I was lucky enough to be on the Indo Siren's Komodo tour last week from 7/6/13 to 7/16/13. Below is an accounting of the boat, diving and various information about the trip.
The Boat: It is beautiful. This 120 foot yacht has 8 spacious cabins, divided up between singles and doubles. I was lucky to get a double to myself but the amount of storage space in the cabins is amazing. No space issues here. The dive deck is also spacious with several outdoor areas per guest. It has all the amenities; camera table and rinse, multiple showers, wetsuit wash tanks. The sundeck is also spacious. The lounge area has a low headroom but is OK for relaxing. I'm a bit antisocial so I hung in my huge cabin mostly. The dining area is horseshoe-shaped and serves as the dive briefing area as well.
The Food: Lots of it and varied. Every day, there was a light breakfast available, then a full breakfast with meat and omelet station, snacks, lunch, snacks, dinner. The meals consisted of mixed vegetables and steamed rice, then two or more additional meals; one of which would be local fare. Dessert was always provided. Honestly, the meals could not disappoint. Due to availability, beers are free on board but wine was not. I don't drink beer so was stuck with water or juices. They have an incredible list of juices to offer and provide these on a tray after every dive.
The Crew: Amazing! There were 14 crew members! That's almost one per passenger. There were 3 DM's in the water so about 5 guests per DM. The dives were loosely supervised meaning you can go on your own but they liked you to listen to the DM advice on entry and exit. The currents were so tricky that often only the DM's knew how to surface with no problems. There were 2 dinghies so little wait to get to the site. We always dove off the dinghies. There was a masseuse on board if you wanted as well as three dinghy drivers. The crew went out of their way to respond to your every desire immediately. The service was incredible.
Social: Many folks (not me) like the social aspect of live-aboards. this boat was a bit tough as people come from all over the world and speak different languages. The crew speak German, Spanish, English, French, and the Indonesian languages. There was plenty of socializing on board when there was a birthday or special event. There was a BBQ night with beers until dawn.
The Diving: There is something here for everyone. If you want big animals, you'll get several dives to watch the mantas at their cleaning stations and the circling black/white tip sharks. If you like muck diving, there are plenty of macro sized weird creatures to find. The diving is characterized by strong currents though as the nutrients are brought by them, and the reef life reflects it. There are plenty of different landscapes including both hard and soft corals, volcanic sand or just sandy bottom. There is pseudo wall or pinnacle diving, some drift diving, good night dives with lots to see. In fact, you will definitely see something unusual on this trip that you had never seen before. Lots of strange creatures in this part of the world. I will say that I compare everything to Galapagos, my best destination so far. The diving here was not as amazing in the grand sense but, if you like to see incredible variety, it is on par with anything I've seen.
I will say that I did not expect so strong currents. The dinghies were well prepared to pick up errant divers but I had the feeling that I could end up in Africa if I wasn't careful. You need a reef hook as well as a pointer to stick in the sand. Both are mandatory equipment IMHO.
I take a tropical drysuit as is my custom. It was a disaster in the currents. I do get cold so a 5mm wetsuit would have been fine. Most divers will do well with a light wetsuit or shorty if the temp doesn't bother you. Most temps hovered around 80F, colder in the south.
The boat provides free nitrox to everyone certified and you can even take the course while on board if you want. You can even try out a rebreather on board if you wish.
We did 29 dives in 10 days on board. I think we could have done two more if the waves would have cooperated. They tried for 4 dives per day unless they were traveling. There is a fair amount of travel as you examine the route around the entire Komodo area.
On Land: DRAGONS! This was an amazing trip as it is the only place in the world to see the famous Komodo dragons. We went to the Komodo park to hear about them and see them up close. The most amazing part of the trip was landing on Rinja and coaxing the dragons out of the forest and onto the beach for a chicken dinner. I have some amazing photos and this ranks as one of the best experiences of my life. They are huge, mean and totally awesome up close.
Pros: Incredible service, luxury, and food. Good varied diving.
Cons: Cost - This is a $4,000 trip excluding airfare. Currents - They can flare up and become almost dangerous at times. You must prepare yourself for ripping currents on most dives and be pleasantly surprised if they are only normal currents.
