Aboard the graceful KLM Sea Safari VI, the thrill of discovery begins the moment you set sail into the heart of the Coral Triangle. This traditional Buginese Phinisi schooner is uniquely positioned for divers who prefer shorter, focused adventures, running outstanding liveaboard diving safaris around Komodo and Raja Ampat, often set at six nights. Owned and operated by Indonesian specialists, the local crew brings invaluable expertise to every trip, ensuring you experience the best conditions the archipelago has to offer. The Sea Safari VI liveaboard provides a genuine, culturally rich, and practical option for exploring Indonesia’s famed waters.
The vessel welcomes up to 20 guests, accommodated in well-maintained twin and double cabins. Each is fitted with a small, private bathroom and air conditioning, offering a comfortable, cool retreat after a day of tropical diving. The interior aesthetic celebrates Indonesian heritage, featuring indigenous carvings and Balinese art alongside locally-inspired cuisine, setting the Sea Safari VI experience apart in its authenticity.
A notable feature is the efficient use of space across the schooner’s 4 decks, preventing any feeling of crowdedness despite the vessel's moderate size. The main deck houses the air-conditioned dining room, which also acts as a social space equipped with power points and a computer for reviewing photos or completing logbooks. Forward of this area, the traditional Phinisi design places the spacious diving station, with dedicated tank positions along the port and starboard sides for orderly gearing up.
Above the main deck, Sea Safari VI guests can choose from diverse open-air relaxation zones. Towards the stern of the upper deck, a comfortable area offers shaded seating. For a touch of relaxation, there is an open-air Jacuzzi. Sun worshippers are catered for on a separate, large sun deck, providing unobstructed views of the spectacular Indonesian coastline.
For those with energy left after multiple dives, the Sea Safari VI liveaboard offers non-diving activities. Guests are invited to use the onboard kayak to explore secluded bays and nearby islands. A unique vantage point is provided by the opportunity to climb the mast to one of two look out platforms, offering panoramic vistas of the surrounding sea and islands.
The KLM Sea Safari VI liveaboard is a trustworthy platform that perfectly balances traditional charm with necessary modern functionality. It offers a memorable, intimate, and accessible adventure, ideal for diving Komodo and Raja Ampat with a highly experienced local team.
Alor
Trip highlights: great macro life/ marine diversity, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track
Dive sites and activities: from Alor: Kalabahi Bay, Biang Abang, Pura, Pantar Strait, Ternate. Dugong snorkeling, village visit.
Day 1
You board in Kalabahi, Alor, stepping onto the Sea Safari VI liveaboard for the first time. The crew greets you at the harbour, handles your luggage, and shows you around the boat. After cabin allocation and a safety briefing, lunch is served in the air-conditioned upper deck saloon. Depending on flight arrival times, there may be a check dive that afternoon in Kalabahi Bay. Dinner is taken aboard as the boat prepares for the days ahead.
Core Days
Diving from the Sea Safari VI unlocks Alor's extraordinary volcanic seascapes. This region sits where the Banda Sea meets the Pacific, creating nutrient channels that attract everything from tiny mimic octopus to passing pods of whales and dolphins.
Your first full diving day takes you to Biang Abang, where you explore Wolang Cave. You swim through 2 caverns, one with an air pocket, past nurse sharks and their eggs wedged into crevices. A second dive at Cathedral throws you through multiple thermoclines. The temperature can drop sharply, and the currents demand attention. In return, you get leaf scorpionfish, pygmy seahorses, and the occasional marble ray gliding out of the blue.
Moving to Pura, Clown Valley lives up to its name. Dense anemones host thousands of clownfish. Local children often free-dive alongside you using hand-carved wooden goggles. Mike's Delight is a sloping reef drift that starts at 8 metres and drops to 30 metres. When the current runs, you can drift around the island's tip, with Napoleon wrasse, jacks, and dogtooth tuna for company. Nearby, Kal's Dream is a pair of pinnacles that only fires when the tide and current align. If conditions permit, the Sea Safari VI positions you here at exactly the right moment.
Pantar Island brings muck diving at Bakalang Jetty. 2 jetties, old and new, sit on a steep sandy slope. Ghost pipefish, waspfish, ribbon eels, and boxfish hide in the debris and pillars. At Pasir Merah, named for its red volcanic sand, bubbles escape from vents connected to an active volcano. Mandarinfish and hairy shrimp live in the shallows. Then there is Bima Wall, also called the Great Wall of Pantar. It plunges past 60 metres, and whitetip reef sharks patrol the drop-off. Timing matters so the Sea Safari VI crew plans this dive around slack high tide before midday.
Ternate delivers 3 of Alor's most dramatic sites. The Arch is a natural tunnel carved through a coral ridge, big enough to swim through with light filtering from above. The Edge is a vertical wall that seems bottomless, covered in black coral bushes and large gorgonians. On the safety stop, guides often find white frogfish perched on sponges under overhangs. Babylon finishes the day. Moderate to strong currents feed a wall of pristine hard and soft corals. Schools of barracuda and fusiliers hold formation above massive sea fans.
