Mermaid 1 - Bali to Komodo liveaboard diving

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Mermaid 1 Komodo liveaboard schedules, itineraries and prices

Diving through the Lesser Sunda islands on our Komodo liveaboard safaries we have accumulated 5 years experience exploring the best of the liveaboard diving around Komodo. We are proud to offer our exciting 2009 season aiming to dive the best of the best where and when its running!
This year we will be running Mermaid1 and Mermaid2 throughout the season from May to October giving you a choice of a 7 or 9 day itinerary both leaving from and returning to Benoa in Bali. Return guests will also appreciate some new sites and experiences we have gathered through our extensive travels in the Nusa Tengarra and Komodo National Park areas during the years.
Read the Komodo liveaboard trip report

Mermaid 1

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M/V Mermaid I is a 28 metre, double engine steel motor yacht. She comfortably holds 15 guests in 1 Master State Room (king bed), 1 Single and 4 Deluxe Cabins (double or twin beds) and 2 Budget Cabins (double/twin beds) below deck. The master, single and deluxe cabins have ensuite bathrooms, refrigerators and panoramic windows offering great sea views during your Komodo liveaboard.
The budget cabins are below decks with ensuite bathroom and refrigerator. All cabins have TVs for reviewing your pictures or watching a dvd, bathrobes , toiletries and loads of fluffy towels. There is a wide stern dive platform with two exit ladders and fresh water showers. 4 camera rinse tanks, a large camera table and our resident on-board video and photo professional will help keep all the photographers happy and help with your all important lens decisions.
Komodo liveaboard diving is not just about the diving, delicious Thai and western meals are served in our "Sawasdee Restaurant" with large windows to enjoy the views as you cruise. Our new barbeques are also a great hit! After meals relax in our saloon equipped with a large flat screen Tv and library with a full selection of marine life books. There are two outside decks, one shaded with outside seating and the upper deck sundeck with sunshade plus cushioned sun beds ­ a great place to relax.

EANX NITROX is available on every cruise.

Mermaid 1 - cabins

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Master cabin	Master cabin bathroom
Single cabin	Single cabin bathroom
Deluxe twin cabin	Deluxe double cabin
Standard cabin	Upper deck relaxing area

Mermaid 1 - route map

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Mermaid 1 - Komodo dive sites

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Covering the best of both worlds, from up close and personal with aggragating mantas to shy pygmy seahorses and rare nudibranches Komodo diving has it all.
The beauty of Komodo liveaboard diving is in the balance between the large and small animals. One day you will be in the blue swimming with mantas and sharks and the next swimming along a bubbling volcanic reef covered with venting submerged fumeroles blowing bubbles into the water and hiding one of the worlds best kept secret macro dive sites.


Angel reef, Moyo, Sumbawa diving
We start our Komodo liveaboard with the first dive of the trip and the check out dive. This dive site doesn’t disappoint. A beautiful wall stretching down to 50 metres covered in hard and soft corals very reminiscent of Bunaken in North Sulawesi. Schools of bannerfish and trevally patrol the walls with the occasional reef sharks making an appearance. Ribbon eels hide in crevices and many different nudibranchs crawl over the vast elephant ear sponges that hang from the beautiful soft coral infested wall.

Satonda island bay
A protected bay on Satonda island north of Sumbawa hosts a treasure trove of macro critters, the more we dive here the more we find. The rare Denise pygmy seahorse lives in fans here, frogfish hang out in big barrel sponges and ghost pipefish hide amongst the featherstars that cover the reef slope. In the sandy bottom you can find jawfish with their mouths full of eggs, myriads of anemonefish, mushroom coral pipefish and spearer mantis shrimps.

 

Sangeang island diving
Sangieng island is a perfectly round volcanic island jutting up from the sea bed. Still active and last blowing in 1996 this well kept secret is one of the world’s finest macro dive areas. With diving available all around the island there is not one specific spot but always new ones to be discovered. Bubbles of volcanic gas seep through the sand creating a surreal atmosphere and a warm black sand bottom hosting rare and unusual nudibranch. Pygmy seahorses, frogfish, Pegasus sea moths and carnivorous shells and all common here, this is my personal favourite dive site as every time we dive here there is a surprise in store of something new that is often not in the books - this site is why you go Komodo liveaboard diving..

