Snorkeling with a manta ray at Manta Point, Komodo

Komodo Diving Liveaboard

Labuan Bajo, Flores3 Days 2 NightsAsik Original

An Asik Original, run by us

Planned and run end to end by the Asik team. You book and deal directly with us, start to finish.

Want a closer look at the boat before you book? Browse our Labuan Bajo boat tours, with the ships, decks, and cabins shown in detail.

Overview

Komodo is a current-driven site. Cold water pushes up from the Indian Ocean through the straits between the islands, which is why the reefs here carry more fish than almost anywhere else in Indonesia, and also why the good sites are not beginner sites.

Sleeping on the boat is what makes the difference. The best dives in the north, Castle Rock and Crystal Rock, are three hours from Labuan Bajo and only work on slack. From a day boat you get one shot at them. From a liveaboard you are already on top of the site at first light, which is when they fire.

Three dives a day, plus a night dive if the group wants it. The boat carries tanks, weights and compressor; bring your own regulator and computer if you have them, or rent on board.

Itinerary

Day 1

Check dive at Siaba, Batu Bolong, night dive at Wainilu

A shakedown dive, then the pinnacle everyone comes for.

08:00
Pickup, harbour, gear set-up and buddy check on the dive deck. Certification cards and logbooks are checked here, so bring them.
10:00
Dive 1, Siaba Besar. A shallow, currentless bay used as the check dive: weighting, trim and a look at your kit before anything with current. Turtles on the sea grass make it a pleasant one rather than a chore.
13:00
Dive 2, Batu Bolong. A pinnacle rising from deep water, dived on the sheltered side because the current splits around it. The wall is solid coral from five metres down and holds the densest fish life in the park. The dive is planned in one direction on the slack and the guide will abort it if the timing slips.
16:00
Dive 3, Mawan. A gentle drift over sand and coral bommies with manta cleaning stations at the north end.
19:30
Optional night dive at Wainilu. Muck diving rather than reef: frogfish, nudibranchs, mandarinfish at dusk. Skip it if three dives is enough.

Day 2

Castle Rock, Crystal Rock, The Cauldron

The northern sites, and the reason the trip is a liveaboard.

05:30
Coffee on deck. The boat has moved north overnight and is on site at first light, which is when the trevally and sharks are hunting.
06:00
Dive 1, Castle Rock. A submerged seamount with no reference to the surface, dived on a negative entry with a reef hook. Grey reef sharks, big schools of fusiliers and a wall of trevally on the current side. This is an advanced dive and the current is the whole point of it.
09:30
Dive 2, Crystal Rock. The same water, a shallower pinnacle that tops out at five metres, so the safety stop is on the reef. Better visibility than Castle Rock and easier to photograph.
13:00
Dive 3, The Cauldron, also called Shotgun. A channel between two islands where the tide accelerates and shoots you through a narrowing gap into a bowl. Timed to the slack, then ridden on the flood. The most fun dive in the park and the one that most needs the guide's tide table.
17:00
Anchor at Gili Lawa. The climb up the hill for sunset is worth doing on a surface interval.

Day 3

Manta Point, Tatawa Besar, back to Labuan Bajo

Mantas at the cleaning station, then a drift home.

06:30
Dive 1, Karang Makassar, the Manta Point. A drift along a rubble field where reef mantas queue at cleaning stations. Divers stay low and still on the bottom and let the animals come, which they do if nobody chases them.
09:30
Dive 2, Tatawa Besar. A soft-coral drift, orange from end to end, with no work involved. A good last dive because it is shallow and leaves a long surface interval before flying.
12:00
Lunch under way, gear rinsed and hung by the crew.
15:00
Alongside at Labuan Bajo. No flying for 18 hours after the last dive, so book your flight out for the following day.

What's included

Private cabin with ensuite bathroom and air conditioning
Up to 8 dives, three a day plus one optional night dive
Tanks, weights, belts and air fills
Dive guide, with groups kept small on the current sites
Airport or hotel transfers within central Labuan Bajo
All meals on board, plus fruit and snacks between dives
Free-flow drinking water, coffee and tea
Harbour clearance and port fees
Oxygen and first aid kit on board

Not included

Komodo National Park fees plus the daily diver surcharge of IDR 25,000, about IDR 725,000 per foreign diver on a 3D2N
Rental equipment: regulator, BCD, wetsuit, computer, torch
Nitrox, where the boat carries it
Dive insurance, which is required and must cover chamber treatment
Flights to and from Komodo Airport
Alcohol, crew tips, personal expenses
Hotel nights before or after the trip

Gallery

1 / 5 Full size

Good to know

What certification do I need?

Open Water is the minimum and gets you Siaba, Mawan, Tatawa and Manta Point. Castle Rock, Crystal Rock and The Cauldron are Advanced sites and the guide will want to see Advanced Open Water plus around 30 logged dives, because they are negative-entry dives in real current. If you are Open Water with few dives we will still take you, and you will sit out two dives on day two or do a shallower alternative on the same site.

Do I need to send my certification card in advance?

Yes, a photo of the card and your last logged dives when you book. The guide plans the sites around the least experienced diver on board, so knowing that before the boat sails is what stops day two turning into a compromise for everyone. Bring the physical card too, it is checked on the dive deck.

