Ambon – Banda Sea – Ambon

The Ambon Banda Sea Ambon trip has it all!!!! From hammerheads in the Banda Sea to the weird and wonderful critters of Ambon, to a black sand volcano full of sea kraits. And that is just the marine life!! The marine topography is just as exciting, muck and wreck diving in Ambon Bay, Walls going down several thousand meters deep, and black sandy slopes covered with beautiful hard and soft corals.

The trip starts in Ambon and heads into the Banda Sea, where we will spend most of the trip. It includes spending several days in the famous Banda Islands, where we will be able to make an land excursion around Banda Neira, the capital of the Bandas, visiting the local museum, Dutch fort, nutmeg plantation and local market. You will even get to have breakfast at the nutmeg plantation!

After cruising the Banda Sea we head back to Ambon, which is the second capital of muck diving, in order to look for all the weird critters that Ambon has to offer.

Ambon – Banda Sea – Ambon with

MV Mermaid I

27 Dives

Day

Itinerary with MV Mermaid I Ambon – Banda Sea – Ambon

Dives

Day 1

Check-in on board Mermaid I. We recommend all guests to arrive the day before the cruise departure. After all the guests have settled into the cabins and set up the diving equipment, we will start crossing overnight to our first destination at Suangi (Banda Islands), 90 nautical miles.

Dives

Day 2

Suangi is a small uninhabited island about 12 nautical miles north of Banda Neira, the capital of the Banda Islands. This tiny island is surrounded by hard coral reefs, ridges and pinnacles. And it is not uncommon to see individual hammerheads patrolling the hard-coral reefs, as well as larger groups of hammers in the pinnacles that are close to the island. Dogtooth tunas, Spanish mackerels and other pelagic species are often seen hunting smaller fish in the reefs surrounding the island.

Today we will 4 dives around the island of Suangi, and after the last dive of the day we will head overnight to the volcano island of Manuk, 80 nm south of Suanggi.

Dives

Day 3

Manuk, an active volcano about 55 nautical miles south of the Banda Islands, is one of two places in Indonesia where there are huge aggregations of sea snakes: Chinese sea snakes and banded sea kraits. It is an incredible experience to dive surrounded on all sides by sea snakes. The island is surrounded by black sandy slopes with hard coral reefs and volcanic ridges covered in gorgonians with zillions of fusiliers and pelagic fishes such as Spanish mackerels and dogtooth tunas passing through. Hammerheads, mobula rays and eagle rays are often seen around this beautiful active volcano. Cruise overnight to the island of Nila, 70 nautical miles.

Dives

Day 4-5

Surrounding Nila Island there are two atolls, Dusborgh and Nil Desperandum. These two atolls are quite large and can be dived all the way around It’s at these atolls that there is a good chance of seeing hammerhead sharks. We will therefore spend one full day at Nil Desperandum and one full day at Dusborgh. Even without the hammerheads, the reefs are fabulous, with healthy walls and big schools of fish. Cruise to Serua Island, 20 nautical miles.

Dives

Day 6

Pulau Koon is a small island on the southeast of Ceram, half way between Raja Ampat and the Banda Islands. Walls covered in soft corals, and sandy slopes with hard coral bommies. But the most interesting feature of this island is the amount of schooling fish and pelagic, barracudas, bigeye trevallies, aggregation of red snappers, pompanos, batfish, and giant groupers. Cruise overnight to Misool, 100 nautical miles

Dives

Day 7-9

Banda Islands for the next 2 days! Walls, swim throughs, sponges and sea fans – good diving and great for wide angle. Several sites have swim throughs large enough for several people to go through at the same time and is especially nice for wide angle shots, as they are covered in soft corals and sponges.

Dive sites in the Banda Islands drop down thousands of metres, offering spectacular walls and stunning reef tops, with visibility usually in the 40-50 metres range.

The sunset dive is at the pier in front of an old colonial hotel! Black sand and volcanic rock with an unusual amount of large and not shy mandarin fish – also great for critters.

For the second day here, in addition to great diving, you will go on land for an excursion on the island of Banda Neira visiting the local museum, Dutch fort, nutmeg plantation and local market. You will even get to have breakfast at the nutmeg plantation! Cruise overnight to Nusa Laut, 75 nautical miles or Ambon, 110 nautical miles.

Dives

Day 9

Today you will either do two dives at Nusa Laut – healthy reefs, chance for dugong…or onto Ambon for some fabulous muck dives with critters galore. This area is known for many rare and unusual species including the psychedelic frogfish and Ambon scorpion fish

Dives

Day 10

Disembark at 8 am after breakfast. Mermaid I staff will transfer you to the airport or local hotel.

This is a sample itinerary and is subject to changes beyond the operator’s control. The exact itinerary, route and amount of dives for your cruise may be adapted to best suit the weather conditions, tides and currents, season and other prevailing events.

Dives

Total Dives: 27

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Ambon – Banda Sea – Ambon Gallery

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Ambon – Banda Sea – Ambon Gallery

Banda Sea, Indoensia

Departure Port

Arrival Port

Ambon

Free Transfers

Transfers are included on departure and arrival days from and to Ambon airport (AMQ) and on arrival days. The free transfers will ensure hassle free transport to and from Mermaid I

Convenient Departure Location

We depart out of Ambon Harbour – which is conveniently located in main town of Ambon a quick 10 minute ride from the airport.

Departures and Arrivals

All cruise departure will be approximately 15.00 hours and arrival time back will be 08.00 hours giving a lot of time to catch a same day flight.

First class luxury liveaboard at affordable prices

We offer exceptional value when compared to other boats operating in the region in both price and in comfort.

Airlines Recommendation

Below are the airlines that fly to this destination. Should you wish to have a streamlined travel experience for your trip, we will be happy to arrange your flight, please inform us when making an inquiry through our inquiry form.

Garuda Indonesia is the national airline of Indonesia. Named after the holy bird Garuda of Hinduism from the national emblem of Indonesia. Garuda flies to most of our ports of embarkation and disembarkation. At the time of writing they offer an extra 23kg baggage allowance for sports gear, including scuba diving equipment.
Batik Air is a full-service airline which began operations in May 2013. This airline is part of the Lion Air group. Batik Air flies to many of Mermaid’s destinations. They offer some convenient options such as direct flights from Jakarta to Sorong, for our Raja Ampat cruises, or to Ambon to join some of our most exciting cruises.

Lion Air is an Indonesian low-cost airline and is the second largest low-cost airline in Southeast Asia after AirAsia and the largest airline of Indonesia. The airline operates domestic as well as international routes, which connects different destinations of Indonesia. Wings Air is part of Lion Air and flies to the more remote destinations. Batik Air is also part of the Lion Air group. Between all these airlines, Lion, Wings and Batik can fly you to any of the area where we operate.
Sriwijaya Air is an Indonesian airline based in Jakarta. Garuda Indonesia group recently took over the operation of Sriwijaya Air. This airline is the country’s third largest carrier and offers flights to various Indonesian destinations and a few international destinations. Sriwijaya also offer convenient direct flights from Jakarta to Sorong for our Raja Ampat cruises.

Ambon – Banda Sea – Ambon Upcoming Departures

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Ambon – Banda Sea – Ambon

Ambon – Banda Sea – Ambon with

MV Mermaid I

Ambon – Banda Sea – Ambon Gallery

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Ambon – Banda Sea – Ambon Gallery

Banda Sea, Indoensia

Departure Port

Arrival Port

Free Transfers

Convenient Departure Location

Departures and Arrivals

First class luxury liveaboard at affordable prices

Airlines Recommendation

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