Sep 29 – Oct 10, 2027

Itinerary

Day 1 | Embarkation in Ambon. Maluku | 1 Dive • We will pick you up at Ambon airport and take you to the boat. • We will do a check dive in the area later in the afternoon. • In the early morning, we will navigate to Nusa Laut. Day 2 | Nusa Laut & Molana | 3 Dives • We arrive at the beautiful Amet Reef early in the morning. Although situated only a few hours from Ambon, it is a great example of successful grassroots conservation efforts. • The locals have instilled sustainable methods to protect their reef, and as a result, the corals are outstanding and a favourite amongst dive enthusiasts. For the incredibly lucky, hammerhead sharks and dugongs have also been spotted at this site. • After lunch, we will navigate to Molana Wall. The shallow wall breaks in places, and on the sandy slopes, ribbon eels, small pipefish, and moray eels can be found. • We will navigate to Pulau Suanggi (Banda Islands) in the afternoon. Day 3 – Pulau Ai & Pulau Run Banda Islands | 3 Dives • The dive site on the island of Ai translates to Umbrella Rock, as there are many overhangs along the island’s walls. You can drift along the wall and enjoy the view of thousands of tiny reef fish darting in and out of the cracks and crevices. • For the second dive of the day, we’ll move onto Little Manhattan, which is next to the island of Run. In 1667, the English traded the island of Run for Manhattan, giving the Dutch full control of the Banda archipelago. White sandy slopes interspaced with large coral heads and a healthy reef make this a very beautiful dive site. A resident school of bumphead parrotfish may be spotted here, as well as passing eagle rays. • The third dive of the day will be an exploratory dive off Pulau Run. This region is full of unexplored dive sites, and the Banda Sea is the perfect location for discovering new underwater treasures. Day 4 – Banda Neira Tour & Banda Islands | 3 dives • In the early morning, we will head to Banda Neira, where you can explore the remnants of the former lucrative spice trade and experience the islands’ historical and cultural legacies. • You will spend the morning walking through the town and observing the Dutch colonial architecture, which remains to this day, as well as Fort Belgica with its incredible views overlooking the bay around the island. • Before lunch, you will dive at Batu Kapal, which, when translated, means ‘boat rock’. A submerged pinnacle, the site has a rock breaking the surface of the water in the shape of a boat, hence the name. • Your second dive will be at Pohon Miring. At this site, a large crack in the reef creates a deep swim-through, which you can drift through and view the sponge-covered wall on the other side. Moral eels can be spotted at the top of the wall, and schools of bumphead parrotfish can be seen. • You will have a sunset dive at Banda’s jetty late in the afternoon. Mandarin fish congregate in the shallows and amongst the stones from collapsed sea walls and jetties. This particular spot is one of the best in the world for spotting mandarin fish. Day 5 – Banda Islands | 3 dives • Karang Hatta is a reef located southeast of Pulau Hatta. The dive sites in this region are closest to the 6,000-metre-deep Banda trench, making it an intriguing area as the chances of encountering pig pelagic species are quite high. Schooling trevallies, barracudas, tuna, turtles, hammerheads, and grey reef sharks can be spotted close to this underwater mount. • Depending on the conditions, you will have two dives in this area and then sail to the main island of Pulau Hatta. There, you will dive in front of the West Shore beach, where a 5-metre hole in the reef opens up to the sea. • You can dive down through the hole and find yourself looking back to what appears to be a bridge in the reef. The bridge is covered with soft corals, and large gorgonian fans underneath are home to various pigmy seahorses. • Overnight navigation to Pulau Koon. Day 6 - Pulau Koon .Ceram | 3 dives • Pulau Koon is a small island southeast of Ceram, halfway between Raja Ampat and the Banda Islands.The most interesting feature of this island is the number of schooling fish and pelagic species, including barracudas and bigeye trevallies, as well as an aggregation of red snappers, pompanos, batfish, and giant groupers. • 3 great dives in this area before setting sail towards Misool Raja Ampat. Day 7 - 11 – Southern Raja Ampat / Misool | 16 – 18 dives • Misool is located South of Raja Ampat and is famous for its steep rocks with vertical walls, a profusion of soft, colourful corals, sea fans draped brilliantly over the reefs and plenty of fish. • The islands around East Misool are grouped by areas. These are the areas you can expect to visit (weather permitting) and the most popular dive sites we frequent: Day 7 - Wayilbatan (Dunia Kecil, Barracuda Rock, Four Kings, Wedding Cake) | 4 Dives The Wayilbatan area offers impressive dive sites with a remarkable range of marine diversity as well as topography. At Wedding Cake, schools of batfish, trevallies, barracuda and pygmy seahorses congregate. In the afternoon, you will have the opportunity to take in the scenic landscapes with some kayaking and paddle boarding amongst the most spectacular hidden lagoons in the region. Four Kings dive site is made up of four underwater pinnacles covered in soft coral and colourful tunicates. Night dive in this area. Day 8 - Warokaraket/Boo Island - (Shadow Reef, Jamur Boo, Yellit Kecil or Besar) | 4 Dives • Shadow Reef, also known as Magic Mountain is one of the top-rated diving sites in Raja Ampat. An offshore pinnacle with a long and narrow ridge, shoals of bannerfish, pyramid butterfly and yellow snappers can be seen cavorting on top of the ridge, persistently stalked by giant trevallies, orange-spotted jacks & longnose emperors. • Boo Rock or Jamur Boo is known for the “windows” or rounded openings on the end of the largest rock that completely pierce the reef from the surface down to five meters deep. Although the two rocks appear separate from the surface, they are in fact connected underwater by a magnificent reef draped in soft corals and brimming with fish. • Yellit Kecil’s (whilst sharing all of the attributes of its neighbouring sites) main characteristic is the large number of nembrotha nudibranchs that can be observed on the ridge. • Night dive in this area. Day 9 - Yilliet - (Whale Rock, Nudi Rock and Tank Rock) | 3 Dives • In the early morning, we will take a short navigation to dive into the Fiabacet area where colourful soft corals and beautiful sea fans smother the reefs. In certain areas, the deep underwater ridge moves up shallower to form the most unforgettable dive sites of the park. • These include Batu Kecil (also known as Tank Rock), Nudi Rock and Whale Rock. Here you will find one of the most extensive reef systems in all of Raja Ampat; offering an amazing range of marine diversity including pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs, colourful anemones and reef sharks. Day 10 - Daram - (Candy Store, Warna Berwana, Andiamo) | 3 Dives • Andiamo is a large, stunning reef with a submerged pinnacle covered in sea fans and surrounded by schools of fusiliers and batfish. Black tip reef sharks and Napoleon wrasse can also be found here. • Candy Store, named so as the first divers to explore this reef felt like kids in a candy store, is covered in huge sponges, beautiful soft corals and sea fans. Day 11 - Balbulol - (No Contest, Love Potion, Number 9, Pet Rock) | 2 Dives • Schools of plateaux, snapper, and bumphead parrotfish, as well as barracudas and jacks surrounding the pinnacles, can be found at these dive sites. • You will spend the afternoon in the hidden lagoon, a very special anchorage inside a narrow bay enclosed by towering rocks. • We will take the dinghies to explore another lagoon located further into the rocks and as night falls, you will see and hear the magnificent Palm Cockatoos roosting along the rainforest edges. • Late in the afternoon, we will depart North and set sail for an overnight cruise back to Sorong, which will take approximately 12 hours. Day 12 – Disembarkation in Sorong After breakfast and the last exchange of photos and memories, the crew and Calico Jack will say our fondest farewells and transport you either to your hotel or the airport.