Take the ultimate luxury trip through the Coral Triangle on the Samambaia liveaboard 12D11N Ambon, Sorong. This is the best trip that combines the famous muck diving in Ambon with the coral reefs in Raja Ampat, which are home to the most species of coral in the world. This 12-day trip on the sumptuous Samambaia takes you west across the Banda Sea on a historic route. It starts in Ambon Bay, where you will look for unique creatures like the multicolored frogfish. Then your trip takes you to the Banda Islands’ secluded, fish-rich volcanic slopes before sailing into the famous center of Raja Ampat. The trip ends in the colorful, fish-filled canals of the Dampier Strait in Sorong. This liveaboard from Ambon to Sorong is the best choice for experienced divers and photographers who want to view the widest range of marine life, from small details to stunning wide-angle seascapes, all in five-star comfort.
The Samambaia Liveaboard Ambon, Sorong itinerary is a lesson in how to plan an expedition. It lasts 12 days and gives you a deep look at how marine wildlife changes across the archipelago. The trip gives you the time you need to thoroughly enjoy three very different places: Ambon’s volcanic mud, the Banda Islands’ exciting blue-water pelagic action, and Raja Ampat’s complicated coral ecosystems. This itinerary has interesting cultural stops, such as visits to old Dutch forts in the Banda Islands. You will travel through these famous waterways in elegance on the Samambaia, which is known for its luxurious comfort, gourmet food, and attentive service. This 12-day Ambon to Sorong trip is the best luxury liveaboard trip for the discerning diver who wants the most complete Indonesia liveaboard package that covers all the ecosystems. It takes you through the living heart of the Spice Islands and the Coral Triangle.
More about Samambaia LiveaboardDives: Approximately 30 dives in total
Experience: Open Water – 30 minimum logged dives required.
Critter Life: Rhinopias, Ghostpipefish, Pipefish, Pipehorses, Seahorses, Pygmy Seahorses, all sorts of Crustaceans, many different species of Cephalopods, Frogfish, Nudibranchs, Pegasus, Ambon Scorpionfish
Big Stuff: Sharks, Tunas, Jacks, Manta Rays, Eagle Rays, Napoleon Wrasses and surprises
The combination of Macro Life and action packed current dives combined with a cultural experience make this itinerary very unique.
The chances to have close encounters with whales (Blue Whales, Sperm Whales, Pilot Whales and others) are very good whilst cruising the Banda Sea.
Day 1: Embarkation
Arrival by plane to Ambon. You will be picked up by crew members at the airport. Embarkation in the port of Ambon. A general orientation follows.
Day 2: Ambon
After an initial general dive briefing, we will do the check dive with you at an easy and protected dive site. Check dive in the sense of you checking your gear and weights, making
sure the camera housings are properly sealed and the guides checking your buoyancy. No skill demonstrations are required. We will thereafter offer two more dives in the Bay of
Ambon. One in the afternoon and one for sunset. All of these days will be muck dives. World-class critter hunting. That’s what Ambon is famous for. Rhinopias, Frogfish, Ghostpipefish, Harlequin Shrimps and if you are really lucky: the Psychedelic Frogfish that has been very recently found here again.
Day 3: Nusa Laut
In the early morning, we will arrive at the island of Nusa Laut, which is a great example of how active conservation by the local community can not only preserve the reefs but actually make them even better. We see here for many years a proper growth in biomass. We have four spectacular dive sites here, either wall or slope diving. Great variety of reef fish as well as large schools of jacks. Bumphead Parrotfish like to pass by here also. A lot of macro life can be found in the wall as well.
Day 4 & Day 5: Banda Islands
The famous Spice Islands, the island group around Banda Neira, is also historically very interesting. Wars were fought over these islands by colonial powers as these islands
used to be the only islands in the world where nutmeg grew. A historical walk through the town of Banda Neira with its museum and two forts is a must. An interesting option for
ambitious challenge seekers is to climb the volcano Gunung Api, which rises ‘only’ 600 m above sea level. Which in the tropics however turns into a strenuous climb. The diving here is very diverse and spectacular. As these volcanic islands rise up to the surface surrounded by deep sea water, the chances for sightings of large pelagics are very good. In the past, we’ve often encountered schooling hammerheads here. A dive site called ‘Lava Flow’ is one of the most pristine hard coral reefs you will ever see. After the last eruption of Gunung Api in 1988 a flow of lava made its way down into the ocean and destroyed the whole reef. What has grown back ever since will boggle your mind. In the harbour of Banda Neira, we’ve got a beautiful Mandarin Fish dive waiting for you. Other highlights include: ‘The Cathedral’, ‘Batu Kapal’ and ‘Karang Hatta’.
