Raja Ampat - Ambon

You must be an Advanced Open Water diver and have logged a minimum of 50 dives to join this safari.

As with all diving activities, the dive guide has the final decision regarding any divers competency to complete any particular dive.

This trip offers diving in completely different areas: Raja Ampat, Ambon and the sites in between –  the biodiversity will be amazing! 

The itinerary allows you to explore the pristine beauty of Raja Ampat both above and below the water. The variety of marine life can be astounding, offering encounters with enormous schools of fish and regular sightings of sharks, manta rays and turtles. The islands are mostly uninhabited, with only the faint glow of a few night lights from small villages and fishing boats on the horizon and this lack of population pressure ensures abundant marine life and vibrant habitats.  En route to the world class muck diving sites of Ambon, you'll be treated to an explosion of marine life including  pristine reefs,  steep drop-offs, huge schools of fish, a plethora of pelagic species, sea mounts and critters galore. Your liveaboard voyage, whichever route it takes,  will give you the opportunity to dive some of the best sites in Indonesia.

The Dewi Nusantara is a three masted topsail schooner. At 57 metres long, the ‘Goddess of the archipelago’ is purposely designed to be totally independent for long periods at sea while offering unparalleled comfort and excellent customer service with a crew of 15. There are eight spacious staterooms and a Master and Commander suite, comfortably accommodating up to 18 adventurous divers. All feature modern amenities including air-conditioning and en-suite bathrooms. Facilities on board include a huge lounge and dining area, ample space and storage on the dive deck and a well designed multimedia camera room. All diving is from a tender and guided by an incredibly experienced dive team. Equipment is available to rent, including a limited supply of underwater cameras. Standard tanks are 12L with DIN adaptable valves. 15L tanks are available to rent. Nitrox is available.

The itinerary will vary depend on several factors including, but not limited to, weather, diving ability of guests & the number of other boats already present at the various dive sites.

Itinerary Highlights

Misool: The most southern island in Raja Ampat is surrounded by several hundred small islands and rocks. Some of the nicest soft coral reefs in the world are located in Misool. It is impossible to describe only several dive sites since there are literally hundreds of them. Every year new dive sites are discovered around Misool. Many of the dive sites around Misool are just as fishy as the ones from the Dampier Strait, with same schools of barracudas, spadefish, pinjalo snappers, and zillions of fusiliers. But Misool is also a great macro place. It is known as the kingdom of the pygmy seahorses, as well as having small allied cowries in the gorgonian seafans, and nudibranches. Within each of the following areas, there are always several dive sites. Wagma, Farondi, Balbulol, Sagof, Daram, Yellit, Boo, Warakaraket, Fiabacet, Kalig, Wayilbatan, Wayil, Pele and Nampele (Blue Water Mangroves).

Boano Island: There are two ways to go down to Ambon, however the boat usually takes the West Side of Seram. This is mostly exploratory diving however Boano Island on the North West Side of Seram has already shown some great diving and critters. There is a wall and slope area that the boat often frequents and here you can find frogfish, leaf scorpion fish, many different pipefish, cuttlefish, nudis etc. There is good soft coral here too which is great for critter hunting.

Asaudi Islands: There are a number of islands here and lots to explore. Beautiful corals, mantas and eagle rays. Also a selection of smaller nudis and critters. These islands are very pretty top side  - small coconut tree covered islands with white sandy beaches.

Pulau Lain: This small island is not far from the main entrance into Ambon Harbour. It’s a bit of an unusual site, however the marine life  is great! There's the opportunity to spot big moray eels and even the black spotted moray. Look out for frogfish, nudis, cuttlefish and more. This is also a  great site to watch convict fish.

Ambon: Off the beaten track, Ambon island is home to a number of clear water dive sites, but it’s Ambon Bay which has emerged as a world-class muck diving location. For the few who travel here, the rewards are immense. The dive sites range from black sand and rubble to jetties and wrecks, all home to a prolific marine life including but not limited to rhinopias, frogfish, octopus and seahorse. In contrast to the muck of the Bay, the clear water sites on the south and east coast offer a spectacular topography with seamounts, caves and archways adorned with soft corals. It’s at these you can expect to see larger pelagic species such as Napolean wrasse, shark, ray and grouper.