An Epic 16 Days Voyage

An epic 16-day voyage from Alor, through the Banda Sea and the Forgotten Islands and all the way to Raja Ampat, covering over 1000 nautical miles across 5 different seas.

Starting off on a high note in Alor with an incredible muck dive, hunting for weird tiny critters. We were treated with Ghost Pipefishes, Frogfishes, Seahorses, Mantis Shrimp, and 2 Rhinopias on our first dive!

Moving on to the chain of remote volcanic islands scattered across the vast Banda Sea, we couldn’t have asked for better conditions as we sailed over flat, calm seas and gin-clear blue waters. We explored the deep walls covered with pristine corals, big barrel sponges, nice swim-throughs, billions of Redtoothed Triggerfishes, big Dogtooth Tunas patrolling the blue and a couple of encounters with the Hammerhead Sharks.

Right in the heart of the Banda Sea, we visited the famous snake island of Manuk, an active volcano that is home to a large population of sea snakes. Some of us were lucky to witness a large school of bluefin trevallies hunting together with a dozen sea snakes while mobula rays were cruising on top of us.

Taking a break from diving, we sailed to the historic islands of Banda Neira, the world’s original Spice Islands, accompanied by a large pod of Dolphins right in front of our bow, and a surprise appearance of a Pygmy Blue Whale.

Just before we entered Raja Ampat, we stopped at the island of Koon at the tip of East Seram. We were treated to large schools of Batfish, Barracudas, Snappers, and Trevallies, all gathered right at the corner of this massive current-swept plateau.

Moving on to Raja Ampat, we ended this remarkable trip on a high. Beautiful kaleidoscope of hard and soft corals, lots of silversides, schooling fishes, bluewater mangroves and an encounter with 2 Oceanic Manta Rays and 4 Reef Mantas sharing the same cleaning station on top of a reef.