Join This Amazing One-Way Liveaboard Voyage to Experience Abundant Reefs and Swim With Massive Whale Sharks
October 5-18, 2028
This incredible Banda Islands and Triton Bay snorkeling trip uses the brand new Coralia Dua Liveaboard to take a one-way journey that allows you to snorkel numerous remote Coral Triangle destinations. These places are dense with sea life and boast some of the highest biodiversity in the world. Add to that the chance to swim with Whale Sharks and you have a 14 day trip not to be missed!
The journey begins in Ambon, one of the critter capitals of Indonesia. Then you will sail to the Banda Islands. You will spend several days enjoying fantastic snorkeling around these islands. You will find vibrant colorful hard and soft coral reefs full of life. You will see many anemonefish, butterflyfish, schools of anthias, fusiliers, triggerfish, trevally, needlefish, parrotfish, Napoleon Wrasse, Bumphead Parrotfish, and so much more! We really enjoyed snorkeling the Banda Islands in 2025.
The Banda Islands are the original Spice Islands. You will have a tour of Banda Naira town, complete with a museum, an old Dutch fort, and a visit to a nutmeg farm. At the farm you will have cinnamon tea and treats garnished with nutmeg jam.
After exploring the Bandas, you will sail to the island of Koon in the Seram Islands and Mommon on the coast of West Papua. Next you will head south to explore what Triton Bay has to offer for several more days. Triton Bay’s reefs offer a different experience than the Bandas, with large limestone boulders covered in a variety of colorful soft corals, sea fans and black coral bushes, with some hard corals too.
Along with its gorgeous reefs, Triton Bay is also famous for its Whale Sharks, and quite often dolphins, which gather around traditional Indonesian fishing bagans. You will be treated to an unforgettable up close interaction with these ocean giants.
Your home for this trip will be the brand new Coralia Dua liveaboard yacht. It has all the luxuries and amenities of a comfortable resort, and will serve as a functional base for your breathtaking snorkeling sessions. We have taken two tours aboard this boat’s sister ship, the Coralia, and can vouch for the high quality of the accommodation, food and crew.
This trip, exclusively for 15 snorkelers, is being run by our partner and friend Ben and his team. Based in the U.K., they are experts in the Coral Triangle, run amazing excursions, and have a great appreciation for the underwater world.
Banda Islands and Triton Bay Snorkeling Trip Itinerary and Map
You will be traveling and snorkeling in Indonesia, within a region known as the Coral Triangle, which has more species of fish and corals than anywhere else in the world.
Your tour begins in Jakarta (CGK). After your international flight arrives you will check into a comfortable hotel and relax before a group dinner where you will meet your guide and fellow snorkelers. You will then have a very early morning group flight to Ambon.
At the airport in Ambon, you will be met by the crew of the Coralia Dua Liveaboard yacht. From the airport it is a short drive to the port where you will board.
You will settle in, and the vessel will travel to the Banda Islands, with successive days cruising and snorkeling eastward to Koon, Mommon, and Triton Bay. You will disembark the yacht in Kaimana, where you will be transferred to the airport for your final group flight back to Jakarta, which ends the tour.
What Will the Snorkeling Be Like on This Liveaboard Trip?
For this tour, 2-4 snorkel sessions per day will be offered, and each session will last for 60-120 minutes. You will board small boats that will take you from the main boat out to the snorkel sites. You can expect four overnight crossings on this journey.
There may be time for an afternoon snorkel in Ambon after boarding the vessel. It is one of the places in Indonesia known for finding interesting critters on black sand, known as muck snorkeling.
Snorkeling in the Banda Islands
The Bandas are a group of 10 volcanic islands famous as the first of the “Spice Islands”. Nutmeg and cinnamon trees are native here. The history of this place offers interest above and beyond the fantastic snorkeling.
There are a multitude of different reefs to choose from around these magical little islands. You will have several days of snorkeling here. If conditions allow, you may also enjoy a couple of night snorkels in the Banda Islands.
Expansive fringing shallow hard coral plateaus form many of the reefs. These extend from the islands before plunging into deep blue waters. Sponges, colorful soft corals, and sea fans cover these walls and slopes.
