Katharina

Deals

AM & PM: You will be met at the airport in Komodo by your tour leaders and taken straight to your boat. After settling into your new home for the week, we will head off for our first of many snorkeling expeditions.

Go ashore on Rinca Island in search of the fearsome Komodo dragons, found only in the Komodo National Park. This is the world’s largest lizard, growing up to a length of three metres and weighing up to approximately 70 kilograms.

Another highlight will be when we anchor off a small island to witness the nightly departure of thousands of flying foxes that fly at dusk to feed on the mainland.

Enjoy a fantastic drift snorkel as we visit Gili Lawa Darat, an island in the north of the park, from where we can trek to the viewpoint and watch a majestic sunset across the park.

AM & PM: Go ashore on Sangeang Island, an active volcano, where we will visit the local village and enjoy snorkelling on the colourful coral reef just offshore.

Experience one of our famous beach BBQs under a night sky filled with millions of stars as you feast on the amazing local delicacies prepared by our chef, and all accompanied by live musical entertainment from our talented crew.

We will go ashore on the forested Moyo Island, where we will travel to the interior of the island to visit a scenic waterfall in the rainforest, where we can bathe in the refreshing cool water.

AM & PM: Prepare for an exhilarating opportunity to swim with whale sharks, the majestic gentle giants of the sea. These massive but harmless animals have long congregated here in the bay, but now, thanks to travellers like you, we have formed a mutually beneficial alliance with the local fishermen, who have their traditional small floating fishing platforms in the bay that attract the sharks.

Visit a local village and witness their age-old practice of buffalo racing, where the local men ride their prized beasts through a mud-filled rice paddy, an exhilarating sight to behold.

Visit a strange and mystical volcanic island with a sunken crater lake in its centre, and visit a small coastal community to see pinisi ships being built on the beach.

AM & PM: Enjoy a unique snorkeling experience where volcanic gas escapes in the form of bubbles from the sea floor among the corals, with the metallic black volcanic sand below being home to an abundance of very interesting invertebrates.

Entering the Komodo National Park again, we will go drift snorkelling in one of the best and healthiest coral reefs in the park.

You will have a hands-on experience at a coral conservation project on Hatamin Island, where you will learn about the work and get a chance to create your own coral rack and place it in the sea.

Snorkel at a favourite hangout of sea turtles, where we will have a chance to swim with these gentle reptiles as they cruise along the shallow water of the reef. Swim with manta rays as they feed on the current and circle the so-called cleaning stations, where small fish remove parasites from their skin.

AM: After breakfast on our last day, we will take you on a scenic drive towards Melo Village, where you will witness the traditional Caci dance performance. Local strongmen perform a ritual whip-fight between two rivals in which the players, each armed with a rattan shield and a whip, will try to hit each other while dancing to the rhythm of traditional acoustic instruments.

PM: After lunch on the boat, we will say farewell to the crew and your fellow shipmates as you disembark and continue onto your next destination.

AM & PM: On the first morning, you will be greeted by your tour leaders at your hotel and taken to the boat, and after an alfresco lunch, we will stop off for our first swim and snorkel of the voyage on a coral reef, before continuing on our way south.

The Misool archipelago is a picturesque chain of jungle-covered limestone islets with spectacular coral reefs offering some fantastic snorkeling. We will spend the day exploring the many inlets, bays, and beaches with some trekking, swimming, and snorkelling. We will also break out the kayaks and paddle boards for some seaborne adventuring.

AM & PM: We will swim in a mysterious stingless jellyfish lake, one of only 20 in the world where these amazing creatures exist, and swim amongst the many thousands of stingless animals.

Using our tenders, we will visit some prehistoric cave paintings, estimated to be between 3,000 to 5,000 years old and depicting various human figures, huge human hands, fish, and flowers.

Experience an early morning jungle trek to look for the Lesser Birds of Paradise in the wild, an unforgettable experience for anyone lucky enough to see them as they dance around in their ‘lekking’ trees.

AM & PM: Central Raja Ampat stores many magical underwater gems. Exploration and lots of waterborne opportunities await as we cruise, we snorkel, and get the paddle boards and kayaks in the water.

Snorkel around one of the best coral reefs in the world with a large school of fish hanging out in the deep, masses of healthy corals, and large sea fans clinging to the reef walls.

AM & PM: Explore a small group of limestone islands filled with coves and beautiful reefs, and we will go ashore for a short climb to a vantage point where we can survey our beautiful surroundings, before heading out to snorkel on the beautiful reefs.

We will have an epic snorkel adventure on one of Raja Ampat’s best reefs, where hundreds of species can be found, including large schools of fish of all sizes and a massive diversity of coral species.

AM & PM: A super early awaits as we head off into the forest in search of two incredible birds: the Red Bird of Paradise and the Wilson’s Bird of Paradise. The walk takes about 40 minutes, and as we arrive at the bird site at dawn, if we are lucky, we will see the incredible mating displays of these birds in the canopy of the rainforest. This is a David Attenborough moment if ever there was one.

