Damai I Itinerary
Raja Ampat and Halmahera12 days / 11 nights
About Damai I
- Indonesia's most diverse selection of liveaboard diving itineraries
- Explore some of Indonesia's remote regions like Cenderawasih and Triton Bay
- Make the most of unlimited diving, superb camera facilities, and small groups
- Little luxuries like master cabins, gourmet cuisine, and spa services
Dive Damai’s original vessel, the Damai I liveaboard is a luxurious traditional phinisi custom-built for scuba diving. This liveaboard offers a staggering variety of itineraries visiting classic destinations including Komodo and Raja Ampat, as well as remote and seldom visited areas like Cenderawasih Bay and Triton Bay. Dedicated divers will love this boat's fantastic facilities and outstanding service underwater, including unlimited dives and small guide-to-guest ratios.
Itinerary details
Length of trip 12 days / 11 nights
Number of dives 37
Experience Open Water - Minimum 10 dives
Insurance Required
Highlights
- One-way itinerary combining Raja Ampat and Halmahera
- Explore the swim-throughs and caves of Goa Farondi
- Discover the remote Daram Island group
- Enjoy muck diving at Penambuan and pelagic walls at Bacan
- Dive the remote and rarely visited island of Halmahera
Day 1: Arrive into Sorong
Guests will arrive in Sorong and have time to get comfortable on the boat. Damai will travel west to Matan for a check out dive.
No. of Dives: 1
Day 2: Farondi/Balbulol
No Contest and Love Potion No. 9, near the island of Balbulol, is a string of underwater ridges rich in current and therefore colorful soft corals and sea fans. Spend your time looking in the blue for schooling pelagics and often the beautiful Mobula Rays.
To the east is the island of Farondi. Visit the unique underwater caves at Goa Farondi and hunt for cool pygmy seahorses on the different varieties of sea fans. Nearby in the channel are the current rich pinnacles of the Three Sisters. This area is teeming with life and there is a good chance of seeing a lot of fish action.
No. of Dives: 4
Day 3: Daram
The islands further east in the Misool region are booming with colors, an unreal collection of soft corals and fans along the walls of their most iconic dive sites: Andiamo and the Candy Store.
No. of Dives: 4
Day 4: Boo & Fiabacet
This amazing string of small islands has a colourful array of great dive sites. The signature sites in the area include Boo Windows, Nudi Rock, Tank Rock and Whale Rock. The whole place is a delight for the eyes.
On a calm day you can visit the amazing seamount Magic Mountain and experience cruising sharks, schooling fish and cleaning mantas. A truly spectacular dive!
No. of Dives: 4
Day 5: Wayilbatan
The Four Kings is a series of colourful underwater pinnacles, which make an amazing dive with plenty of cool fish action. Moving later to a more sheltered spot, we are in the vicinity of some great dive spots: drift along the channel at Neptune Fan Sea, explore the wall at Wedding Cake, or enjoy the fish action on the ridge at Barracuda Rock.
No. of Dives: 3 or 4
Day 6: Pulau Pisang
This small island in the middle of the Seram Sea has some great fish action: snapper, barracuda, fusiliers, and rainbow runners.
No. of Dives: 3
Day 7: Pulau Bacan
Begin the day with a dramatic wall dive off Tanjung Marengarango. Check out the schooling fish; barracuda, snapper, fusiliers and the potential for some great passing pelagics.
Spend the afternoon enjoying some excellent muck diving along the boat-building beach at Penambuan; excellent habitat amongst the variety of black sand, pebbles, algae and coral heads. Hunt for octopus, colourful nudibranchs, frogfish, seahorses, cuttlefish, and unusual shrimp.
No. of Dives: 4
Day 8: Salea
Start the day at Batu Mandy near the island of Salea. Schools of fusilier, snappers and trevally embellish a pinnacle formation that sometimes also hosts manta rays and reef sharks. Later in the day enjoy the beautiful reefs around the islands of Pokal and Kusu. Frogfish, ghost pipe fish and Pontohi have been spotted here.
No. of Dives: 4
Day 9: Pulau Lata Lata
Another spot that cannot be missed is the beautiful Island of Lata-Lata. There, not to long ago, our dive guides found a seamount that we named Charis point. This is a world-class dive site better dove with a medium current to enjoy the fish life and its beautiful corals. In the afternoon enjoy the pretty shallows and the gorgeous soft coral garden in the area.
No. of Dives: 4
Day 10 and 11: Goraici and Seamount of Halmahera Sea
Series of small islands with surprisingly good, healthy reefs. This current rich location has a huge amount of schooling fish: surgeonfish, ocean triggerfish, snappers, fusiliers, rainbow runners, sharks and much more, we have seen, on several occasions, mantas coming to feed in the shallow waters of a lagoon.
No. of Dives: 4 and 2
Day 12: Departure
Guests will be escorted to the airport in Ternate and assisted with check-in procedures, no doubt full of talk about the wonders of the most popular dive destination in the world.
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
Sorong
Sorong Airport: SOQ
Return
10:00am
Ternate
Ternate Airport: TTE
Current availability and prices: https://www.zubludiving.com/itineraries/damai-i/itn-2207150413051-raja-ampat-and-halmahera