eaglerayjoel
Guest
Hi,
We just got back from doing an 8 day live aboard in the Komodo and Flores region. It was the best diving I have ever done.
We chose the MV Tarata MV Tarata - Grand Komodo Indonesia Liveaboard with the Grand Komodo Dive fleet. I couldn't find much info on this company before we left. Most places in Indonesia want money up front. I paid over $6000 US up front for 4 of us, and was a little worried, until Tri met us at the Bali airport and handed us our air tickes (included in price) to Labuan bajo on Flores. At the airport in Flores, Gusti, our dive master, met us as we left the front door. They took us in nice vehicles to the boat. It was a great boat built for 12. We found out we had the boat to our family of 4.
Food was great and plentiful...mostly indonesia style. The crew would usually catch a fish while moving to a new site, and serve it grilled and as sashimi. The rooms were small, but each had AC and a small toilet/shower attached. Beer and soft drinks were extra...about $2 each.
We did 4 dives a day....3 day dives and 1 night dive 7:30 AM, 11AM, 3PM, and 7PM. We got in about 28 dives. You just put on your gear, step into a dingy and head off to a dive site. We motored about 7-10 miles a day...and hit some remote sites.
I have to say this is the most beautiful diving I have done. Before this trip, my favorite was half moon Cay in Belize. We were able to dive with Manta rays on dive...they approached us and swam over us in about 30 feet of water the entire dive. Dives lasted 1 hour each. What they say about the currents is true. We did a drift dive in a 4 knot current. One dive, they took us to a small island that had currents ripping around it looking live raging rivers. They dive on the back side away from the currents. If you get caught, the down currents can take you to 180 feet in a few seconds.
We hit some of the famous sites like Castle Rock, and Crystal Bay...saw lots of sharks. One dive at Crystal, we were able to dive below dophins for about 1/2 hour...they even came down to look at us.
Coral is varied and beautiful. Fish are amazing. Where Cozumel has maybe 4 kinds of Butterfly fish, Komodo area has maybe 20 kinds....same with all the other kinds of fish.
Was great to see cuddlefish up close also.
Gusti, the divemaster was awesome. Took good care of us. We usually had another dive master also, like Nelson. The crew were very attentive and gracious. Great people...I would highly recommend this company.
Here are links to some photos I took so you can see what it looks like.
I don't post that much, so they won't let me post the URL to the photos right now. I'll post some more and attach the photo URL soon.
Enjoy, and let me know if you have any questions. I want to do the Raja Ampat live aboard some day, as Gusti told us it is even more beautiful.
We just got back from doing an 8 day live aboard in the Komodo and Flores region. It was the best diving I have ever done.
We chose the MV Tarata MV Tarata - Grand Komodo Indonesia Liveaboard with the Grand Komodo Dive fleet. I couldn't find much info on this company before we left. Most places in Indonesia want money up front. I paid over $6000 US up front for 4 of us, and was a little worried, until Tri met us at the Bali airport and handed us our air tickes (included in price) to Labuan bajo on Flores. At the airport in Flores, Gusti, our dive master, met us as we left the front door. They took us in nice vehicles to the boat. It was a great boat built for 12. We found out we had the boat to our family of 4.
Food was great and plentiful...mostly indonesia style. The crew would usually catch a fish while moving to a new site, and serve it grilled and as sashimi. The rooms were small, but each had AC and a small toilet/shower attached. Beer and soft drinks were extra...about $2 each.
We did 4 dives a day....3 day dives and 1 night dive 7:30 AM, 11AM, 3PM, and 7PM. We got in about 28 dives. You just put on your gear, step into a dingy and head off to a dive site. We motored about 7-10 miles a day...and hit some remote sites.
I have to say this is the most beautiful diving I have done. Before this trip, my favorite was half moon Cay in Belize. We were able to dive with Manta rays on dive...they approached us and swam over us in about 30 feet of water the entire dive. Dives lasted 1 hour each. What they say about the currents is true. We did a drift dive in a 4 knot current. One dive, they took us to a small island that had currents ripping around it looking live raging rivers. They dive on the back side away from the currents. If you get caught, the down currents can take you to 180 feet in a few seconds.
We hit some of the famous sites like Castle Rock, and Crystal Bay...saw lots of sharks. One dive at Crystal, we were able to dive below dophins for about 1/2 hour...they even came down to look at us.
Coral is varied and beautiful. Fish are amazing. Where Cozumel has maybe 4 kinds of Butterfly fish, Komodo area has maybe 20 kinds....same with all the other kinds of fish.
Was great to see cuddlefish up close also.
Gusti, the divemaster was awesome. Took good care of us. We usually had another dive master also, like Nelson. The crew were very attentive and gracious. Great people...I would highly recommend this company.
Here are links to some photos I took so you can see what it looks like.
I don't post that much, so they won't let me post the URL to the photos right now. I'll post some more and attach the photo URL soon.
Enjoy, and let me know if you have any questions. I want to do the Raja Ampat live aboard some day, as Gusti told us it is even more beautiful.
