Hello - considering booking a forgotten islands / spice islands /Ring of Fire liveaboard cruise. Would love to hear of experiences from previous travelers. Have heard there is a LOT of transit times, which limits dive numbers?
Forgotten Islands / Spice Islands Trip - worth it?
- Thread starter coreb62
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dirtfarmer
Contributor
You might post on the Indonesia forum and get more replys.
I've done a crossing trip from Ambon to Sorong, in November. Fall is the season for schooling hammerheads so consider that. I loved the trip I did, the hammers were cool, and the reef diving is excellent, throw in watching thousands and thousands of seabirds tatking off to hunt in the morning at Manuk and you carn have a pretty special trip. Yes there are lots of overnight runs to the next location so night dives can be limited. I prefaced my trip with a couple of days of diving in Ambon and the world class macro there and also followed the crossung LOB with another entire Raja Ampat LOB for a trip of a lifetime.
I've done a crossing trip from Ambon to Sorong, in November. Fall is the season for schooling hammerheads so consider that. I loved the trip I did, the hammers were cool, and the reef diving is excellent, throw in watching thousands and thousands of seabirds tatking off to hunt in the morning at Manuk and you carn have a pretty special trip. Yes there are lots of overnight runs to the next location so night dives can be limited. I prefaced my trip with a couple of days of diving in Ambon and the world class macro there and also followed the crossung LOB with another entire Raja Ampat LOB for a trip of a lifetime.
Thank you for the reply. That was indeed a trip of a lifetime. My wife and I did a 12 day Raja Ampat Cruise (south to north) this past Christmas/New Years. It was spectacular.
I have also thought about adding a few days to dive in Ambon for Macro -love to photograph underwater but my wife doesn't like the muck
Again, thanks for the info
I have also thought about adding a few days to dive in Ambon for Macro -love to photograph underwater but my wife doesn't like the muck
Again, thanks for the info
I asked this in the Indo forum but you guys have the experience I have been wanting to hear from.
We are planning our first Raja liveaboard. We will start with a few land based days in Lembeh and then either Sorong to Sorong or Ambon to Sorong liveaboard. Ambon to Sorong only gives a few days and only the south of Raja. Our focus would be reefs/coral life and fish/animal diversity. For a first and maybe only trip to the area would you suggest Sorong to Sorong or Ambon to Sorong? Would love some feedback from those that have done both.
Thanks!
We are planning our first Raja liveaboard. We will start with a few land based days in Lembeh and then either Sorong to Sorong or Ambon to Sorong liveaboard. Ambon to Sorong only gives a few days and only the south of Raja. Our focus would be reefs/coral life and fish/animal diversity. For a first and maybe only trip to the area would you suggest Sorong to Sorong or Ambon to Sorong? Would love some feedback from those that have done both.
Thanks!
My wife and I made our first Indonesia trip onboard the Coralia - from Sorong to Sorong - 12 days from Misool (south) up to Wayag then back to Sorong. We did it on a special Christmas2023/New Years2024 cruise and it was spectacular. We have been on 10 liveaboard trips around the world and the Coralia was BY FAR the best boat and crew we have experienced. The diving was spectacular - we did 32 dives in total -several night dives. It's not the cheapest liveaboard - but well worth it!! HIghly recommended! MIsool is spectacular with soft coral and the further north you go the less soft coral - but all sites are gorgeous and fun to dive. We saw tons of Mantas and Wobbegong sharks as well as lots of macro critters.
Now, as I indicated on the start of this thread - we are strongly considering the forgotten islands/spice islands trip - just to see different part of Indonesia. That said, we will go back to Raja sometime.
Best of luck with your planning!
Now, as I indicated on the start of this thread - we are strongly considering the forgotten islands/spice islands trip - just to see different part of Indonesia. That said, we will go back to Raja sometime.
Best of luck with your planning!
VsubT
Contributor
We did a Forgotten Islands (Tual - Kupang) trip on Damai I in late November last year and really enjoyed it. Not too much big animal action, seems the water was warmer than usual for that time of year. Still a ton of stuff to see, and we liked the variety of life on the different sites as we moved from site to site. Surface sightings of several types of whales and a good variety of birds was cool too. Pics from the trip are here if you want to check out what we saw.
Lance
Lance
We went for the schooling hammerheads. But we were too late or the water was too warm. Saw one hammerhead.
Ambon is a filthy third-world industrial cesspool. But the food was out of this world. We ate from street vendors most of the time. It was WOW. We stayed in Ambon for 4 days.
Yeah, lots of travel. But we visited Europe, Singapore, and Jakarta. What a great trip.
Ambon is a filthy third-world industrial cesspool. But the food was out of this world. We ate from street vendors most of the time. It was WOW. We stayed in Ambon for 4 days.
Yeah, lots of travel. But we visited Europe, Singapore, and Jakarta. What a great trip.
dirtfarmer
Contributor
El Nino usually reduces the Hammerheads, and yes Ambon is a bit of a cesspool. Twilight Zone which is the pier in Laha is a rich environment of discarded diaper etc but also a critter rich environment.
Thank you for the reply. That was indeed a trip of a lifetime. My wife and I did a 12 day Raja Ampat Cruise (south to north) this past Christmas/New Years. It was spectacular.
I have also thought about adding a few days to dive in Ambon for Macro -love to photograph underwater but my wife doesn't like the muck
Again, thanks for the info
Some other added pluses to the crossing is spotting whales while your cruising and Manuk not only has birds but has loads of sea snakes. It really is a great trip.
There is NO WAY I would dive in the disgusting water around Ambon.
Manta-Passion
Registered
Hello
I was in the Indo Siren last year, from Ambon to Alor. We were not helped by the weather, which was not great on the first part of the trip.
To be honest, the greatest part of the trip were both extremities, and more on the Macro dives than in the Blue.
I'm a great fan of Indonesia, and really happy that I made the trip, but there is a lot of crossings, don't expect to much of pelagics (unless very lucky), and it's not to Raja or Komodo level, far from it.
I knwo some passengers enjoyed it, and planned to ge back, personnally I won't.
The real upside is that there are no other boats during the dives, and Indonesia is after all Indonésia !
I was in the Indo Siren last year, from Ambon to Alor. We were not helped by the weather, which was not great on the first part of the trip.
To be honest, the greatest part of the trip were both extremities, and more on the Macro dives than in the Blue.
I'm a great fan of Indonesia, and really happy that I made the trip, but there is a lot of crossings, don't expect to much of pelagics (unless very lucky), and it's not to Raja or Komodo level, far from it.
I knwo some passengers enjoyed it, and planned to ge back, personnally I won't.
The real upside is that there are no other boats during the dives, and Indonesia is after all Indonésia !
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