It ranges from absolutely nothing to 'get me out of here', and can change quickly. We pay close attention to the tides and time of the month when selecting dive sites, and check carefully before entering the water, but the Alor currents are fickle and unpredictable. It's one of the reasons our tagline is "Expect The Unexpected" ​​ Current junkies should come at full moon or new moon. Chilled out divers will prefer dates around the half moons.​

Bring your own or use ours. We don't take them on every dive but there are a few sites where we recommend them. If you've never used one don't worry, it's pretty easy and we can guide you through it.

Each of our BCDs has an SMB in its pocket, but feel free to bring your own instead. If you haven't practiced using it lately we can show you how.

The water temperature is highly variable. ​ Dive sites to the north tend to be 26-28°C. Southerly sites are usually cooler at 24-26°C. There can be cold upwellings down to 17-20°C.​ We have 3mm and 5mm wetsuits for guests, plus a few shorties if you need to 'double bag' yourself. We also have a small selection of hoods. From August to November, in the channel between Lazy Turtle Dive and Pulau Kepa, a localised phenomenon called Air Laut Dingin (lit. cold sea water) can occasionally occur. For a couple of hours an extreme upwelling event brings very cold water (around 12°C) from the Savu Sea up into the channel. Fish are stunned by the cold shock and float unconscious to be gathered up by competing dolphins, seabirds and villagers.​ Quite the spectacle.

Health care facilities in Alor are rudimentary and if you need a chamber you'd have to go to Labuan Bajo or Bali. We recommend diving conservatively and having dive insurance. We offer DAN (Divers Alert Network) Short Term Dive Insurance from 1 day - 1 month. It's good for anywhere in Indonesia and coverage begins immediately. Sign up in advance or arrange it when you arrive.

It depends. Most people want to see a bit of everything that Alor has to offer so we usually do reef/walls in the morning and muck in the afternoon. If you have strong feelings (love or hate) we'll do our best to adjust accordingly, but obviously if two guests are on opposite sides of that particular divide then compromises must be made. We only have one boat. 😊

We don't know. From April to Nov it's typically dry and sunny, but climate change affects us all and we are already experiencing occasional rainstorms throughout the year.

We're open from mid-March to mid-Dec. Actual dates vary, it depends on what bookings we get. If we have no confirmed bookings we may open a bit late or close a bit early (we are Lazy Turtles after all.) Rainy season is usually Jan/Feb but with climate change shifting things around we're seeing rain at times throughout the year. Visibility is usually excellent throughout the dive season with 30+m vis being the norm. If there is an unusual weather event the vis can drop for a few days. Current junkies should aim for dates around the full moon and new moon. Those who prefer more relaxed diving should come around the half moons.

We choose our dive sites the day before we dive them, and operate a booking system with other dive operators so that we don't descend on sites at the same time. Dive site decisions are made based on guest preferences for muck/walls/reef/currents/particular marine life species the expected conditions given the phase of the moon and tide cycle, guests' diving ability other dive operators' plans Given the dynamic nature of Alor's water system it is not unusual to arrive at a site and discover it's not actually safe to dive so we have to relocate. Please do let us know what kind of diving you enjoy and what you hope to get from your trip to Alor, but ultimately we will select what we consider to be the best sites for the group based on the above criteria.

Sorry, no. We don't have cameras to rent. We also don't provide a private photographer service.

Probably not. We do our best to group divers of similar diving ability and interests, and we try to give photographers a bit of space to capture their shot, but we are a small dive centre with limited space on the boat and only a small crew. Depending on how many bookings we get we could be really busy with no-one available to guide privately, or you could get lucky and be the only guest on the boat.

The best chance of success is around the new moon and full moon when the currents are strongest, however there are no guarantees. Large schools of hammerheads were seen fairly regularly up until midway through 2022. In early 2023 and 2024 (April -July) there were only occasional sightings of lone hammers or small groups. Toward the end of 2024 they seemed to be returning with more frequent sightings and larger groups.... so fingers crossed. This dive site is extremely popular at those times of the month as all the local dive operators and live-aboards try to schedule a drop time for their guests. Access to the site depends on: ocean conditions (if there are big waves we cannot go) diver ability (we hook at 30m at the top of a wall and the currents can be very strong) winning the race to secure a drop time - we do our best and dive ops that miss out one day are usually given priority the next day's negotiations.

We rarely see mola during dives, but throughout the year there's the occasional chance of seeing them at the surface. They prefer the cold upwellings brought by the stronger tides around full moon and new moon, and the best chance for sightings is later in the year (Aug - Nov).

Pygmy blue whales migrate through the Alor-Pantar Strait twice a year, heading north in late May to early July, and south in late September to early November. There is also a chance of sperm whale sightings. We do not have the capacity to offer dedicated whale watching tours (check out SAVU South Alor for that) so sightings are extremely lucky events for us. We see smaller cetaceans far more regularly. Dolphins frequently play in the channel between Lazy Turtle and Kepa Island, and it's not unusual to encounter pods of dolphins on our way to dive sites. Species include spinner dolphins, melon-headed whales (aka electra dolphins) and Fraser's dolphins.

Alor is an important nursery area for thresher sharks. Historically they were hunted to the tune of several hundred sharks each year, but when Jakarta University-led Thresher Shark Initiative surveyed the catch they discovered that 82% were pregnant females. They continue to conduct education and out reach programs around the Alor archipelago and helped the local shark fishing families find alternative employment (eg fishing for different species or raising chickens) so now only a couple of families continue the shark hunting tradition. That said, it is a very lucky event to find one on a dive. They definitely prefer the cooler waters of the more southern dive sites, but sightings, for us at least, are infrequent.

