Liquid Adventures Indonesia

Banda Neira & The Islands of spice…

Way off the beaten track, undeveloped and distant from populated areas, largely isolated from the world, and even the rest of Indonesia, Ambon and the Islands of Banda lay accessible to Indonesia liveaboards only…  Inter monsoon calm periods, allow divers the chance to explore rare seascapes, with many sites awaiting true discovery…  

Some of the best scuba diving in Indonesia waters is offered in Maluku, those seeking something unique and special, true explorers, adventure divers and snorkelers, can expect to find plenty of rare and unusual critters and stunning corals, but also fantastic opportunities for pelagic sightings, and schools of larger fish such as barracuda and mackerel, as well as the chance to meet an elusive whale shark, a pod of sperm whales and if in luck, large numbers of schooling hammerhead sharks…

The Banda Islands, Maluccas and the Spice Islands…  Names of the most enigmatic and romantic past, evoking mystery, daring and fortunes made and lost…  Here the world was shaped and the great powers fought over small Islands for the fortunes found within in the form of spices, then unique to this small archipelago…

The greater region comprising many diverse Islands and dive sites is known collectively as the ‘Maluccas’ with Ambon as the defacto capital and main Airport...

A mountainous, well-watered, and fertile Island, Ambon is made up of two territories of old, the main city and seaport Ambon, which is also the capital of Maluku province and Maluku Tengah…  Ambon Island lies off the south west coast of the much larger Seram Island… It is on the north side of the Banda Sea, part of a chain of volcanic islands that encircle the sea…  Lying south east of the much larger Island of Seram, the Banda chain, a relatively small and unassuming collection of beautiful dive sites and Islands considering the troubles they once witnessed...

In late september/october Liquid Adventures liveaboard Indonesia cruise through to the Banda Islands from Ambon, in search of a once a year congregation of the beautiful hammerhead shark, continuing on, up into southern Raja Ampat, and the islands that surround Misool…  This is remote, wild, amazing cruising, and was genuinely the reason why we built Kira Kira and Akomo Isseki, to allow us to all explore those places regular tours cannot even imagine reaching...

In addition, there are remote Islands home to thousands of nesting seabirds at Manuk, deep below however, this sight is overshadowed by the myriad of sea snakes steaming and frothing underwater…  The volcanic vents and resulting warm thermoclines here are the attraction to these cold blooded snakes allowing large numbers to congregate and thrive…

The harbour of Banda Neira is a stunning anchorage situated beneath a picture perfect Volcano on one side, overlooked by the ancient fort and colonial ruins on the other, don’t miss a chance to explore these old wharves, houses and forts to allow your imagination to be captured with sites and smells of the spice trade...  

Covering a large area but relatively under populated, the reefs and natural marine life has survived the ravages and overfishing sadly seen elsewhere in the world, a blessing for divers searching pristine and healthy corals populated by myriad species of fish in huge numbers…  You will encounter numbers of pelagic gods, intense muck diving and explore healthy and vibrant reef systems underwater, whilst on land you will move amongst the ruins of a colonial era that time forgot… The History is as vivid as the diving… Indeed it was to these waters and Islands, that Christopher Columbus hoped to find a westerly route when he stumbled on the Americas...

please click on an image below, to see a detailed itinerary of our banda island Liveaboard adventures…