Calico Jack Itinerary
Ambon - Banda - Sorong12 days / 11 nights
About Calico Jack
- Enjoy personal service with just ten guests onboard
- Explore healthy reefs with macro critters and manta-packed drifts
- Watersports, tours and inland activities on every itinerary
- Spacious, customised dive deck with excellent camera facilities
Calico Jack liveaboard combines the ancient traditions of Sulawesi’s Bugis shipbuilders with the modernity and comfort of a luxury yacht. This traditional wooden Indonesian sailing boat was custom made specifically for diving, with a superb dive deck and camera facilities. The vessel provides effortless first-class liveaboard experiences throughout Komodo, Raja Ampat, Alor and the Banda Sea, with exciting non-diving activities and inland tours as well. Guests enjoy an intimate, personal service with only ten divers on board and an expert crew handpicked for their local experience and unparalleled expertise.
Itinerary details
Length of trip 12 days / 11 nights
Number of dives 33
Experience Open Water - Minimum 25 dives
Insurance Required
Highlights
- One-way itinerary combining Banda Sea with Raja Ampat
- Dive into the well-known and action-packed Dampier Strait
- Explore Pulau Koon, Nusa Laut and Suangi
- Discover dramatic underwater landscapes and stunning reefs in Misool
- Dive reefs with exceptional biodiversity in the heart of the Coral Triangle
- Explore the Banda Sea's swim-throughs and deep walls
- Dive into the world-class muck diving sites of Ambon
- Visit a village, museum and 17th-century fort on Banda Neira
- Dive into the remote Daram Island group
- Night dives or sunset dives scheduled when possible
Day 1: Embarkation in Ambon, Maluku | 1 dive
We will pick you up at Ambon airport and take you to the harbour, where our crew will welcome you onboard Calico Jack. Following refreshments and a short tour of the ship, you will be briefed on safety, diving operations, and life onboard.
You will be served a delicious lunch and have time to get acquainted with the ship, set up your dive gear & cameras, and meet and socialise with the other guests and friendly crew. We will do a check dive in the area later in the afternoon. Early in the morning we will navigate to Nusa Laut.
Day 2: Nusa Laut & Molana | 3 dives
Early morning, we arrive at the beautiful Amet Reef. Whilst situated only a few hours from Ambon, it is a great example of successful grassroots conservation efforts. The locals have instilled sustainable methods to protect their reef, and as a result, the corals are outstanding and a favourite amongst dive enthusiasts. White tips and reef sharks patrol the depths, and playful turtles can be spotted. For the incredibly lucky, hammerhead sharks and dugongs have also been spotted at this site.
After lunch, we will navigate to Molana Wall. The shallow wall breaks in places, and in the sandy slopes, ribbon eels, small pipefish, and moray eels can be found. Above the reef, turtles are seen feeding in the beautiful coral garden. In the afternoon, we will navigate towards Pulau Ai & Pulau Run (Banda Islands).
Day 3: Pulau Ai & Pulau Run, Banda Islands | 3 dives
Early morning, we arrive in Pulau Ai. This dive site, on the island of Ai, translates to Umbrella Rock, as there are many overhangs along the walls of the island. You will be able to drift along the wall and enjoy the view of thousands of tiny reef fish darting in and out of the cracks and crevices.
For the second dive of the day, we’ll move onto Little Manhattan, which is next to the island of Run. In 1667, the English traded the island of Run for Manhattan, giving the Dutch full control of the Banda archipelago. White sandy slopes interspersed with large coral heads and a healthy reef make this a very beautiful dive site. A resident school of bumphead parrotfish may be spotted here, as well as passing eagle rays.
The third dive for the day will be an exploratory dive off Pulau Run. This region is full of unexplored dive sites, and the Banda Sea is the perfect location for the discovery of new underwater treasures.
Day 4: Banda Neira Tour & Banda Islands | 3 dives
Early morning, we will head to Banda Neira, where you will have the chance to explore the remaining remnants of the former lucrative spice trade as well as take in the historic and cultural legacies of the islands.
You will spend the morning walking through the town and be given the chance to observe the Dutch colonial architecture which remains to this day, as well as Fort Belgica with its incredible views overlooking the bay around the island.
Before lunch, you will dive at Batu Kapal, which, when translated, means ‘boat rock’. A submerged pinnacle; the site has a rock breaking the surface of the water in the shape of a boat, hence the name.
Day 4: Banda Neira Tour & Banda Islands | 3 dives
Various types of fish are present here in vast numbers, along with huge gorgonian fans and some truly monumental sponges. Your second dive will be at Pohon Miring. At this site, a large crack in the reef creates a deep swim-through which you can drift through and view the sponge-covered wall on the other side. Moral eels can be spotted at the top of the wall as well as schools of bumphead parrotfish.
Late in the afternoon, you will have a sunset dive at Banda’s jetty. In the shallows and amongst the stones from collapsed sea walls and jetties, mandarin fish congregate. This particular spot is one of the best in the world to spot mandarin fish.
Day 5: Banda Islands | 3 dives
Karang Hatta is a reef located southeast of Pulau Hatta. The dive sites in this region are closest to the 6,000-metre-deep Banda trench, making it an intriguing area, as the chances of encountering pig pelagic species are quite high. Schooling trevallies, barracudas, tuna, and turtles, as well as hammerhead and grey reef sharks, can be spotted close to this underwater mount.
You will have two dives in this area, dependent upon the conditions, and then sail to the main island of Pulau Hatta, where you will dive in front of the West Shore beach, where a 5-metre hole in the reef opens up to the sea. You can dive down through the hole and find yourself looking back to what appears to be a bridge in the reef. The bridge is covered with soft corals, and large gorgonian fans underneath are home to various pigmy seahorses.
