Raja Ampat and Banda Sea on MSY Damai

About the Damai

The Damai is a whole new concept in liveaboard diving. The boat takes a maximum of 8 guests plus a group leader. Cabins are at least 300 sq ft! Rooms are beautifully appointed with a king bed or two queen beds. Each room has individually controlled air condition units (2 units per room!), shower, toilet and vanity. There are two desks in each room with reading lamps and 220V outlets. Meals are all customized to your individual needs and desires. There is a maximum of 3 divers per dive guide. And, the price you see is truly all inclusive. The only thing you will pay for on board is the tips and t-shirts. The Damai also has the most unique itineraries, combining old favorites with new sites. If you like this boat, you can go on it again and again and never do the same itinerary twice!

About the diving

This trip begins in Sorang and ends in Ambon. You will experience the best dive sites in two of the best areas in Indonesia - Raja Ampat and the Banda Sea. Raja Ampat's jewel-like islands are caressed by a convergence of swift nutrient-rich currents. Here the pulse of marine life thrives from the sea floor to the surface where the kaleidoscope of corals can start in less than a meter of water.

There are sites that are so pristine and packed with growth, that a photographer is hard-pressed to find a spot to place a steadying finger. Exotic sea life and macro critters abound of course, and photo opportunities border on overwhelming. But at the end of the day, the most memorable moments for us are what can rarely be captured in digital format: The incredible experience of drifting along miles of exquisite reef brimming with hues and activity the likes of which few have ever experienced.

About the Banda Sea

The Banda Sea is located between the much publicized Raja Ampat islands to the north and the venerable Komodo islands to the south and is an exciting outpost that offers some of the most unique diving adventures to be found in the Indo-Pacific regions. Distant atolls rise from the depths featuring superb wall diving and boundless marine life. The historically significant island of Bandaneira, once the center of the Dutch/Portuguese Spice Trade dating back to the early 1600s, is now a virtually inaccessible outpost offering amazing macro subjects and encounters with the rare mandarin fish and their lively mating rituals. Just to the south, Lucipara offers endless visibility and dropoffs teeming with tropicals and pelagics. But the jewel in the crown of the Banda Sea lies further south at Gunung Api: pristine reefs, caves and walls surrounded by hundreds of these marine reptiles for an adrenaline charge unequaled. The Banda Sea, an ocean oasis of indescribable beauty and biodiversity.

Robert Aschermann and Jennifer Aschermann are leading this adventure!