Day 1
Check-in on board Mermaid I between 13:00-15:00 hours at Benoa Harbour in Bali. After the boat and safety briefing, you’ll set up equipment and you can settle into your cabin. Mermaid I cruises into the sunset on her overnight journey to Moyo Island, north west Sumbawa, 145 nautical miles.
Dives – 0
Day 2
Start your adventure with a great dive in the calm, clear waters of Angel Reef at Moyo Island. Massive elephant ear and barrel sponges, schools of longfin bannerfish and red tooth triggerfish, frogfish, nudibranchs, eels, surgeonfish, snappers and dogtooth tuna.
Afterwards, Mermaid I will cruise for two and a half hours to Satonda Island for a macro dive followed by a world class night dive after watching a million bats fly at sunset. Cruise overnight to Sangeang Volcano
Dives – 4
Day 3
We will do our first dive at Sangeang, a beautiful volcano with black sandy bottoms and beautiful coral reefs. Then we will move to Gili Banta where we have many options, pinnacles, walls, or easy-going reefs. Then we will head to the northern islands of Komodo NP, Gili Lawa Laut and Gili Lawa Darat for an afternoon and night dive.
Dives – 4
Day 4
Gili Lawa Laut has several great dives – if the tide is right, you will have a chance to spot grey reef sharks and dolphin at Taka Toko. Lighthouse Reef and The Old Passage offer fast drifts with pelagics, perhaps a manta if you are lucky!
Crystal Rock offers awesome soft corals in gold and orange hues plus the chance for sharks, turtles, Napoleon wrasse and fishes galore. Tonight, you will dive the famous Pink Beach or Soro lia – spectacular colours, frogfish, slipper lobsters, basket stars, robust sea cucumbers unique to the area and more!
Dives – 4
Day 5
Start your day with an exciting visit to Loh Liang Komodo National Park to walk with the dragons! As you quietly walk through the bush, look out for not only Komodo dragons, but deer, wild boar and birds as well.
Next stop is a diver’s paradise – Horseshoe Bay at Rinca Island, home of one of the top ten dives in the world, Cannibal Rock. Here, you will discover an abundance of corals, sponges, ascidians, sea apples, black corals, turtle, cuttlefish, loads of reef fishes and so much more! You can also watch dragons scavenging on the beach as well as monkey, deer, wild pigs along the shore or go beach combing. There may even be a chance to follow whales and dolphin feeding in the calm bay. Mermaid I will overnight at this peaceful place, diving at one of the many fabulous spots for your night dive.
Dives – 3
Day 6
Today you’ll head on over to Manta Alley to watch in awe as these magnificent creatures feed, play and get cleaned at the many cleaning stations.
In the afternoon, you can do some more big fish dives at Tatawa Kecil or the infamous “Current City” Batu Bolong. Come face to face with reef sharks, turtles, Napoleon wrasse and more. Many good night dives around here as Wainilu.
Dives – 4
Day 7
This will be our last day at Komodo NP, we will be diving around the central and northern part of Komodo, we will do 4 dives here.
Then you’ll head off for a night dive at Gili Banta. Overnight, Mermaid I will cruise to Sangeang Volcano.
Dives – 4
Day 8
Sangeang is an active volcano off the north eastern coast of Sumbawa. Black sand, bubbles and a colourful reef and amazing critters are awaiting for you. After the second dive we will start heading towards Saleh Bay in Sumbawa in order to arrive early in the morning for an amazing day of diving or snorkeling with whalesharks.
Dives – 2
Day 9
The last day of the trip will be at Saleh Bay in Sumbawa diving or snorkeling with Whalesahrks. We will start early in the morning, at around 6:30-07:00 and will spend approximately 3 hours with these amazing creatures. Then we will start heading back to Benoa Harbor in Bali.
Dives – 1
Day 10
Disembark at Benoa Harbour after breakfast at 8 am.
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.
Total Dives – 26