Komodo Liveaboard

[Sharks at Aliwal]

I am looking for recommendations of liveaboards in the area.

We are looking for a reasonably priced boat (south Africa does not have the strongest currency) but the rooms must be en-suite.

There will be a mix of photographers and normal divers on the boat and we are looking to go in October / november 2012.

Thanks

 

[weeksd]

Mermaid 2 boat is the most reasonable for price and you depart from bali so no extra expense of in country flights and overweight baggage charges. Steel boat not a wooden pinsi schooner. I have been on mermaid 2 twice in thailand and am going in january in komodo. Excellent boat with ensuite cabins. Good food and very good crew. Camera table outside is a little small but i do all camera work in cabin anyway and only use the camera table to store housing. I have been on mermaid 1 in komodo three times so i enjoy there operations on both boats.

 

[Zippsy]

Comments from customers should probably carry much more weight so weeksd's response is valuable but I had to reply with two comments from a much more biased point of view - I work part-time on the White Manta / Black Manta. First, I only compared the Mermaid 2 to the Black Manta pricing but even when you count the cost of the Bali / Labuan Bajo flights, the BM is slightly less expensive for en-suite cabins (compared on a per dive basis). I would bet there are likely less expensive boats out there too. Second, avoiding the internal flights has both positives and negatives. Other than the costs, you have to admit that it's likely a lot more safe to take a boat across, compared to a Indonesian plane into an airport where a plane hit a cow on landing earlier this year. However, it also means that a quarter of your dives are not in Komodo park and, in my experience, are not as good. Also, the crossing between islands in that area is usually pretty rough. That tossing is avoided with an LB departure. Again, just some comments to think about... No disrespect to weeksd's opinion from a customer's point of view.

 

[ocdiver1]

Worldwide Dive and Sail may not be the cheapest, but I'd completely recommend them for this itinerary. Did it last year and loved it.

 

[buiszie]

i love the Pindito, this is an expensive boat, but u get where u pay for....

 

[whalerock]

Something else to consider is that the season for Komodo ends late October beginning of November. You will find that lots of liveaboards moving up to Raja Ampat at at this time of year. You also should think about how long the cruise should be, one week or 10 days. I have been working 6 onths in Komodo or one of our liveaboards, so if you need some detailed information about dive sites please send a pm.

cheers

 

[Tippytoes12]

Hi there

We have just finished a Mermaid 2 trip to Komodo and cannot recommend it highly enough. The diving was truly out of this world and the boat and crew and orgaisation absolutely first class. We found the dives outside the park nearly as good as those inside and staring and finishing in Bali was very convenient. We flew down from Bunaken the day before and on the day we arrived back in Bali we were able to get to the Gilis that morning. The only downside was that of the 7 nights 4 were cruising overnight , so not as comfortable as being anchored.

We have also been to the Similans on Black Manta and this is another excellent boat.The food on Black Manta is very authentic Thai , which can be a little too much if a wee bit seasick. However you do eat outdoors on Black Manta , which is lovely.The dining room is inside on Mermaid 2, only a small point , but in my VHO eating outide is fantastic.The Mermaid cabins are probably a little nicer.

Overall we preferred the Mermaid 2 as the diving was probabla little better organised , but would definitely be delighted to do another Black Manta trip tomorrow.

Happy travels

 

[Zippsy]

Thanks Tippytoes. One minor correction, now that the Black Manta is based in Indonesia, there is an all Indonesian crew including the cook. While some dishes are Thai, most now are either Indonesian or western. Maam - the wonderful cook who you probably met, now works on the White Manta.

 

[Sharks at Aliwal]

Thanks Tippytoes. One minor correction, now that the Black Manta is based in Indonesia, there is an all Indonesian crew including the cook. While some dishes are Thai, most now are either Indonesian or western. Maam - the wonderful cook who you probably met, now works on the White Manta.

Zippsy could you send me the contact details for Black Manta so I could contact them about arranging a trip

 

[DiveExploreIndonesia]

Good reliable liveaboards for Komodo area during October/November :

From 06 to 16 October Komodo : Ambai, the new boat from Wallacea dive cruise ( 10 nights at 200 euro / night )

From 23/10 to 05/11 : The Seven Seas Komodo Maumere. ( 425 usd / night).

There is also the komodo alor dive fleet, they always have boats around komodo for reasonable price.