Ambon - Banda Sea - Raja Ampat - Mermaid Liveaboards

Ambon – Banda Sea – Raja Ampat with

MV Mermaid I

12 days / 11 nights33 Dives

MV Mermaid II

33 Dives

Day

Itinerary with MV Mermaid I Ambon – Banda Sea – Raja Ampat

Dives

Day 1

Check-in on board Mermaid I. Once all guests are on board a safety briefing will be given. If all the guests are on board by 12.00 hours, you have the chance to do two extra dives at Ambon Bay in some fabulous muck dives with critters galore. This area is known for many rare and unusual species including the psychedelic frogfish and Rhinopias.

Dives

Day 2

We will spend the day around Ambon, where there are several options such as a wreck, or doing some really interesting muck dives looking for rhynophias, frogfish (including the psychedelic frogfish), harlequin shrimps, and many other critters. Cruise overnight to the Banda Islands, 110 nautical miles.

Dives

Day 3-4

The next two days will be spent in the Banda Islands, also known in the old days as the Spice Islands. Many of the dive sites around the Bandas are wall dives. Walls covered in massive gorgonians, soft corals, barrel sponges and some very interesting swim throughs. But there are other attractive dive sites such as pinnacles with enormous groups of schooling pyramid butterflyfish, triggerfish and pelagic fishes such as tunas passing through, spectacular hard coral reefs next to the volcano, and great muck dives with lots of mandarin fish in the local jetty.

The Banda Islands are much more than diving. It is also a cultural and historical experience. We will spend one morning walking around the village of Banda Naira with a local guide, and visit the local museum, the Old Dutch fort, the old colonial governor’s house, the local fish market, and we will have breakfast at a nutmeg plantation. Cruise overnight to Manuk, 55 nautical miles

Dives

Day 5

Manuk, an active volcano about 55 nm south of the Banda Islands, is one of 2 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, volcanic ridges covered in gorgonians with zillions of fusiliers and pelagic fishes such as spanish mackerels and dogtooth tunas passing through. Cruise overnight to the Pulau Koon, 108 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

The next 3 days will be around the island of Misool, where there literally hundreds of dive sites. Misool is a heaven for wide angle photographers. The prettiest soft corals reefs in the world are located in Misool, as well as having multiple pinnacles surrounded by masses of schooling fish, barracudas, jacks and snappers. There will be some excursions with the tenders through some amazing inner lagoons, fantastic scenery and wild life sightings. Cruise overnight to the Dampier Strait, 90 nautical miles

Dives

Day 10-11

Dampier Strait is located between Waigeo and the Bird’s Head Peninsula. Along with Misool, it is the most famous area for diving in Raja Ampat.

All of the dive sites around the Dampier Strait are known for a huge amount of schooling fish - barracudas, schools of bigeye trevallies, oceanic triggerfish, spadefish, surgeonfish and snappers. Besides the schooling fish, it is also an area where you get to see black and whitetip reef sharks and wobbegong sharks.

Some of the best manta dives are also located in the Dampier Strait. Blue Magic is a small pinnacle where the giant mantas congregate and get cleaned as well.

Some of the best mangrove dives are also located in the Dampier Strait, around the islands of Yanggefo and Gam.

And of course, one cannot forget the dive sites at some of the jetties in front of local villages, where the pillars are covered in soft corals and are home to a plethora of small critters.

Other fantastic dive sites in this area include Cape Kri, Sardine Reef, Chicken Reef, Mioskon, Mike’s Point, Mangrove Ridge and Citrus Ridge. Cruise to Sorong, 40 nautical miles

Dives

Day 12

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: 33

See Itinerary With MV Mermaid II See Reverse Itinerary With MV Mermaid I Download PDF

Day

Itinerary with MV Mermaid II Ambon – Banda Sea – Raja Ampat

Dives

Day 1

Check-in on board Mermaid II. Once all guests are on board a safety briefing will be given. If all the guests are on board by 12.00 hours, you have the chance to do two extra dives at Ambon Bay in some fabulous muck dives with critters galore. This area is known for many rare and unusual species including the psychedelic frogfish and Rhinopias.