Gps point - Gili Banta diving
Gps point is an open sea mount prone to strong currents at certain times of the day. This provides prolific hard and soft coral growth that is home to hundreds of different types of reef fish. Loved by sharks, white tip sharks cruise around the whole dive in amongst the hunting giant trevallies and schooling jacks and surgeon fish, an exciting dive.

 

Takat Toko, Gili Lawalaut diving
This is one of my favourite sites on the Komodo liveaboard itinerary and is very similar to Gps point this site takes it to the next level. Grey reef shark, white tip sharks, occassional dolphins and a literal fish soup created by jacks, surgeonfish, giant trevallies and bannerfish surround this large sea mount as you hang on to the reef edge and watch the action. Again this site is prone to strong currents but we time our dives to hit around slack tide and a little current brings in the big fish. Great pelagic action, my favourite blue water dive.

Lighthouse reef, Gili Lawalaut diving
An adrenalin pounding drift dive along the wall and around the corner under the lighthouse. Sharks, mantas, dolphins are all frequent visitors on the dive with some of the best coral reef top in the area around the corner out of the current at the end of the dive you can hunt for porcelain crabs, cuttlefish and unusual seahorses whilst waiting for the adrenalin to funnel out of your system and your heart rate to return to normal-this is what Komodo liveaboard diving is all about!.

 

Crystal rock, Gili Lawalaut diving
A stunning soft coral and sea fan covered pinnacle with crystal water clarity this is a great site for those magazine cover wide angle shots. With at least 5 different types of angelfish, 4 types of trigger and butterflyfish everywhere it is a excellent reef fish dive with frequent visits from eagle and manta rays and the resident sleepy hawksbill turtle.

 

Pink beach, Komodo diving
Colder water and lower vis here due to the huge amounts of organic matter in the water due to the southern currents but this is more than made up for by the astounding life available to see here due to this phenomenon. Normally done as a night dive it also makes a good day dive with everything from white tip sharks to pygmy seahorses; zebra crabs, Coleman shrimp, many coloured frogfish, xeno crabs, Spanish dancers, and unusual nudibranchs are hidden amongst the dense coral growth.

Cannibal rock, Rinca island diving
Colder water than the north but touted by many as one of the worlds best 10 sites, yes I know there seems to be way more than 10 “top 10 sites” but this one really is one if you like macro. Everything is here even the rarest of the rare, the Rhinopias scorpionfish. It’s nudi heaven with only the special and the rare getting to appear here, more species than I care to mention along with large and different frogfish mixed in with schools of fish and the resident dopy turtle we do 2 dives here and it’s still not enough!! You will love it, I personally adore this dive site.

Torpedo alley, Rinca island diving
Just next to cannibal rock and where the boat moors is a beach that has wild pigs, monkeys and Komodo dragons in the daytime and hosts a myriad of critters in the waters in front if it at night. Named for the large amount of torpedo rays found here, a member of the electric ray family- no touching! They cover the sandy bottom along with loads of nudis obvious on the black sand bottom along with bizarre crabs and octopus.

Manta alley, Komodo diving
In the cooler waters in the south of Komodo there is a bay in which there are a series of pinnacles that seem to be a magnet for aggregating mantas. They are here in their tens, often we come up having seen over 20 different individuals. Often a little shy, their evasive spins and pirouettes makes the watching of them that much more enjoyable.

 

Takat Makassar, Komodo diving
This is our other manta site. A little bit more of a risk to see them as it is a huge area and we drift along the bottom in about 10 metres but along the way we always run into loads of turtles, napoleon and humphead wrasse, white tip sharks and very very occasionally you will be incredibly lucky and run into the resident dugong that inhabits this area along with scores of mantas as they migrate north.

3 sisters, Padar island diving
A series of underwater pinnacles reaching nearly to the the surface off the coast of Padar island next to Komodo this site constantly springs surprises on you from silvertip sharks and mobular ray schools to marbled rays and rare nudibranchs.

