Flores to Sumbawa - U/W Photo Cruise
 Live Aboard Dive Vessel
Following in the tradition of our Komodo Live-Aboard Underwater Photography Cruises. Our Flores to Sumbawa U/W Photo Cruise is a fantastic mix of both macro and wide angle photography opportunities. This cruise suits divers with a lust for exploration and finding rare creatures, those with a sense of adventure! It also suits u/w photographers who don't enjoy cold water diving. All the dives we conduct on this cruise are in water temperatures between 27-29C. So no need for 5mm wetsuits (like are needed in southern Komodo), a full length 3mm suit will keep you warm.
Our cruise begins with a flight from Denpasar, Bali into Labuanbajo on the island of Flores, where we board our live-aboard vessel at the nearby Port. We will travel west, diving along the way in the northern and central islands and reefs of the Komodo National Park, and onward to Banta & Sangeang Islands, then onto the coastline of eastern Sumbawa. This cruise is a fantastic mix of macro and wide angle. We begin among the pelagic action packed reefs around the northern islands of Komodo National Park. We know these reefs very well and can almost guarantee fantastic dives surrounded by fish and with close encounters with sharks and manta rays. We then move west to Banta Island, just outside the Komodo National Park. Here we we can dive in the sheltered reefs inside a huge bay on the north coast, as well as an action packed reef or two on the exposed capes. Then further west to Sangeang Island, a large active volcanic island offshore from eastern Sumbawa. This island has some of the best black sand diving, mixed with coral reefs that we have seen, as well as spectacular above water scenery. Sangeang Island has clear water and intact reefs where critters and nudibranchs in particular are found in surprising numbers. There are a couple of sites where bubbles and hot water are seen spilling from the seabed, as this is an active volcano. It is more than likely that we will not see any other divers around this island, as it is remote and only occupied by a few fishermen and farmers. After two days spent around Sangeang Island, we move south to the northern coast of Sumbawa (with nice shallow reefs with lots of macro life) and visit a village where traditional Phinisi schooners are still built in centuries old traditional methods, alongside ikat weavers that we can see at work. Further west still, our destinaion is Bima Bay, with some fantastic rubble-muck diving with a plethora of rare critters in shallow depths. We fly from Bima airport directly back to Denpasar airport. This trip is organised around the best time of year for dive, weather and tidal conditions in the Flores Sea and Komodo National Park. Use our Contact Us - Live Aboard page if you would like to check availability or have any questions. Details of the vessel are on our Flores to Sumbawa Live Aboard Boat Details page. 
Manta Ray - Komodo Island
Click here to see a video of Manta Rays from our November 2014 trip.
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Wunderpuss Octopus in Bima Bay
Frogfish - Bima Bay
Flabellina Nudibranch - Sangeang Island
Orangutan Crab - Sangeang Island
Halimeda Ghost Pipefish - Sangeang Island
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A "Lady Bug" Sea Flea (Amphipod) - Komodo Island
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The World's rarets nudibranch - Melibe colemani we found these on our 2014 trip from Flores to Sumbawa
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Surgeonfish - Komodo Island
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Sangeang Island (from Wikepedia)
Sangeang Api (Gunung Api or Gunung Sangeang) is an active complex volcano on the island of Sangeang in Indonesia. It consists of two volcanic cones, 1,949 metres (6,394 ft) Doro Api and 1,795 m (5,889 ft) Doro Mantoi. Sangeang Api is one of the most active volcanoes in the Lesser Sunda Islands. It erupted in 1988 and 2014 both times the island's inhabitants were evacuated. Between its first recorded eruption in 1512 and 1989, it has erupted 18 times.
The island of Sangeang is part of the Lesser Sunda Islands. It is located northeast of Sumbawa in the Flores Sea, and is 13 kilometers wide with an area of 153 km2. The earliest document mentioning about the Sang Hyang Api volcano was found in 14th century Majapahit script of Nagarakretagama.
Update: Since mid-June 2013, authorities had put the volcano on 'high alert' for a possible eruption. On 30 May 2014, a major eruption occurred at around 3:55 p.m. local time. Farmers working on the island were evacuated. Ash and smoke quickly rose to an altitude 15–20 kilometers into the sky. By the next morning, the ash cloud had crossed the north-west coast of Australia in the Kimberley region, and airlines had cancelled flights into and from Darwin, Northern Territory. It later went as far as Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. On 31 May some flights from Melbourne and Adelaide to Bali were also cancelled.
The island of Sangeang is part of the Lesser Sunda Islands. It is located northeast of Sumbawa in the Flores Sea, and is 13 kilometers wide with an area of 153 km2. The earliest document mentioning about the Sang Hyang Api volcano was found in 14th century Majapahit script of Nagarakretagama.
Update: Since mid-June 2013, authorities had put the volcano on 'high alert' for a possible eruption. On 30 May 2014, a major eruption occurred at around 3:55 p.m. local time. Farmers working on the island were evacuated. Ash and smoke quickly rose to an altitude 15–20 kilometers into the sky. By the next morning, the ash cloud had crossed the north-west coast of Australia in the Kimberley region, and airlines had cancelled flights into and from Darwin, Northern Territory. It later went as far as Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. On 31 May some flights from Melbourne and Adelaide to Bali were also cancelled.
Aircraft we use to travel from Bali to Flores & return from Sumbawa
Views of Sangeang Island, a massive volcanic Island with some of the
best black sand diving we have seen in Indonesia. |
Sangeang Volcano with local fishing boat
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