Dive Review of Amira Dive and Travel in
Indonesia/Banda Sea, Raja Ampat

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Amira Dive and Travel: "Once in a livetime diving trip in eastern Indonesia", Oct, 2023, by Michael Bode, Braunschweig, DE ( Sr. Reviewer 11 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 12859.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Few people will have ever heard of Saumlaki. The small Indonesian town in the southeastern Moluccas is located on the island of Yamdena, which in turn lies on the eastern edge of the over 6000 m deep Banda Sea between Australia to the south and New Guinea to the north. The journey to Saumlaki itself is an adventure: After an overnight stay in Jakarta, we continued to Saumlaki via Ambon. Although our dive ship, the Amira, was already in the harbor, it had to be polished to perfection for the new guests, so we could only check in the next morning after a night in a simple hotel. We used the day on Yamdena to visit a stone boat in the village of Sangliat Dol, a relic from the ancient boat culture on these islands. According to the inhabitants of these islands, their ancestors once arrived on the islands by ship. The stone boats in the villages served as ritual places to commemorate the ancestors. The next morning, we finally boarded a proper ship. We were picked up by the crew at our hotel and taken to the Amira. With a total length of 52 m, the ship is one of the largest and most luxurious dive ships in Indonesia, built in classic wooden construction. It can accommodate 20 guests in 10 spacious cabins with private shower and toilet. Thanks to its size, there are many different places for guests and their various needs. At the stern of the ship is the dive deck with individual spaces for divers. From there, fully equipped, we boarded the waiting Speedboats and were taken to the dive sites. There were 15 guests on our trip. We were attended to by a total of 24 crew members - not bad! Due to the presence of saltwater crocodiles in the bay of Saumlaki, there is a diving ban here. Therefore, the initially planned check dive on the first day had to be cancele ... Subscribe to get the full story. Active subscribers continue reading here
Websites	Amira Dive and Travel
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Thailand, Red Sea, Mediterranean, Indonesia, Phillipines, PNG, Solomon Islands, Malaysia, Seychelles, French Polynesia
Closest Airport	Saumlaki	Getting There	Flight to Jakarta, then to Ambon and Saumlaki
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	25-27°C / 77-81°F	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	15-30 M / 49-98 Ft
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No deco dives
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	1 or 2
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	There ar fresh water tanks asiigned only for cameras on the dive deck and a ... Subscribe to get the full story. Active subscribers continue reading here

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Dive Review of Amira Dive and Travel in Indonesia/Banda Sea, Raja Ampat

Amira Dive and Travel: "Once in a livetime diving trip in eastern Indonesia", Oct, 2023,

Photos Submitted with this Report

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Amira Dive and Travel in
Indonesia/Banda Sea, Raja Ampat