Damai I has various itineraries throughout Indonesia’s premier dive destinations: Alor, Bali, Banda Sea, Cenderawasih, Forgotten Islands, Gorontalo & Togean Islands, Halmahera, Komodo, Raja Ampat, Triton Bay. The itinerary for each cruise is chosen based on season, weather and sea conditions. She is also available for private charter, allowing you to set your own itinerary.
Damai’s itineraries include the most popular regions of Indonesia and are presented below in alphabetical order. Trips to specific regions are, of course, based on the best time of year to experience the region’s finest diving.
Ambon – If you love crazy critters, Ambon is hard to beat. Get your lens ready for rhinopias, pegasus sea moths, countless varieties of frog fish, seahorse, flamboyant cuttlefish, ghost pipe fish and star gazers. Lesser known is the south side of Ambon, which features great colourful walls, caves, swim throughs and healthy reef life with large fish … and more critters.
Bali – Bali offers some awesome diving. There’s wreck diving right off the beach at Tulamben and you’ll find walls, drop-offs & grottos, wonderful currents with drift dives & gentle coral garden dives. There are white sand bottoms & black sand bottoms, exquisite colors of soft corals, gorgonian fans, sponges & reef fish … plus pelagic fish, Mola-Mola in season, eagle & manta rays.
Banda Sea, Alor – In Alor & the Banda Sea, you’ll find clear waters full of masses of fish & loads of invertebrates … plus alluring critters. As to topography, you’ll find shear drops, huge pinnacles, great walls … all covered with rich & thriving corals which attract diverse fish life. Add to that, visiting pelagics and you have a magical mix.
Cenderawasih – The main draw here is the large community of whale sharks which stay year-round and feed off the fish tumbling from the villagers’ fishing platforms. You’ll also dive plunging vertical walls with prolific sponge life, see great schools of fish and may also have the opportunity to dive on Manokwari’s excellent WWII wrecks.
Forgotten Islands – Wild variety reigns here, with exciting pelagic encounters & large, swirling schools fish … weird and wonderful creatures hidden away in healthy, colorful corals. You get, at one end of the scale: stargazers, stonefish, ghost pipefish … while at the opposite end jacks, giant trevallies, barracuda, hammerhead sharks, and on certain trips, divers are treated to a salt-water crocodile at one site!
Halmahera – The largest island in the Maluku chain, features sparkling clear water, loads of fish, some super drift dives, healthy, thriving coral reefs, some fascinating mangroves with intriguing critters … and fabulous volcanic landscapes. Some of the sites border on the deep blue and put you up close to grey reef sharks, eagle rays and immense shools of blue fin trevally.
Komodo – perhaps the most diverse of all diving in the Indonesian archipelago. There are seamounts, walls, canyons and pinnacles as well as the spectacular coral gardens. There a hot spring at an underwater volcano, great night dives on black sand slopes with creepy, crawly critters. Numerous sites tout pelagic fish, sharks & mantas but, be assured that at each dive site, you’ll experience something different.
Raja Ampat – Indonesia’s shining underwater star, Raja Ampat has something of nearly everything a diver could want. You’ll dive channels, plateaus, walls & caves … and just plain mud, for the delight of “muck” diving. You’ll swim amongst great swirls of fish and feast your eyes on sponges & corals in scintillating colors. You’ll meet up close & personal, everything from pygmy seahorses to colossal manta rays.
Togian (Togean) Islands – Known for great visability, this island chain features large schools of fish which congregate around huge coral and sponge formations. There’s also a good stock of the smaller stuff and a few sites offer blue water exposure where you’ll see larger pelagic fish and passing sharks. The highlight for many divers is the wreck of a B24 Liberator bomber which is easily accessible.
Triton Bay – Divers love the whale sharks who visit the fishing platforms, but the true star of this region is a profusion of speculator soft corals gardens & the schooling fish – anthias, damsel fish, fusiliers, sweetlips & snappers. With lots of nutrients in the water, photographers beware : the viz is limited at many sites. But, you’ll love the massive black coral bushes, the drift and wall dives and the opportunities for critter hunting.
Chartering the Damai I will give you an opportunity to select the route you prefer and to tailor your trip. The advantages are multiple; the chance to stay as long as you want in one spot without having to be worried about the preferences of the rest of the guests is an obvious one.