Dive Review of Solitude Adventurer in
Indonesia/Banda Sea

Other Indonesia reports
Subscriber Content Preview
Active subscribers go here

Solitude Adventurer: "Hammerheads and beautiful coral in the Banda Sea", Oct, 2022, by Graham McGregor, Kilmacolm, GB ( Top Contributor 41 reports with 22 Helpful votes). Report 12110.
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	Overall We had not been previously to the Banda Sea and went largely because of the possibility of Hammerheads. Certainly, they were there and many on our group saw individuals and small schools on several dives. We did see a couple of Hammerheads and a Whale Shark. The hard corals are possibly the best I have seen anywhere- genuinely impressive. There was a good selection and variety of fauna, and we were not disappointed. However, be warned, even though you have to pay $250 in cash for “Marine Park and mooring fees” – at no point are you diving in a protected Marine Park! As a result, there aren’t a lot of larger fish and we saw no sharks (other then Hammerheads) whatsoever. Getting to/from Ambon. We flew from the UK on Emirates via Dubai to Jakarta. No masks on board Emirates flights required apart from the Dubai to Jakarta leg. Masks were “required” in the airports and planes in Indonesia, but many people ignored this! We had relatively long (10 hour) layovers in Jakarta before and after our domestic flights from Jakarta to Ambon, so we had day rooms at the FM7 Hotel (about 20/30 mins drive from the International Terminal) on the way there and the Jakarta Airport Hotel (in domestic Terminal 2). Jakarta Airport has a very good SkyTrain operating between terminals. With hindsight, we would have booked day rooms in the Jakarta Airport Hotel in both directions. The Boat Solitude Adventurer is a really good boat. It is a catamaran, so very stable. At 12m wide it is spacious, with a very large dive deck for kitting up. I shared a twin cabin which was very roomy with large outside windows. I am not much of a camera man but there was a good area inside for setting up camera gear, charging etc. There was a fair amount of steaming on this trip, mainly at night. At no point did I feel the need to take anything for sea sickness! The main lounge was roomy. Food was fine, not special. There was always a meat and fish choice, with a pasta/veg option. Soup was offered at dinner. Breakfast was eggs to order and other breakfast staples. There was a barbeque one evening, which was really good and steaks on the last night which, again, were good. The crew were great, very friendly and helpful. There were only 13 divers on board and 18 crew, so service was very personal. WiFi is available at additional cost. It worked but really only for WhatsApp and other messaging. Streaming isn’t really possible. Beer, wine and gin was available at extra cost. Soft drinks, juice etc was free. The Diving The diving was well organised. There was plenty of space on the dive deck. Everyone had an allocated location and storage area. Nitrox was consistent at 31 and fills were also consistent at just over 200 Bar. We were split into 3 groups. There were 3 guides and the cruise director who also guided. So, guides were on a rotation basis with a different guide per group each day. This worked out fine although one local guide was less experienced and not quite such a good spotter. There are two ribs for diving which were fine as none of the dive sites were very far from the boat. Dive protocol was fairly relaxed in the sense you could dive to your comfort level and experience but generally ended after 60 minutes. Briefings were good and safety consciousness was high. Most divers were very experienced, but a couple had less than 100 dives under their belts. However, there were only possibly 2 dives on the entire trip with any significant current and we only had to hook in (relatively briefly) on one dive. Day 1 (10 October) Ambon Embarkation is and check dive at Ambon Jetty pm. A great muck dive. Many Morays (some free swimming), Conger Eel, Napoleon Snake eel, Banded Coral Shrimp, Boxer Shrimp, Longhorn Cowfish, Peacock Flounder, Spiny Devilfish and, to top everything, a Wonderpus! Day 2 Banda Neira Overnight steam. £ dives at this location. These included Lava Flow, which is an impressive site where a volcanic eruption about 40 years ago has left a trail of volcanic sediment in the ocean. This, in turn has been covered by a wonderful array of magnificent hard corals. The two day dives were very fishy. We saw a turtle and Coleman Shrimp. There was a twilight Mandarin fish dive which became a night dive. Day 3 Hatta Another quite long steam. 4 day dives yielded several turtles, Bumphead Parrot Fish, Mobula Ray, Napoleon Wrasse and large shoals of fish. Beautiful corals on the walls. Some divers saw Hammerheads but we didn’t. Day 4 and 5 Manuk We stayed a day extra at Manuk because of reported Hammerhead sightings. The first and last dives (out of the 4 dives each day) were at a site called “The Ridge” which in fairness yielded Hammerhead sightings on most dives for some groups (who were prepared to go to 40m and push deco). We dived more conservatively and did get a couple of Hammerhead sightings. The other two dives each day were on beautiful coral slopes and walls, with strong currents on one dive. We saw Mobula Ray, Tuna, Trevally, Bumphead Parrotfish and many Sea Snakes! Day 6 Run and Ai Again, beautiful coral, inkling spawning coral! Porcelain and Orang Utan Crabs, Barracuda, Tuna, very fishy generally. Glimpsed a Hammerhead. Day 7 Suangi This was billed as another good Hammerhead location. Again, other groups saw Hammerheads at depth. Three dives out of 4 were at a site called “Jackpot”. On our first dive we hit the jackpot – a really close encounter with a Whale Shark!!! It was the highlight of the trip. Apparently, these are rare sights in the Banda Sea! On other dives we saw Cuttlefish, Bumphead Parrotfish, Napoleon Wrasse, Tuna, Trevally, Sweetlips, Nudis and more spawning coral. Day 8 Nusa Laut 2 dives were offered but we only did the first dive due to no-fly time constraints. A lovely final dive along a lovely coral wall. Large Tuna loads of reef fish and Nudis. Day 9 early disembarkation All in all a good trip and I'd recommend a trip to the Banda Sea.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Galapagos; Socorro; Palau; Sipadan; Truk; Malapascua; Komodo; Ticao Island; Maldives; Red Sea; Caribbean; Cuba; Hawaii; Florida; Cozumel; Spain, Seychelles, Mauritius, Oman, GBR; Raja Ampat
Closest Airport	Ambon	Getting There	Via Jakarta
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy	Seas	calm
Water Temp	29-30°C / 84-86°F	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	20-40 M / 66-131 Ft
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	60 minutes dive duration
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	1 or 2
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	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Good facilities for UWP

Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here

Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 1401 dive reviews of Indonesia and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

All Indonesia Dive Reviews and Reports
Diving Guide to Indonesia
Diving Reviews for All Dive Destinations

Featured Links from Our Sponsors
Interested in becoming a sponsor?

Reef & Rainforest, Let our experience be your guide -- Reef and Rainforest

Reef & Rainforest is an agency for travelers that scuba dive. Looking for Biodiversity, critters, Komodo, Raja Ampat, temples? We specialize in adventures to Indonesia.

Want to assemble your own collection of Indonesia reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

Undercurrent Home

Page computed and displayed in 0.44 seconds

Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email. And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent
Get a free monthly email and a sample issue!

Dive Review of Solitude Adventurer in Indonesia/Banda Sea

Solitude Adventurer: "Hammerheads and beautiful coral in the Banda Sea", Oct, 2022,

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 Solitude Adventurer in
Indonesia/Banda Sea