Frequently asked questions

Getting here

The full route, and what we can arrange

• What flights go to Banda Aceh (BTJ)?

  Iskandar Muda International Airport in Banda Aceh, airport code BTJ, is the one to book. International flights arrive from Kuala Lumpur and Penang in Malaysia. Several airlines fly in daily from Jakarta and Medan.

• How do I get from Medan overland?

  Night buses run between Medan and Banda Aceh and take about twelve hours. Several airlines fly the same route daily if you would rather not spend a night on a bus. We can book the bus and the ferry for you, so ask us before you set off.

• How do I get from Banda Aceh to Pulau Weh?

  By ferry, from Ulee Lheue port in Banda Aceh to Balohan port on Pulau Weh. The fast ferry takes about 45 minutes and the slow ferry about 90. Tickets come from the Express Bahari app for the fast boat and the Ferizy app for the slow one. Choose Ulee-Lheue as the port of origin and Balohan as the destination.

  Check-in happens at the port, you need the ID you booked with, and the ticket expires if you check in later than the time printed on it.

• What transport runs from Balohan harbour?

  Taxis, tuk-tuks and motorbike taxis meet every ferry at Balohan. Ask for Bubble Addict Diving Centre at Gapang and the driver will know it. Cars and scooters can be rented at the port as well.

• Do you provide airport or ferry pickups?

  Yes. We arrange transfers from the port and from the airport, and we can book your ferry and bus tickets too. Send us your arrival date and time on WhatsApp before you travel.

• How many days should I plan for Pulau Weh?

  Most divers here stay four to six days. That covers the sites that need calm water and still leaves one morning for the island, since there is no diving from Thursday evening until Friday afternoon. With 20 dive sites a week is not too long, and an Open Water course needs two to three days of training on top of the diving you want to do afterwards.

Diving with us

Fun dive prices and what is included

• Can I come and dive alone as a solo traveller?

  Yes, and plenty of our guests do. Prices are per person and per dive, so there is no supplement for travelling alone, and you dive with a guide and whoever else is out that day. There is a dormitory if you would rather not pay for a room to yourself.

• How many divers are in a group?

  Small. We do not put a number on it, but it usually works out at two or three divers to a divemaster and about five people on the boat. It varies with the week, so ask us what your dates look like.

• Can non-divers or snorkellers come out on the boat?

  Yes. A snorkeller can come out on the dive boat while their partner dives, so nobody has to spend the morning waiting on the beach. Tell us who is diving and who is not when you book and we will tell you what it costs.

• How long is the boat ride to the dive sites?

  The nearest sites are 3 minutes from the shop and most of the rest are within a quarter of an hour, so the ride is part of the morning rather than the whole of it. Rondo Island at the northern tip is the exception, about 2 hours each way.

• Do I need a refresher if I have not dived in a year?

  Yes. After six months without diving a refresher is required before you go out on the boat, a short session with an instructor in shallow water to get your skills and your buoyancy back. Tell us the date of your last dive when you write and we will fit it into your first day.

• Can I dive the Sophie Rickmers wreck?

  The Sophie Rickmers is a large World War Two wreck in the sheltered bay of Pria Laot, about 15 minutes away by boat. It is rated for confirmed divers, not for anyone straight out of an Open Water course. Tell us your certification level and how many dives you have logged and we will say whether it is one for this trip.

• Do you rent dive computers and cameras?

  Yes, dive computers, cameras and GoPros are all available at the shop. A full set of dive gear is already included in the price of every fun dive and every course. Renting a set on its own, for a day you are not diving with us, is Rp. 250.000 a day.

• Is there a house reef?

  Yes, 5 minutes from the shop, and you walk in from the beach. It is sandy and shallow with good coral, razorfish, ghost pipefish and at least five kinds of scorpionfish. A shore dive there is Rp. 190.000.

• Can I use my own equipment?

  Yes, and 10% comes off the price if you bring a full set. There is a gear room for guests who arrive with their own kit, and fresh water for rinsing it at the end of the day. Tell us what you are bringing when you book so we only put out what you need.