Mawar (Rose) the "friendly" dugong is a bit of a local legend. Around Mali Beach, near the airport, the seagrass provides a good habitat for dugong, however, for several years there was only one rather lonely individual, called Mawar. He began to recognise the sound of local boatman, Pak Ones's boat and would come to visit him. This became a regular event. Tourists used to snorkel with Mawar but unfortunately Mawar is more than just a little bit, ahem "friendly" and after someone got bitten it is no longer permitted to enter the water with him. Mawar will come up to the boat and pleasure himself on the out riggers so you should get some good close-up sightings of him. There are now a couple of other dugong also resident in the area, but hopefully Mawar will continue to keep showing up to see his boat-borne friends. Visiting Mawar is a popular half day outing for divers on their final afternoon in Alor whilst observing their no-fly time and drying kit.

No, on Kepa you'll find around 15 families, La P'tite Kepa Resort and Marangki Resort. On the mainland Alor Kecil Cafe is open in the evening so difficult to access from Kepa, there are some small village shops (selling soft drinks, snacks, cigarettes and pop mi noodles) in Alor Kecil and other villages en route to town, the nearest shops, bars and restaurants are in Kalabahi.

Yes and no. You just need to hail an OJEK LAUT (water taxi) to take you on the 5 minute journey costing just Rp20.000. That's the easy part. The harder part is that there may or may not be an ojek laut captain waiting at the harbour so you may have to ask around or wait for someone to turn up. Returning to Kepa in the evening can be particularly problematic. Even with the phone numbers of local boatmen on speed-dial we have struggled getting transport after dark.

Yes, we can. Please let us know in advance. There will still be a fish, chicken or egg dish available for other guests, but our cooks will take care to prepare the tempe, tofu, and vegetable dishes without the addition of oyster sauce or fish sauce. We can also accommodate gluten intolerant guests with an array of wheat-free snacks for the surface interval.

Yes! Let us know in advance so we can get some in from Kalabahi. We don't have a refrigerator (because there's no mains electricity) but we bring blocks of ice over to Kepa each day which keep beers tolerably cool in the icebox.

There is not. There is very good Telkomsel mobile data coverage on Kepa and wifi at Lazy Turtle.

No, we do not have 24/7 electricity so cannot offer AC or fans. Our rooms usually maintain a comfortable temperature due to the shady grass roof and natural airflow.

Tourism infrastructure is still quite rudimentary and little English is spoken. Unless you have a good grasp of Indonesian and confident motorbike skills we recommend using a local tour guide/translator to help you get the most out of your land-based activities and interactions with Alorese communities. Attractions include: Mawar (Rose) the dugong (probably the most popular attraction for our diving guests) Takpala traditional village Mangroves Ikat Weaving Off-the-beaten-path beaches (some of these are quite far away and may need an overnight stay) Waterfalls and hotsprings Museum of 1000 Moko Drums Gunung Sirung (Pantar Island) Tour Guides: Exotic Alor Mila +62 822 3787 0224 Alor Tour Guide Sam +62 812 3742 8498 MALA Tours +62-812-8998 9898

The bamboo fish traps are called bubu and are an integral part of Alorese traditional life. No doubt many of you feel like we do, and would prefer to see fish swimming in the sea rather than in a trap or on a plate, but we also recognise that many people still enjoy eating fish (we happily serve it to our pescatarian guests) and in particular, in Alor it is the most readily available source of protein for the community. So if fishing is going to happen, then this at least is one of the more reef-safe ways to do it. The bubu are placed carefully and weighted down in a location that is the responsibility of a particular family. The fisherman checks his bubu frequently by swimming down to inspect it (often wearing handmade wooden goggles secured with bits of inner tube). When the bubu is full enough, the fisherman unties the rope, swims it up to his boat, and carefully pulls his bubu to the surface to bring in the catch. Any broken traps that are not removed and repaired will biodegrade rather than become entangled on the reef like nets and lines. Some of them are even secured with biodegradable handmade vine rope. There are some obvious downsides - the bubu traps a wide range of species, including parrotfish that are vital for reef health, and inevitably there is some damage to the surrounding reef, but it definitely does not cause the widespread destruction of many other fishing methods, and the fish in the traps appear less distressed than those caught up in stray nets. On a personal level, if I ignore their purpose I actually think the bubu are rather beautiful, intricate structures. They are certainly a popular subject for many photographers as evidenced by George Kao's highly commended UPY entry.

There is a daily flight between Kupang's El Tari Airport (KOE) to Alor's Mali Airport (ARD). Wings Air IW1943 KOE - ARD 08:30 - 09:30 Wings Air IW1942 ARD - KOE 10:05 - 11:05 There are connections to Kupang from Jakarta, Bali, Surabaya etc but currently the only ones arriving early enough into Kupang to make the connection are the Citilink and Batik Air flights from Jakarta departing around 2am, so you may need to plan a night in Kupang. Your flight booking may or may not include a baggage allowance. It depends whether the flight is booked as part of a multi-flight trip, or as a stand-alone. You can add pre-paid baggage after you have booked your ticket. There is also a fastboat service KM Express Bahari 7F running 3x a week. You need to arrive early at the harbour (8/9am) to buy your ticket, wait for the ferry to depart (10am or later), and the crossing itself takes 6-8 hours, so in all it will take up an entire day. From Kupang Tenau Harbour departing Mon/Wed/Fri From Alor Kalabahi Harbour departing Tue/Thu/Sat There is also a ferry between Kalabahi and Larantuka but finding information about the schedule is virtually impossible. It seems you just have to go to the harbour and ask when the ferry is next departing.

Honestly, getting advance information about ferries is a form of witchcraft I have not mastered. The only accurate way seems to be to check at the harbour when you're here.

We can recommend a few different people to help you find a scooter. The cost is around IDR150.000 per day