How strong is the current, really?

Strong enough that it dictates the schedule. Dives in the north are planned on slack water and the guide will move or cancel a dive rather than put a group in at the wrong hour. Expect down-currents at Castle Rock and Crystal Rock, and a genuine ride through The Cauldron. If you have only dived reefs with no current, tell us and we will build the trip around the southern and central sites instead.

When is the best time to dive Komodo?

April to June and September to November for the best combination of visibility and calm. Mantas are around all year but thickest from December to February, when the plankton is heaviest and visibility drops in exchange. July and August are busy and the north can be cold, around 22 degrees, so a 5mm suit or a hood is worth having.

Can non-divers come along?

Yes, and it works better here than on most dive boats because the snorkelling is genuinely good at Manta Point, Mawan and Tatawa. A non-diver on the same cabin pays a reduced rate. They snorkel the same sites while the group is down, apart from the two northern seamounts, which have no shallow reef to snorkel.

When can I fly after the last dive?

18 hours. The boat is alongside at 15:00 on day three and the last dive finishes around 11:00, so the earliest safe flight is the following morning. Book a night in Labuan Bajo. Nobody sensible flies the same afternoon.

Booking and cancellation terms

A deposit confirms your booking. The balance is due before the trip starts.
Cancel 14 days or more before the start date: full refund of what you have paid.
Cancel 7 to 13 days before: 50% of the total paid is refunded.
Cancel less than 7 days before, or do not show up: no refund.
If we cancel the trip, you choose a new date or take a full refund.

Full terms are confirmed with your booking. Bank transfer fees are paid by the sender.

The boats that sail this trip

An open trip runs on whichever vessel has your cabin free on the date. Every boat below sails this itinerary. Compare the cabins, then tell us which one you want.

The fleet

Cordelia

Five cabins, a wide beam, and the best photographed sundeck of the fleet.

12-14 guests5 cabins

View the boat

Read before you go

The journal

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Itinerary

Day 1

Check dive at Siaba, Batu Bolong, night dive at Wainilu

A shakedown dive, then the pinnacle everyone comes for.

08:00
Pickup, harbour, gear set-up and buddy check on the dive deck. Certification cards and logbooks are checked here, so bring them.
10:00
Dive 1, Siaba Besar. A shallow, currentless bay used as the check dive: weighting, trim and a look at your kit before anything with current. Turtles on the sea grass make it a pleasant one rather than a chore.
13:00
Dive 2, Batu Bolong. A pinnacle rising from deep water, dived on the sheltered side because the current splits around it. The wall is solid coral from five metres down and holds the densest fish life in the park. The dive is planned in one direction on the slack and the guide will abort it if the timing slips.
16:00
Dive 3, Mawan. A gentle drift over sand and coral bommies with manta cleaning stations at the north end.
19:30
Optional night dive at Wainilu. Muck diving rather than reef: frogfish, nudibranchs, mandarinfish at dusk. Skip it if three dives is enough.

Day 2

Castle Rock, Crystal Rock, The Cauldron

The northern sites, and the reason the trip is a liveaboard.

05:30
Coffee on deck. The boat has moved north overnight and is on site at first light, which is when the trevally and sharks are hunting.
06:00
Dive 1, Castle Rock. A submerged seamount with no reference to the surface, dived on a negative entry with a reef hook. Grey reef sharks, big schools of fusiliers and a wall of trevally on the current side. This is an advanced dive and the current is the whole point of it.
09:30
Dive 2, Crystal Rock. The same water, a shallower pinnacle that tops out at five metres, so the safety stop is on the reef. Better visibility than Castle Rock and easier to photograph.
13:00
Dive 3, The Cauldron, also called Shotgun. A channel between two islands where the tide accelerates and shoots you through a narrowing gap into a bowl. Timed to the slack, then ridden on the flood. The most fun dive in the park and the one that most needs the guide's tide table.
17:00
Anchor at Gili Lawa. The climb up the hill for sunset is worth doing on a surface interval.

Day 3

Manta Point, Tatawa Besar, back to Labuan Bajo

Mantas at the cleaning station, then a drift home.

06:30
Dive 1, Karang Makassar, the Manta Point. A drift along a rubble field where reef mantas queue at cleaning stations. Divers stay low and still on the bottom and let the animals come, which they do if nobody chases them.
09:30
Dive 2, Tatawa Besar. A soft-coral drift, orange from end to end, with no work involved. A good last dive because it is shallow and leaves a long surface interval before flying.
12:00
Lunch under way, gear rinsed and hung by the crew.
15:00
Alongside at Labuan Bajo. No flying for 18 hours after the last dive, so book your flight out for the following day.

Good to know

What certification do I need?

Do I need to send my certification card in advance?

How strong is the current, really?

When is the best time to dive Komodo?

Can non-divers come along?

When can I fly after the last dive?

Booking and cancellation terms

A deposit confirms your booking. The balance is due before the trip starts.
Cancel 14 days or more before the start date: full refund of what you have paid.
Cancel 7 to 13 days before: 50% of the total paid is refunded.
Cancel less than 7 days before, or do not show up: no refund.
If we cancel the trip, you choose a new date or take a full refund.

Full terms are confirmed with your booking. Bank transfer fees are paid by the sender.

Komodo Diving Liveaboard