Courses

Every course and what it costs

• SSI or PADI, which should I do?

  Either card is recognised worldwide. SSI, PADI and most of the international diving federations recognise each other, so the difference is in the teaching rather than in where you can dive. SSI works from person to person, is conservative about safety procedure, and can be cheaper.

  We teach the SSI programme. A PADI certification can be added afterwards as a paid upgrade.

• How long does an Open Water course take?

  Two to three days of training in the water, plus the theory. You can do the theory online before you arrive, which leaves your days here for diving. If you are short on time, the Scuba Diver course covers the first half and you can finish the rest anywhere within six months, with full credit for what you have already done.

• What is the minimum age?

  Ten years old. Between 10 and 14 it is the junior Open Water course: children under 12 dive to 12 metres, older ones to 18 metres. From 15 it is the standard certification, with the same 18 metre limit as an adult.

• Do I need to be a strong swimmer?

  You need to be comfortable in the water rather than fast in it. If you are not sure, start with Try Scuba: about three hours, a guided shore dive with an instructor, no certification and nothing to commit to. Tell us honestly how you feel about the sea when you write and we will point you at the right thing.

• What is included in the course price?

  The rental of the diving gear. What sits outside the price is the SSI membership application, which you pay to SSI directly once you are certified, and the PADI certification if you want that as well. Bring your own full set of gear and 10% comes off.

Conditions and seasons

All the dive sites on the map

• What is the best time of year to dive Pulau Weh?

  We dive all year round. The water sits at 28 to 29 degrees whatever month you arrive, so there is no cold season and no closed season. What changes is the sea state and what happens to be passing through.

• What are the currents like, and is it suitable for Open Water divers?

  Both calm and fast, depending on where we go. Of the 20 sites, 4 are rated Open Water and another 4 intermediate: sheltered reefs and sandy shallows with no real current. The drifts and the pinnacles, Arus Paleeh and Batee Tokong among them, run hard and are for experienced divers. We pick the site to suit the group on the day.

• What is the water temperature and the visibility?

  28 to 29 degrees all year, and visibility up to 30 metres. It is not 30 metres every day. Pulau Weh sits where the Indian Ocean meets the Andaman Sea, and the plankton that takes the edge off the visibility is the same plankton that brings the big animals in.

• When can I see whale sharks, mantas or mola mola?

  We cannot promise you a month. Devil rays migrate past in season, and manta rays, mola mola and whale sharks all cross Pulau Weh, but they are passing animals and no month guarantees them. The reef itself is busy every day of the year.

• What will I see underwater?

  On an ordinary dive: turtles, octopus, cuttlefish, schools of fusiliers and jackfish, barracuda, and blacktip and whitetip sharks on the deeper sites. For small things there are frogfish, leaf scorpionfish, ghost and robust pipefish, peacock mantis shrimp and a field of garden eels. Tell your guide what you want to see and they will choose the site for it.

• Is Pulau Weh good for beginners?

  Yes. The house reef is 5 minutes away and you walk in from the beach, and sites like Rubiah Jetty are sandy, clear and free of any real current. The island also has walls, canyons and hard drift dives waiting for later, so it is not a place you outgrow in a week.

Safety

• Is there a recompression chamber?

  Yes, in Sabang, on the island itself, so treatment does not start with a flight to the mainland. The boat carries oxygen and a first aid kit as well.

• Do I need dive insurance?

  We recommend it. Ordinary travel insurance often excludes scuba diving or caps the depth, so read your policy before you travel and add dive cover if it does not. The chamber is close by, but treatment is not free.

• What safety equipment is on the boat?

  An oxygen tank and a first aid kit go out on every trip, and the boat radio connects directly to the coast guard rescue centre in Sabang. Our tanks are checked after every dive and the compressor is opened and serviced every six months. If anything on your rented set does not feel right, say so on the boat and we will change it.

Money and practicalities

The whole price list

• How much does a dive cost?

