Liveaboard Recommendations

Any recommendations for liveaboards that operate in the Raja Ampat and Banda areas?

Grand Komodo Tours--Boat name Tempkuri

Adventure Komodo with Larry Smith

www.adventureh20.com i think

I just came back two weeks ago from a 12 night trip on Ondina - terrific trip, one of the best i have ever done. Good boat, good crew, terrific diving!

No small weird critters apart from lots of pygmies, no sharks but brilliant reefs.

Here is their link http://www.thebestdivingintheworld.com/ENG/index.html

Don

Adventure Komodo with Larry Smith

 

www.adventureh20.com  i think

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'll be on the Adventure H2O January 5-22, 2006 in Raja Amphat. I can let you know my impressions when I return.

Good, i am trying to organize a two week trip there for 07 i think....

Soooo if anyone is interested let me know, i need to get some numbers in mind before booking

M

I did the Ondina´s exploration trip last month and was really pleased. Thinking on repeating another route next year...

Rajah Ampat - absolutely the best variety of diving I have ever experienced.

Anywhere - ever !

Land based or Liveaboard - Whatever you do make sure that you have Max or Otto from Papau Diving as your guide.

I am back there in January for a 3 week cruise - can't wait.

Rajah Ampat - absolutely the best variety of diving I have ever experienced.

 

Anywhere - ever !

 

Land based or Liveaboard  -  Whatever you do make sure that you have Max or Otto from Papau Diving as your guide. 

 

I am back there in January for a 3 week cruise  - can't wait.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Who are you diving with?

Todd,

I will be a guest on a private vessel.

If we happen to be in the same area I will try to make contact with Larry.

There are more than a few boats working out that area now. The one with the most years of experience out there is Pindito. They were the boat used in the TNC survey around the area and also Edi had been there before many times. It is run swiss style efficiently.

Grand Komodo's Temu Kira is a middling class boat with good staff and facilities, but I felt the knowledge of the area (this was 2 years ago) was not as vast as Pindito. One of the cheapest and funkiest boats is the Shakti, great crew and now no longer associated with Max Ammer. One year I had booked with Max but his resort was ...errrr... cinderblocks so he put me on the Shakti. I like the crew of the shakti and they did a lot of improvements on the boat after our trip following our suggestions. It's a budget boat. We found a few sites with them on our own.

The Queen of the Sea is also a competent boat and crew, but on that trip we had GPS coordinates to all out favorite sites and times to dive so they didn't have to do much LOL

Itinerary is very important for the 4 kings (Raja Empat) islands. My personal faves are in the southern sites of Misool and Kofiau. But I still like the Batanta/Waigeo area. There's also bird of paradise on a few islands.

All good suggestions - the Pindito and Komodo Adventurer are excellent boats run by good people. I'll be in RE again this January on Steve and Larry's boat (with Todd). Another good boat is the Bidadari, which is about to be replaced by a newly rebuilt (and bigger) very nice Phinisi, the name of which temporarily escapes me, which will also be run by Mark Heighes. It will start operating in March.

Frogfish

Itinerary is very important for the 4 kings (Rajah Empat) islands.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Raja=king, Empat (Ampat)=4. Are we seeing double again?

Mike

I'm checking out Kararu's new boat Voyager next March in Raja Ampat. I'll let you all know how it goes. It's hard waiting that long.