For divers seeking the ultimate Indonesian adventure, the Mari liveaboard offers a rare combination of authentic charm and modern reliability. This 34-metre traditional phinisi schooner, built from ironwood and teak, carries just 14 guests across the region’s most celebrated waters. From the prehistoric dragons of Komodo to the remote reefs of Raja Ampat, the Banda Sea’s spice-island history, the Forgotten Islands, and the volcanic seascapes of Alor and Flores, the KLM Mari navigates the Coral Triangle with a quiet confidence that comes from years of experience. Whether you choose a short scuba tour or a 2-week expedition, the vessel places you exactly where the diving is exceptional, without rushing the moments between.
Accommodation onboard the Mari liveaboard is deliberately intimate. 7 cabins sit on the main deck, each with en-suite bathrooms and basic toiletries. Deluxe cabins offer flexible double or twin configurations, while Superior cabins provide well-designed bunk layouts. All have safety deposit boxes and feel notably bright and airy. With a crew of 10 tending to a maximum of 14 guests, the atmosphere remains personal. You wake to the smell of coffee and salt air, and the day’s diving begins without the feeling of being part of a crowd.
Diving from Mari is structured around small groups. No more than 4 divers accompany one divemaster, which allows for a more focused experience in challenging currents or on delicate reefs. The boat carries 3 dive dinghies for efficient transfers, and nitrox is available for those qualified. A dedicated bathroom on the dive deck adds a practical touch after each descent. The equipment area is logical and uncluttered, and the crew handle tanks and gear with the sort of easy competence that lets you concentrate on what lies beneath the surface.
Above deck, Mari offers multiple spaces to settle into the rhythm of liveaboard life. The shaded upper sundeck, positioned forward of the bridge, provides loungers and a place to read while keeping an eye on the horizon. The larger top deck is more expansive, with mattresses for stretching out under the tropical sun. Between dives, guests often gather at the covered dining area, where meals are prepared with fresh ingredients and a willingness to adapt to preferences. A small library and a few board games offer quiet alternatives when you simply want to rest or engage in unhurried conversation.
Mari has been comprehensively overhauled in recent years, with technical systems updated to ensure reliability across long passages. The vessel carries 2 desalinators producing up to 10,000 litres of fresh water daily, multiple compressors, and a nitrox membrane system. Safety equipment includes satellite communication, EPIRB, and life rafts. It is this attention to operational detail, combined with a captain and crew who know Indonesian waters intimately, that gives scuba divers confidence when exploring remote sites where self-sufficiency matters.
The Mari liveaboard delivers a style of travel that values substance over show. There are no overstated promises, only a solid track record of navigating some of the most biodiverse marine environments on earth. For divers who appreciate genuine service, traditional vessel character, and cruises designed around the best conditions each region offers, Mari provides a reliable base from which to experience Indonesia’s underwater world at its very best.
All cabins aboard the KLM Mari are on the main deck each with an en-suite bathroom. They are bright and well ventilated with windows, fans and individually controlled air-conditioning. The 3 Deluxe cabins can either have 2 twin beds or 1 king size double bed (and 2 can accommodate a third diver), and the 4 Superior cabins have twin bunk beds.
All the cabins have:
- Individual controlled air-conditioning and fans
- En-suite bathrooms with hot-water shower, toilet and hand basin
- Shampoo, shower gel, towels, hairdryer
- Windows
- Daily housekeeping
- Cabinet, mirror, shelves
- Reading lights, bedside cabinet
- Safety deposit box
- 24-hour, 220v electricity supply, 2 flat pin plugs, adaptors are available
- Space for luggage and bedding
No. of bathrooms / showers - 7 / 7 - hot water
Raja Ampat National Park South
Trip highlights: shark action, manta rays, turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, wall diving
Dive sites and activities: Raja Ampat - Matan, Misool: Daram, Warakaraket, Fiabacet, Wayilbatan, Kaleidoscope, Yellit, Wagmab, Balbulol, Sagof, Farondi
Day 1
You are welcomed aboard the Mari liveaboard at Sorong harbour, where the crew greet you with a cool drink and a brief orientation. After settling into your cabin and setting up your dive gear, the vessel departs on a southwesterly course toward Misool. A check dive near Pulau Matan offers a gentle introduction to Raja Ampat’s waters before the overnight crossing. Lunch and dinner are served as the coastline slips behind you, with the evening spent cruising toward the southern reaches of the archipelago.
