KOMODO
20/8 to 27/8/2023
04/8 to 11/4/2024
SWIM WITH
GIANTS
ITINERARY
Join us on a trip to Komodo National Park. In this marine park everything is possible. Turtles , sharks, macro and coral as well as some of most exciting drift and current dives of Asia. But the big draw are the manta rays that can be encountered close up on several sites all over Komodo. And then of course there are the world famous Komodo Dragon - biggest lizard in the world. We will be travelling in style on the luxury Amira liveaboard and our itinerary will include the North, center and South of Komodo.
Check out the trip report from 2018 trip to Komodo and the photos below.
THE REGION
The national park reserve of Komodo Island offers the liveaboard diver just about every type of tropical scuba diving imaginable - from warm, calm and colourful shallow reefs alive with hundreds of colourful reef fishes and crammed with invertebrates, to current-swept deep cool water sea mounts, walls and pinnacles patrolled by sharks, tuna and other big fish.
The variety of marine life that you can see in Komodo rivals the world's best dive destinations. This is close to the world's epicentre for marine diversity and you'll see loads of things here on a liveaboard diving cruise that you just won't see anywhere else in the world. From sunfish, dolphins and eagle rays to pygmy seahorses, ornate ghost pipefish, clown frogfish, nudibranchs and blue-ringed octopus, all are at home amongst a spectacular range of colourful sponges, sea squirts, tunicates and corals; Komodo is a macro and a wide-angle enthusiast's heaven.
One of the key species in Komodo are the Manta Rays. There are several cleaning stations in the area - and we have seen more Mantas here than anywhere else in Asia. In 2018 we had a dive with around 30 Manta Rays, in 2019 we had an entire day with 15-25 different manta rays during the dive.
THE EXTRAS
Simon Lorenz will help you understand more about the Manta Ray behavior and how to identify them. Simon has photographed Manta Rays all over the world and will share tips on how to photograph and video them. For those interested in learning more about photography Simon will host photography talks and help people individually with their photos. If you have any questions or ideas for your camera equipment before the trip Simon can help you with that as well.
Check out the photos from our 2019 trip to Komodo.
THE BOAT
Amira is one of our favorite dive boats. She was built with locally grown timber by indigenous crafts men using ancient Pinisi boat building traditions. She is equipped with a state of the art navigation, security and rescue equipment. With a length of 52 meters Amira offers 9 comfortable double cabins and one single cabin, all equipped with personal showers and toilets and natural lighting. There is a cozy restaurant, a romantic lounge area and a huge sun deck and our absolute favorite dive boat. Generously designed space to gear up with a fixed site for each diver, several rinse tanks, plenty of surface space and a large camera room. All in all an ideal base camp for the most beautiful dive excursions in Komodo, Raja Ampat and Banda.
Our boat
Amira
Very large indonesian sailing vessel with lots of luxury
- Full Board - different cuisines, Indonesian, International
- Experienced dive masters (over 15 years)
- Free Nitrox (special deal)
- Camera room
- Several sun decks
- Upper deck rooms and lower deck rooms
- Jacuzzi
YOUR HOSTs ON THIS TRIP
2023 - Simon Lorenz
Simon is an underwater photographer and journalist whose images have appeared in articles and competitions worldwide. He has been photo coaching for many years on numerous workshops, 1-to-1 coaching and on his Youtube channel. He has spoken at many dive events on photography topics and is widely considered a patient and thorough coach.
Simon is the founder of Insider Divers and has been running workshops since 2015. If you have any questions on this workshop he will be more than happy to help in a personal phone call.
2024 - Tobias Friedrich
The 2024 safari will be hosted by world famous photographer Tobias Friedrich who has ventured to the far north many times and has returned with many award winning photos. He has brought home almost every award there is in the underwater space including Underwater Photographer of the Year 2018 - the most prestigious aquatic award. Since 2021 he has been on the judge panel of this award. Tobias is also an author of various books and regularly hosts workshops on underwater photography. Tobias will coach those trying to photograph the elusive animals and help create stunning images. In addition we will host a small workshop on how to capture the Northern Lights so be sure to bring your tripods and ear muffs.
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