Enjoy more great snorkelling in the famous underwater sea wall on the east of Gam Island.

AM: On the last day of our adventure, we will wake up anchored in Sorong and have one last hearty breakfast on board before saying farewell to our crew and your fellow travellers, and making our way to the airport or hotel for the next phase of your journey.

AM & PM: Triton Bay is a place of unsurpassed natural splendour, where time and tides have sliced the limestone landscape into tall cliffs and numerous islands separated by lagoons and narrow channels. Heading through the Namatote Passage, we will see an impressive collection of ancient cave paintings high up on the cliffs.

It is also home to fishermen who collect baitfish and keep them in nets attached to specially built platforms, also known as ‘bagans’. It is these and their fish that attract whale sharks. We will head out in the tenders in the early morning light to see if the sharks are around, and if we are lucky, we will spend a couple of hours in the water with these magnificent creatures.

Take a short walk into the forest to see a most spectacular jungle waterfall surrounded by virgin rainforest, and take a dip in its cool refreshing waters.

AM & PM: We have the chance to swim with wild dolphins, and also enjoy some spectacular snorkelling and beach time on a remote white-sand beach.

Experience a most serene and primal scene of a second jungle waterfall, where a roaring river pours directly into the sea. Here we will swim and play in the waterfall as we take in this most tranquil tropical scenery.

AM & PM: Enjoy more relaxing time snorkelling on the reefs, exploring the inlets and local areas by paddle board and kayak, or swimming and sunbathing from the white sand beaches of this beautiful piece of paradise.

Visit the Pisang Islands, a small group of picture-perfect islands, where we will spend the morning exploring the beaches, crystal clear waters, and vibrant reefs with our snorkels.

On the mainland of Papua, where we will visit a local village and meet the residents, who will welcome us into their village, sharing with us their way of life, which consists of fishing and growing nutmeg.

AM & PM: Visit a locally initiated programme where the villagers are replanting mangroves in their coastal areas to prevent erosion and to provide safe environments for juvenile fish to thrive. We will get our hands on and plant a few of them for ourselves, and hear from the founder of the project.

Snorkel on a nearby reef and visit a traditional village, where the locals will perform some traditional songs and dance for us. Bring your dancing shoes because you will be invited to join in.

Trek to a viewpoint high above an aquamarine lagoon that overlooks a picturesque limestone karst chain of islands.

AM & PM: Take an early morning trek in the jungle to see the Red Bird of Paradise and the Wilson’s Bird of Paradise in their jungle home as they perform their mating rituals in the trees and on the forest floor.

Visit small islands for some fantastic snorkelling and beach time, swimming, paddling, and kayaking. We will explore the jungle-clad coastline by dinghy, enjoying the scenery and looking for birds before enjoying cocktails on the upper deck, waiting for the hornbills flying back to their roosting trees.

AM & PM: Take an early morning trek in the jungle to see the Red Bird of Paradise and the Wilson’s Bird of Paradise in their jungle home as they perform their mating rituals in the trees and on the forest floor.

Visit small islands for some fantastic snorkelling and beach time, swimming, paddling, and kayaking. We will explore the jungle-clad coastline by dinghy, enjoying the scenery and looking for birds before enjoying cocktails on the upper deck, waiting for the hornbills flying back to their roosting trees.

AM & PM: Visit a locally initiated programme where the villagers are replanting mangroves in their coastal areas to prevent erosion and to provide safe environments for juvenile fish to thrive. We will get our hands on and plant a few of them for ourselves, and hear from the founder of the project.

Snorkel on a nearby reef and visit the traditional village of Marandanweser, where the locals will perform some traditional songs and dance for us. Bring your dancing shoes because you will be invited to join in.

Trek to a viewpoint high above an aquamarine lagoon that overlooks a picturesque limestone karst chain of islands.

AM & PM: Enjoy more relaxing time snorkelling on the reefs, exploring the inlets and local areas by paddle board and kayak, or swimming and sunbathing from the white sand beaches of this beautiful piece of paradise.

Visit the Pisang Islands, a small group of picture-perfect islands, where we will spend the morning exploring the beaches, crystal clear waters, and vibrant reefs with our snorkels.

On the mainland of Papua, where we will visit a local village and meet the residents, who will welcome us into their village, sharing with us their way of life, which consists of fishing and growing nutmeg.

AM & PM: We have the chance to swim with wild dolphins and also enjoy some spectacular snorkelling and beach time on a remote white-sand beach.

Experience a most serene and primal scene of a jungle waterfall, where a roaring river surrounded by virgin rainforest pours into the sea. Here we will swim and play in the waterfall and the sea as we take in this most tranquil tropical scenery.

AM & PM: Triton Bay is a place of unsurpassed natural splendour, where time and tides have sliced the limestone landscape into tall cliffs and numerous islands separated by lagoons and narrow channels. Heading through the Namatote Passage, we will see an impressive collection of ancient cave paintings high up on the cliffs.