Core Days
The dive expedition settles into Misool, where limestone karsts rise from emerald water and the reefs below have seen fewer divers than any other part of Raja Ampat. The small islands of Daram and Warakaraket are soft coral paradises. Sea fan forests stretch across submerged slopes, their branches home to pygmy seahorses that require slow, careful searching to spot. Schools of barracuda and batfish gather around the shallows, while the deeper contours attract passing manta rays that glide along the current-swept edges.
At Fiabacet and Wayilbatan, the topography shifts to overhangs and swim-throughs. These structures create sheltered pockets where invertebrates congregate in densities that reward patient divers. Nudibranchs in colours that seem improbable, flatworms, and anemone crabs appear on almost every dive. The Mari liveaboard crew know these sites intimately and time each drop to coincide with slack periods or gentle current, depending on what each site demands.
Further south, sites like Yellit and Wagmab offer dramatic wall profiles. Steep faces draped in sponges and crinoids drop into deep water, with hunting trevally patrolling the reef edge. Kaleidoscope lives up to its name: a narrow channel where soft corals in shades of pink, orange, and purple cover every available surface. The water movement through the channel keeps the corals healthy and attracts schools of fusiliers that stream back and forth with the tide.
Sagof and Farondi introduce a different character. Here, the limestone formations create protected lagoons and sheltered bays where conditions allow for relaxed exploration of sandy slopes and rubble patches. Blue-ringed octopus, ghost pipefish, and occasionally wobbegongs appear among the coral heads. Between dives, there are opportunities to explore the karst formations themselves. Inland lagoons ringed by sheer cliffs offer a glimpse of the landscape that lies above the waterline, with the chance to hike to viewpoints that look out across the maze of islands that defines southern Raja Ampat.
The expedition also visits Balbulol, where ancient cave paintings offer a reminder of human presence here stretching back thousands of years. Hand stencils and animal figures painted on limestone walls provide a quiet counterpoint to the vibrant life on the reefs below. Throughout the week, the Mari crew balance diving with these land excursions, ensuring the rhythm of the expedition never feels rushed.
Final Day
After a final breakfast aboard, there is time to gather your gear and exchange contact details with fellow scuba divers. The crew arrange transfers to Sorong Airport or your chosen accommodation, leaving you with the quiet satisfaction of an expedition that has explored the most remote and untouched reefs in one of the world’s richest marine environments.
[Information is best estimate in ideal circumstances and subject to changes beyond our control. The itinerary is a guide only and may be adapted to best suit the weather, tides, currents, availability and other prevailing events. Price is for the cruise, not for an exact number of dives].
Life aboard the Mari liveaboard settles into a rhythm that balances activity with important rest and relaxation. The crew’s approach to meals reflects a simple belief: good food matters. Menus vary from cruise to cruise, shaped by fresh produce picked up in port and the cook’s willingness to adapt. You might find Indonesian classics like ikan bakar (grilled fish with sambal) sitting alongside a Chinese stir-fry, Japanese-style preparations, or a straightforward Western breakfast. Barbecues appear when conditions suit, often timed with a scenic anchorage. There is no fixed menu, which means repeats are rare, and the kitchen makes an effort to accommodate vegetarian requests or dietary needs when advised in advance.
