Gaia Love Itinerary

Banda Sea - Forgotten Islands (AMQ - ARD) 11N

Arrive at Ambon, where you will be met by our Cruise Director and transferred by car to the passenger embarkation port. Once onboard, a general briefing covering vessel orientation, safety and emergency procedures will be conducted by our Cruise Director. Check dive scheduled for late afternoon.

We start our adventure with the world-class muck diving of Ambon. Inside the bay, there are numerous dive sites full of critters. The holy grail of fish, Rhinopias, can be seen here along with frogfish, ghost pipefish, nudibranchs, leaffish, zebra crabs, cuttlefish, pipefish, mandarinfish, and all sorts of eels.

Next, we head out to the Banda Islands, also known as the Spice Islands, where we will visit the museum, an old Dutch fort, and a nutmeg plantation to learn about the incredible history of these remote islands. Hammerhead sharks have been known to visit some of the reefs here, as well as turtles, bumphead parrotfish, eagle rays, and Napoleon wrasse. 

The Forgotten Islands are an arc of islands that are part of a very remote archipelago in the east of the Banda Sea. Hammerhead Sharks! Forgotten Island trips are not just about the ‘big stuff.’ If you want to look for macrocritters, we can find things like leaffish, moray eels, lots of different nudibranchs, ribbon eels, and mantis shrimps, as well as the very special dragon shrimps and leopard shrimps. 

Our first stop in the Forgotten Islands is Manuk. This is the most easterly volcano in Indonesia and is home to lots of sea snakes. Close to the island of Nila are the seamounts of Dusborgh and Nil Desparandum. They are surrounded by very deep water, so there is a chance to see large pelagics. Here we will look out for the now famous Banda Sea schooling hammerhead sharks. Absolutely massive barrel sponges and expanses of hard corals make these reefs very impressive. In North and South Terbang, there are dramatic walls with large overhangs dripping with soft corals. Damar is close by and has a great hard coral garden, perfect for an afternoon and night dive. 

Our final Forgotten Island is Dawera. You can dive just about anywhere around this island to find a fantastic dive site! At one point there are so many soft corals we are reminded of the glorious reefs of Raja Ampat. A huge school of barracuda hangs out on one point of the island. 

On the last full day on board, we will do two dives close to Kalabahi and enjoy our goodbye dinner inside the harbour. 

Our Cruise Director will assist you with all of your departure needs in accordance with your departure flight time. Our crew will assist you with your luggage, and you will be escorted to the airport.

Sample itineraries are for guidance only. Actual itineraries may differ slightly due to factors such as weather, wildlife, logistics and local regulations.