Mermaid 1 - Komodo diving frequently asked questions

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We plan a minimum of 20 dives subject to weather conditions and security/safety issues. Dive site selection detailed in the published itinerary is subject to change by the Captain or Cruise Director without prior notice. There are numerous fantastic sites in Nusa Tengarra and Komodo and our objective is to take you to the best of the best ! Repeat guests – we’ll take you to some new sites or more of those you really love  !

Everyone is welcome on board, no matter what level your certification. Dive groups and site selection will be chosen to meet your safety, comfort and diving ability – and is subject to the discretion of the Cruise Director. Our professional dive crew will take you on the easy route or to another site if you don’t like currents. If you are up for it, we’ll take you right into it for all the action the site offers ! You may wish to bring a reef hook for some dive sites.

Our experienced dive crew would be delighted to assist you. Divers are welcome to dive with their buddy on sites deemed suitable by the Cruise Director. All divers are required to dive with a dive computer – available for rent on board if you don’t have your own.  Nitrox fills and courses are available on board to enhance your diving safety. Please allow 24 hours between last dive and flying. Guests are requested to show diving certification cards on checking in and are strongly recommended to have valid dive insurance (Padi, Dan or equivalent). 

Guests are required to arrive in Bali no later than 14:00 hours which will allow us to make our planned 16:00 departure from Benoa port. Final cruise departure time is subject to guest arrival times. Please liaise with Mermaid Liveaboards if your flight times cannot fit this schedule.

Transfers from/to the airport or hotels in the south are free of charge. From destinations in central and northern Bali, there is a small charge. Please refer to the price list.

Guests arriving before 12 noon on departure day will be transferred to Absolute Scuba at Sanur Beach where you can leave your luggage in safety till boarding transfer at 14:00 hours.  After meeting the friendly crew at Absolute Scuba you can relax on the beach, enjoy a massage,go sight seeing or shopping. 

13:30 – Nusa Dua, Jimbaran, Seminyak; 14:00 Kuta Beach, Legian, Sanur Beach; 12:00 Tulamben; 13:00 Candi Desa, Padangbai, Ubud; Time to be advised for Lovina Beach and northern Bali.

The Flores Sea with its usually clear blue waters, great visibility has water temperatures of approx 26-28 degrees (northern dive locations) – a 3-5 mm shorty is okay with most guests comfortable with a 3-5mm long. The Sumba Sea (southern dive locations) has an average temperature of approx 24 degrees – the awesome diving let’s you forget about the cooler waters ! Think about a 5mm long possibly adding a vest or renting a shorty to go over the top if you feel the cold. Hood, gloves and booties are strongly recommended for these cooler waters.

Rental equipment is available on board. Our tanks are 12 litre steel and we have a few 15 litre steel/aluminium tanks available. Tank valves are international and some DIN adapters are available on board. Any dive equipment failure or loss will require you to rent a replacement from Mermaid Liveaboards at our published rates. If Mermaid Liveaboard equipment is lost/damaged, full replacement cost will be charged at the discretion of the Cruise Director. Published equipment prices will be available on board.

Our Thai cook is excellent, preparing a variety of Thai, Indonesian and Western dishes…even Barbeques ! Please advise any special meal requirements on the guest information form.

(Currency: If possible, please pay all on board costs in Indonesian rupiah.)
Up to you but we suggest you have some rupiah for souvenir shopping in Komodo, trip dvd, massages, small items etc at Sanur Beach. Exchange rates vary. The airport’s rate is lower than the rate you find at most small currency exchanges. Bank rates are low and take a long time. US$ are accepted in the Komodo National Park but rupiah is preferred. There are several currency exchange services and ATM machines near Absolute Scuba and at the airport and ATM’s at Benoa port.

All luggage will be taken on board. If you have large bags you do not need on the trip, please arrange to leave at your hotel if possible.

There is loads of excellent diving in and around Bali as well. Contact me if you fancy diving in Bali also. Detail how many days/diving days you would like, where you are staying and what sort of diving you would like to do and I can recommend a package to suit.

Mermaid 1 Komodo liveaboard diving

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