Dive Review of Dive Damai in
Indonesia/Komodo

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Dive Damai, Feb, 2013, by Gari Sisk, AK, US ( Sr. Reviewer 7 reports). Report 6912.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This is an beautiful Indonesian wooden boat with an awesome crew! While we were on board, there were 17 crew/8 guests. We booked this boat back in March 2010, initially through Dive Damai, and then had Reef and Rainforest (the best agency for dive travel!) take over the booking and manage the details for us. There were a few disappointments...when we booked the boat, it had 4 "equal" size staterooms, which changed since the initial booking, so 2 couples were in smaller rooms (although still generously sized). Now, there are 2 master cabins, 2 double cabins, and 2 single cabins that can accommodate 10 divers. The boat was scheduled to depart from Bima, but instead departed from Bali, making for a rough 18 hr. water crossing. The A/C in one of the rooms became sub-optimal during the week, but the crew did everything to try to make the situation bearable. That said, the diving was wonderful. Andrina and Simon are brilliant and enthusiastic. Dive Masters Gusti, Adri, and Refley were good at finding things underwater, evaluating the currents at the sites, and optimizing each dive site. The available equipment onboard is top notch, and it really is un-necessary to bring your own gear, unless you are a really unusual fit. Having laundry service available is also key to keeping your checked bag size down. The maximum for checked luggage (inter-island) is 15kg, even though the "published" weight says 20kg. The land tour to see the Komodo dragons was unbelievable, as was our anchorage off of a beach for 2 nights, where we would watch them from the safety of the Damai. This is the first live aboard (in the 15 years I have been doing live-aboards) that actually respected the dietary requests made by the guests. We had requested Indonesian fare, and had a large number of fish, chicken, pork, and shrimp dishes prepared in a Balinese fashion. In regards to the "encounters" section, the marks are a bit misleading. While we did not see LOTS of sharks, we usually saw at least 1/day at the dive sites. As far as mantas, to say we saw "squadrons" would be incorrect, but the dive(s) we specifically targeted them, we did see them (8 at once, but 27+ sightings at one site). There was a masseuse on-board that would give up to 3 massages/day, but I did not utilize this service. Those who did enjoyed it immensely, and signed up early! This group is interested in doing more of Indonesia on this boat in the future, and our group was deeply saddened by the passing of Refley's 11 y.o. daughter from Dengue fever while we were on the boat. He and his family remain in our prayers.
Websites	Dive Damai
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Maldives, Palau, Fiji, Utila, Okinawa, Puget Sound, Thailand, Australia, Truk, Hawaii, Little Cayman, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy, cloudy	Seas	choppy, surge, currents
Water Temp	78-83°F / 26-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	40-70 Ft/ 12-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Self enforcement within Nitrox guidelines.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	We did not bring a camera, but the boat is set up well to accommodate photographers.

Subscriber's Comments

By report author: Gari Sisk in AK, US at Mar 12, 2013 11:21 EST

Sounds like fun. I just checked out the Reef/Rainforest site. Wow! Planning my next trip!

By DAVID SHEM-TOV in LONDON, GB at Mar 17, 2013 06:59 EST

I would rather have an 18hr water crossing from Bali on the Damai than having to brave a Merpati flight from Bali to Bima. On our last trip, 3 of the guests had their luggage left in Bali requiring a day's diving wasted waiting for it. The Damai is a top notch operation.

By Ridgely Duvall in MA, US at Mar 18, 2013 16:19 EST

I think I would too! Always better on a boat than on a plane. Hi David I met you on the Bilikiki once...

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Dive Review of Dive Damai in Indonesia/Komodo

Dive Damai, Feb, 2013,

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):

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Dive Damai in
Indonesia/Komodo