Mornings start early but without urgency. Around 6:30 am, a light pre-breakfast appears: coffee, tea, perhaps toast or fruit. The first dive often happens in the soft light of dawn, when the water is calm and the reef is just waking up. After returning, a full breakfast follows: eggs cooked to order, rice, fresh fruit, and sometimes a local specialty. The second morning dive departs once plates are cleared and gear is reset. The crew’s pace is steady, never rushed, leaving space to review what you saw or simply watch the coastline slide by.
Lunch lands around 12 noon, served in the covered outdoor dining area. Meals here are a social anchor. Plates are passed, stories of close encounters or tricky currents get swapped, and there is usually someone reaching for extra sambal. After eating, the afternoon opens up. Some guests retreat to a cabin for a nap; others stretch out on the upper sundeck with a book or drift into quiet conversation on the shaded forward deck. Chess or backgammon from the small library occasionally make an appearance. The pause lasts long enough to feel genuine, and the third dive of the day typically starts around 3 pm.
Afternoon dives are followed by snacks and a stretch of time that belongs to whoever is awake. A night dive is often offered, and the dive deck becomes a focused space of torch checks and briefings as the light fades. Dinner follows, usually between 7:30 and 8 pm, with the cook presenting something that matches the day’s mood: maybe a spread of Indonesian dishes with gado-gado and rendang, or a lighter meal if the next morning starts early. The bar is open for beer, wine, or a simple cocktail, though many guests find that a cold Bintang tastes best after a night dive.
Throughout the cruise, the dining area remains informal. Waitress service means plates arrive without fuss, and the crew often ask if guests would like to see something specific on the menu later in the trip. Water, tea, and coffee are always available; juices, soft drinks, and alcohol are additional extras.
There is no sense of being on a schedule the Mari liveaboard; instead, the crew maintains a flow that respects dive safety, rest, and the simple pleasure of eating well in good company. By the second day, guests tend to settle into it naturally: up with the light, into the water, meals shared with new friends, and evenings that end with a quiet deck and the sound of water against the hull. It is liveaboard life at its most straightforward, and for many, that is precisely what makes it memorable.
"
Pros:
1. The condition of the boat, solid looking, seaworthy and frankly cared for, even, exceeding my expectations. The only drawback of an excess of smoke and a somewhat noisy engine will not prevent me from showing my clear satisfaction with it.
2. The cleanliness both in common areas and in the cabins.
3. Cabins, which without being excessively spacious, did have a bathroom with hot water, bath towel and an additional towel for use on deck loungers or when leaving the dives, air conditioning and fan that ensured that the heat was never an inconvenience.
4. The impeccable management of the diving equipment by the crew.
5. A guide for a maximum of 5 divers and the spaciousness of the speedboats.
6. The food prepared with great dedication by the very nice and expert cook. Thank you for the ultra-spicy sauce of freshly crushed chili peppers! The cooking was really tasty, presentation meritorious, with personalized details for vegetarians who will be very satisfied with most of the dishes served.
7. The refrigerator was full of soft drinks and cold beers a fairly reasonable price for this type of cruise. To make a suggestion, some ice creams would have been welcome.
8. The live musical performances, full ukulele and lungs, of the crew members when welcoming us, at birthdays and at the farewell, an unforgettable memory. Thank you!
9. The attention, education and dedication of the entire cheerful crew that, with the sole exception of the guides, I can honestly only qualify as excellent.
Cons:
1. Safety failures when jumping into the water to verify that the jump zone was free.
2. Discrimination in the treatment of divers by having 2 clients always being the first to visit the wildlife and not waiting for the return of one of the boats. The fair and professional thing to do would have been to establish a rotating shift and also of the guides since they were not of the same level.
" -
Izen Kai, Spain, 6 December 2023 ...
"
My husband and I had an absolutely perfect trip aboard the Mari Liveaboard dive boat in April 2017. From the first moment Holger met us at the airport to the sad moment that he took us back to the airport, everything went smoothly and easily. The boat is wonderfully spacious with plenty of room to lounge between dives, socialize with other guests, or enjoy the beautiful views." -
Stephanie Fletcher, USA, 08 July 2017 ...