Day 6: Koon & Madorang
At the southeastern tip of Seram, there is a little island named Koon. It’s basically three dive sites in one, performing best always at one spot, depending on the current. The name of the site says it all: ‘Too Many Fish’. You will have a hard time focusing on what to look at. A fish soup of Fusiliers and Surgeonfish is divided by hunting Giant Trevallies and Jacks, enormous Giant Groupers are all of a sudden looking at you whilst a school of hundreds of Batfish is passing by. Mobula and Manta rays might fly by. Leopard Sharks like to relax in overhangs of the wall on the north side. Macro life is plenty as well. Hairy Shrimp, Pygmie Seahorses, Tiny Frogfish, Robust Ghostpipefish. This dive site literally has it all. After two dives before lunch, we will head north towards Raja Ampat on the way we will do a wall dive along the pretty walls of Madorang.
Day 7: Misool
Coming into Raja Ampat from the south, we start diving here around the islands of SE Misool. The first dive site we reach is called ‘Magic Mountain’. Yes. It is magic. Situated in a ‘No-Take-Zone’, which was ten years ago established by friends of the Misool Eco Resort, the amount of biomass is just off the scale. Blacktip, Whitetip and Grey Reef Sharks. Napoleon Wrasses. Stonefish. Wobbegong Sharks. Barracudas. Not to forget about the Mantas who come in to get cleaned. You will have a hard time focussing on a particular scene on this reef. It’s happening everywhere. Magic! We will offer two more day dives around the eastern part of the island of Boo. One of the signature dive sites of this area is ‘Boo Windows’ – a spectacular swim-through gave the dive site its fame, and the marine life surrounding it will keep us busy watching during the whole dive. Another great dive site in this area is ‘Hidung Boo’ where you might see the biggest sea fans you’ve ever seen in your life.
Day 8: Misool – Fiabatjet
Right in the heart of the No-Take-Zone. ‘Tank Rock’, ‘Nudi Rock’ & ‘Whale Rock’ are the famous and commonly dived sites here. There are five more dive sites in the very proximity
which are as good, if not even better. We prefer to go a bit off the beaten track here. The reefs are covered in soft coral in all colours you can imagine. Surrounded by the most
colourful reef fish. More Fusiliers than one could possibly count. Jacks, Trevallies, Barracudas, Sharks. And if you happen to dive here on a day with bad visibility. Just face the reef. It’s packed with macro life. Several species of Pygmy Seahorses, Nudibranchs, and tiny Crustaceans – every niche in these reefs is filled with life.
Day 9: Misool – Farondi
This is a very exciting part of SE Misool. A lot of life and colours. Combined with a very special topography. Caverns, caves, swim thru’s. And if you happen to hit this area at the
right time (which changes every season) you will find yourself amidst a bloom of small silvery fish and silversides, and the hunters are just nearby: Mobula Rays. In the dozens.
There are four popular dive sites here. We’ve got another six spots that are hardly ever dived. A nice big variety to pick and choose from.
Day 10: Dampier Strait
The dive- and snorkel sites in the Dampier Strait stand for action-packed dives in the favourite kind of fish soup – the one that is still alive and surrounds us in the water. Encounters with Manta Rays are very common here. The reef of the island of Kri is the current world record holder with the highest number of fish species ever counted by a
scientist in a single dive – Dr Gerry Allen came up with 374 different fish species counted. Again: in one single dive. Dive sites here are exposed to current so it’s all about the right timing to get the most out of it. And we know how to time it here. Popular dive sites here: ‘Kap Kri’, ‘Chicken’, ‘Sardine’, ‘Mike’s Point’ and ‘Blu Majik’.
