Alor Trip Recap
June 2025 | Alami Alor
Trip Leader: Tim Yeo
Underwater Camera Equipment Used: Sony a6700, Sony a6700 Ikelite Housing, Sony 10-18mm and Sony 50mm macro lens, dual Kraken KS-160 strobes
Alor is a remote diving destination in Indonesia that is not simple to get to. Even travelers coming from nearby countries such as Singapore, Australia or Hong Kong need to connect through multiple flights. Tourism is still developing in Alor and many of the people now working in the dive resorts or on the boats are first generation workers in tourism. Their families still fish and farm for their main source of income.
Our Bluewater group flew from various countries into Jakarta, then took a domestic flight to Kupang before continuing on to Alor. We were met at the airport by the Alami Alor team and within an hour arrived at the resort. After checking into our rooms, we had lunch and then prepared our dive and camera gear. The first dive was a checkout dive on the house reef which begins right at the end of the jetty. The site was full of healthy coral and many fish. In the sandy areas of the reef we saw frogfish, ornate ghost pipefish and nudibranchs. Many guests chose to return for a night dive on the same site even after a long travel day.
To learn more, check out this video from the trip!
July 7 – First boat dives and fishing traditions
Our first boat dives were around Pantar Island, located in the middle of the strait about 15 minutes from the resort. Both dives had excellent visibility and coral cover, with a variety of reef fish throughout the dive. During the surface interval we saw local fishermen in canoes known as Orang Bubu. These fishermen place rattan fish traps (Bubu traps) underwater without bait and pick up the traps when fish have unknowingly swam into the traps. They also freedive down with wooden goggles and without fins to hunt with a homemade spear. Fish caught are mainly for family consumption with the remainder sold to buy other goods.
The third dive was a muck dive on a gently sloping site with pebbles and sand. Highlights included thorny seahorses, pipefish, snake eels and nudibranchs.
July 8 – Remote reefs and night diving
Alor is located southwest of Raja Ampat and east of Komodo. The coral diversity is similar to those areas but the number of divers is much lower. There are fewer than six dive resorts in the region and few liveaboards visit. It is common to complete a whole week of diving without seeing another group underwater.
We completed two morning boat dives on healthy reefs with good fish life. In the afternoon some divers explored the house reef and in the evening we did a night dive from the boat. Notable sightings included paddle flap Rhinopias, baby frogfish, coconut octopus, ornate ghost pipefish and other small critters.
July 9 – Wall, jetty and muck dives
Today’s schedule included three of my favorite types of div. The first was a wall dive with great sponge and coral cover. The second was a jetty dive at Bakalang Jetty. The jetty has more than a dozen pillars close to each other. All are covered with sponges and corals and attract a range of fish species. We even saw frogfish and juvenile batfish among the pillars.
The third dive was an 80 minute muck dive. The main highlights were a couple of weedy Rhinopias and a wunderpus.
July 10 – House reef focus
In the early morning before breakfast a few guests went snorkeling on the house reef. The house reef at Alami Alor is accessible directly from the jetty. Coral and fish life start within a few fin kicks and extend into deeper water. The site is suitable for both wide angle and macro photography. Many guests alternated between these setups during the week.
We completed three scheduled boat dives today plus an afternoon house reef dive. With unlimited house reef diving offered by Alami Alor, some guests chose to do a dusk dive to catch a glimpse of mating mandarinfish.
For another great macro site, check out diving in Anilao.
July 11 – Walls and night diving
Morning dives were on wall sites with dense coral and sponge cover. Schools of anthias were present in large numbers. Sites in the north of Pura Island and Ternate Island had especially high fish density.
In the afternoon many divers chose to dive the house reef again and then join the night dive from the boat. This night dive included multiple seahorse sightings, bobtail squid and a starry night octopus.
July 12 – Current sites and large fish
Three to four days after the full moon, currents can be strong in Alor. Our first dive was at Current Valley in the north of Pura Island. This site sometimes produces hammerhead sightings although we did not see them today. We did see bumphead parrotfish, white tip reef sharks, giant trevally and schools of midnight snapper.
The final dive was at Ternate Island which had very healthy coral and large numbers of reef fish. After diving, the crew washed and dried all our gear and returned it to our rooms before sunset.
Summary
The diving in Alor offered a variety of experiences including healthy coral reefs, walls, muck dives, jetty dives and a house reef that could be dived at any time. Marine life included massive schools of anthias and small critters like Rhinopias, frogfish and nudibranchs. The experience is made even more unique by the opportunity to see the Orang Bubu, indigenous Alornese fishermen who still use traditional fishing methods. With few other divers in the area, all sites were enjoyed without seeing any other group of divers. The logistics of getting to Alor require extra travel time but the quality of diving and the lack of crowds underwater make it worthwhile.
Alami Alor was an excellent base for the week. The bungalows are large, modern and private. The resort features a beautiful infinity pool overlooking the water. Meals are served family style and are tasty and plentiful. The entire operation is very well managed by resort managers Alex and Uri, whose attention to detail and warm hospitality made our stay even more enjoyable.
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