It is also home to fishermen who collect baitfish and keep them in nets attached to specially built platforms, also known as ‘bagans’. It is these and their fish that attract whale sharks. We will head out in the tenders in the early morning light to see if the sharks are around, and if we are lucky, we will spend a couple of hours in the water with these magnificent creatures.

Take a short walk into the forest to see a most spectacular jungle waterfall surrounded by virgin rainforest, and take a dip in its cool refreshing waters.

AM & PM: You will be welcomed to the boat by your crew and tour leaders, and as you settle into your new home, we will raise the anchor and head out into the Raja Ampat National Park.

We go on a pre-dawn quest to spot the remarkable Red Bird of Paradise, where we hope to see this rare bird’s elaborate courtship display high in the trees as dawn breaks over the forest canopy. After this, we will go to a different site to see the ground-dwelling Wilson’s bird of paradise, and it’s equally beautiful, but with a vastly different courtship display.

We will have an epic snorkel adventure on one of Raja Ampat’s best reefs, where hundreds of species can be found, including large schools of fish of all sizes and a massive diversity of coral species.

AM & PM: We will visit a small island group for a short hilltop climb to take in the amazing views. After some great snorkelling on the island’s reefs, we will set course for a local village, where the local children will perform their traditional dances for us.

We can also walk around the village and gain a sense of their culture, which is still kept very much alive by the villagers living in this isolated place. There’s a chance that we may get to see some manta rays as we snorkel, but there are no guarantees.

Snorkel the Dampier Strait, home of some of Raja Ampat’s premier reefs. If the currents are in our favour, we might see some of the area’s larger specimens of marine life, which are attracted to the strait’s nutrient-rich waters.

AM & PM: Visit the chain of islands that make up the eastern part of the Misool archipelago in the south of Raja Ampat. The topography is typical of ‘karst dissolution’, featuring a great number of tiny islets whose bases have been eroded over time by the relentless motion of the tides.

We will swim in a mysterious stingless jellyfish lake amongst the many thousands of animals: undoubtedly one of Raja Ampat’s most memorable activities. We use our tenders to explore more of this impressive maze of karst islands, both above and below the surface, complete with some prehistoric cave paintings, estimated to be between 3,000 to 5,000 years old and depicting various human figures and huge human hands, fish, and flowers.

AM & PM: We visit the small seaside village of Aduwei on Misool, where we can stroll around and meet the local people. We visit the school to learn about the way the Nature Conservancy is working with the village to empower local women with a fishing practice called ‘Sasi’.

We will be snorkelling at a channel that divides two islands, where sea fans hang in the drop-offs, and the current is rich in nutrients.

Spend the day strolling on a white-sandy beach and snorkel the reef where juvenile black-tip reef sharks usually frequent.

AM & PM: We pay a visit to the Pisang Islands. These tiny gems isolated in the vast waters of the Ceram Sea offer us a chance to relax and enjoy the sparkling white-sand beaches, clear waters, and vibrant reefs before making our way to the shores of West Misool.

Visit Bacan, another of Indonesia’s historic spice sultanates. We go ashore to explore the forested slopes where Wallace made some of his greatest zoological discoveries, including the Standardwing Bird of Paradise, and the huge and magnificent Golden Birdwing Butterfly. Wallace described the latter species as the “finest butterfly in the world”.

We will also keep a close watch for these and a host of other animals, some of them endemic to these islands, including parrots, cockatoos, lorikeets, hornbills, the elusive cuscus, and the endangered black macaque – the only monkey in Maluku. It’s the wrong side of the Wallace Line for monkeys; these were introduced hundreds of years ago from North Sulawesi.

AM & PM: Visit the Guraici Archipelago, a chain of islands with white sandy beaches, vibrant coral reefs, and some lovely local villages. We will spend a full day here snorkelling, swimming, and beachcombing. The islands are part of a government-controlled conservation area, designed to protect the reefs and the many beautiful marine species that live there.

Visit the village of Dodinga: the very place where Wallace was living when, in a fit of malarial delirium, he discovered the mechanism which drives evolutionary change – natural selection. Dodinga is a pretty little riverside village with friendly people, colourful houses, and the ruins of an old Portuguese fort, and its importance in the history of science cannot be understated.

AM & PM: After settling in on the boat, we will head to the small village of Watublapi, where we will be met with singing and dancing by the local people. Famed for their unique textiles, we will be shown firsthand their ancient techniques of spinning, dyeing, and weaving their famous fabrics. Here we will have the chance to view (and purchase) some of the local textiles, try their betel nut, and brave their locally produced liquor.

Pay a visit to the local village that was abandoned when we will snorkel and watch the sunset over Ile Apé, another active volcano.

AM & PM: Go ashore and meet the villagers of Umapura, a village famed for its weaving and dyeing, where we can see how the local women create their intricate ikat cloth. There is every chance to purchase some as a memento.

We went on some local boats to visit with Mawar, a friendly but wild dugong who lives in the seagrass beds of the nearby bay. We will also get to meet the “local hero”, Pak One, who ensures that Mawar is well protected.