Day 11: Dampier
Towards the end of the week and the end of the cruise for some other liveaboards, it can get a bit busy here. We don’t like that and therefore move away to some sites less dived yet very attractive. A WW 2 plane wreck. ‘Larry’s Promise’. Wruzwarez Slope. There are many possibilities. To conclude the in-water activities we aim to snorkel with feeding Mantas. On the way back the crew will keep an eye out onto the ocean for you and alert you in time for whale and dolphin encounters. Which are quite common here. As long as you are on the watch out. and we are…
Day 12: Disembarkation in Sorong
Depending on your flight schedule, the crew will check your luggage in for you in advance so you can rest on board and let us shuttle you to the airport when your plane is ready to leave.
Day 1: Embarkation – Arrival with plane to Sorong. You will be picked up by crew members at the airport. Embarkation in the port of Ambon. A general orientation follows.
Day 2: Raja Ampat – After an initial general dive briefing, we will do our check dive with you at an easy and protected dive site. Check dive in the sense of you checking your gear and weights, making sure the camera housings are properly sealed, and our guides checking your buoyancy. No skill demonstrations are required. We will offer three easy dives to start with close to the Dampier Strait. But easy don’t mean not attractive. You will get a very good impression of what lies ahead of you the next few days: the biggest marine biodiversity on this planet.
Day 3: Dampier Strait – The dive- and snorkel sites in the Dampier Strait stand for action-packed dives in our favourite kind of fish soup – the one that is still alive and surrounds us in the water. Encounters with Manta Rays are very common here. The reef of the island of Kri is the current world record holder with the highest number of fish species ever counted by a scientist in a single dive – Dr. Gerry Allen came up with 374 different fish species counted. Again: in one single dive. Dive sites here are exposed to current so it’s all about the right timing to get the most out of it. And we know how to time it here.
Popular dive sites here: ‘Kap Kri’, ‘Chicken’, ‘Sardine’, ‘Mike’s Point’ and ‘Blue Magik’.
Day 4: Misool – Farondi – This is a very exciting part of SE Misool. A lot of life and colours. Combined with a very special topography. Caverns, caves, swim thru’s. And if you happen to hit this area at the right time (which changes every season) you will find yourself amidst a bloom of small silvery fish, Silversides, and the hunters are just nearby: Mobula Rays. In the dozens.
There’s four popular dive sites here. We’ve got another six spots that are hardly ever dived. A nice big variety to pick and choose from.
Day 5: Misool – Fiabatjet. – Right in the heart of the No-Take-Zone. ‘Tank Rock’, ‘Nudi Rock’ & ‘Whale Rock’ are the famous and commonly dived sites here. There are five more dive sites in the very proximity which are as good, if not even better. We prefer to go a bit off the beaten track here.
The reefs are covered in soft coral in all colours you can imagine. Surrounded by the most colourful reef fish. More Fusiliers than one could possibly count. Jacks, Trevallies, Barracudas, Sharks.
And if you happen to dive here on a day with bad visibility. Just face the reef. It’s packed with macro life. Several species of Pygmy Seahorses, Nudibranchs, tiny Crustaceans – every niche in these reefs is filled with life.
Day 6: Misool – Boo – The first dive site today is called ‘Magic Mountain’. Yes. It is magic. Situated in a ‘No-Take-Zone’, which was ten years ago established by our friends of the Misool Eco Resort, the amount of biomass is just off the scale. Blacktip, Whitetip, and Grey Reef Sharks. Napoleon Wrasses. Stonefish. Wobbegong Sharks. Barracudas. Not to forget about the Mantas who come in to get cleaned.
You will have a hard time focussing on a particular scene on this reef. It’s happening everywhere. Magic.
We will offer two more day dives around the eastern part of the island of Boo. One of the signature dive sites of this area is ‘Boo Windows’ – a spectacular swim through gave the dive site its fame, the marine life surrounding it will keep us busy watching during the whole dive. Another great dive site in this area is ‘Hidung Boo’ where you might see the biggest sea fans you’ve ever seen in your life.
Day 7: Koon – At the south-eastern tip of Seram there is a little island named Koon. It’s basically three dive sites in one, performing best always at one spot, depending on the current. The name of the site says it all: ‘Too Many Fish’. You will have a hard time focusing on what to look at. A fish soup of Fusiliers and Surgeonfish is divided by hunting Giant Trevallies and Jacks, enormous Giant Groupers are all of a sudden looking at you whilst a school of hundreds of Batfish is passing by. Mobula and Manta rays might fly by. Leopard Sharks like to relax in overhangs of the wall on the north side. Macro life is plenty as well. Hairy Shrimp, Pygmy Seahorses, Tiny Frogfish, Robust Ghostpipefish.