  A single fun dive is Rp. 450.000. The price per dive falls the more you book, down to Rp. 330.000 a dive on the 10 plus pack. Guide, boat, tanks, weights and a full set of rental gear are all in that price.

• Can I pay by card, or should I bring cash?

  Cash, credit card with a 5% charge, or Wise with a 0.9% charge in any currency. Cash in rupiah is the simplest and the cheapest of the three. Gapang is a beach rather than a town, so bring enough with you for the first few days.

• Is there an ATM on the island?

  Yes. The nearest one is about five minutes away by scooter, and we can sort out the scooter as well. Take out what you need for a few days at a time rather than relying on one trip.

• What else do I have to pay for on top?

  Nothing on a fun dive. Gear is included, prices are per person and per use, and there is no bill waiting at the end of the week. What sits outside the dive price is the SSI membership application after a course, the PADI certification if you want one, and the extras you choose, like a night dive at Rp. 600.000 or a shore dive at Rp. 190.000.

• What does a week roughly cost?

  Using our own published prices: five dives in a pack is Rp. 1.900.000, and a bed is Rp. 75.000 a night in the dormitory or Rp. 250.000 in a Classic Bungalow. That puts 7 nights and five dives between Rp. 2.425.000 and Rp. 3.650.000, before food, ferries and anything you rent. Dive more and it gets cheaper twice over: the per-dive rate drops with the bigger packs, and every ten dives carry a free one.

Aceh, culture and customs

Every day the sea is closed

• Is it true that diving is prohibited on Fridays?

  Partly. There is no diving from Thursday at 6 pm until Friday at 2 pm, out of respect for the sea after the tsunami of 2004. From Friday afternoon we are back on the boat. Local holidays and memorial days close the sea as well.

• What should I wear around the village?

  Cover your shoulders and your knees away from the beach. Aceh is the one province in Indonesia that applies Islamic law, and the local dress code is modest. A shirt and long shorts or a sarong is enough, and foreign women are not expected to cover their hair.

• Can I wear a swimming costume on the beach in front of my bungalow?

  Yes. Swimwear is normal on Gapang beach and in the water, and local women often swim fully clothed. Put something on for the short walk back to your bungalow, the café or the road.

• Is alcohol available?

  No, not openly. Aceh applies Islamic law and alcohol is not sold the way it is elsewhere in Indonesia, so do not plan on a beach bar and do not bring any into the province. The café at the dive centre does coffee and fresh juice.

• Does Sharia law apply to visitors?

  In principle it applies to everyone in the province, visitors included. In practice it comes down to dressing modestly away from the beach, leaving alcohol alone and keeping public affection private. Ask us if you are unsure about something.

• What happens during Ramadan and Eid?

  We do not dive on the first day of Ramadan, which starts at 7 pm the evening before, nor on Idul Fitri or Idul Adha. The dates move every year with the lunar calendar, so check with us if your trip falls near them. During the fasting month, be discreet about eating, drinking and smoking outdoors in daylight.

The island

Where you sleep and what it costs

• Should I stay in Iboih or Gapang?

  We are in Gapang, so weigh this accordingly. Gapang is a long shaded beach with a handful of places to eat, and the boat leaves from the front of the dive centre. Iboih, further round the coast, has more places to stay and more going on in the evening.

• What is there to do on a day without diving?

  Rent a scooter and ride the island. We can arrange the rental, along with laundry, island tours and a restaurant recommendation. If you would rather not move, the beach is in front of the dive centre and the café is behind it.

• Are there waterfalls, Kilometre Zero and hot springs?

  Yes, and they are the usual day out when the sea is closed. Kilometre Zero, the monument at the westernmost point of Indonesia, sits at the far end of the island. There is a waterfall inland, and hot springs where the volcanic ground meets the sea. Ask us at the shop which are worth the ride on the day.

• Is there WiFi?

  Yes, at the dive centre. It is island WiFi, fine for messages, maps and booking your next ferry, slow for uploading a week of dive video. If you need to work while you are here, plan for that before you book.