Budget Komodo Liveaboard?

[tiggy]

I am in the process of planning a trip to Bali and am looking to book a liveaboard in Komodo in September 2015. We are a group of three adults and are looking for a 6-7 day trip. Ideally, we would like to keep the price per person for the liveaboard (excluding flights, park fees, tips, and personal expenses) at around $250 per person per day.

Having scoured through the boards, I've found Wicked Diving and Blue Marlin Diving have trips that fit our time frame and budget. Are there any other operations out there that I should be considering?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

 

[highdesert]

Welcome to Divine Diving, Flores, Indonesia

 

[tiggy]

We looked at Divine Diving. Unless the schedule posted on their site is wrong, they're only doing 3 and 4 day trips with a two day break in between each cruise. So I can't back-to-back them to get something that meets our desires.

 

[Sergey Pecherin]

We looked at Divine Diving. Unless the schedule posted on their site is wrong, they're only doing 3 and 4 day trips with a two day break in between each cruise. So I can't back-to-back them to get something that meets our desires.

Hi!ask these guys forumselam.com or https://www.facebook.com/bluedragon.cruises?fref=ts not expensive good boat. good guides and crew

 

[matts1w]

I did six days with Wicked Komodo two years ago. The boat is absolutely "high-end" back packer. The deck is comfortable enough, shared bathrooms, cold water, and no AC. Most people sleep on deck as the cabins are small and stuffy. I think Wicked does a honest job of making this clear on their website. More importantly, the Wicked staff is AWESOME. They do a great job of making a fun trip, the dive guides know their stuff, food is good, and safety absolutely comes first. Really, I cannot say enough good things about the crew, and my friends and I had a blast. For the money, Wicked is tough to beat.

 

[Hintermann]

You could consider the week long Komodo cruise with Mermaid II and this might just close to your budget limit. The advantage with Mermaids Liveaboards cruises is that they start out of Benoa Harbour in Bali and so if you are already in Bali there is no intermediary trip involved.

 

[charlier]

One out-of-the-box suggest is to contact Current Junkies. Yes, the name is off-putting. It's a small boat, so you can almost charter the boat with four divers. The owner has lots of local experience, important in Komodo. The best dives conditions usually feature strong current and Nick knows his stuff. Full disclaimer, I occasionally guide with a competitor, but the costs are above your budget. As much as enjoy diving in Bali, Komodo Islands offer incomparable diving.

 

[boletus1973]

I made four cruises with them ... http://www.aridive.com/diving_trip they respect your cost limit, and two of the boats carry a maximum of 4 guests.. and, there is not a fixed schedule...
if I have to recommend a boat, I recommend pratiwi (3 times there) ... arijaya is much smaller and simple .. and also economical!

 

[jjwebster]

Divine is a great budget op, used them several times, think the max group size is 8 divers.

Drop them an email re their schedule, last time I did two back to back trips (north & south) with one day in between.

 

[tiggy]

Thanks folks! I've got a bunch of inquiry e-mails out to see who has availability.