Route Description - Banda Sea & Alor (Ambon-Maumere)
This 11-day journey begins in Ambon, cruising into the Banda Sea with exploratory dives around the remote Lucipara and Maisel Archipelagos. Guests continue to Gunung Api for its famous sea snakes, then to Wetar before crossing into Alor and Nusa Tenggara Timur. The route highlights the diverse marine life of Pantar, Beangabang, and Alor Strait, followed by critter diving in Boling Strait and shark-filled seamounts off Adonara, before concluding in Maumere.
Day 1 – Ambon
Guests board Adelaar in Ambon and begin their journey cruising into the Banda Sea.
Day 2 – Lucipara Penyu Archipelago
Dives around the uninhabited Lucipara islands feature vast coral reefs plunging into the Banda Sea, offering encounters with pelagics such as tunas, rainbow runners, threshers, silky sharks, and hammerheads. (4 dives)
Day 3 – Lucipara Maisel Archipelago
Healthy reefs with soft corals, sea fans, and hard coral gardens teem with reef fish, alongside opportunities to spot larger pelagic species. (4 dives)
Day 4 – Gunung Api
This volcanic island is home to schooling jacks, barracudas, tunas, and numerous sea snakes, making for a truly unique diving experience. (4 dives)
Day 5 – Wetar
Walls and slopes of Reong and Wetar provide rich marine life, including reef sharks, trevally, tunas, and zebra anemones. Guests may also witness migrating whales while sailing toward Alor. (3 dives)
Day 6 – Pantar
Dives range from hammerhead encounters and vibrant coral walls to anemone fields with mola molas and critters on a black-sand night dive. (3 day dives, 1 night dive)
Day 7 – Beangabang
Critter-rich dives reveal species like frogfish, mimic octopus, rhinopias, and hairy shrimp. A village visit offers warm welcomes from local children. (3 day dives, 1 night dive)
Day 8 – Alor Strait
Exposed dive sites showcase coral “trees,” vibrant reefs, and possible encounters with pelagics, mola molas, or thresher sharks. (3 dives)
Day 9 – Boling Strait
Macro life abounds, with highlights such as blue ring octopus, ghost pipefish, rhinopias, and wonderpus beneath Lewotolo volcano. (3 day dives, 1 night dive)
Day 10 – Adonara
Seamounts covered in corals host reef fish, sharks, and juvenile silvertips. Guests then cruise into Maumere for a farewell dinner. (2 dives)
Day 11 – Maumere
After breakfast, disembarkation takes place in Maumere. (Itinerary may vary with weather and sea conditions.)