Liveaboard Destinations

Explore our collection of expert guides and articles on the Indonesia's best liveaboard destinations. Discover tips, itineraries, and inspiration for your next diving adventure.

66 articles found

Cape Kri, Raja Ampat: The World Record Reef

Cape Kri, Raja Ampat: The World Record Reef

One reef corner in the Dampier Strait, 374 fish species counted on a single dive, and a record that has stood since 2012. What the number really means, and why the tide decides your dive.

Mika Takahashi
Mika Takahashi
Wae Rebo Flores: How to Visit in 2026

Wae Rebo Flores: How to Visit in 2026

Seven conical houses in a mountain bowl at 1,200 metres, five hours inland from Labuan Bajo and a two hour climb from the nearest road. Why divers should go before the boat, not after.

Mika Takahashi
Mika Takahashi
The Banda Islands: Nutmeg, Dutch Forts and the Island Traded for Manhattan

The Banda Islands: Nutmeg, Dutch Forts and the Island Traded for Manhattan

In 1667 the Dutch traded Manhattan for a nutmeg island in the Banda Sea. What survives on those islands today, and the two dives that sit directly beneath the history.

Mika Takahashi
Mika Takahashi
How to Get to Raja Ampat from Singapore: Routes, Costs and Timings (2026)

How to Get to Raja Ampat from Singapore: Routes, Costs and Timings (2026)

An operator's guide to reaching Raja Ampat from Singapore, the best international gateway to the archipelago outside Indonesia. The two routings that work and why Makassar is underrated, realistic timings, full cost bands in Singapore dollars, visa-free entry for Singapore passports, domestic baggage limits on the Sorong legs, how to time the pre-dawn connection, whether a seven-night trip is enough, the liveaboard versus homestay calculation that only makes sense from a short-haul market, and multi-destination pairings with Lembeh and Bali.

Mika Takahashi
Mika Takahashi
How to Get to Raja Ampat from the USA: Routes, Costs and Timings (2026)

How to Get to Raja Ampat from the USA: Routes, Costs and Timings (2026)

An operator's guide to reaching Raja Ampat from the United States. The four-stage shape of the journey, best West Coast and East Coast routings including whether to fly the Pacific or the Gulf, the overnight decision between Jakarta and Sorong and why we recommend arriving a day early, 2026 cost bands for the whole journey, through-tickets versus separate tickets, Indonesian domestic baggage limits, visa on arrival mechanics, date line and jet lag management, and how to plan the return around the no-fly interval.

Mika Takahashi
Mika Takahashi
Where Is Raja Ampat? Location, Map Context and How Remote It Really Is (2026)

Where Is Raja Ampat? Location, Map Context and How Remote It Really Is (2026)

Where Raja Ampat actually is, and why its position matters. The province and administrative geography, the four kings the name refers to, straight-line distances and realistic travel times from Bali, Jakarta, Singapore, Sydney, Amsterdam and Los Angeles, the WIT time zone trap, the five diving zones inside the archipelago, why sitting at the centre of the Coral Triangle produces the richest reef measured anywhere, and an honest account of how remote it feels once you leave Sorong.

Mika Takahashi
Mika Takahashi
Manuk Island: Diving the Banda Sea Snake Island

Manuk Island: Diving the Banda Sea Snake Island

An uninhabited volcano 122 kilometres from the nearest island, ringed by sea snakes and sitting on the hammerhead migration route. Only a handful of liveaboards go, and the weather decides whether they arrive.

Mika Takahashi
Mika Takahashi
Maumere Diving: Flores Bay and Gateway Guide

Maumere Diving: Flores Bay and Gateway Guide

Most divers pass through Maumere on the way to Alor or the Banda Sea without ever getting in the water, which wastes a bay once thought the most species-rich anyone had surveyed.

Mika Takahashi
Mika Takahashi
Dampier Strait Diving: Raja Ampat Site Guide

Dampier Strait Diving: Raja Ampat Site Guide

The channel that holds Cape Kri, Blue Magic and Manta Sandy is the richest reef on earth, and the tide decides whether you see it at its best.

Mika Takahashi
Mika Takahashi