Halmahera-Banda-Ambon

This route offers a wealth of biodiversity starting with spectacularly beautiful reefs & Volcanic islands of Western Halmahera in some of the world’s most bio-diverse waters. Here remote, unspoiled, and stunning underwater landscapes and made more alluring by the lack of crowds.  Crossing down the Banda Sea, let our experienced crew show you these remote and almost untouched locations with wonderful reefs and stunning drop offs. We conclude the cruise in the critter heaven of Ambon. The cruise runs between Ternate and Ambon in North Sulawesi.

Sample Itinerary

Note: All schedules are subjected to changes according to weather, sea, diving, & local conditions.

Day 1. (0-1 dives) 3pm. Our staff will meet you upon your arrival at Ternate Airport and transfer to White Manta.  Once all guests are onboard you will receive a very warm welcome, briefing, dinner, then we set sail to Pulau Tidore.  Possible check dive at Ternate if all arrive early.

Day 2. (3-4 dives) Pulau Tidore: amazing dive-sites & macro diving.  Sail overnight to Pulau Kusu.

Day 3. (3-4 dives) Pulau Kusu & Palau Bacan: shark point, reef sharks, schools of barracuda & jacks along a coral & sponge packed reef.

Day 4. (3 dives) Pulau Obi & Pulau Gomumu

Day 5.(3 dives) Manipa Island.  Sail towards Ambon overnight. 

Day 6. (3 dives) Saparua & Nusa Laut with its pristine corals.  Sail overnight to Banda Islands.

Day 7-8. (3-4 dives x2 days) Banda Islands.   Diving around Banda Islands with excellent visibility, fantastic coral coverage, and tremendous numbers of fish along with potential Hammerhead sightings.

Day 9. (2 dives)Critter dives in Ambon.  Sail back to Ambon where you spend last night on board.  Plenty of time to wash & dry equipment, R&R, and if need be, an early flight on trip departure day. 

Day 10. (0 dives) 5am-12pm. Check out after light breakfast, farewells, and transfer to local hotel or Pattimura Airport, Ambon.  Departure from Ambon to Jakarta, or Bali/ Manado, via Makassar.

Diving days: 9 days (26 dives)

Note: 3 dives are scheduled per diving day*.  This is due to deeper dives and long distances covered between islands.  Where possible a bonus night dive may be scheduled at the discretion of the Cruise Leader. *Except trip departure day & trip return day.

Embarkation / Disembarkation

  • Start: Ternate (TTE), North Maluku 
  • Finish: Ambon (AMQ), Maluku

How to get to Ternate (TTE), North Maluku

  • Easily accessed from Manado (MDC) with daily flights less than one hour with Lion Air , or via early morning flights from Jakarta (CGK) with daily flights around 3.5 hours with Batik Air / Garuda Indonesia.

How to get from Ambon (AMQ), Maluku

  • To Jakarta.  Direct morning flights with Batik Air or Citilink
  • To Bali.  Morning flights with either Batik Air or Lion Air, both via Makassar (UPG, Ujung Pandang), arriving to Bali mid-afternoon.

Dive Site Information (Halmahera)

  • Water Temp: 27-30 degrees Celsius, Air Temp: 27-32 degrees Celsius,
  • Visibility: 15-30 meters, Currents: medium to strong, Level: intermediate to advanced,
  • Best Time to Dive: October to April (less rain & much less wind: perfect for diving)

Dive Site Information (Ambon)

  • Water Temp: 26-28 degrees Celsius, however deep-water upwelling’s & thermoclines especially in Sept-Nov can mean temps as low as 25C.  Air Temp: 22-31 degrees Celsius
  • Visibility: 20-30 meters, Currents: medium to strong, Level: intermediate to advanced,
  • Best Time to Dive: March, April, & mid-September to early December

What's included?

  • Round trip transfer local Hotel / Airport to Boat.
  • All nights' accommodation on Boat.
  • All meals (Western & Indonesian) snacks, hot beverages, coffee, tea, Milo, soft drinks
  • Cabin towels, soap & shampoo, cabin services.
  • FOC replacement if equipment breakdown
  • Towel & drink after every dive.
  • Regular Air Tanks, weights, belt, 5 dive guides (1x instructor, 4x dive masters)

What’s excluded?

  • All flights & hotels stay.
  • Marine Park & Harbour fee.
  • Dive & travel insurance.
  • Fuel surcharge (if applicable). Please see our Booking Information page 'Fuel surcharge' section for more details and fees per person.
  • Massage services
  • Laundry services
  • Nespresso coffee, alcohol; beer & wine
  • Satellite Wi-Fi
  • Diving gear; dive computer, torch, large tank rental, BCD, regulator, wetsuit, fins mask.
  • Nitrox Enriched Air fills
  • Note; Nitrox & Diving gear Items priced per diving day and are subject to availability.
  • Note: Exposure suits; 3mm shorty wetsuits available ONLY. 

Trip Schedule

  • Departure: 3pm, 1st day - Ternate, North Maluku. Or earlier if everyone arrives before and all trip preparations are completed.  Free pickup upon arrival from Sultan Babullah Airport, Ternate (transfer time 20-30 mins) or local hotel (10am) to White Manta on trip departure day.
  • Return: 5am, last day - Laha Bay, Ambon.  After a light breakfast and fond farewells, we take you to local hotel or Pattimura Airport, Ambon in time for check-in & flight (transfer time 10 mins).  Note: Latest WM check-out midday, trip return day.
  • Last dive ends: 12pm, penultimate day.  Then sail back to Ambon where we spend the last evening onboard.  If you have booked an earlier flight, then you may have to skip 1 or 2 dives to allow for your minimum 18 hours’ surface interval/ No Fly Time (as recommended by PADI) before flying next day.

