Dive Review of Dive Damai/Damai II in
Indonesia/Banda Sea

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Dive Damai/Damai II, Oct, 2013, by Mike Whitlow and Noel Taylor, NY, US ( 1 report). Report 7354.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude	N/A	Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We spent 14 days traveling from Maumere on Flores to Ambon in the Banda Sea,covering around 800 miles. This provided a wide range of dive sites but meant most nights we were under way or taking up anchor in the early A.M. so sleep and night dives were sometimes compromised. The staff was unfailingly attentive. Wetsuits are folded and ready for you to don at your gear station before each dive( no rummaging among the jungle of hanging suits!), fins awaiting you in the tender,water severed on deck before and after each dive(hot chocolate after night dives). Dive guides work hard to find critters. Cabins are immaculate and you can request fresh towels daily. The kitchen and salon crew customized meals to each divers taste and had abundant fresh produce on board. We had the enormous cabin35 with its private back deck, huge shower,king size bed 2 desks, separate toilet area and abundant light on 3 sides. Beautiful lounging areas on the top 2 decks. The reefs were in stellar shape with impressive hard and soft corals throuhout the trip. Loads of swirling anthias,red toothed triggers and other small fish on most dives. Many turtles, some nice schools of jacks and other pelagics,and on one dive 5 hammerheads and a silver tip made a brief but exciting appearance. Plenty of muck diving with lots of seahorses, more orangutan crabs than in our previous 2000+ dives put together,ornate and robust ghost pipefish to the point of becoming ho-hum,and a couple of entertaining dives with dozens of banded sea snakes. All dives were relaxing without big current or surge. One mobula,a few eagle rays and some sizable stingrays. Getting to and from Denpasar was easy:a 2 hour nonstop at a very civilized 2PM on the way out and 2 quick flights(Ambon to Makassar to Denpasar) on the way back getting us to Bali at 10:30 AM. We booked the trip through Jen Darby's Liveaboard Adventures. Jen was on the trip. She is a delight: answered our e-mails virtually immediately,including New Year's(!) and seamlessly arranged all the local flights. She is a delightful sunny presence but we watched her keep a discerning eye focused on all aspects of the diving and boat life to ensure her customers the best possible experience. We recommend her operation without reservation.
Websites	Dive Damai
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	PNG, Galapagos.Cocos, Palau, Yap, Red Sea, Andamans, Solomons, Caribbean, Coral Sea, Thailand and Burma
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, no currents
Water Temp	79-81°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	60-100 Ft/ 18-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	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	Staff exercise great care lifting cameras in and out of the tenders.Spacious dedicated camera room

Subscriber's Comments

By Laura A. Sonnenmark in VA, US at Jan 02, 2014 10:51 EST

Thanks for the informative report! I wonder if this trip included a land excursion to Bandaneira or Run--one of the formerly Dutch Spice Islands?

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Dive Review of Dive Damai/Damai II in Indonesia/Banda Sea

Dive Damai/Damai II, Oct, 2013,

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):

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Dive Damai/Damai II in
Indonesia/Banda Sea