Visit the traditional village of Takpala up in the hills of Alor, where we will be welcomed by the chief and witness a ceremonial war dance in honour of our visit. We will see their traditional ‘Moko’ war drums and intricately designed ‘Ikat’ fabrics, which have been woven and dyed using age-old techniques, and used in local bridal dowries for centuries.

AM & PM: We do a bit of island hopping over the next few days as we make our way up the Banda Arc, a string of volcanic islands that forms part of the Ring of Fire.

We will visit Wetar and Damar Islands and go ashore to a local village to meet the locals and see their way of life as they dry their catch on the beach. Spend the day swimming and beaching, snorkelling and exploring, and indulge in a bit of local culture by way of ‘sopi’, a strong alcoholic drink made from a local palm tree.

The crew will set up for a beach BBQ, and we will dance and sing our way into the night before heading off again for an overnight cruise to our next destination.

AM & PM: We will visit a very simple village where the people’s houses are made using the products of the sago palm, the staple crop in this part of the world. The villagers will demonstrate for us how they process the heart of the sago palm into the edible product that sustains them.

We will pass by an uninhabited island that is home to tens of thousands of sea birds (brown and red-footed boobies and frigate birds), who will likely come out to encircle the boat in great numbers on our approach. If the tide allows, we will go ashore and investigate, and surely have a snorkel.

We will enjoy a full day at sea as we do a long crossing to the legendary Banda Islands – home of nutmeg, mace, and mystery.

AM & PM: By dawn, we should have the Banda Archipelago ‘Spice Islands’ in our sights, original home of the nutmeg and the scene of much bloodshed between the colonial powers of Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries over control of the spice trade. We will visit Pulau Run, England’s very first colony, as well as Pulau Ai where we will visit Fort Revenge, built by the Dutch in the 17th century.

In the capital Banda Neira, with its quaint, characterful streets, a museum, churches, a waterfront market, and forts. Just across the harbour is Banda’s perfect, jungle-clad volcanic cone Gunung Api (‘Fire Mountain).

We will also visit the other small islands of the Banda archipelago – Lonthor, Ai, Run, Hatta – each of them with its own remnants of old plantations, Dutch cemeteries, and fortifications. The tiny outlying island of Run was the subject of an unbelievable real estate deal when, in 1667, under the Treaty of Breda, it was ceded by the English to the Dutch in exchange for Manhattan. Yes, the Manhattan where New York stands.

AM & PM: We will observe the age-old technique of harvesting nutmeg by hand, and can taste (and buy) baked goods, condiments, and jams flavoured with fresh mace and nutmeg. The fruit enclosing the nutmeg seed is sold dried and has a unique and intense flavour. It is a delicacy rarely obtainable outside the Banda Islands.

There are some excellent coral reefs here, and we should see some amazing marine life whilst snorkelling. Ironically, in the less-than-pristine waters of the harbour, we have a good chance of seeing (at dusk) arguably the world’s most stunning fish, the small but jewel-like Mandarin Fish.

Leaving Banda, we will navigate through the Sonnegat (‘Sun’s gap’) between Neira and Gunung Api, possibly escorted by kora-kora – the big Moluccan galleys used traditionally for ceremony and warfare, propelled by banks of warrior-oarsmen.

AM & PM: After settling into your cabins, we will set course north for about 90 minutes and enjoy our first snorkel of many on a lovely coral reef.

Explore a remote and forested set of islets renowned for its limestone outcrops and a large and dramatic waterfall, which cascades directly into the sea in a beautiful bay.

We will pay a visit to Dodinga Village, a seminal place in the history of science, where Victorian explorer and naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace first formulated the Theory of Evolution through Natural Selection, which was later published together with Charles Darwin.

AM & PM: Go ashore to the village of Bastiong on Halmahera, where we will be welcomed by the friendly residents and guided through their fruit plantations and forests to a giant waterfall, where we can bathe in its cool, clear waters. On our way back, the villagers will likely get their musical instruments out and invite us all to sing and dance together.

Snorkel, paddle board, kayak, and explore the beaches, reefs, and mangroves of two beautiful small island groups. If we are lucky, we will see white-tipped reef sharks as we swim among the rich beautiful coral gardens.

AM & PM: Beautiful, rare, and endemic wildlife is what awaits us on our visit to Bacan Island as we go see the Golden-birdwing butterfly, one of nature’s biggest and most beautiful specimens. We also hope to see the stylishly quaffed black-crested macaques, mohawk-sporting monkeys that live in the forests.

Visit a copra processing plant and learn how the villagers make their living from their coconut plantations, and visit a local hot spring to bathe in the thermal waters.

Visit a large settlement of the famed Bajau ‘Sea Gypsy” people, who spend their entire lives living on, above, and near the water. We will be welcomed into the community by the village head and shown around to see their way of life and how they make their living from the ocean. Expect lots of wonderful smiling and excited kids to accompany us as we move around the village – always a huge treat.

