats around the South Pacific area just being a dive master. On this trip she allowed herself to be a guest. She said time and again, this diving was without a doubt the best diving she ever has done. She was blown away by the fish life, especially the sharks. They were everywhere! Yes, this trip was better than the Biak trip due to vast amount of fish life and multiplicity of diverse sharks.

One the second trip, I took with me both an underwater camera and underwater video camera, plus all my dive gear. It indeed was a challenge to get there and back without losing anything. I was successful.

You ask is it worth it to stop off in Taipei on the way? How much dive gear are you hauling? Lugging all that dive gear here and there gets to be old real fast. How old are you? Age does dictate whether a stop in Taipei is needed. If you young you will have the energy to keep going to your destination but if you are older you will need to stop off in Taipei to catch your breath. Myself, I would want to get to the resort asap to explore as it is definitely a part of the world that you probably will never return to. You can always return to Taipei at a later date.

Yes, it is expensive to get to this part of the world but it will be a trip of a lifetime! You cannot but have a wonderful time! Yes, a trip report would be nice. I would like to know that the plethora of sea life is still to be found in this part of the world.

KImberly, Yep, Milne Bay is at the top of my current wish list. Everything I hear about the diving there and around PNG is awesome.
If you ever get the chance to do Misool in Raja Ampat, do it - it's sublime.
I'll be looking forward to hearing from Deborah about her adventure after she gets back.

My first time to Asia we went through the Taipei airport. I was so nervous, but should not have been. It was a lovely, world class airport. I was on my way to Wakatobi. Then, we also went through Taipei to the Phillipines. If you have the time, I would definately explore Taipei. If the rest of the island is like the airport, it should be wonderful!

Good morning! First, Taipei is definitely worth a stopover! If, as mentioned before, you have the time to do so, you must! I spent just over 48 hours in the city and followed mostly Trip Advisor advice but it was great!

What draw my attention to your post is more the Papua / Raja Ampat part... I've been wanting to go there for a while, but not in expensive resort and the somewhat insecure nature of the area keeps turning my friends and I down... our governments travel advisories are not so good and I know that shouldn't stop us but the little tourism industry is appealing and not at the same time, as it's hard to get relatable information. So anyway, Raja Ampat seems more developed, but also expensive...

So I would love to hear of your trip after and get your feel of the place... and maybe tips if you notice cheaper bungalows along the coast! I will come back to read a potential trip report and I wish you the best of travels!!!

Emily

Thank you for your replies. I love this travel community!

We booked our airfare and paid our deposit on our dive resort. Here’s our final routing: Seattle – Taipei – Jakarta – Sorong – Papua Paradise Eco Resort … then returning … Sorong – Yogyakarta – Jakarta – Taipei – Seattle. We’re putting in a total of two weeks for this trip.

We decided to take advantage of the opportunity for a brief stopover in Taipei. We’ll only be there two days … but it should be enough to stroll the night markets, visit the Palace Museum and just soak in the culture (Anthony Bourdain Layover style).

FWIW, we found a great price on EVA Airlines non-stop Seattle-Taipei in premium economy with a connection to Jakarta. I’ve heard good things about EVA. Premium Economy didn’t cost much more than regular economy with a whole lot more space to stretch out on the 13-hour flight.

All other flights are on Garuda Indonesia Airlines, which is one of the few recommended local airlines for safety and reliability. Flights in this part of the world can be a little dicey, so we decided to be loyal Garuda customers.

Our friends are all experienced divers and I will be a brand-new diver – scheduled to get my certification in August from Underwater Sports in Bellevue. Everyone is bringing their own masks but renting everything else, just because it’s too much hassle to haul things this far on so many connections.

Our friend did a lot of research before recommending Papua Paradise Eco Resort. We had looked at live-aboard boats (too claustrophobic for a few of us) and another eco resort called “Misool” (also very nice, with great reviews) but landed on Papua Paradise as our top choice. I think the cost is pretty reasonable considering it’s all-inclusive and provides unlimited diving packages. For 7 nights, it’s just approx. $2,500 for divers and $2,000 for non-divers.

We’re also doing a brief stopover in Yogyakarta on the way back to Jakarta. Just a day for my husband and me and 3 days for the rest of our friends.

