Dive Review of White Manta in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat & Banda Sea

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White Manta: "Too many fish!", Oct, 2018, by Steve Dussault, NH, US ( Contributor 18 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 10621 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	Front Office Booking: The trip was booked with Explorer Ventures and the booking process is straight forward with no issues. Explorer Ventures’ office is very responsive to questions and inquires. Travel: Indonesia is a long trip from the USA. Booking in-country flights can be challenging. The Garuda Indonesia website accepts international transactions. However, my experience with them is that flight schedule changes have resulted in my having to find other flights and having to reschedule my other international flights to accommodate Garuda’s schedule changes. Other in-country airlines do not accept international transactions. It is possible to book flights with other Indonesia airlines using nusatrip.com. Due to travel time I would recommend arriving in country a couple of days prior to the boat’s departure to recover from the jet lag and to make sure you and your luggage arrive in time. Live Aboard: The Blue Manta is one of the largest liveaboards that I have been on - 148 ft. The boat was built in 2015, is spacious and in very good shape. The cabins and bathrooms are large by liveaboard standards. Unfortunately, there seems to be an issue with hot water. At the end of the day there was not always hot water for showers. There is an indoor dining area on the main deck. There is an outdoor dining area on the upper deck as well as a sun deck. The food is very good and plentiful. There is a continental breakfast before the first dive and a hot buffet breakfast after the first dive. Lunch is buffet style. For dinner you can select from two entrees each day. Many of the dishes are local and delicious! Beer on board is $4 each and a limited wine selection is available starting at $45 a bottle. Diving: There are 3 - 4 dives a day depending upon the location. The dive sites range from shallow reefs, vertical walls, and pinnacles. NITROX 29% is available. Dive groups will range from 4 - 6 divers per group and dives will be spaced out by departure and destination so that not all the divers are at the same site at the same time. There are up to 4 dive tenders that will transport you from the live aboard for a 5-10 minute ride to the dive site. When the dive is completed, the dive tender will come to you, you remove your gear in the water, and enter the tender via a ladder in the stern. Bottom time is typically 60 minutes and depth is limited to no decompression diving. The nearest chamber can be 3-4 days away so being conservative on dive profiles is wise. The marine life in Indonesia is amazing from macro to pelagic. The reefs are very healthy with many large schools of fish to see. Upon returning to the liveaboard, the crew will take your suit, rinse it in a disinfectant solution and hang it to dry. They also take care of carrying your gear back up onto the boat. There are showers on the stern of the boat to be able rinse off after the dive. Underwater Photography: The liveaboard has a dedicated air conditioned camera room with 110 and 220 volt receptacles. There is a dedicated fresh water tank outside of the camera room. The boat crew will transport your camera between the boat and the tender and treat the camera as if it was their own. The subject material ranges from macro to wide angle, and the dive list for the day will recommend a camera setup for each dive. Ecological Awareness and Diver Etiquette: The policy for Blue Manta is the use of no gloves and proper buoyancy so as not to damage the coral. Divers that need to be educated about diving etiquette will be briefed by the dive master so that all can enjoy the diving.
Websites	White Manta
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	US, Canada, Alaska, Caribbean, South America, South Pacific, New Zealand, Australia, Indian Ocean, Indonesia
Closest Airport	Sorong	Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	77-84°F / 25-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	NDL and 60 minutes plus / minus
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
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	[None]

Report currently has 3 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of White Manta in Indonesia/Raja Ampat & Banda Sea

White Manta: "Too many fish!", Oct, 2018,

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 White Manta in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat & Banda Sea