At the end of Gunung Api’s 1988 lava field is a wonderful snorkel spot called Lava Flow. It has a nice shallow reef with lots of yellow finger coral, lettuce coral, and soft corals. More reef residents are anemonefish, squid, moray eels, butterflyfish, christmas tree worms and leaf scorpionfish.
The tiny islet of Nailaka, off the northwest tip of the island of Run, offers the opportunity to swim with an extraordinary amount and variety of fish that congregate here because of the currents (see photo above). You could see schools of anthias, fusiliers, triggerfish, batfish, breams, emperors, trevallies, sweetlips, unicornfish, snappers, rabbitfish, and Bumphead Parrotfish, along with Napoleon Wrasse, Black-tip Reef Sharks, and so much more.
At the numerous other spots around the islands you can expect more beautiful reefs with soft and hard corals, lots of sparkling damselfish and anthias, and schools of larger fish over the drop-offs. On the reefs you can also find colorful nudibranchs and flatworms, moray eels, sea turtles, octopus, cuttlefish, and the ever-entertaining Clown Triggerfish.
Besides snorkeling in the Banda Islands, a tour will be included to explore the history of the original “Spice Islands” which stimulated the entire spice trade. Your tour of Banda Naira town will be full of cultural highlights, including fully intact colonial buildings and a fort to explore. You will also visit an old nutmeg plantation and enjoy some delicious tea and treats garnished with nutmeg jam! This was our favorite land tour in Indonesia.
Snorkeling Koon and Mommon
After an overnight crossing from the Banda Islands heading east, you will stop at a site in the Seram Islands called Koon. The World Wildlife Fund discovered that this area is one of the largest reef fish spawning sites in eastern Indonesia. Huge schools of Bluefin and Giant Trevally, batfish and pompano may be seen, if the conditions are favorable. There is also coral reef to explore with interesting fish and creatures.
After another overnight crossing heading even further east, you will explore an area called Mommon in West Papua. This area provides some brand new snorkeling sites to explore. You will also see the beautiful Kiti Kiti Waterfall where fresh water flows directly from the forest into the sea, and as you explore the area by tender, you will cruise past an island inhabited by a large colony of fruit bats, often seen hanging in the trees or flying overhead.
Snorkeling Triton Bay
After your last overnight crossing, you will arrive for several days more snorkeling in Triton Bay. You will enjoy the truly unique and shockingly beautiful sites that have made this area famous. The reefs will look vastly different than what you will have seen in the Banda Islands, from the structure of the reefs to the coral compositions and marine life. You can expect to see large schools of fish on these reefs as well.
Along with its robust reefs, Triton Bay is also famous for its Whale Sharks and, quite often, dolphins, which gather around the traditional Indonesian fishing platforms called bagans. There are only a few places in the world where you can predictably swim alongside multiple Whale Sharks for hours at a time without anyone else in the water, and Triton Bay is one of them.
Coralia Dua Snorkeling Boats
There are two smaller fiberglass tender boats that will be used to bring your snorkeling group to different sites, and they will always be watching your group and ready to assist. These smaller boats have ladders to help you get back on board. If you get tired during a snorkel one of those boats can quickly take you back to the liveaboard.
What Is the Coralia Dua Yacht Like?
Coralia Dua is a brand new premium liveaboard, offering its first tour in September 2026. The yacht is built in the traditional Indonesian way, but offers all the comforts and amenities you would expect from a luxurious resort. This boat is the sister ship to the Coralia, an award-winning liveaboard, which our partner has used extensively. Coralia Dua is a bit larger, and will offer an equally excellent experience.,
At 170 feet long and 34 feet wide she is a good sized ship with loads of space for enjoying your leisure time and dining, both in and out of the sun. And with more friendly and attentive crew members than guests, you will be very well taken care of.
The Coralia Dua has eight well-appointed cabins. Each cabin is air-conditioned, non-smoking, and has a spacious private bathroom with warm freshwater showers, towels, and hairdryer. In the cabin itself guests will find cozy beds, a sofa, working desk, and closet. Regular and USB charging stations provide further comfort.