We are paying close attention to the travel advisories and I’m enrolled in the State Department’s STEP program to get alerts. The place that seems the most concerning is Jakarta. We have about 12 hours to kill there on our way to Sorong and I like your suggestion, David, of getting an airport hotel room to rest instead of trying to see the city. That will probably be a judgment call we’ll make closer to our travel dates in December based on what’s happening there.

Kimberly, as a new diver, I have to ask this question … were you ever worried about all the sharks? My diving friends love seeing sharks but it freaks me out to think about it. It’s going to take some effort on my part to manage my shark fear, gulp.

Our group ranges in age from 55 all the way up to 72. We’re all in good physical condition and used to adventure travel, hiking, backpacking, etc.

We are VERY excited about this trip and I’ll be happy to share a recap afterwards. I welcome any other advice or questions.

Thank you, again, for your replies – so helpful!!

Deborah - sounds like a great trip. To your specific points...

• You routing looks good. Have you been to Asia before? If not prepare for a bit of culture shock. :)
• I have not flown EVA but they get consistently high marks, and routing via Taipei is efficient. Garuda is all over the map in terms of the experience, but they're the most substantial airline in the neighborhood (probably most reliable, too) so you can't go wrong. Your flight Jakarta-Sorong probably stops in Makassar, not a big deal, just get off the plane, sit in the terminal a while, get on and continue. Expect some weird food.
• Wow, this is quite an adventure for a not-yet-certified diver. Be sure to start your certification work soon and allow plenty of time to complete it. Make sure that the dive op at your resort knows these will be your first post-certification dives. Hopefully your biggest problem will be that all diving after this will leave you a bit disappointed (honestly, it's all downhill after Raja Ampat). Underwater Sports is a good shop.
• We always haul our full gear because we're picky, but yeah it is a lot to drag. The downside is that, especially for you, as a brand-new diver, your rental gear will be unfamiliar, so you will have yet one more thing to figure out and manage. It is all going to feel a bit overwhelming at first - you will have a lot on your plate. Just go slow, stick close to the divemaster/guide and don't get too far out of your comfort zone. You are going to need really good buoyancy control: the reefs there are incredibly beautiful, but they're also incredibly fragile, and with one mis-placed fin kick it's all too easy to destroy a bit of it. For your first few dives, please consider paying for a personal dive guide to accompany you. It'll be a little extra but will help you get more comfortable and will help keep the reef safe from you (no offense intended, but brand-new divers are coping with a LOT of complex things, and it's really easy to be out of control at times).
• FWIW I don't think live-aboards are claustrophobic at all. But in this area (Raja Ampat) they're not really necessary, because the diving is so good there's no need to move every day. We stayed at Misool (the other place there) and it was heavenly. Hopefully your resort is as good or better.
• Yogjakarta on the way back, eh? Heh - that was our plan, too. Until the huge volcano there erupted. If you have time (and the volcano isn't erupting) you must go see Borobudur, one of the greatest sites of the Buddhist world. We tried but it's on the flanks of that volcano - we got close before we had to turn back. Still on our list for next time.
• Don't put too much stock in the scary "travel advisories" from the State Department. Indonesia is a vast country and as long as you use common sense you will be fine.
• About sharks: Everything You Think You Know Is Wrong. Completely wrong. Stop worrying about them. Unless some idiot in your group is feeding them (which you should never do, as it makes them associate people with food, not a connection to reinforce) they're not going to bother you. Your dive guide doesn't want to be eaten either and the resort doesn't want your heirs to sue them so they are not going to put you in a hungry shark's mouth. They're cool, amazing fish, but they're just a fish. Respect them and they will return the favor.
• Find some reef-friendly sunscreen before you go and bring it with you in your checked bag. The sun is VERY intense there. It's quite hot & humid too, so choose your clothes carefully (fortunately, dive locations are all about shorts and t-shirts, no fashion shows). If you're a pasty-pale Seattlite and you've never been to the equator before, it may be a lot more intense than you expect.
• Be careful about food and drink to avoid getting sick. Have fun! :)

@emsjenkins - Your post contains some bits that are not true at all...

I've been wanting to go there for a while, but not in expensive resort and the somewhat insecure nature of the area keeps turning my friends and I down... our governments travel advisories are not so good and I know that shouldn't stop us but the little tourism industry is appealing and not at the same time, as it's hard to get relatable information.

