20% Off | 7-Day Ambon, Banda Sea & Ring of Fire | New White Manta | Aug 27 – Sep 2 2026

A late cancellation has freed cabins on this 7-day Banda Sea safari aboard New White Manta, at 20% off. Ambon to Ambon, 18 dives, departing 27 August 2026. Two cabins on the main deck, two on the lower deck, first confirmed first served.

Available Cabins & Price

• Deluxe Ensuite Twin, Lower Deck: USD 2,800 per person (instead of USD 3,500)
• Deluxe Ensuite Twin, Main Deck: USD 2,960 per person (instead of USD 3,700)

Per person, twin share. Single occupancy is available on request at a 20% supplement on the original trip price, subject to availability.

Not included, payable with the balance: marine park and harbour fees USD 250 per person, fuel surcharge USD 300 per person. Also excluded: flights, hotels, dive and travel insurance, equipment rental (USD 50 per diving day for a full set if booked in advance) and nitrox (USD 20 per diving day).

Level: intermediate to advanced. Currents in the Banda Sea run medium to strong and several sites are deep, so this is not a trip for a newly certified diver.

Itinerary

Seven days from Ambon across the Banda Sea and back, tracing the island rim of the Ring of Fire. It opens with muck diving in Ambon Bay, then crosses to the volcanic seamounts and walls of the Banda archipelago: schooling fish, reef sharks, mantas, and a real chance of scalloped hammerheads at Suanggi. Visibility runs 20 to 30 metres and the water sits between 26 and 28 degrees, with thermoclines from September pushing it to 25. Six diving days, 18 dives, three to four per diving day.

Day 1: Ambon, embarkation & check dives (1-2 dives)

Pickup from Pattimura Airport (AMQ) or your Ambon hotel from 10am, ten minutes to the boat at Laha Bay. Arrive before midday and there is time for check dives in Ambon Bay, which is muck diving of the kind Ambon is known for: frogfish, rhinopias, ghost pipefish. Departure at 2pm for the overnight crossing. If your flight lands after 1pm, come the day before rather than on departure day.

Day 2: Pulau Suanggi (4 dives)

A lone volcanic pinnacle rising out of deep water, and the reason people cross the Banda Sea. Dramatic drop-offs and untouched coral, with schooling fish, tuna, reef sharks and the possibility of scalloped hammerheads coming up out of the blue.

Day 3: Banda Islands & the Spice Islands (3-4 dives)

Diving around the Banda archipelago, where the visibility and coral coverage are among the best in Indonesia and the fish life is dense. Hammerheads are possible here too. The day includes a visit ashore to one of the Spice Islands, the nutmeg trade that shaped this corner of the world being worth an afternoon of anyone’s time.

Day 4: Hatta Reef (3 dives)

Trevally, barracuda and hammerheads patrol the reef edge. On the west coast a hole in the reef opens into a coral-covered bridge hung with gorgonian fans, and pygmy seahorses sit in the sea fans if you slow down enough to find them.

Day 5: Pulau Suanggi again (4 dives)

Back to the pinnacle for a second day. Big-animal diving rewards repetition, and a site like this rarely gives you the same conditions twice.

Day 6: Pulau Nusa Laut (2 dives)

Hard coral gardens in good condition, clear water, reef sharks, turtles and a lot of reef fish. Last dive ends around midday, then the sail back to Ambon with time to rinse and dry gear. The final night is spent on board, which also gives you the 18-hour surface interval before flying.

Day 7: Ambon, disembarkation (no dives)

Light breakfast and check-out between 5am and 10am, then transfer to your hotel or Pattimura Airport for onward flights to Makassar, Jakarta or Singapore.

Schedules change with weather, sea and diving conditions. A night dive may be added at the cruise leader’s discretion.

Getting to Ambon

Lion Air flies daily from Bali via Makassar or Manado, Garuda Indonesia and Sriwijaya Air from Jakarta via Makassar, and Batik Air direct. Around three hours in the air. Coming back, early morning departures give you the best chance of making an international connection the same day.

The boat

New White Manta is a 46-metre steel vessel with 14 cabins for 24 guests and 20 crew, including six dive guides. Nitrox on board, three compressors, four tenders. Included in the trip price: all meals, soft drinks, hot drinks, 12-litre tanks, weights, towels and cabin service.