Route Description - Sorong-Banda-Ambon
Set sail on a captivating journey through Southern Raja Ampat and the Banda Islands aboard the Calico Jack. Begin your adventure in Sorong and explore the stunning underwater landscapes of Misool, featuring vibrant coral reefs, dramatic drop-offs, and a plethora of marine life. Dive into the rich biodiversity of the Banda Islands, from the deep waters near Pulau Hatta to the historical spice trade remnants of Banda Neira. Conclude your trip with an exploration of the pristine reefs and cultural treasures of Ambon, creating unforgettable memories in some of the world's most exquisite dive sites.
Day 1 | Embarkation in Sorong, Raja Ampat
We will pick you up at Sorong airport and take you to the harbor where our crew will welcome you onboard Calico Jack. Following refreshments and a short tour of the ship, you will be briefed on safety, the diving operations, and life onboard.
You will be served a delicious lunch and have time to get acquainted with the ship, set up your dive gear & cameras and to meet and socialize with the other guests and friendly crew. We will do a check dive in the area later in the afternoon. Early morning we will navigate to Misool.
Days 1 - 6 | Southern Raja Ampat/Misool
Misool is located South of Raja Ampat and is famous for its steep rocks with vertical walls, profusion of soft, colourful corals, sea fans draped bril- liantly over the reefs and plenty of fish.
The islands around East Misool are grouped by areas. These are the areas you can expect to visit (weather permitting) and the most popular dive sites we visit:
Day 2 | Wayilbatan: Dunia Kecil, Barracuda Rock, Four Kings, Wedding Cake + Night Dive
The Wayilbatan area offers impressive dive sites with a remarkable range of marine diversity as well as topography. At Wedding Cake, schools of bat fish, trevallies, barracuda and pygmy seahorses congregate.
In the afternoon, you will have the opportunity to take in the scenic landscapes with some kayaking and paddle boarding amongst the most spectacular hidden lagoons in the region.
Four Kings dive site is made up of four underwater pinnacles covered in soft coral and colorful tunicates. You can swim from one rock to the next, enjoying the soft corals, psychedelic colors and abundant sh life. Be sure to look out for turtles here.
Day 3 | Balbulol: No Contest, Love Potion, Number 9, Pet Rock
Schools of platax, snapper and bump head parrot fish can be found at these dive sites, including barracudas and jacks surrounding the pinnacles. You will spend the afternoon in the hidden lagoon; a very special anchorage inside a narrow bay enclosed by towering rocks.
We will take the dinghies to explore another lagoon located further into the rocks and as night falls, you will see and hear the magnificent Palm Cockatoos roosting along the rainforest edges.
Day 4 | Daram: Candy Store, Warna Berwana, Andiamo
Andiamo is a large, stunning reef with a submerged pinnacle covered in sea fans and surrounded by schools of fusiliers and bat fish. Black tip reef sharks and napoleon wrasse can also be found here.
Candy Store, named so as the first divers to explore this reef felt like kids in a candy store, is covered in huge sponges, beautiful soft corals and sea fans. In the valleys, schools of fusiliers, butter fly fish and barracuda gather.
Day 5 | Yilliet: Whale Rock, Nudi Rock and Tank Rock
In the early morning, we will take a short navigation to dive the Fiabacet area where colorful soft corals and beautiful sea fans smother the reefs. A deep underwater ridge connects the islands of Boo in the East, to Kalig in the West. In certain areas, the ridge moves up shallower to form the most unforgettable dive sites of the park.
These include Batu Kecil (also known as Tank Rock), Nudi Rock and Whale Rock. Here you will find one of the most extensive reef systems in all of Raja Ampat; offering an amazing range of marine diversity.
Day 6 | Warokaraket/Boo Island: Shadow Reef, Jamur Boo, Yellit Kecil or Besar + Night Dive
Shadow Reef, also known as Magic Mountain is one of the top rated diving sites in Raja Ampat.
An offshore pinnacle with a long and narrow ridge, shoals of banner fish, pyramid buttery and yellow snappers can be seen cavorting on top of the ridge, persistently stalked by giant trevallies, orange-spotted jacks & longnose emperors.
Day 7 | Pulau Koon. Ceram
Pulau Koon is a small island on the southeast of Ceram, half way between Raja Ampat and the Banda Islands. Underwater there are walls covered in soft corals, and sandy slopes with hard coral bommies. But the most interesting feature of this island is the amount of schooling fish and pelagic, barracudas, bigeye trevallies, aggregation of red snappers, pompanos, bat fish, and giant groupers.
Three great dives in this area before setting sailing towards Banda Islands.
Day 8 | Banda Islands
Karang Hatta is a reef located South East of Pulau Hatta. The dive sites in this region are closest to the 6,000 meter deep Banda trench, making it an intriguing area as the chances of encountering pig pelagic species are quite high. You will have two dives in this area, dependent upon the conditions, and then sail to the main island of Pulau Hatta were you will dive in front of the West shore beach where a 5 meter hole in the reef opens up to the sea. The bridge is covered with soft corals, and large gorgonian fans underneath are home to various pigmy seahorses Overnight navigation to Pulau Koon.
Day 9 | Banda Neira Tour & Banda Islands
Early morning, we will head to Banda Neira where you will have the chance to explore the remaining remnants of the former lucrative spice trade as well as take in the historic and cultural legacies of the islands.
You will spend the morning walking through the town and be given the chance to observe the Dutch colonial architecture which remains to this day.
Your second dive will be at Pohon Miring. At this site, a large crack in the
reef creates a deep swim-through which you can drift through and view the sponge-covered wall on the other side. In the shallows and amongst the stones from collapsed sea walls and jetties, mandarin fish congregate. This particular spot is one of the best in the world to spot mandarin fish.
Day 10 | Pulau Ai & Pulau Run Banda Islands
Early morning, we arrive in Pulau Ai. This dive site, on the island of Ai, translates to Umbrella Rock as there are many overhangs along the walls of the island. You will be able to drift along the wall and enjoy the view of thousands of tiny reef fish darting in and out of the cracks and crevices.
For the second dive of the day, we’ll move onto Little Manhattan which is next to the island of Run. The third dive for the day will be an exploratory dive off Pulau Run.
Day 11 | Nusa Laut & Molana
Early morning, we arrive at the beautiful Amet Reef. Whilst situated only a few hours from Ambon, it is a great example of successful grass roots conservation efforts.
After lunch, we will navigate to Molana Wall. The shallow wall breaks in places and in the sandy slopes, ribbon eels, small pipe fish and moray eels can be found. Above the reef, turtles are seen feeding in the beautiful coral garden. In the afternoon, we will navigate towards Ambon.
Day 12 | Disembarkation in Ambon, Maluku
After breakfast and the last exchange of photos and memories, the crew and Calico Jack will say our fondest farewell’s and transport you either to your hotel or airport.