For a dive traveler, there are really no significant security issues in this area - as long as you use common sense and stick to reasonable places (the places where a foreign diver would go). Government "travel advisories" are CYA blanket statements that are often wildly inaccurate. Indonesia is a huge country and it's hard to generalize, but I'd have no qualms at all about going to one of the dive resorts there in Raja Ampat. Been there before, hope to go again when I can manage it. Personally, I'd have no concerns about safety at all.

Raja Ampat seems more developed, but also expensive...

Yes, and no (actually, No and Yes.) Raja Ampat is actually about as un developed a place as one can easily get to. There are only a few spots that have (what most of us would call) a good tourist infrastructure, and those are very tiny, isolated spots in an otherwise very undeveloped region. That's not to say it's all 100% wilderness, but a lot of it is.

Expensive? Well, for a beautiful, comfortable place to spend a week diving, where all your needs are taken care of, with a high standard...that's not cheap, but given the location and the logistics (everything has to be brought it by a long speedboat ride - food, fuel, customers...and then everything including trash, and departing customers, has to be brought back out...all the while caring for the fragile environment in a very remote location where they have to supply their own electricity, water, etc.), I actually think it's a bargain. But it's not a cheap thing to do.

I'm sure there are cheaper places that one could visit, but places that are cheap are not going to be remote, and the whole point of going there is to get to the areas that are pristine and have not been tainted. If you want to get out to the best areas, I don't think you're going to find inexpensive back-packer style beach huts like one might be thinking of from other places (Thailand years ago, for example). If you want to get way out there where the ecosystem is still untouched, it's going to cost some money.

@ DeborahInSeattle - PM sent, please check your messages.

"Kimberly, as a new diver, I have to ask this question … were you ever worried about all the sharks? My diving friends love seeing sharks but it freaks me out to think about it. It’s going to take some effort on my part to manage my shark fear, gulp."

When I ventured to Papua New Guinea, I was not new to diving or sharks. I had been all over the world diving, cold and warm water. I was more scared of the currents that one tends to forget about when viewing the reefs and fish life. I came to one current that almost swept me to never never land if I had not been familiar with diving and the advance skill sets. I temporarily forgot that the reef life and large pelagics that were swimming around this particular reef corner were there for a reason - lots of good opportunity to feed and good water flow. I was not that deep (thankfully) and could swim to the surface slowly and get out of the current below me. I had my video camera with me and so wanted to take some videos but thought my life to be much more important.

As a new diver, you probably will not be allowed to venture out on your own. You will probably have a dive master near by and be pared with a dive buddy. The dive masters know the waters well. Please do not be afraid of the sharks. You may see some baby sharks. Be warned, the mother is definitely near-by and the father is just out of your underwater eye sight. So stay your distance. Always watch your depth gauge too. It is so easy to go too deep.

I am glad I did these distant diving locations when I had a multiplicity of advance skill sets under my belt. It allowed me much more freedom and confidence to explore on my own.

Oh yes, and do ask about the salt water crocodiles that also feed in the estuaries and near by salt waters :)

You will have a wonderful time and will not want to dive any other place in the world. Everyplace else will always be second class.

@Kimberly, thank you. I appreciate the info. I'm sure I must sound a little crazy for going to one of the top diving spots in the world with so little experience under my belt (actually none, at this point). My original plan was to just relax and snorkel while my husband and our friends were diving. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought "I gotta at least try to give this a shot" and seek to have some kind of basic diving experience. At this point, I'm trying to arrange a private dive guide who work with me 1:1 while I'm there. If it's just too much, I'll give it up. I do love to snorkel and that may be my official Indonesian water sport. Thanks again for the response and support - I appreciate it!

@diveloonie, thank you for your feedback on Taipei, I appreciate it!

The presence of sharks is an indicator of a healthy reef and marine environment. So seeing sharks is a good thing. They will generally keep their distance from you. Just stay calm and enjoy the view. Don't forget to breathe...seriously, as you will soon learn, this is just about the most important thing to remember at all times, keep breathing! Hey, you're paying a lot to experience the miracle of being able to breathe when you're 90 feet underwater, so don't forget to do it (seriously, never, ever hold your breath - you can seriously injure yourself if you do that at the wrong time....just keep breathing...in...out...in...out...slowly...calmly...relax...). Blow bubbles, it's good for you (really).