Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet in
Indonesia/Komodo

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Aggressor Fleet: "Great 10 day Aggressor liveaboard in Komodo", Apr, 2023, by Robert Linscheer, CO, US ( Reviewer 5 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 12413 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Komodo Full boat briefing once onboard, showing escape routes including ladder for alternate routes. Fire detectors, extinguishers and life jacket locations pointed out, in cabin and on deck. This is a wooden ship, so it is important to know these things, and I've never seen so many fire extinguishers spread about. This being a 10 day trip we experienced all sides of the Komodo island chain. It was warm in the north and cold in the south, requiring a range of protection. I brought both 3mm shorty and 5mm long and neoprene beany. I needed all combinations at some point. Some folks wore hoods. It was difficult to predict needed coverage on a given dive as the currents could change the temps from day to day. On some dives we were buffeted with cold and warm currents, causing the most extensive "wigglies" (thermocline boundries) I've ever seen. Bring a reef hook if you have one, though we did not actually use them. You may still find yourself in an occasion where you need it. Having a pouch or some such to keep it out of the way is handy. This is not a trip for beginners as currents can be strong and in unexpected places. Dive masters were very attentive and great at pointing out all kinds of critters, small and large. They paid close attention to the currents and turned us around before we got into trouble. But in places you will still need to swim against the current or float along with them. An extensive dive briefing is provided for each dive with visual aids to help. Though there were some misses, most of the night dives were the among best I've ever done. Going from one find to the next in what looks like just a shallow sandy area. The manta ray cleaning stations are not to be missed, often seeing 3 to 6 at a time. Had the occasional passing white or blacktip shark. Schools of dolphin seen on the surface, but only heard underwater. Diving is done off of 2 skiffs. These are hard-sided boats with an outboard and forward steering station, not inflatables. Each skiff can handle 10-12 people, if needed. Divers are split into teams of 2 to 4 that usually are sent off separately, with skiffs returning for a second trip if needed. We only had 9 divers total for a boat that can handle 16, so we never felt crowded. The skiff might pick up two groups if they surface near each other at the same time, but that was handled well. The group enters all at once with a back roll over the side, a short 3 ft drop. Mostly drift diving with the skiffs remaining nearby for pickup. Transfer to/from the skiff from the boat can be tricky if there are waves. Crew handles all gear including tanks and cameras. One or two crew members ensure they have a good grip on you for the transfer. But there were some sketchy transfers. After the dive, you hand up your camera and weights, then take off your buoyancy compensator and hand that up, finally climbing up a portable ladder hanging over the side. This requires a little bit of flexibility and possibly a helping hand from a crew member. Meals are taken on the open foredeck at a long table if the weather is nice. We only had nice weather so I never ate indoors. It may be windy so a light jacket or sweater may be needed. A continental breakfast is offered at 6am with the first dive at 7am. This is followed by a cooked-to-order breakfast with American and Indonesian offerings. Next dive at 10:30, followed by a hot buffet lunch. First afternoon dive at 2:30, followed by snack, then evening dive at 6:10. That makes for a late dinner at 8pm. Some fine meals were served. We did an included shore trip at the Komodo National Park visitors center that includes a small museum and a short (1 mile?) hike up in the hills guarded by a ranger with a long forked stick. You do get to see the dragons up close as well as other wildlife (monkeys, deer, birds). Another shore trip was a short hike up a hill to observe the sunset. This last one may only be on the 10 day trip. This was by far one of the best dive trips I've taken, given the health of the hard & soft coral and the abundance of wildlife. I highly recommend this trip as worth the long travel from the States. This was a bucket list trip for me.
Websites	Aggressor Fleet
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Mostly Caribbean; Belize, Roatan, Turks & Caicos, Bahamas, Saba, Bonaire, Curacao. Bucket trips to Palau, Raja Ampat, Kona
Closest Airport	Labuan Bajo	Getting There	Flew via LAX to Taipei to Bali (DPS) with EVA, stayed a day, then flew on to Labuan Bajo (LBJ) to catch the boat. Back via Bali, Singapore with Singapore Air, SFO with United. No real trouble on any flights. All flights except to Singapore were full
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	currents, no currents
Water Temp	74-83°F / 23-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	10-40 Ft/ 3-12 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	All diving via skiff and following dive master, mostly because of dangerous currents. However most dives were 60 minutes.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	A counter top with non-slip, soft material, spanning the width of the foredeck is provided for dealing with cameras. Batteries are charged inside in the meal area, observed from 6am to 10pm and unplugged otherwise. An adequate freshwater dunk tank is provided. There is a compressed air tank with hose available. Cameras are transferred to/from the skiff and placed on a towel-covered shelf at the rear. Crew then hands the camera to you after back-roll. There is a large (27"?) monitor available in the lounge to view photos/videos.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet in Indonesia/Komodo

Aggressor Fleet: "Great 10 day Aggressor liveaboard in Komodo", Apr, 2023,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet in
Indonesia/Komodo