There are four luxurious Master Cabins on the Main and Upper Decks that additionally feature a private balcony where you can indulge in the tropical scenery and never miss a sunrise or sunset.
The Deluxe Cabins on the Lower Deck have either one double or two twin beds and porthole windows.
The yacht has a cozy air-conditioned restaurant where you will be served traditional Indonesian cuisine as well as international comfort foods and snacks between snorkels. They can accommodate most special diets such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and so on, with advanced notice. But, it is a remote destination and specific food items may not be available.
You may also eat outdoors on either the Main or Upper Deck dining tables. These decks, in addition to the Sky Deck, also offer comfortable shaded or sun-filled seating areas to choose from. If you want to get out of the heat there is an indoor air-conditioned lounge sharing the same space as the main restaurant. In all these areas you can access complimentary satellite WiFi, when coverage allows.
The yacht offers a dedicated camera room, a spacious dive center on the Lower Deck, and services of a masseuse up on the Sky Deck.
Trip Details and How to Sign Up
This is a small group charter and we expect it to fill. Your spot is reserved with your deposit. Contact Ben below for deposit instructions.
Trip Date:
October 5-18, 2028 – Available.
Trip Price:
$11500 US per person – Deluxe Cabin (Twin/Double Share)
$12500 US per person – Master Cabin (Twin/Double Share)
Single Person Supplement: Upon Request
The initial deposit for this trip is $800 US per person. At 12 months before departure there is a $1000 US per person interim deposit, and at six months there is another $1000 US per person interim deposit. The final balance will be due three months before departure. A few payment options are available including debit and credit cards.
Individual travelers – Ben will happily find someone of the same sex for you to share a room with. If he cannot find you someone, no single supplement surcharge will apply.
Inclusions:
- 1 day stay in a Jakarta hotel with dinner
- Round trip domestic flights, transfers, and connections (Jakarta – Ambon, Kaimana – Jakarta) with 44 lbs checked baggage
- 12 nights accommodation on the Coralia Dua Liveaboard
- Full board (all meals, snacks, drinking water, sodas, tea, coffee)
- 2-4 guided snorkel sessions per day, excluding arrival day
- WiFi aboard Coralia Dua (suitable for messages and light browsing)
- A guide from Ben’s team
- Port, marine park, and fuel surcharge fees included
Exclusions:
- International flights and visas
- Snorkeling gear rental
- Gratuities
- Travel insurance – recommended
- Health insurance – compulsory
- Alcoholic drinks, laundry and general sundries
- Spa services
Trip Organizers
Ben and his U.K. based team are the organizers and leaders of this trip (more about them below). Galen and Nicole from TropicalSnorkeling.com are promoting this trip, but all signups, trip organization and payments are made to and managed by Ben’s team. TropicalSnorkeling.com does receive a referral fee in exchange for promoting the trip, at no extra cost to attendees.
How to Sign Up or Learn More?
Use the contact form below to contact Ben and his team to request more information about them and express your interest in signing up. They will get back to you shortly with full details.
More About Ben and Our Partnership
Ben (pictured with Nicole) is our friend and snorkeling trips partner. He and his team are based in the U.K. and have over 20 years of experience guiding in Asia and beyond. He has been running his own business since 2010 and is primarily offering guided snorkeling trips, but he started with diving. He began offering snorkeling specific trips because he was aware that snorkelers often get the short end of the stick when thrown in with divers. He and his team love the freedom and low stress of snorkeling, and are very aware of the different needs of snorkelers versus divers, in terms of the reef depth, and calm surface conditions needed.
From our experience going on some of his snorkeling trips we found them very well organized, the guides were fantastic and very helpful, and the underwater experiences were exceptional. Snorkeling groups really get the benefit of all of Ben and his guides’ years of experience in the water, and with different resorts and liveaboards.
All of his trips are small groups of 12-18 guests, or with a similar ratio of snorkelers to guides. These are premium trips including nearly everything you will need, accommodation, meals, transportation, and more.
His company is licensed and insured. Barring extreme circumstances they do not cancel trips.