AM & PM: There will be an early wake-up and a quick breakfast as we go ashore in search of one of the highlights of the trip, the Wallace Standardwing Bird of Paradise, which inhabits the deep forests in the interior. We will also have a second chance to see the Black-crested macaques as we return to the boat later in the morning.

Go ashore to the town of Labuha, the capital of Bacan, a large and vibrant fishing and trading port, which offers a great insight into the economy of eastern Indonesia’s islands.

Cruise the fascinating, tight passage north through the narrow, island-filled channels that separate the heavily forested islands of Bacan and Kasuruta. At the head of the channel, we will stop at an uninhabited island to snorkel, paddle, kayak, swim, and play.

AM & PM: Another pristine island group awaits with white sandy beaches, crystal clear turquoise water, which is ideal for snorkelling, swimming, and exploring with its limestone formations and very picturesque setting.

We get to explore the beautiful Guraici Archipelago, another chain of islands with white sandy beaches, vibrant coral reefs, and some lovely local villages. We will spend a full day here snorkelling, swimming, and beachcombing. The islands are part of a government-controlled conservation area, designed to protect the reefs and the many beautiful marine species that live there. We will also have the chance to see manta rays, which are often found in these waters.

AM & PM: We will cross the Equator in the daytime and partake in a centuries-old seafaring ritual for novices to celebrate their first crossing. The crew dress up in gaudy costumes, and we will count down to ‘zero’ on the GPS as we approach the Equator, and then all take a swim in the sea with one leg in each hemisphere to celebrate.

Go ashore to visit the Equator monument, explore the island surrounds and reefs, and experience the glorious tradition of a beach BBQ and party under the stars with our crew.

Visit Tidore, an island dominated by a massive volcanic cone, and once a rival sultanate to Ternate just across the bay, for its highly valued cloves. Highlights include a visit to a local blacksmith and an old Spanish fort as we circle the island by car.

AM: Today marks the end of our cruise adventure, but not before we take you on a short tour of the town of Ternate, the provincial capital. This and the neighbouring islands were once the world’s only source of cloves and were highly contested by European powers. We will visit the Sultan’s palace, the market, and an 17th Century Dutch fort, a remnant of Indonesia’s colonial past.

We will say farewell to our crew before taking you to your hotel or the airport for the next leg of your journey.

AM & PM: After being picked up from your hotel after breakfast, we board local motorized canoes to take you to the backwaters to observe orangutans on the beautiful, forested island of Pulau Kaja. The island is managed by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation or BOS, and the orangutans live a totally ‘hands off’ existence free from human interference.

Exploring by motorized canoes, we will visit the extensive blackwater lake of Bagantung, a unique peatland swamp ecosystem where we have the opportunity to spot birds, other wildlife, and fishing activities by the villagers.

Cruise through the large forested Selat and Badak Islands, where it may be possible to spot orangutans, proboscis monkeys, and lots of endemic birds.

Visit Dayak villages, where you will be greeted with traditional dance and hospitality as you see and experience their way of life.

AM & PM: Walk through and explore a local rubber plantation and learn about the processes of growing and extracting the latex from the source by tapping the trees. Learn about the many medicinal herbs and plants that can be found growing in the forest.

Visit more local Dayak villages and learn about some of their traditional livelihoods, such as rattan weaving, and enjoy local entertainment in the form of a kacapi (two-stringed instrument) performance, and local self-defense or shadowboxing.

Explore the tiny fishing village of Tundai, perched atop raised walkways on the edge of an expansive blackwater lake. Here, we float through here on canoes, admiring the stunning reflections and learning more about the unique fishing practices.

On the morning of Day 4, we will transfer you to the airport for your flight to Bali.

* If doing a 14-day journey, you will spend two nights in Bali with the extra day at your leisure.

AM & PM: You will be met at the airport in Komodo by your tour leaders and be taken straight to your boat. After settling into your new home for the week, we will head off for our first of many snorkelling expeditions.

Go ashore on Rinca Island in search of the fearsome Komodo dragons, found only in the Komodo National Park. This is the world’s largest lizard, growing up to a length of three metres and weighing up to approximately 70 kilograms.

Another highlight will be when we anchor off a small island to witness the nightly departure of thousands of flying foxes that fly at dusk to feed on the mainland.

Enjoy a fantastic drift snorkel as we visit Gili Lawa Darat, an island in the north of the park, from where we can trek to the viewpoint and watch a majestic sunset across the park.

AM & PM: Go ashore on Sangeang Island, an active volcano, where we will visit the local village and enjoy snorkelling on the colourful coral reef just offshore.

Experience one of our famous beach BBQs under a night sky filled with millions of stars as you feast on the amazing local delicacies prepared by our chef, and all accompanied by live musical entertainment from our talented crew.

We will go ashore on the forested Moyo Island, where we will travel to the interior of the island to visit a scenic waterfall in the rainforest, where we can bathe in the refreshing cool water.

AM & PM: Prepare for an exhilarating opportunity to swim with whale sharks, the majestic gentle giants of the sea. These massive but harmless animals have long congregated here in the bay, but now, thanks to travellers like you, we have formed a mutually beneficial alliance with the local fishermen, who have their traditional small floating fishing platforms in the bay that attract the sharks.