The Boat: It is beautiful. This 120 foot yacht has 8 spacious cabins, divided up between singles and doubles. I was lucky to get a double to myself but the amount of storage space in the cabins is amazing. No space issues here. The dive deck is also spacious with several outdoor areas per guest. It has all the amenities; camera table and rinse, multiple showers, wetsuit wash tanks. The sundeck is also spacious. The lounge area has a low headroom but is OK for relaxing. I'm a bit antisocial so I hung in my huge cabin mostly. The dining area is horseshoe-shaped and serves as the dive briefing area as well.
The Food: Lots of it and varied. Every day, there was a light breakfast available, then a full breakfast with meat and omelet station, snacks, lunch, snacks, dinner. The meals consisted of mixed vegetables and steamed rice, then two or more additional meals; one of which would be local fare. Dessert was always provided. Honestly, the meals could not disappoint. Due to availability, beers are free on board but wine was not. I don't drink beer so was stuck with water or juices. They have an incredible list of juices to offer and provide these on a tray after every dive.
The Crew: Amazing! There were 14 crew members! That's almost one per passenger. There were 3 DM's in the water so about 5 guests per DM. The dives were loosely supervised meaning you can go on your own but they liked you to listen to the DM advice on entry and exit. The currents were so tricky that often only the DM's knew how to surface with no problems. There were 2 dinghies so little wait to get to the site. We always dove off the dinghies. There was a masseuse on board if you wanted as well as three dinghy drivers. The crew went out of their way to respond to your every desire immediately. The service was incredible.
Social: Many folks (not me) like the social aspect of live-aboards. this boat was a bit tough as people come from all over the world and speak different languages. The crew speak German, Spanish, English, French, and the Indonesian languages. There was plenty of socializing on board when there was a birthday or special event. There was a BBQ night with beers until dawn.
The Diving: There is something here for everyone. If you want big animals, you'll get several dives to watch the mantas at their cleaning stations and the circling black/white tip sharks. If you like muck diving, there are plenty of macro sized weird creatures to find. The diving is characterized by strong currents though as the nutrients are brought by them, and the reef life reflects it. There are plenty of different landscapes including both hard and soft corals, volcanic sand or just sandy bottom. There is pseudo wall or pinnacle diving, some drift diving, good night dives with lots to see. In fact, you will definitely see something unusual on this trip that you had never seen before. Lots of strange creatures in this part of the world. I will say that I compare everything to Galapagos, my best destination so far. The diving here was not as amazing in the grand sense but, if you like to see incredible variety, it is on par with anything I've seen.
I will say that I did not expect so strong currents. The dinghies were well prepared to pick up errant divers but I had the feeling that I could end up in Africa if I wasn't careful. You need a reef hook as well as a pointer to stick in the sand. Both are mandatory equipment IMHO.
I take a tropical drysuit as is my custom. It was a disaster in the currents. I do get cold so a 5mm wetsuit would have been fine. Most divers will do well with a light wetsuit or shorty if the temp doesn't bother you. Most temps hovered around 80F, colder in the south.
The boat provides free nitrox to everyone certified and you can even take the course while on board if you want. You can even try out a rebreather on board if you wish.
We did 29 dives in 10 days on board. I think we could have done two more if the waves would have cooperated. They tried for 4 dives per day unless they were traveling. There is a fair amount of travel as you examine the route around the entire Komodo area.
On Land: DRAGONS! This was an amazing trip as it is the only place in the world to see the famous Komodo dragons. We went to the Komodo park to hear about them and see them up close. The most amazing part of the trip was landing on Rinja and coaxing the dragons out of the forest and onto the beach for a chicken dinner. I have some amazing photos and this ranks as one of the best experiences of my life. They are huge, mean and totally awesome up close.
Pros: Incredible service, luxury, and food. Good varied diving.
Cons: Cost - This is a $4,000 trip excluding airfare. Currents - They can flare up and become almost dangerous at times. You must prepare yourself for ripping currents on most dives and be pleasantly surprised if they are only normal currents.
