Destination: Indonesia
Ambon, Banda, Forgotten Islands, Komodo & Raja Ampat (6-15 Nights) | From $400++/night
Blue Manta Explorer Quick Pitch
An experience of a lifetime awaits you onboard the magnificent Blue Manta Explorer. Stable, spacious and safe, the Blue Manta Explorer is fully equipped to take you on a fascinating diving adventure in the magical waters of Indonesia.
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Accommodations - Facilities - NEW! Schedule, Rates & Availability - Dive Info & Destinations
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Looking for more options? View all Raja Ampat liveaboards.
Dive Overview
Dive sites such as Raja Ampat in West Papua, the Banda Islands and Sulawesi are all excellent destinations for a scuba adventure holiday. The liveaboard cruises take you further afield to such magical places as Komodo and the Banda Sea. Komodo is an island famed throughout the world for its legendary dragons, and all liveaboard trips include going ashore to see these incredible creatures in their natural habitat. But it's not all about monitor lizards. Diving around Komodo means world-class reefs full of colors and life with pinnacles and walls, manta rays and maybe even dolphins and dugongs!
[See: Komodo Dive Travel Guide, Ambon & Alor Dive Travel Guide, & Raja Ampat Travel Guide]
Accommodations
Types of Cabins, Amenities and Photos
Blue Manta Explorer Accommodation Details
Blue Manta Explorer will take 18-22 guests depending if it's full charter. There are 14 beautifully furnished en-suite cabins, each average 20sqm (200sf) in size comprising of single cabins and twin/double cabins.
Guaranteed Single Occupancy is billed an additional 20% of the retail stateroom price (Maximum numbers vary by departure).
Upper Deck Cabin 1-4 (LEFT) and Upper Deck Cabin 5-6 (RIGHT)
Main Deck Cabin 7-10 (LEFT) and Lower Deck Cabin 11-14 (RIGHT)
Blue Manta Explorer Cabin Details
- 6 cabins on upper deck with window
- 4 cabins on main deck with window
- 4 cabins on below deck with a porthole
- All cabins are with speakers, fire & smoke alarm
General Facilities
Camera Room (LEFT) and Outdoor Dining Area (RIGHT)
Indoor Dining Area (LEFT) and Dive Deck (RIGHT)
Blue Manta Explorer Boat Features
- En-suite cabins: 14
- Full stainless steel Kitchen
- All indoor air-con
- Saloon with 52” Plasma TV, DVD, and media server
- Large dining area
- Sundeck with shaded area
- Camera Room
Blue Manta Explorer Dive Facilities
- Compressors 3 Bauer 250 liters
- Nitrox system
- Diving tanks yoke & Din
- Nitrox clean air filter system
- Rental equipment full set
- Dive Deck with personal rinse tanks
Food & Drinks Aboard Blue Manta Explorer
Delectable dining should be one of the most important criteria when choosing a liveaboard. On the Blue Manta Explorer, you start your day with freshly baked breads. With no less than 5 meals a day, you will be filled and satisfied with an extensive range of treats for your taste buds. Further snacks, tea and coffee, hot chocolate and drinking water are available all day. The large refrigerator is amply stocked with chilled drinks.
Blue Manta Explorer Liveaboard Deck Plan
Schedule, Rates & Availability
Blue Manta Explorer Schedule & Rates
Blue Manta Explorer Schedule & Rates
All prices quoted are per person, in US Dollar.
[See also: Inclusions & Exclusions]
Inclusions
- 7 Nights/8 Days Aboard The Vessel
- Up To 4 or 5 Dives Daily (Weather Permitting and Depending on Season)
- 3 Meals Daily, Except Friday’s Evening Meal
- Between-Dive Snacks
- Alcohol And Non-Alcoholic Beverages
- Towels
- Use Of Tanks, Weights, And Weight Belts
Exclusions
- Flights
- Airport Taxes
- Port and Marine Parks fees (US$150 for the following itineraries - Lembeh-Halmahera-Lembeh Manado-Manado), Lembeh-Halmahera (Manado-Ternate), Halmahera Exploration (Ternate-Ternate), Alor (Alor-Alor); US$200 for the following itineraries: Komodo North & South (Labuan Bajo-Labuan Bajo), Triton Bay itineraries (Kaimana-Kaimana / excludes crossing trips); US$250 for the following itineraries: Raja Ampat & Misool (Sorong-Sorong), Banda Sea (Ambon-Ambon), Derawan Archipelago (Sangalaki, Maratua and Kakaban - Berau-Berau), All crossing trips (except some crossing trips including Halmahera - please see above); US$320 for the following itineraries: Misool-FakFak-Triton Bay trips.