Visit a local village and witness their age-old practice of buffalo racing, where the local men ride their prized beasts through a mud-filled rice paddy, an exhilarating sight to behold.

Visit a strange and mystical volcanic island with a sunken crater lake in its centre, and visit a small coastal community to see pinisi ships being built on the beach.

AM & PM: Enjoy a unique snorkeling experience where volcanic gas escapes in the form of bubbles from the sea floor among the corals, with the metallic black volcanic sand below being home to an abundance of very interesting invertebrates.

Entering the Komodo National Park again, we will go drift snorkelling in one of the best and healthiest coral reefs in the park.

You will have a hands-on experience at a coral conservation project on Hatamin Island, where you will learn about the work and get a chance to create your own coral rack and place it in the sea.

Snorkel at a favourite hangout of sea turtles, where we will have a chance to swim with these gentle reptiles as they cruise along the shallow water of the reef. Swim with manta rays as they feed on the current and circle the so-called cleaning stations, where small fish remove parasites from their skin.

AM: After breakfast on our last day, we will take you on a scenic drive towards Melo Village, where you will witness the traditional Caci dance performance. Local strongmen perform a ritual whip-fight between two rivals in which the players, each armed with a rattan shield and a whip, will try to hit each other while dancing to the rhythm of traditional acoustic instruments.

PM: After lunch on the boat, we will say farewell to the crew and your fellow shipmates as you disembark and continue onto your next destination.

AM & PM: We start the cruise in a big way with giants looming large in your first two days: Komodo dragons, flying foxes and manta rays, three of the biggest and most impressive animals in Indonesia. We take a privately arranged, ranger-led walk around the island of Rinca, where we will see not only the dragons, but also their preferred menu of prey – monkeys, deer, pigs, and buffaloes.

Snorkel on some of Komodo National Park’s best reefs to see sea turtles, masses of fish, and some amazingly rich coral reefs.

At sunset we will gather on the deck and be witness to a most spectacular event as thousands of flying foxes leave their mangrove forest homes en masse on their nightly fruit-foraging missions.

AM & PM: Bonerate archipelago is rarely visited by tourists outside of us, and seeing this open-air boatyard is an experience to be savoured. We walk amongst the hulls and hulks of a huge unlaunched flotilla of pinisi ships being built on this remote island archipelago. We will meet the shipwrights and discover their age-old traditions of shipbuilding that they have practiced for centuries.

As we walk through the villages and along the beaches and meet the locals, you will gain a new appreciation for island life and for the kind of boat you have been cruising with for the past thirteen days.

Snorkel some fabulous reefs in the third largest atoll in the world and see a huge abundance of fish, corals and all the creatures and plants that dwell within.

AM & PM: Literally meaning “High Rock”, we visit the island of Batuatas, which takes its name from the high and dramatic cliffs that line its western coast. We visit a famous local blacksmith where the local craftsmen use hand-operated bellows on the furnace in the blacksmith’s shop to produce machetes and knives that are highly sought-after right across Indonesia.

If the tides and currents are in our favour, we pass by an uninhabited sea mount in the middle of the Flores Sea, where tens of thousands of seabirds call home. It’s rich in upwelling nutrients and a perfect habitat for fishing and raising their young.

Visit the Wakatobi National Park, a very hard to reach archipelago filled with fascinating culture and also one of Indonesia’s best national parks, with outstanding underwater life natural beauty. At Hoga Island, we will snorkel the island’s famous drop off, with a beautiful reef and myriad fish species of all types and sizes.

AM & PM: We will visit a Bajau “Sea Gypsy” settlement. Here, you’ll see how the Bajau people live in, on, and above the water and how their community thrives in harmony with the ocean. Known for their ability to read the weather, hold their breath for extended periods, and their exceptional freediving skills, and their deep connection to the sea, the Bajau depend entirely on marine life for survival. Meeting them in person is a truly unforgettable experience.

The Bokan islands are an area of unsurpassed beauty, and today will be a day of marine exploration and relaxation as we snorkel, swim, paddle around the glorious reef, beach and island with giant clams scattered around the area.

We pay a hands-on visit to some “local heroes” at an NGO doing great work with giant clam restoration on the surrounding reefs, in addition to working with local fishermen in finding sustainable solutions for overseas markets and the live aquarium fishing trade.

AM & PM: Crossing to the Sula Archipelago, we visit a local village, where we will meet the Kadai tribe, one of the four indigenous tribes of Taliabu Island. They speak limited Indonesian but welcome visitors with genuine warmth and friendliness. Once known as skilled hunters, they now focus more on agriculture, though traditional hunting is still practiced today.

We have the rare privilege to swim in a small marine lake filled with stingless jellyfish, one of only 20 lakes of its kind in the world. Stingless jellyfish exist as a result of evolutionary adaptation in isolated marine lakes where they have no natural predators and have developed alternative ways to obtain food.

