No diving around Jakarta.
I was diving only on Bali where you can find excellend spots on north. Don't
dive and don't buy any dives in south - Kuta, Sanur. Go to Tulamben. Diving
is cheap - about 30$ for two dives. I paid 17$ daily for renting 15 tank,
weihts and refill. It's enough for two-three dives

Sulawesi is probably the best in Indonesia, but that's my future plans.
Flores, Lombok and Sumatra have also interesting spots.

If you have the money and they have the opening on the boat, book
yourself a trip with the liveaboard "M/Y Pelagian".  I had an
excellent 2 week trip with them a few years ago that left from Bali's
harbor.  We dove around Lombok and Flores and then off of Komodo
Island's protected marine sanctuary.  They also do a land tour on the
island of Kimodo itself that takes you trekking thru the jungle in
search of komodo dragons in the wild...  and you will see them !!
It was an excellent ship, friendly staff and great diving.  Here's
their site.  Look at  'destinations'  esp because they switch up each
year but I know that they are back off of Bali this year.

http://www.diveasiapacific.com/

I got the PADI advanced certification with Bali Scuba (www.baliscuba.com)
last October (2003).  The dive operation was remarkably well run.  The
owner, Chris, struck me as a remarkably honest and kind business man,
something that is harder to find in Indonesia than I wish it was.  All costs
were clear upfront, and were reasonable for the region - as opposed to the
typical "bule" gouging and surprise fees.  For instance, a driver and porter
met us at the airport, carried my gear to the van, and drove us 30 minutes
to our hotel for about $2.  The hotel for the first night was $15 or so,
right across the street from the dive shop, and quite nice inside.  They
even had a good selection of XL gear, not a common thing there.

My divemaster/instructor, Simon Gilbert, was patient and unendingly helpful.
He's their best English speaker, being from England, and a really good guy.
The other dive master of theirs that I met, Minyan, also seemed nice.

We dove all our dives in Tulamben.  The visibiilty was quite poor due to mud
runoff into the water, and I know the effect was expected to be long term.
If I was making dive plans for Bali today, I would try to get updated
information about the water visibility.

The wreck there is large (100 meters) and very cool to explore.  There are
over 400 species of fish and such making their homes in/around the wreck,
and another 50 or so species that visit.

All the dives we did were an easy shore swim.

I highly recommend the operation Bali Scuba.  My sweetheart, who is
Indonesian from Jakarta and lived there until last December, was also
impressed with them.  They can set you up with wherever on the island you
want to go.

I understand that the best diving in the region is likely found at Sulawesi,
but I don't have any local info.  Feel free to email me if you would like to
know more about my experience in Indonesia.  My sweetheart can also help you
translate Indonesian if you find yourself trying to understand a website
full of Bahasa.

Cheers!

David Luecke
Titusville, FL