Overnight navigation to Pulau Koon.
Day 6: Pulau Koon, Ceram | 3 dives
Pulau Koon is a small island in the southeast of Ceram, halfway between Raja Ampat and the Banda Islands. Underwater there are walls covered in soft corals and sandy slopes with hard coral bommies. But the most interesting feature of this island is the amount of schooling fish and pelagic barracudas, bigeye trevallies, and aggregation of red snappers, pompanos, batfish, and giant groupers.
3 great dives in this area before setting sail towards Misool Raja Ampat.
Days 7-11: Southern Raja Ampat/Misool | 16-18 dives
Misool is located South of Raja Ampat and is famous for its steep rocks with vertical walls, profusion of soft, colourful corals, sea fans draped brilliantly over the reefs and plenty of fish.
The islands around East Misool are grouped by areas. These are the areas you can expect to visit (weather permitting) and the most popular dive sites we frequent:
Day 7: Wayilbatan
The Wayilbatan area offers impressive dive sites with a remarkable range of marine diversity as well as topography. At Wedding Cake, schools of batfish, trevallies, barracuda, and pygmy seahorses congregate.
In the afternoon, you will have the opportunity to take in scenic landscapes with some kayaking and paddleboarding amongst the most spectacular hidden lagoons in the region. The Four Kings dive site is made up of four underwater pinnacles covered in soft coral and colorful tunicates. You can swim from one rock to the next, enjoying the soft corals, psychedelic colours, and abundant fish life. Be sure to look out for turtles here.
Dunia Kecil, Barracuda Rock, Four Kings, Wedding Cake, Night Dive
Day 8: Warokaraket/Boo Island
Shadow Reef, also known as Magic Mountain, is one of the top-rated diving sites in Raja Ampat. An offshore pinnacle with a long and narrow ridge, shoals of bannerfish, pyramid butterfly and yellow snappers can be seen cavorting on top of the ridge, persistently stalked by giant trevallies, orange-spotted jacks & longnose emperors.
The ridge goes progressively down, with yellowtail barracudas patrolling the upper sector and white tip and grey reef sharks found nestled under the large coral tables. At the end of the peninsular is a cleaning station where oceanic manta rays come to be cleaned of parasites by wrasse and other reef fish.
Boo Rock, or Jamur Boo, is known for the "windows", or rounded openings on the end of the largest rock that completely pierce the reef from the surface down to five metres deep. Although the two rocks appear separate from the surface, they are in fact connected underwater by a magnificent reef draped in soft corals and brimming with fish. Reef sharks, parrotfish, surgeonfish, schooling batfish, fusiliers, snappers, and moray eels are all found here, as well as a wide variety of nudibranchs, unicornfish, octopus, and green turtles.
Yellit Kecil’s (whilst sharing all of the attributes of its neighbouring sites) main characteristic is the large number of nembrotha nudibranchs that can be observed on the ridge.
Shadow Reef, Jamur Boo, Yellit Kecil or Besar, Night Dive
Day 9: Yilliet
In the early morning, we will take short navigation to dive into the Fiabacet area, where colourful soft corals and beautiful sea fans smother the reefs. A deep underwater ridge connects the islands of Boo in the East to Kalig in the West. In certain areas, the ridge moves up shallower to form the most amazing dive sites of the park. These include Batu Kecil (also known as Tank Rock), Nudi Rock, and Whale Rock. Here you will find one of the most extensive reef systems in Raja Ampat; offering a fantastic range of marine diversity.
You can expect to see abundant and healthy fish life, a galore of pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs, colourful anemones, and reef sharks.
Whale Rock, Nudi Rock, and Tank Rock
Day 10: Daram
Andiamo is a large, stunning reef with a submerged pinnacle covered in sea fans and surrounded by schools of fusiliers and batfish. Blacktip reef sharks and Napoleon wrasse can also be found here.
Candy Store, named so as the first divers to explore this reef felt like kids in a candy store, is covered in huge sponges, beautiful soft corals, and sea fans. In the valleys, schools of fusiliers, butterfly fish, and barracuda gather.
Candy Store, Warna Berwana, Andiamo
Day 11: Balbulol
Schools of platax, snapper, and bumphead parrotfish can be found at these dive sites, including barracudas and jacks surrounding the pinnacles. You will spend the afternoon in the hidden lagoon; a very special anchorage inside a narrow bay enclosed by towering rocks. We will take the dinghies to explore another lagoon located further into the rocks, and as night falls, you will see and hear the magnificent palm cockatoos roosting along the rainforest edges.
Late in the afternoon, we will depart North and set sail for an overnight cruise back to Sorong ; navigation of approximately 12 hours.
No Contest, Love Potion, Number 9, Pet Rock
Day 12: Disembarkation in Sorong
After breakfast and the last exchange of photos and memories, the crew and Anne Bonny will say our fondest farewells and transport you either to your hotel or the airport.
Sample itineraries are for guidance only. Actual itineraries may differ slightly due to factors such as weather, wildlife, logistics, and local regulations.
Transfer details
Departure
11:00am
Ambon
Pattimura International Airport: AMQ
Return
10:00am
Sorong
Sorong Airport: SOQ
Choose your trip
01
Nov
2026
Ambon - Banda - Sorong
12 days / 11 nights
•
33 dives
from $5,560 /guest
Sold out
01Nov 26
Ambon - Banda - Sorong
12D / 11N
•
33 dives
from $5,560 /guest
Sold out
Current availability and prices: https://www.zubludiving.com/itineraries/calico-jack/itn-2407100447291-ambon-banda-sorong