LABUANBAJO-BIMA 7 NIGHT

No cruise on MV Samambaia is like the other. Every single trip is tailor-made to create a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The decision on the itinerary is made by the cruise director as we cruise along and is based on factors such as weather conditions, dive conditions, requests of guests and schedules of other liveaboards, which we are trying to stay away from.

There are however certain constants on every cruise which are:

• Three day dives of minimum 1 hour duration

• One sunset/night dive (unless we have to cover a serious amount of miles over night)

• Activities during the surface intervals such as:

• scenic rides through lagoons and coves in our tenders

• trekking to breathtaking view points

• visits of secluded perfect beaches

• excursions to traditional villages

• whale watching

• water action such as wake boarding and kayak

Based upon that, here is a potential itinerary for an 7 nights / 8 days cruise from 

Labuan Bajo (Flores) back to Bima (Sumbawa). This is just to give you a general idea and is subject to change due to weather- and other conditions. Popular dive sites are named. We do however have our secret spots as well, which you will learn about during the cruise.

Day 1: Embarkation

Arrival with plane to Labuan Bajo. You will be picked up by crew members at the airport.

Embarkation in the port of Labuan Bajo. A general orientation follows.

Day 2: Komodo Central & Rinca

After an initial general dive briefing, we will do our check dive with you at an easy and protected dive site. Check dive in the sense of you checking your gear and weights, making sure the camera housings are proper sealed and our guides checking your buoyancy. No skill demonstrations are required. Dive site: ‘Sebayor Kecil’.

Over the day we are heading south through the National Park and look into doing an easy drift dive over an impeccable reef, like ‘Tatawa Besar’.

To cap this first day of diving we offer a night dive at Wai Nilu, which ranks within the Top 5 favorite night dive spots allover Indonesia of our Cruise Director.

Day 3: Rinca

Trekking with Komodo dragons in the morning before it gets too hot in the sun. Expect to be eye in eye with the last dragons on this planet. A must when coming here. Local rangers take care of our safety.

Afterwards we will offer two or three more dives during the day, depending on which length of Trek with the dragons the group has opted for (short, medium, long). On the dives: look out for mantas!

Day 4: Komodo - The North

We arrive in the morning in the northern part of the famous Komodo National Park. And straight away hit the signature dive sites ‘Crystal Rock’ and ‘Castle Rock’. Sharks, Jacks, Fish Soup. Action fuelled by current. In the afternoon and at night two more world-class dives at famous site like ‘The Golden Passage’, ‘The Cauldron’ or ‘Lighthouse’.

Komodo National Park diving at it’s best.

Day 5: Banta

Just outside the National Park of Komodo this island makes you feel as if you were aleeady inside the park. We will spend the whole day in a great variety of dive sites. ‘Banta Wall’ also known as ‘The Rollercoaster’ is a spectacular wall - however, the timing with the currents and the swell is key to a safe and satisfying dive. And we get our timing right. GPS point is a reef more than half a mile north of Banta. Very fishy with the potential for Grey Reef Sharks and other big boys passing by. Again the timing here is key. One of our favourite spots here is our secret spot which happens to be a Manta cleaning station.

For sunset we offer some trekking on a hill which will reward you with an epic view over the bay, the sun setting behind the vulcano of Sangeang.

After Dinner we take you on a night dive on a sandy slope, where Stargazers will make an angry face at you.

Day 6: Sangeang

At the active vulcano of Sangeang you can expect superb black sand critter hunting. But it’s not only the critters like Nudibranchs, Ghostpipefish, Frogfish and Pygmy Seahorses that make the diving here so exciting, but also the stark contrast of colourful Black- and Whipcoral against the black sand. On the dive site ‘Bubble Reef’ you can see and feel the volcanic activity - gas bubble fields as well as hot water springs under water are the highlights here.

Day 7: Bima

We conclude this cruise with two excellent critter hunting dives in the bay of Bima. You can expect world class macro life here. Pipehorses, Wonderpus, Ghostpipefish, Seahorses, all sorts of Crustaceans. Our dive guides will spoil those who appreciate ‘The Unusual Suspects’. Which happens to be our favourite dive site here as well.

Day 8: Disembarkation in Bima

Depending on your flight schedule, our crew will check your luggage in for you in advance so you can rest on board and let us shuttle you to the airport when your plane is ready to leave.