Dives

Day 2

Dives

Day 3-4

The next two days will be spent in the Banda Islands, also known in the old days as the Spice Islands. Many of the dive sites around the Bandas are wall dives. Walls covered in massive gorgonians, soft corals, barrel sponges and some very interesting swim throughs. But there are other attractive dive sites such as pinnacles with enormous groups of schooling pyramid butterflyfish, triggerfish and pelagic fishes such as tunas passing through, spectacular hard coral reefs next to the volcano, and great muck dives with lots of mandarin fish in the local jetty. The Banda Islands are much more than diving. It is also a cultural and historical experience. We will spend one morning walking around the village of Banda Naira with a local guide, and visit the local museum, the Old Dutch fort, the old colonial governor’s house, the local fish market, and we will have breakfast at a nutmeg plantation. Cruise overnight to Manuk, 55 nautical miles.

Dives

Day 5

Dives

Day 6

Dives

Day 7-9

Dives

Day 10-11

Dampier Strait is located between Waigeo and the Bird’s Head Peninsula. Along with Misool, it is the most famous area for diving in Raja Ampat. All of the dive sites around the Dampier Strait are known for a huge amount of schooling fish - barracudas, schools of bigeye trevallies, oceanic triggerfish, spadefish, surgeonfish and snappers. Besides the schooling fish, it is also an area where you get to see black and whitetip reef sharks and wobbegong sharks. Some of the best manta dives are also located in the Dampier Strait. Blue Magic is a small pinnacle where the giant mantas congregate and get cleaned as well. Some of the best mangrove dives are also located in the Dampier Strait, around the islands of Yanggefo and Gam. And of course, one cannot forget the dive sites at some of the jetties in front of local villages, where the pillars are covered in soft corals and are home to a plethora of small critters. Other fantastic dive sites in this area include Cape Kri, Sardine Reef, Chicken Reef, Mioskon, Mike’s Point, Mangrove Ridge and Citrus Ridge. Cruise to Sorong, 40 nautical miles.

Dives

Day 12

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

Dives

Total Dives: 33

See Itinerary With MV Mermaid I See Reverse Itinerary With MV Mermaid I Download PDF

Departure Port

Ambon

Arrival Port

Sorong

Free Transfers

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

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.

Date	Trip Code	Itinerary	Master	Single	Deluxe	Lower Deck	Status
26 Nov 2023	MMI 30/23AR	Ambon – Banda Sea – Raja Ampat Duration: 12D 11N Return: 07 Dec 2023 Mermaid I Trip Details	€ 5,500	€ 6,000	€ 5,000	€ 4,600	Book Now
16 Apr 2024	MMI 10/24AR	Ambon – Banda Sea – Raja Ampat Duration: 12D 11N Return: 27 Apr 2024 Mermaid I Trip Details	€ 6,000	€ 6,500	€ 5,500	€ 5,000	Book Now
25 Nov 2024	MMI 30/24AR	Ambon – Banda Sea – Raja Ampat Duration: 12D 11N Return: 06 Dec 2024 Mermaid I Trip Details	€ 6,000	€ 6,500	€ 5,500	€ 5,000	Book Now
18 Apr 2025	MMI 10/25AR	Ambon – Banda Sea – Raja Ampat Duration: 12D 11N Return: 29 Apr 2025 Mermaid I Trip Details	€ 6,500	€ 7,000	€ 6,000	€ 5,500	Book Now
26 Nov 2025	MMI 30/25AR	Ambon – Banda Sea – Raja Ampat Duration: 12D 11N Return: 07 Dec 2025 Mermaid I Trip Details	€ 6,000	€ 6,500	€ 5,500	€ 5,000	Book Now

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Ambon – Banda Sea – Raja Ampat

Ambon – Banda Sea – Raja Ampat with

MV Mermaid I

MV Mermaid II

Ambon – Banda Sea – Raja Ampat Gallery

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Ambon – Banda Sea – Raja Ampat 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

Ambon – Banda Sea – Raja Ampat Upcoming Departures

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Nov

2023