New White Manta Reminders

Travel Documents

  • COVID-19 requirements & protocols in Indonesia and on your trip.  Please see our COVID-19 Travel & Visa Information page to help prepare and plan in advance for your travels and entry into Indonesia, as detailed by the Government of Indonesia.
  • Guest Info. We MUST receive guest’s details well in advance in the trip.  Note: Late receipt of Passport details may very likely lead to delayed departure & significant changes to the itinerary.
  • Visa On Arrival (VOA), single entry is now available for many countries and Visa Exemption Arrangement (VEP) for some ASEAN countries for stay up to 30 days. VOA cost: IDR 500,000 (approx. EUR 32 / USD 35). Payment can be done by: Visa, Mastercard or Debit Card or Cash Indonesian Rupiah (IDR). Note: Please check here for eligibity. If you are from one of countries not on the VOA or VEA lists, or if you simply wish to get a visa in advance, you MUST apply for an eVisa (B211A) online PRIOR to arrival before entering all other airports.
  • Passport. Please ensure your passport is in good order, has enough pages, is valid for at least 6 months, and that you are able to enter Indonesia. Check with your local Embassy of Indonesia if unsure.
  • Departure Tax. Indonesia Passenger Service Charge (IPSC) has changed (Mar-2015) to be included in your flight ticket price. Please check though as previously it was 200,000IDRp to leave Indonesia, & up to 75,000IDRp for Domestic flights. Carry small bills, Indonesia Rupiah preferred, as often no change given.

Domestic Flights

  • Please book BEFORE confirming your International flights to ensure you make your connection to Ternate & from Ambon. 
  • Travel agent: If you require assistance with your itinerary: obtaining an e-visa, booking domestic flight tickets, hotels, transfers, and additional land arrangements etc, we can recommend local Indonesian Travel agents, our friends at Come2Indonesia.  Contact Rendy & the team here tour2@come2indonesia.com.. Note: If booked with credit card please ensure the card is with you upon check-In or have an official Airline form filled in & signed by card holder authorizing the use of.
  • Our ticketing agents are not responsible for any flight delay or cancellation, luggage lost or delay. In any case, please contact our ground staff in Bali for assistance for flight delay issue.
  • Domestic Airlines normally have 20kg allowance, although you may pay for 10Kg extra when booking, if needed (around US$3/kilo). With an additional 7kg carryon.

Health & Insurance

  • Dive Insurance; compulsory for this trip.  We also strongly advise you get adequate travel insurance. Please check your travel insurance policy for your diving needs.  If not covered then we recommend DiveAssure for their single trip policy cover.
  • Dive Computer; compulsory on this trip.  We have rentals onboard if you do not have.
  • Follow Safe Diving Practices at ALL times plus No Deco Diving and No Solo Diving.
  • Travel insurance is compulsory for our trips. Our trips are not inclusive of any form of insurance. White Manta Diving cannot be held responsible for any trip disruption or cancellation due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control or any flight / hotel expenses. This includes any costs related to COVID-19 issues, resulting in delay/ medical/ extraction/ quarantine/ or trip costs incurred due to potential positive testing / refusal of admittance to the country or your trip, before, during or after. We strongly recommend all guests purchase adequate travel insurance, as such an occurance will affect all guests on trip. Please see our Booking Information page 'Travel Insurance' section for more details and recommended insurers.

Internet/ Mobile

  • Satellite Wi-Fi
  • Mobile signal; local Telkomsel is best local card to buy.  Not long after you leave port we have has intermittent/ limited mobile signal until we return.
  • Telkomsel prepaid card is the best value. Plus can add credit to top up!!!

Trip Extras payment onboard

  • By Credit card comes with 4.5% additional handling fee.
  • By Cash we accept US Dollars, Euro, Singaporean Dollars, and Indonesian Rupiah.  Please ensure ALL bills are in good order; NOT worn or torn and unmarked or we are UNABLE to accept.  Exchange rates differ for USD100/50 bills and USD20/10 bills. Current Exchange rate. ATMs available in town.

Trip Extras

  • Marine Park & Harbour fee; US$250 per person.
  • Fuel Surcharge fee; US$200 per person.
  • Massage US$35/ hour, laundry services US$10/ basket
  • Nespresso coffee: US$2, beer US$4, wine US$30-50
  • Satellite Wi-Fi US$35 for trip per person (US$50 for trip per person 10+ days).
  • Nitrox; US$20/ diving day or US$7/ fill.

Equipment rental

Diving gear: Full Set US$50/ diving day (except Large tank) or if individual items then following rates apply per diving day*

  • BCD US$15
  • Regulator US$15
  • Dive Computer US$12
  • Wetsuit US$8
  • Fins, Mask US$5
  • Large Tank US$12
  • Torch* US$12 per sunset/ night dive.

Diving gear items priced per diving day*. Please provide sizes in advance of the trip, as all gear is subject to availability. If not known then provide your height, weight, shoe size, where applicable.

  • Note: Torch rental price is per sunset/ night dive.
  • Note: Exposure suits: 3mm shorty wetsuits available ONLY.    
  • Note: Large tank AL100, 100 cu ft (13.2 liters)
  • Note: Gear included, regular air tank AL80, 80 cu ft (11.1 liters), weights, belt.

TRIP BOOKING