Dive Review of Dive Damai in
Indonesia/Banda Sea

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Dive Damai: "Decimated marine legacy", Nov, 2017, by Dan Benson, WA, US ( Sr. Contributor 24 reports with 14 Helpful votes). Report 9975 has 3 Helpful votes.
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	Indonesia has successfully decimated their marine resource. In 14 days of diving in the Banda Sea, I saw the following creatures larger than a dinner plate: 2 sea turtles, a "school" of barracuda numbering about 10, one white tip shark, one nurse shark, two gray reef sharks, a blue spotted ray, a devil ray and a nice school of rat fish. THAT'S ALL! The larger fish are gone. I did hear dynamiting on several occasions. Poor local fishermen and scuba divers compete for the same resources. You can guess which wins that contest. Sustainable isn't in the Indonesian vocabulary. The Damai sets the standards for customer service. The crew is excellent, and you never touch your gear. However, there were some problems with the boat. At times there was no water for showers. The drains in the bathroom backed up, the toilet sometimes didn't flush and there was the smell of diesel smell in some rooms. Diving is done from small boats. However, there are only two small dingys and most of the time there were three groups of divers. The divers in the first two groups are taken out to dive while divers in the third group wait for a dingy to return. This trip went from Ambon to Maumere, Flores accross the Banda Sea. The ship sailed at night so each day we were at a new dive site. Diving was varied, with some wall diving, some muck, and some sea mount diving. The highlight of the trip was probably snake island, where we encountered many sea Kraits. Currents could be changeable and challenging. And with these conditions you'd expect to find schools of fish, sharks and other handsome creatures. But they just aren't there. It's sad to dive a sea mount or wall and have to content yourself to looking for nudibranchs! This is a very expensive live-aboard. Because of the mediocre diving and problems with the structure of the boat I don't feel this trip represented a fair value. The best part of Indonesian diving is muck diving. However, you don't need a live-aboard to dive in the muck. I say, DON'T GO TO INDONESIA to dive. There are other places around the world with better diving. Places that cherish their marine environment and that work to protect it.
Websites	Dive Damai
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Indonesia (6 times), Philippines, Red Sea, Hawaii, West Coast U.S., Bahamas, Cuba, Caymans, Bonaire, Curacao, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Maldives,
Closest Airport	Ambon	Getting There	Flight through Jakarta is a nightmare
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	choppy, currents, no currents
Water Temp	82-86°F / 28-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	30-80 Ft/ 9-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	You're an adult. Act accordingly
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 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	Camera room is crowded.

Report currently has 3 Helpful votes

Subscriber's Comments

By Jay Jones in CA, US at Nov 19, 2017 09:01 EST

Our sentiments exactly on the Banda sea

By MICHAEL ZAGACHIN in MA, US at Dec 27, 2022 11:32 EST

Thank you for this honest report. Doubt things are any better now 6 years later. Writing this from empty sea of Bonaire. No subject matter to shoot at all.

By MICHAEL ZAGACHIN in MA, US at Dec 27, 2022 11:32 EST

Thank you for this honest report. Doubt things are any better now 6 years later. Writing this from empty sea of Bonaire. No subject matter to shoot at all.

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Dive Review of Dive Damai in Indonesia/Banda Sea

Dive Damai: "Decimated marine legacy", Nov, 2017,

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 in
Indonesia/Banda Sea