- Fuel Surcharge Implemented since September 2022, due to the increase of the fuel price in Indonesia - US$200 for the following itineraries: Lembeh-Halmahera-Lembeh (Manado-Manado), Halmahera Exploration (Ternate-Ternate), All crossing trips, All itineraries including the Banda Sea area; US$150 for the following itineraries: Komodo North & South (Labuan Bajo-Labuan Bajo), Raja Ampat & Misool (Sorong-Sorong), Triton Bay (Kaimana-Kaimana), Alor (Alor-Alor), Derawan Archipelago (Sangalaki, Maratua and Kakaban - Berau-Berau)
- Transfers
- Crew gratuities, dive instruction, dive gear rental (other than standard tanks, weights and weight belts)
- Nitrox: US$7 per fill or US$20 per day)
- Rental Gear & Dive Courses
- Soft drinks & alcoholic beverages
- Optional Land Tours
- Travel And Dive Insurance
- Guaranteed Single Occupancy Is Billed An Additional 65% Of The Stateroom Price
Rates & Availability
For more information on departure dates that are not listed and availability please email us at info@bluewaterdivetravel.com or call us at +1-310-915-6677 and we will gladly help you plan your dream dive vacation!
Dive Information & Destinations
Destination Overview
Forming one corner of the 'Coral Triangle', the epicenter of world marine biodiversity, and containing 20% of the world's coral reefs, it will come as no surprise that this region boasts the most diverse waters in the world. Surprisingly, Indonesia is the least well-known of the world's best scuba destinations. Dive sites such as Raja Ampat in Irian Jaya, the Banda Islands and Sulawesi are all excellent destinations for a scuba adventure holiday. The liveaboard cruises take you further afield to such magical places as Komodo and the Banda Sea. Komodo is an island famed throughout the world for its legendary dragons, and all liveaboard trips include going ashore to see these incredible creatures in their natural habitat. But it's not all about monitor lizards. Diving around Komodo means world-class reefs full of colors and life with pinnacles and walls, manta rays and maybe even dolphins and dugongs!
Raja Ampat
Raja Ampat is all about diversity - not only diversity of species, but also of dive sites. There are some areas where soft corals and sea fans dominate, others with hard corals, seagrass beds, mangroves, shallow reefs, drop-offs, caves, black sand, and white sand…and there are more species of fish life here anywhere else in the world. Here, all the levels of the food chain are well represented – from pygmy seahorses to top predators. In many places, brightly colored soft corals can be found close to the surface which, illuminated by natural sunlight, make these dive sites spectacularly colorful. The reefs in Raja Ampat just buzz with life!
- Water Temp: 27-30 degrees Celsius
- Air Temp: 27-32 degrees Celsius
- Visibility: 15-30 meters
- Current: mild to strong
- Level: Intermediate to Advanced,
- Best Time to Dive: October to April (less rain & much less wind; perfect for diving)
Komodo
The Komodo National Park lies in the Wallacea Region of Indonesia. It's identified by WWF and Conservation International as a global conservation priority area, and is located in the center of the Indonesian archipelago, between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores.
Komodo National Park has one of the world's richest marine environments. It consists of over 260 species of reef-building coral, 70 different species of sponges, crustaceans, cartilaginous fishes (including manta ray and sharks), over a 1,000 different species of bony fishes, as well as marine reptiles and marine mammals such as dolphins, whales, and dugongs.
- Water Temp: South 22-26 degrees Celsius, North & Central 26-28 degrees Celsius
- Visibility: 20-40 meters,
- Air Temp: 25-30 degrees Celsius
- Level: intermediate to advanced,
- Best Time to Dive: start of May to end of October
Ambon, Banda Sea, Maumere
Starting with muck diving and a Japanese wreck we cross the Banda Sea, tracing the perimeter of islands. Let their experienced crew show you these remote and almost untouched locations with wonderful reefs and stunning drop-offs. Marine life here is in abundance from the critters, sea snakes, manta rays, sharks and much more.
- Water Temp: 27-29 degrees Celsius
- Visibility: 20-40 meters
- Air Temp: 22-31 degrees Celsius
- Level: Intermediate to Advanced
- Best Time to Dive: March, April, & mid-September to early December
[See: Komodo Dive Travel Guide, Ambon & Alor Dive Travel Guide, & Raja Ampat Travel Guide]
Other Information
Boat Specifications
- Length: 45m (148ft)
- Width: 9m (29ft)
- Hull: Steel
- Speed: 9-10knots
- Engine: 2 x 826hp Yanmar
- Generator: 3 x Yanmar Gensets
- Compressor: 3 x 250 litres
- Nitrox: 1 x Nitrox system
- Maximum guests: 22
- Number of cabins: 14
- Crew: 20
- Dinghy: 3 x 5.8m dinghy with 75hp OBM
- Watermakers: 2 x Watermakers 20 ton freshwater daily
- Water capacity: 20,000 liters
- Fuel capacity: 45,000 liters
- Range: 3500 nm
Practical Information
- Time Zone: GMT+8 & GMT+9
- Local Currency: IDR (Indonesian Rupiah)
- Languages Spoken: English & Indonesian
- Electricity: 220volts; 110v adapters available.
- Payment Onboard: Cash & Credit Card (Visa & Mastercard)
Got Questions? Ready to Book?
Call us today at 310-915-6677 or email us info@bluewaterdivetravel.com
And let us book your dream vacation!
Underwater Gallery