AM & PM: Enjoy some relaxing time on the beach, swimming, paddle boarding, kayaking, and snorkelling on the white sand beaches and reefs of the western end of the Sula island chain.

Visit Manipa Island, a place said to have magical powers, because none of the colonial powers ever took hold here. We will visit a village to experience their food production technologies, which include sago production, nutmeg and cashew plantations, as well as a pot-distilled volatile oil called “kayu putih”, famed throughout Indonesia as a universal panacea: cosmetic, antiseptic, insecticide, decongestant, analgesic, stimulant, and tonic.

AM: On our last day, we will arrive in Ambon where everyone will say their goodbyes to the crew, the tour leaders, and fellow guests who have been our family for the past two weeks.

AM & PM: On the first day of your adventure, you will be collected from your hotel after breakfast by our tour leaders and taken directly to the boat, which will be waiting at anchor in Ambon Harbour.

As soon as everyone is settled in and the captain gets clearance from the harbour master, we will raise anchor and head south across the open sea, crossing to the legendary Banda Archipelago.

AM & PM: We wake up in the Banda Islands. Famous for their natural beauty and cultural heritage, and the well-preserved remnants of an extraordinary history of imperialist rivalry, these islands are quite simply one of Indonesia’s highlights. Banda was originally the world’s only source of nutmeg and mace, valued for their rarity and high cost by aristocrats and elites.

On the main island of Banda Neira, we will stroll through the quaint colonial outpost’s characterful streets, inspecting notable residences, a museum, forts, churches, and a waterfront market. Just across the harbour is Banda’s perfect, jungle-clad volcanic cone Gunung Api ‘Fire Mountain).

We will visit the tiny outlying island of Run, which was the subject of an unbelievable real estate deal when, in 1667, under the Treaty of Breda, it was ceded by the English to the Dutch in exchange for Manhattan. Yes, the Manhattan where New York stands.

There are some excellent coral reefs nearby, and we should see some amazing marine life whilst snorkelling. At dusk, we have a chance to see arguably the world’s most stunning fish, the small but jewel-like Mandarin Fish.

AM & PM: We will wake up off the coast of Ceram, and go ashore to walk through some inland lakes, as well as some trekking, snorkelling, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, and beach activities.

We will do some dinghy exploration through karsts around Bair Island, snorkel, and spend time on the beach with the SUPs and kayaks.

Back to the boat, depart for a small chain of islands for an afternoon of snorkelling and water activities. This is a great location for a beach BBQ, so if the weather is right, it’s party time.

AM & PM: Here we have a chance to explore this very remote island chain of Kei and Aru, located in the easternmost corner of Maluku, just off the southwest coast of Papua.

We can visit a beautiful white sand beach and a large sea cave, where we can swim inside. Later, we can visit Masbait Hill, which marks the highest point in Kei Kecil. It is known for its rotating statue of Christ, which many Catholics visit for pilgrimage.

The Aru islands are rich in Papuan fauna, which includes tree kangaroos, palm cockatoos, and four species of birds of paradise. Marine life is also very rich, and Aru’s capital, Dobo, situated on the small island of Wamar, has long been a busy regional trading centre for pearls, sea cucumbers, and the like

AM & PM: We wake up off the coast of Papua to a most serene and primal scene of a jungle waterfall where a roaring river surrounded by virgin rainforest pours into the sea.

Triton Bay is a place of unsurpassed natural splendour, where time and tides have sliced the limestone landscape into tall cliffs and numerous islands separated by lagoons and narrow channels. It is also home to fishermen who collect baitfish and keep them in nets attached to specially built platforms, also known as ‘bagans’. It is these and their fish that attract whale sharks. We will head out in the tenders to see if the sharks are around, and if we are lucky, we will spend a couple of hours in the water with these magnificent creatures.

We will explore the bays and limestone outcrops by tender, kayak, paddleboard, and swim and snorkel from the beautiful white-sand beaches.

AM & PM: Cruise through the undisturbed coves, caves, and lagoons before heading north through the Namatote Passage, where there is an impressive collection of ancient cave paintings high up on the cliffs. Take a short walk into the forest to see a most spectacular jungle waterfall surrounded by virgin rainforest, and take a dip in its cool refreshing waters.

Enjoy more snorkelling, swimming, kayaking, and paddling as we relax amidst the beauty of the surrounding jungle-covered islands. We will spend our final evening on the ship resting at anchor and enjoying a farewell dinner with our captain and crew.

AM: On our last day, we will find ourselves at anchor in the harbour of Kaimana, and after an early breakfast, our tenders will take you ashore for your transfer to the airport for your onward travel.

AM & PM: You will be welcomed aboard the boat, meet the crew and our fellow passengers, as you settle into our seaborne home for the next two weeks and set sail on our adventure.

Our first stop will be the Tangkoko National Park, which we will visit by car. Alfred Russel Wallace did a lot of his collecting here in the 19th century, and the park is now a haven for wildlife, including tarsiers, cuscus, reptiles, birds, and the always-fun black-crested macaque.

