Fenides Alor, Ambon & Beyond

On a usual day, you can expect to enjoy the following schedule:

• 6:00 Rise and shine with hot tea, coffee, and freshly baked pastries.
• 6:30 Dive 1 at sunrise. Dive in before anyone else – it’s just you and the fish!
• 8:00 Delicious buffet-style continental breakfast featuring a wide selection of food for every dietary requirement.
• 10:00 Dive 2. Enjoy the full glory of the sun’s rays and pristine clear water.
• 12:00 A la carte gourmet lunch served on the front deck dining area.
• 14:00 Dive 3. An opportunity for you to visit some lesser-known sites or get some macro photo sessions in.
• 16:30 Delicious fresh snacks served – and, on some days, an afternoon beach session or sunset hike.
• 18:30 Night dive. A photographer’s dream – a chance to catch the full range of macro life at our secret spots.
• 20:00 Delicious western-fusion dinner to keep you going through the night.
• 21:00 A chance to debrief and log your dives with the dive crew and your buddies as we go through our library of marine-life books, look back at the photos from the day, and say your good nights.

• Day 1. Check-in on board Fenides takes place in the morning and you are welcomed on board with freshly baked pastries when pressed coffee when you arrive. After your welcome briefing and introduction to the boat we will spend some time gearing up and preparing for our first dives of the trip. The first dives will spend in Ambon Bay. Ambon has several options for diving such as wreaks, caves or doing some really
  interesting muck dives looking for rhinophias, frogfish (including the psychedelic frogfish), harlequin shrimps, and many other critters. We will do 2 day dives and a night dive on this first day then sail over night to the Banda islands
• Day 2-3. The next two days will be spent around the Banda Islands. Many of the dive sites around the Bandas are wall dives, covered in massive gorgonians, soft corals, barrel sponges and some very interesting rock topographies. There are also dive sites with huge pinnacles covered in enormous groups of schooling pyramid butterflyfish, triggerfish and pelagic fishes such as tunas passing through. There are dives sites with spectacular hard coral reefs next to the volcano, and great black sand muck dives for an extra fix of macro critters. Heading slightly further out on our expeditions we might even be able to find some large pelagic action, with big sharks common in this area. We aim to complete a total of 7 dives in the Bandas
• Day 4. Arriving early morning from an overnight sail from the Banda islands, Manuk,is an extinct volcano in the middle of the Banda Sea and, is one of the few places in Indonesia where there are huge aggregations of sea snakes, Chinese sea snakes and banded sea kraits. Dives surrounded on all sides by sea snakes is a real unique experience. The black sandy slopes of the volcano are covered with hard coral reefs, ridges covered in gorgonians with thousands of fusiliers and pelagic fishes such as mackerels, tunas and wahoos passing through. 4 dives are planned for this wonderful location before heading north in the evening for Pulau Koon
• Day 5. Pulau Koon is a small island on the southeast of Ceram, it is about half way between Raja Ampat and the Banda Islands and the perfect place to stop and dive and rest. Walls covered in soft corals, and sandy slopes littered with coral bommies. This island is also home to large amounts of schooling fish and pelagics, barracudas, bigeye trevallies, red snappers, pompanos, batfish and giant groupers are to name a few. We plan for 3 dives and some beach time before and evening sail north to Misool.
• Day 6-7. The next 1 and half days will be around the islands of Misool. There are literally hundreds of dive sites in this area, so your cruise director will pick the best and most appropriate sites for the trip. However, it’s worth noting the area is a heaven for wide angle photographers and some of the healthiest and photogenic corals reefs in the world are located here. Above water is no let down either and you will have the chance to paddle board through the coral atolls and discover the fantastic inner lagoons, crystal blue water and endemic wild bird life. 5 or 6 dives will be planned along with surface activities before an early afternoon and night time sail towards the Dampier strait. 
• Day 8-10. The last 2 days of diving will be spent around the Dampier Strait. This is the large channel between the island of Waigeo to the north and Batanta Island. Although it may be the last 2 days diving on this trip, its safe to say some of the best has been saved until last. The Dampier Strait is known for the famous of diving, from giant mantas at manta sandy, to mangroves and beautiful reefs at cape Kri. Many pinnacles and sea mounts covered in schooling fish can also be found in this area. It is also a great location for critters and macro subjects, with several species of pygmy seahorses, and there are also several jetties to do some great and different night dives. 8 dives are planned to end the trip on a real high note and wet you’re appetite for the next trip on Fenides “all around raja”
• Day 11. The last day will be spend sailing to Sorong and packing up saying farewells. Check out time will be early afternoon where we will arrange transfers to the airport or your hotel.