Indonesia, Halmahera & Banda

Halmahera & Banda Sea Ambai Charter 🇮🇩 – ’29

An Indo Speciality

Travel details

Available spaces

16 spot(s)

Trip duration

14 nights

Travel dates

20 September, 2029 - 04 October, 2029

Price per person

6.295 € per person

Trip Highlights

Halmahera with soft coral seamounts, black tip sharks, tunas and trevallies

Banda Sea at the end of September, hammerhead season (sightings never guaranteed)

Comfort on the Ambai, maximum 16 guests, Nitrox included

Trip description

The east of Indonesia feels older somehow. Forested islands stretch to the horizon, villages sit on stilts above the water, and wooden boats slide past without an engine in sight. This is the Maluku, the original Spice Islands, and the sea still runs the rhythm of life here.

Banda is where the history hits you. Tiny islands that were once worth more than Manhattan, nutmeg trees in the hills and old Dutch forts looking out over the harbour. Gunung Api rises straight out of the bay, a volcano you can see from every deck. Its lava flowed into the sea in 1988, and the coral that has grown back over it since is still one of the best stories in diving.

The diving is the reason you came. Walls dropping into the deep blue of the Banda Sea, with schooling hammerheads in season and banded sea snakes weaving over the reef. Hard corals in fields so healthy they look untouched. At dusk the mandarinfish come out to dance in the shallows of the harbour.

Further north, Halmahera keeps its own secrets. Quiet bays, remote reefs that very few boats ever visit, and the Halmahera walking shark, a small endemic that walks across the bottom on its fins. You surface with the feeling that you saw something only a handful of divers ever will, and that is the part you cannot quite explain to people back home.

Liveaboard Ambai, Halmahera & Banda Sea, from Ternate to Ambon

Nights

Price per person

6.295 €

DATE START

20 September 2029

DATE END

04 October 2029

The Ambai of Wallacea Dive Cruises is 32 m long and takes a maximum of 16 guests in 8 double cabins. All cabins have air conditioning and a private bathroom with hot water. 18 crew members and 3 tenders take care of you.

Diving is in small groups with a maximum of 4 divers per guide, Nitrox is included. The route runs from Ternate along Halmahera to Misool and through the Banda Sea to Ambon.

Included

14 nights aboard Ambai in a double or twin cabin
Full board, soft drinks, coffee and tea
Airport or hotel transfers in Ternate and Ambon
Minimum 42 guided dives incl. at least 7 night dives (1 guide per 4 divers)
Tanks, weights and Nitrox
Starlink internet on board
Towels and toiletries
BTM trip leader Filipe

Not Included

Park and port fees 450 € p.p. (cash on board)
International and domestic flights, hotel nights
Rental equipment
Alcoholic drinks
Crew gratuities
Travel and dive insurance

Day-by-day program

After your arrival in Ternate you are picked up at the airport or your hotel and brought to the Ambai. Boarding between 6 am and 12 noon, followed by cabin allocation, ship orientation, safety briefing and crew introduction. We recommend arriving at least one night before in Ternate or Jakarta, so a flight delay or late luggage causes no stress.

First full dive day around Goraichi in the west of Halmahera. Seamounts with a rocky base and big soft coral covered boulders in every colour. Black tip reef sharks patrol most dives, together with tunas, Spanish mackerel and giant trevallies. 3 to 4 dives. The captain and cruise director set the exact route depending on weather and conditions.

Another day around Goraichi: soft coral seamounts, napoleon wrasses, bumphead parrotfish and schools of surgeonfish and spadefish. 3 to 4 dives including a night dive.

Lilai and Bacan in the south west of Halmahera, islands still largely covered with tropical forest. Fringing reefs, pelagic action on the points and good critter diving. 3 to 4 dives.

Last day in Halmahera at Saleh and Kusu: reef slopes, schooling fish and the chance for more black tip sharks. 3 to 4 dives.

The small Pisang islands on the way to Raja Ampat, known for colourful soft corals and sea fans. 3 dives, then an overnight crossing to Misool.

Misool in the south of Raja Ampat: pinnacles, walls, caves and lagoons, with huge schools of fish, soft corals and gorgonians. Wobbegongs rest under almost every overhang. 3 to 4 dives.

Fiabacet with its famous pinnacles and clouds of fusiliers that attract tunas, trevallies and barracudas. Visit to the ranger station with its small black tip shark nursery and a short hike to a viewpoint over the lagoons. 3 to 4 dives.

Boo with its famous window rock and lush reefs, with some luck mantas nearby. 3 dives, then the crossing towards the Banda Sea.

Hatta in the Banda islands: steep drop offs with impressive hard corals, huge sponges and a good chance for pelagics. End of September is hammerhead season in the Banda Sea, sightings are never guaranteed. 3 to 4 dives.

Banda Neira with the volcano Gunung Api, lava flow reefs full of hard corals and the famous mandarin fish at dusk. A short visit to the historic nutmeg town is possible. 3 to 4 dives.

Suanggi, a remote rock in the open Banda Sea and one of the best spots for schooling hammerheads, trevallies and barracudas. 3 to 4 dives.

After breakfast the trip ends in Ambon, disembarkation between 6 am and 12 noon. Transfer to the airport or hotel. Ambon has direct flights to Jakarta.

TRIP LEADER

Your Trip Leader

Our most technical diver, has to be in the ocean every week and prefers animals over people. Very caring personality that only brings back satisfied guests. Huge plus: Portugese so knows how to get out of a tricky situation.

Want to join?

Our booking process is quick, hassle free and clear.