Back on the boat, we head south along the coast of North Sulawesi, and we will have multiple opportunities for snorkeling as we visit multiple reefs and islands, as well as pay. A couple of visits to some local villages.

AM & PM: In the small seaside town of Botuborani, where an absolute highlight might await – the chance to swim with whale sharks, the gentle giants of the sea.

In the Togean Islands, we will enjoy a fantastic snorkel on the reefs near the island of Malenge, before taking our snorkels and masks to experience a rare opportunity to swim with stingless jellyfish in nearby Lake Mariona, one of only 20 lakes in the world that are home to these amazing creatures. Also, have the unique opportunity to see the babirusa, Indonesia’s rare and endangered native pig.

We will visit a local village and meet the people, and enjoy a late afternoon walk in the local forest before being witness to a most amazing show of nature as flocks of hornbills come flying in to roost in the trees – a once-in-a-lifetime sight only accessible with us.

AM & PM: We visit with the Bajau sea gypsies of Southeast Asia and their famous patriarch ‘Jago’, a people with a very unique way of living with the sea. About 2,500 people live in the small overseas village, and we will be welcomed into their world to meet and talk with them about their lives.

We will head to the southernmost tip of the park and have a long snorkel near the before setting sail to the southeast for a most unique wildlife encounter the following morning.

A very unique experience awaits you today, one you will very likely have never had before – an encounter with a Maleo bird at a locally-run conservation project. One of Sulawesi’s most interesting birds, it is a flightless fowl with some very unusual characteristics and behaviours, and also the symbol of the province within which it lives.

Cruise south, we will snorkel in the afternoon on a beautifully rich reef in front or Pulau Dua, or ‘two islands’ in the Indonesian language.

AM & PM: We have the rare privilege to swim in a small marine lake filled with stingless jellyfish, one of only 20 lakes of its kind in the world.

We will visit the bustling Indonesian island port town of Banggai, a place filled with activity and commerce. Here on Banggai Island, we will visit the local market, explore the neighbourhoods, the sultan’s palace, and the Maleo bird egg museum, all from our fleet of brightly-coloured motor rickshaws, which will be on the dock awaiting our arrival.

The last of the day’s highlights will be a snorkel on a local reef where we will see the most elegant, but very threatened, Banggai Cardinal Fish – a darling of saltwater aquarium lovers worldwide. We will snorkel on one of the local reefs around a Bajau “sea gypsy” community whose famous as Southeast Asia’s nomadic cultures.

AM & PM: We spend time in the Wakatobi National Park, a very hard-to-reach archipelago filled with fascinating culture and also one of Indonesia’s best national parks, with outstanding underwater life and natural beauty.

You will enjoy a personalised tour of the island of Wangi-Wangi, with highlights that include a seaweed farm, meeting with a traditional weaving community, and the ruins of a centuries-old Dutch fort, a relic of the ancient Spice Trade.

We drop anchor at an uninhabited atoll where guests have the chance to beach-comb, snorkel, paddleboard, or kayak

AM & PM: We visit a famous local blacksmith where the local craftsmen use hand-operated bellows on the furnace in the blacksmith’s shop to produce machetes and knives that are highly sought-after right across Indonesia.

Stop by an uninhabited sea mount in the middle of the Flores Sea that is home to tens of thousands of seabirds. It’s rich in upwelling nutrients and a perfect habitat for fishing and raising their young.

Bonerate is rarely visited by tourists outside us, and seeing this open-air boatyard is an experience to be savoured. We will walk amongst the hulls and hulks of a huge unlaunched flotilla of pinisi ships being built on a remote island archipelago. We will meet the shipwrights and discover their age-old traditions of shipbuilding that they have practiced for centuries.

AM & PM: Giants will loom large in your day-to-day: Komodo dragons, flying foxes, and manta rays, three of the biggest and most impressive animals in Indonesia.

Entering the Komodo National Park, you will have a hands-on experience at a coral conservation project on Hatamin Island, where you will learn about the work and get a chance to create your own coral rack and place it in the sea.

As the sun starts to set, we will gather on the deck and be witness to a most spectacular event as thousands of flying foxes leave their mangrove forest homes en masse on their nightly fruit-foraging missions.

AM & PM: We have the chance to hike a scenic route of Gili Lawa Darat, or you can stretch your legs on the beautiful white-sandy beach. After the hike, we will be back on board for a mission: to count how many turtles we spot with our own eyes in Siaba Besar island, which is famous as turtle heaven.

We will take you for a privately arranged, ranger-led walk around the island of Rinca, where we will see not only Komodo dragons, but also their preferred menu of prey – monkeys, deer, pigs, and buffaloes.

The crew will prepare a beach BBQ for us as we all feast, sing, and dance the night away by a roaring fire under the stars.

AM: On our final day, we will wake as the boat is cruising slowly, making its way to the town of Labuan Bajo. After a final Indonesian breakfast on the boat, we will say farewell to our crew, who have looked after us so well for the past sixteen days, and transfer to Komodo airport for our flight and our onward journey.