One female share spot left!

7 nights onboard the All Star Aurora Liveaboard

Join Blue Planet as we explore some of the best diving in the world in the mega-diverse Komodo region of Indonesia. The trip will visit reefs, walls, pinnacles and sea mounts from the beautiful Pinisi liveaboard. Don't wait -- this trip will fill up fast!

Discover one of the most species-diverse locations in Indonesia, reputed for the Komodo dragon, the largest lizard species on earth. The island also forms part of the Komodo National Park and is only one of seven locations in the world with pink sand beaches (white sand mixed with red foraminifera). 

Dive Komodo’s world famous site Manta Alley where you can spot up to a dozen oceanic manta rays swirling through a feeding station. The Cauldron, also known as Shotgun, is a swift drift that will send you on a ride to remember. The night dives in Komodo are one of the highlights with colorful nudibranchs, crustaceans, eels, frogfish and octopus.

Highlights include diving with Manta rays, ocean sunfish, pygmy seahorses, ornate ghost pipefish, eagles rays and dolphins. The area is home to 260 reef-building corals, 70 sponges and 1,000 fish species. 

Aurora

This beautiful Pinisi-styled teak motor/sail dive liveaboard combines tradition with comfort and modern conveniences. She is 131 feet (40 meters) long with a 30-foot (9 meter) beam. She has two levels for living space and over 3,000-square feet of sail! The upper deck houses the dive deck, photo and video room and salon. 

Guest quarters are located on the main deck and accommodate 18 divers. Cabins have either king beds or two single beds or a combination of the two (king and single). Each cabin immerses guests in traditional Indonesian decor with rich woods and warm colors. All cabins have private bathrooms and air conditioning. 

Travel

We will join the Aurora on July 18th in Labuan Bajo, where the trip will end on July 25th. Labuan Bajo (LBJ), on the Indonesian island of Flores, is well served with Indonesia’s domestic airlines. We are able to help arrange domestic flights to and from Labuan Bajo, plus any add-on trips you may be interested in.

The Diving

The best time to dive Komodo is from May to October. Currents originating from deeper, cooler water bring large amounts of nutrients and planktonic organisms towards the surface, fueling the abundant life on the reef. These currents also mean that you will need a minimum of 50 dives and the Advanced Open Water Diver certification under your belt to safely drift on the currents.

All diving will be done from pangas in small groups with designated dive guides.  We will have the opportunity to log up to 3 dives per day plus night dives during the cruise. No diving is offered on the first and last day.

Upon cancellation of a reservation for any reason, the refund of the deposit and payments made or due will be contingent upon Blue Planet reselling the participant's reservation. Any refund may also be subject to a cancellation fee of $250 and payment of any non-refundable fees imposed by the tour company, dive operator or any other contractor associated with the trip. 

Dive accident insurance is required for all divers on this trip. We strongly recommend travel insurance to protect your vacation investment. Contact us if you need more information. 

Please note that this itinerary is a diving program and can be changed depending on many factors! The Aurora team will pick you up at 10:00am if you are staying on island prior to boarding. If you are flying in directly on the day of boarding, we will pick you up at the airport and transfer you directly to the boat. We want all guests on board by 1:00pm at the latest. Once everyone is on board, Aurora will lift the anchor and will head towards the island of Moyo.

In the morning we drop the anchor in front of small Moyo Island. Moyo has great macro life and with some luck, we will find the legendary wonderpus octopus. On land, we will have a nice walk to see the waterfalls. After lunch, Aurora will sail to Satonda Island to enjoy its colorful reef. Coral potatoes harbor pipefish, pygmy seahorses and more. Take a look at the "magic lake" of Satonda, a famous retreat for locals to express their secret wishes. After the sunset dive, followed by a delicious dinner, we will sail to Sangeang Island.

The ship will arrive early in the morning at one of the most beautiful islands of our trip. Depending on the conditions, we will dive either the South or North of Sangeang Island. Sangeang is a 2000 meters high active volcano that sits northwest of the Komodo National Park. The numerous black sand beaches and bays that surround the island provide us with multiple dive sites. Ghost pipefish, nudibranchs, fluorescent black coral bushes and frogfish hide along the reefs and walls. The night dives here are not to be missed: frogfish, ghost pipefish, boxer crabs and an unbelievable amount of nudibranchs.

Gili Lawa Laut, “Island Facing the Sea”, is home to two of the best pinnacles in all of Indonesia, "Crystal Rock" and "Castle Rock". Huge schools of jacks, giant trevally, white tip and grey reef sharks, barracudas, dolphins and a whole host of smaller reef fish float amongst the fields of staghorn coral. A challenging site, but certainly worth a couple of dives! Discover the famous dive known as "El Toro", where the current attracts, sharks, giant trevallies, tuna and sometimes Mantas. Not to be missed! Go for an excursion on land, or on sea and meet the permanent family of dolphins in this area. The night dive named "Flamenco Show" with the Spanish dancer and lots of macro. Lighthouse Reef: a nice dive site with hard corals and lots of bushes of black coral.

Tatawa Besar, one of the most colorful drift dives in all of Komodo. Look at the horizon while flying along endless coral gardens with sandy slopes. The Tatawa coastline alternates rocky landscapes and mangroves. Eagle rays and turtles are typical guests along this rich coral slope. The coastline is long enough so that the drift can last up to 40 minutes and cover almost 1 mile or 2k! Batu Bolong: plenty of sharks and excellent visibility. This dive is also called “Current City”, and can only be dived when the conditions are right. The site is covered with orange soft corals, schooling batfish and a beautiful shallow hard coral garden. Tatawa Kecil: a spectacular drop-off. Impressive coral reef, turtles, tuna, giant trevallies, sweet lips, groupers and countless fish. Takat Makassar, if currents allow: look out for manta rays at the cleaning station. You can go relatively close to observe them. Takat Makassar West (Komodo Channel) alternatively is a great night dive.

Trekking Stop near the "Second Ranger Station Loh Buaya", next to "Wainilu Island", the paradise of macro. Many different and rare kinds of nudibranchs, ghost pipefish and other surprises. After lunch, we will begin our magnificent walk on Rinca Island to see the infamous Komodo dragons and we will be back in the water by noon.

After a nice breakfast on board, our Aurora crew will organize your transfer to the airport. Want to extend your trip? Contact us for details!