Dive Review of Samambaia Liveaboard in
Indonesia/Flores / Alor

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Samambaia Liveaboard: "Adventure Diving in Flores / Alor Indonesia", Aug, 2019, by Lenny Zwik, TX, US ( Reviewer 4 reports with 6 Helpful votes). Report 11119.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
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	The Samambaia is a wooden boat built in the Phinisi style about four years ago. It is immaculate and beautiful. The diving is done from two tenders which are accessed from a ladder ending in a platform that extends down the starboard side of the boat. The crew hauls the gear from the tenders back to the boat after every dive, refills the tanks, Nitrox is free and is used on every dive if you're certified for it. Some 100 cu ft tanks are available for $60. To reboard the tenders you hang on to a rope line along either side, hand up your weights, slip out of your gear and push it up to the crew. The cabins are roomy each with a private head and very comfortable is are the salon, dive decks and the sun deck which is covered with a retractable canvas cover. Not surprisingly, the food was a blend of Indonesian and Italian. The owner/builder of the boat is an Italian gentleman which explains the choice of cuisine and it was excellently prepared. One of the boat's highlights was a super automatic espresso machine in the salon. Yes!! It's still winter in this part of the world, especially southern Australia which means the currents flowing south to north along the southern part of our itinerary were COLD, 71F to 74 F. Along the northern part it was warmer, 75F to 77F. A 5mm full suit is, in my opinion, required unless you're a polar bear. I chose to wear the 5mm the entire trip as I didn't want to have to readjust my weighting and buoyancy. After many times, our group of divers was spread out over a very wide area due to the currents. No big deal, but if you're not experienced with this type of diving, I expect it could lead to some anxious moments. The dive guides are all equipped with deployable SMBs and the tenders were johnny on the spot picking us up most of the time. Sometimes we just hung out on the surface for 10 mins or so, but this wasn't due to the boat drivers' skills, just the distances they had to cover to retrieve us all. Visibility ranged from 30 to over 100 ft depending on the dive site and the sea conditions were, fortunately, flat calm. Two highlights, we encountered either a sperm or blue whale, on the surface and dove with schooling hammerheads. Indonesia is a culturally and diverse country. Several times we anchored in a bay close to villages. Some had a church, others had a mosque. We could clearly hear the calls to prayer from the mosque and as many of our crew were Muslim, could hear them praying in their quarters. The itinerary also included a visit to a village which afforded us an opportunity to donate school supplies and other hard to get goods. If you go, plan on bringing something. I spent 3 days in Sanur, Denpassar, Bali and the Buddhist and Hindu influence was ever present in the form of offerings the store proprietors left in front of their establishments and the smell of incense that permeated the air.
Websites	Samambaia Liveaboard
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Fiji, Chuuk, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Raja Ampat, widespread Caribbean, BVI, USVI, Bonaire
Closest Airport	Maumere	Getting There	Although the flights all went off without a hitch, travel to Indonesia is not for the faint hearted. Austin to Seattle to Seoul to Denpassar to Maumere. The return trip required a 10 hour layover in Seoul. It seems, at least on Delta and AA, that it's impossible to avoid a long layover in Seoul.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	71-77°F / 22-25°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	30-100 Ft/ 9-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	None, but you'd be wise to stick with your dive guide.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	1 or 2
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	I am not a photographer, but the facilities were outstanding. There wasn't a camera table, but rather an entire air conditioned room off the dive deck for the photographers to use to set up their gear. There were separate rinse tanks for gear and cameras.

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Dive Review of Samambaia Liveaboard in Indonesia/Flores / Alor

Samambaia Liveaboard: "Adventure Diving in Flores / Alor Indonesia", Aug, 2019,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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 Samambaia Liveaboard in
Indonesia/Flores / Alor