Seahorse Itinerary

Banda Sea - Ring of Fire (MOF - AMQ) 14N

15 days / 14 nights

About Seahorse

  • Spacious and recently-remodelled interiors with plenty of room for relaxation
  • Exciting seasonal itineraries featuring Indonesia’s best diving
  • Tons of complimentary extras including WiFi, nitrox, and watersports
  • Excellent facilities for photographers with rinse bins, a camera room, and plenty of charging points

Part of the renowned Wallacea Dive Cruises family, the MSY Seahorse is a traditional Indonesian phinisi, recently renovated specifically for scuba diving. This liveaboard offers itineraries in some of Indonesia's most incredible regions, including Raja Ampat, Komodo, the Banda Sea, Halmahera, and even the Togian Islands! Whether this is your first dive safari or your hundredth, you’re sure to love this boat's dive and camera facilities and excellent service, as well as internet, nitrox, and on-demand watersports equipment.

Learn more about Seahorse

Itinerary details

15 days / 14 nights
Up to 42
Advanced Open Water - Minimum 50 dives
Required

Highlights

  • One-way itinerary incorporating the very best of the Banda Sea
  • Dive reefs with exceptional biodiversity in the heart of the Coral Triangle
  • Swim with hundreds of sea snakes of the very remote Manuk Island
  • Explore the Banda Sea's swim-throughs and deep walls
  • Encounter hammerheads at current-swept sites such as Nil Desperandum 
  • Dive the world-class muck diving sites of Ambon
  • Enjoy Ambon’s world-class muck diving and spot the psychedelic frogfish
  • Land visit to the 17th century Fort Belgica on Banga Neira
  • Chance of hammerheads, thresher sharks, and even mola mola in Alor
  • Night dives included in the itinerary

Day 1: MAUMERE
Welcome at the airport by our crew, transfer to the boat, welcome drink, set up, briefing, departure and night navigation.

Day 2: MAUMERE STRAIT / 3-4 dives
Nice reef and good macro.

Day 3: PULAU KAWULA / 3-4 dives
We will explore Serbette Wall, in the northern bay of the Island, which is nice for critter hunting. 2 more dives on the northern side - drop offs, nice corals, pelagics.

Day 4: ALOR / 3-4 dives
Alor is one of our favourite destinations and you will certainly like it too. Healthy reefs, fishy pinnacles, great muck dives, we get everything in Alor. Beware that in the south of the strait the water temperature can drop to 22°C. Fabulous critters. Night dive.

Day 5: ALOR / 3-4 dives
Enjoy 3 more wonderful dives in Alor. Night navigation to Wetar Island.

Day 6: PULAU WETAR / 3-4 dives
Going eastward, we will dive close to these islands with great colourful drop offs and excellent visibility. Some excellent macro dives also in the area.

Day 7: PULAU NILA / 3-4 dives
We will conduct 1 dive on Nila Island and 2 dives on the Nil Desperandum reef - a reef lost in the middle of the Banda Sea. Great wall diving, often with hammerhead sharks at this time of the year.

Day 8: T.N.S / 3-4 dives
Looking for hammerheads.

Day 9: MANUK / 3-4 dives
Enjoy 3 dives on Manuk, where the signs of volcanic activity are clearly visible underwater. We have seen hammerhead sharks a few times here, but the highlight of the dives are the abundant sea snakes that are everywhere. Night dive.

Day 10: PULAU HATTA / 3-4 dives
Hatta Reef, 1 dive, 1 other dive on the drop off of Hatta Island. Eagle rays, tunas, reef sharks and colourful drop offs. After the dives we will then enter the Banda harbour. We propose a visit to the village, museum and Banda fortress during the afternoon. An alternative dive will be offered too.

Day 11: BANDA NEIRA / 3-4 dives
We will conduct several dives around Banda Neira and on Batu Kapal, a submerged rock surrounded by other smaller rocks. Gorgonian fields, marbled rays, groupers.

Day 12: PULAU SUANGGI / 3-4 dives
Around the Small islands of Suanggi where thousands of seabirds nest, the marine life is prolific - Napoleon wrasses, billions of red tooth triggerfish and fusiliers, eagle rays and occasionally hammerhead sharks.

Day 13: NUSA LAUT / 3-4 dives
We are now in south Seram where we will dive around Ahmet and Molana - famous for its underwater arch.

Day 14: AMBON / 2 dives
Last dives of the cruise. Excellent muck dives spent looking for critters such as Rhinopias, frogfish and nudibranchs. Then rinse and dry the equipment. We propose a visit on shore in the surroundings of Ambon.

Day 15: AMBON
Breakfast, disembarkation and transfer to the airport. Assistance for check-in.

Sample itineraries are for guidance only. Actual itineraries may differ slightly due to factors such as weather, wildlife, logistics and local regulations.

Transfer details

Departure

11:00am

Maumere

Maumere Airport: MOF

Return

10:00am

Ambon

Pattimura Airport: AMQ

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