A Cheng Ho Liveaboard Private Charter lets you explore Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for six days and five nights. It’s the perfect mix of adventure and seclusion. This private tour is carefully planned for families, parties of friends, and picky travelers who want to see Komodo’s remarkable biodiversity—like the spectacular manta rays in Manta Alley and the exciting currents of The Cauldron—on their own terms and away from the masses. The famous Cheng Ho, with its unique space and traditional charm, becomes your own private luxury boat, where a dedicated crew, private chef, and professional guide are there just for you. You can make your own schedule that properly blends diving and snorkeling at famous places like Batu Bolong with amazing land trips to visit the famous Komodo dragons on Rinca Island.
If you want to get the most out of your Komodo excursion, you should choose a private charter. This gives you more freedom than scheduled group outings. You and your company set the pace. You can spend a whole morning with the mantas, have a leisurely lunch while sailing past beautiful volcanic landscapes, or trade an afternoon dive for a beach barbecue on a remote pink sand beach. The Cheng Ho has a lot of deck area, which is great for relaxing, sunbathing, and taking in the beautiful views. This makes it a great place for parties of divers and non-divers. This is the best way to see the wonder of the Dragon Realm. It includes world-class diving, famous wildlife encounters, and the most comfort on a single, exclusive trip. Ask today to plan your own private Komodo trip on one of Indonesia’s most famous ships.
More about Cheng HoDives: Approximately 15 dives in total
Experience: Open Water – 30 minimum logged dives required.
Marine Life: Bumphead parrotfish, bamboo sharks, marble rays, nudibranchs, dusky sharks, jawfish, bubble coral shrimps, leaf fish, porcelain crabs, pygmy seahorses, schools of barracudas, trevally, and mackerel, white tips, black tips, grey reef sharks, turtles, octopus, frogfish, manta rays, dugong, banded pipefishes, mandarin fishes, Wonderpus, Indian Walkman
Arrive at the newly built Labuan Bajo airport in Flores. Our representative will be waiting outside the arrival hall and ready to escort you to the ship for immediate boarding. Safety briefing, safety DVD, crew introduction, necessary dive paperwork, cabin allocation, and ship orientation will take place before departing the harbor. During the journey to our first dive site, Sabolan for a check dive, take this opportunity to familiarize yourselves with the vessel and make yourself comfortable.
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
Dives: 1-2
Unbelievable amounts of rare nudibranchs fight for space on the rock with the thousands of multi-colored feather stars and unusual sea apples that hide juvenile painted frogfish and ghost pipefish. Adult frogfish swim around the rock that hosts such surprises as Coleman Shrimp, Zebra crabs, Rhinopias, hawksbill turtles, blue-ringed octopus, and Torpedo Rays.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Dives: 4 – 5mm wetsuit is recommended, Temp 22-25 degrees centigrade.
The first 2 dives of the day will be for Mantas, we will start our dive at The Stadium to the west of the rocks. In the lee area in this small bay, where the maximum depth is 30 meters, there are almost always Mantas cleaning here or traveling through to the other side of the islets. The second dive we will start in “The Channel”
We then move to Lohok Sera Bay to enjoy the small wreck here, many nudis and other macro life can be found here. Our fourth dive will be a dusk dive to go in search of the elusive mandarin fish. This spot is well known to have some large specimens.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Dives: 4
We will dive into the famous Castle Rock, well known for curious batfish, trevally, mackerel, and white-tip reef sharks. Down at 30 meters, you can see Grey Reef sharks. There is also excellent soft coral coverage. Close by there is another dive site, Crystal Rock, known for schools of surgeonfish and snappers and the occasional manta. Dive 3 will be at Shotgun, this is really a unique dive. Between the 2 islands of Gili Lawa Laut and Gili Lawa Darat is a small channel and wall. The current here attracts Giant Trevallies, Mantas, Turtles, and Barracudas. Night dive on Gili Lawa Laut reef, known for huge Spanish Dancers and other nigh time critters
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Dives: 4
Before we land to see the Komodo dragons on Rinca Island, we will visit one of the finest pinnacles you will ever see, Batu Bolong. The reef is covered in colorful corals, invertebrate life, and thousands of Anthias and other brilliant reef fish. Along the steep walls in deeper water much large fish including sharks, Napoleon wrasse, giant trevally, and dogtooth tuna. Large schools of rainbow runners and fusiliers can be observed on almost every occasion. Tatawa Kecil offers a drift dive along some of the largest fields of branching corals in Komodo. Batfish, Eagle Rays, and Turtles are some of the highlights. The afternoon will be spent trekking with park rangers as guides looking for Komodo Dragons on Rinca Island. Be sure to bring a hat, sunscreen, and your camera.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Dives: 2
The ship will arrive in Labuan Bajo early in the morning. You will be served breakfast and afterward, prepare for disembarkation. You will be transferred to the airport. Trip end.
Meals: Breakfast
No dive
Included: VAT, Fuel Surcharge, Port Fees, Drinking Water, Tea & Coffee, Full-Board Meal Plan (All meals), Snacks, Diving Package, Land Excursions, Naturalist Guide, Snorkeling Guide, Stand Up Paddleboard, Beach Towels, Cabin Towels, Complimentary Toiletries, Deck Towels, WiFi internet.
Required Extras: National Park Fees (25-35 USD per day).
Optional Extras: Gratuities, Alcoholic Beverages, Soft drinks, Nitrox, Nitrox Course (250 USD), Rental Gear, Scuba Diving Courses (60-570 USD), Laundry / Pressing Services.
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The people who work on this boat are very nice and courteous. There is a lot of room to set up your stuff, so everything is extremely comfortable.
