Komodo National Park

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 11 nights / 12 days cruise from 

Labuan Bajo (Flores) back to Labuan Bajo (Flores). 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 & 2 : Embarkation – Komodo Central & Rinca

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. 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: Nusa Kode

In the beautiful natural amphitheatre of Nusa Code we offer three more day dives and a night dive in the Horseshoe Bay. Some of our favourite dive sites here include: ‘Cannibal Rock’, ‘The Yellow Wall of Texas’, ‘Devil’s Corner’ and ‘Torpedo Alley’.

During the months of May until October however, the waters are quite cold (down to 23°C) and the visibility is rather poor. You will be, however, rewarded with critter galore: Ambon Scorpionfish, Rhinopias, Frogfish, Wonderpus, Coconut Octopus paired with an overwhelming growth of soft and hard coral on the reefs.

A very common sight at the beach are Komodo Dragons, Deer, Wild Boar and up in the trees you might spot a sea eagle.

Day 4: Manta alley 

In a setting of incomparable beauty, we will have the opportunity here to dive with a large number of manta rays, but the presence of other large pelagics is almost guaranteed by the proximity of the Indian Ocean.

Our prefered spot “ Manta Alley” and “German Flag”.

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.

Day 6: Bima Bay

With the array of critters, macro photographers might never want to leave this dive site with seahorses and ghost pipefish nestled all over the reef. There are also many different kinds of squid and octopus, including the fascinating blue-ringed and mimic octopus. There is a deeper drop-off further along the coast from Bima Strait where you can see white tips and eagle rays.

Our prefered spot “Bethlehen” and “Tanjung Batu putih.

Day 7: Teluk Saleh

We arrive in the morning early morning  inside the Saleh Bay where  have a lot of Bagan 

( Fishing platforms) where the local fishermans work all the night lifting up and putting back the nets with the help of lamps to attract small fish (sardines, anchovies, etc.) that will later be dried and distributed in the various local markets. lifting up and putting back the nets with the help of lamps to attract small fish (sardines, anchovies, etc.) that will later be dried and distributed in the various local markets. when the lamps go out early in the morning, whale sharks arrive, who are very fond of these small fish, so we spend the whole morning in their company, both snorkelling and diving. on the way back we do the afternoon dive at the mouth of the bay, this time looking for critters

Day 8: Sangeang

At the double caldera 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.We propose also a excursion to the local village of Bontoh after the third dive.

Day 9: Komodo – The North

Working our way back to Labuan Bajo, 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 9: Komodo Central & Padar

 Arriving in the centre of the park, we are truly spoilt for choice when it comes to dive sites:

"Batu Bolong", "Karang Makassar", "Tatawa Besar", "Tarawa Kecil", "Siaba Besar" etc..

Overlunch we will move to Padar wher we can dive in ‘Thee Sister,’ after we can visit the pink beach in the afternoon and with a little climbing we get a spectacular breathtaking view of the Komodo Park at the sunset.On the night we will move to Rinca Island.

Day 11: Rinca Trekking & Flying fox

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. For the guest that want to dive we can propose a critters dive very nice before or after the trekking with the Komodo dragon.

At sunset, we will instead be waiting for the flight of the giant bats (flying foxes) that depart from the islet of Kaba for the hinterland of Flores in search of fruit to feed on. They will only return in the early hours of the morning.

Day 12: Disembarkation in Labuan Bajo

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.