This dive site literally has it all.
Day 8 & Day 9: Banda Islands – The famous Spice Islands, the island group around Banda Neira, which is also historically very interesting. Wars were fought over these islands by colonial powers as these islands used to be the only islands in the world where nutmeg grew. A historical walk through the town of Banda Neira with it’s museum and two forts is a must. An interesting option for ambitious challenge seekers is to climb the volcano Gunung Api, which rises ‘only’ 600 m above sea level. Which in the tropics is a strenuous climb.
The diving here is very diverse and spectacular. As these volcanic islands raise up to the surface surrounded by deep seawater, the chances for sightings of large pelagics are very good. In the past we’ve often encountered schooling hammerheads here. A dive site called ‘Lava Flow’ is one of the most pristine hard coral reefs you will ever see. After the last eruption of Gunung Api in 1988 a flow of lava made its way down into the ocean and destroyed the whole reef. What has grown back ever since will boggle your mind. In the harbour of Banda Neira we’ve got a beautiful Mandarin Fish dive waiting for you. Other highlights include: ‘The Cathedral’, ‘Batu Kapal’ and ‘Karang Hatta’.
Day 10: Nusa Laut – In the early morning we will arrive at the island of Nusa Laut, which is a great example of how active conservation by the local community can not only preserve the reefs but actually make them even better. We see here for many years a proper growth in biomass.
We have four spectacular dive sites here, either wall or slope diving.
Great variety of reef fish as well as large schools of jacks. Bumphead Parrotfish like to pass by here also. A lot of macro life can be found in the wall as well.
Day 11: Ambon Bay – We will offer two more dives in the bay of Ambon. Both of these dives will be muck dives. World-class critter hunting. That’s what Ambon is famous for. Rhinopias, Frogfish, Ghostpipefish, Harlequin Shrimps and if you are really lucky: the Psychedelic Frogfish that has been very recently found here again.
Day 12: Disembarkation in Ambon – Depending on your flight schedule, our crew will check your luggage in for you in advance so you can rest on board and let us shuttle you to the airport when your plane is ready to leave.
Included: VAT, Airport Transfer, Hotel Transfer, Drinking Water, Soft drinks, Tea & Coffee, Welcome Cocktails, Full-Board Meal Plan (All meals), Snacks, Diving Package, Nitrox Course, Scuba Diving Courses, Kayaks, Land Excursions, Snorkeling Guide, Wakeboarding, Beach Towels, Cabin Towels, Complimentary Toiletries, Deck Towels, WiFi internet.
Required Extras: Fuel Surcharge (150-250 USD per trip), National Park Fees (100-150 USD per trip), Port Fees (75 USD per trip).
Optional Extras: Gratuities (20 USD per day), Local Flights, Alcoholic Beverages, Private Dive Guide, Rental Gear, Snorkel Gear, Laundry / Pressing Services, Massage (500,000 IDR).
Ambon, Banda, Alor, Maumere
32 dives
Certificate: Open Water
30 minimum logged dives required
Maumere, Alor
34 dives
Certificate: Open Water
30 minimum logged dives required
Maumere, Komodo, Sumbawa/Bima, Lombok, Bali
30 dives
Certificate: Open Water
30 minimum logged dives required
Raja Ampat North & Central
15 Dives
Certificate: Open Water
30 minimum logged dives required
Ambon, Banda Sea
24 Dives
Certificate: Advanced Open Water
50 minimum logged dives
Triton Bay, Raja Ampat
33 Dives
Certificate: Open Water
30 minimum logged dives
You won’t be let down by the Samambaia, I promise. The crew members are smart, forward-thinking, and really want to help you with even the smallest request. Serge, the vessel organizer, is a detail-oriented guy who responds quickly and effectively to all demands, even those that aren’t spoken. On the second day, he saw that I wasn’t eating the starchy carbs. From then on, I had extra fruits and vegetables. Things like this can really make a vacation. Gian Paolo built the boat in 2015, and he made sure that it would fix all the problems he had with other liveaboards he has been on. He did a great job of reaching his aim. The accommodations are big, there is a lot of storage space, the bathrooms are better than average, and the dive deck and tender operations go off without a hitch. Dive briefings are clear, professional, and well-organized. Finally, the whole team is really helpful; they never say “no” if they can do it.