On the final full day, the Sea Safari VI liveaboard returns to Kalabahi Bay for a morning macro dive. Seahorses and ghost pipefish inhabit the black sand slopes. Then comes a rare interlude: snorkelling with Alor's resident dugong, a shy creature that few liveaboard guests ever encounter. After the water, you go inland to Takpala Village. Traditional music, dance, and hospitality offer a glimpse of Alor's highland culture before the boat heads back to harbour.
Final Day
A continental breakfast precedes disembarkation. The crew arranges a transfer to Kalabahi Airport or your chosen hotel.
Banda Islands & Ambon
Trip highlights: turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, wall diving
Dive sites and activities: Ambon Bay, Nusa Laut, Banda Islands: Suangi Island, Lava Flow, Batu Kapal, Banda Neira Harbour. Visit to a Spice Island, trekking to Gunung Api.
Day 1
Arrive in Ambon, where the crew greets you at the harbour. The Sea Safari VI awaits. After cabin assignment and a brief tour, lunch is served. A check dive at Laha gets you in the water and confirms your gear. Dinner is taken in the air-conditioned upper deck saloon as the boat prepares for the crossing ahead.
Core Days
The Sea Safari VI liveaboard pushes east toward the remote Banda Sea. This is exploratory diving. Suangi Island, known locally as Jackpot, delivers the headline attraction: hammerhead sharks. You descend onto a current-swept ridge, hook into the lee, and wait. The hammerheads cruise the drop-off, sometimes in small groups, sometimes alone. They keep their distance. You watch them pass, grey shapes in the blue. Beyond the hammerheads, the diving varies dramatically. At Manuk, volcanic vents release streams of bubbles, Bubble Reef, where the water warms and unusual critters gather. Lava Flow offers stark black volcanic slopes contrasted with bright soft corals. Batu Kapal is a submerged pinnacle where dogtooth tuna and mobula rays appear out of the deep.
The Banda Islands themselves carry centuries of history. These were the original Spice Islands, fought over by the Dutch and the English for control of the nutmeg trade. You dive Banda Neira Harbour, where broken porcelain and old anchor chains lie scattered in the sand. Mandarinfish perform their evening mating dance near the harbour wall. Between dives, you go ashore. A trek up Gunung Api, the active volcano that dominates the harbour, rewards with views across the archipelago. You visit Fort Belgica, its walls still solid after three hundred years. A walk through the nutmeg plantations connects the underwater landscape to the history above.
Nusa Laut offers a gentler finale. The reefs here are pristine, with colourful hard corals and schools of reef fish. This is where the Sea Safari VI slows the pace. 2 dives on the last full day, then the yacht begins its cruise back toward Ambon. En route, you watch for dolphins and whales from the deck. The Banda Sea is big water, and the marine mammals pass through regularly. Between the big stuff, the macro rewards hold their own: the scorpionfish hiding in the rubble, frogfish on the sponges, nudibranchs in improbable colours.
Final Day
A continental breakfast precedes disembarkation. Time to leave the Sea Safari VI at Ambon Harbour. You have dived remote seamounts, historical harbours, and active volcanic reefs. The memory of those hammerheads - grey shapes fading into the blue - will keep you looking at the water long after you get home.
Komodo National Park
Trip highlights: shark action, dolphins, manta rays, dugongs/manatees, turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity, schooling fish & big pelagics, non diving activities
Diving environment: advanced divers, drift diving, healthy reefs, very popular, wall diving
Dive sites and activities: from Komodo: Sebayur, Nuse Kode: Cannibal Rock, Banana Reef, Yellow Wall, Torpedo Alley, Manta Alley, Pantai Merah, Three Sisters, Castle Rock, Gili Lawa Laut, Crystal Rock, Batu Bolong, Tatawa Kecil, Tatawa Besar, Manta Point, Siaba. Trekking, Komodo island for dragon land visit, flying foxes at Kalong.
Day 1
Labuan Bajo harbour. A tender takes you straight to the Sea Safari VI, a 2-masted wooden vessel that stands out among the fleet. The crew welcomes you aboard with fresh fruit juice. The cruise director explains the boat's features, helping you get comfortable. A dive safety video plays, then you head to the dive deck to set up your gear. After lunch, a check dive at Sebayur confirms everything works. Dinner is served at sunset. A perfect start.
Core Days
The Sea Safari VI liveaboard spends its week working through Komodo National Park from south to north. The southern dive sites around Nusa Kode deliver the classic Komodo package. Cannibal Rock is a photographer's favourite: a small pinnacle absolutely covered in sea apples, featherstars, and colourful tunicates. Banana Reef offers sloping coral gardens. Yellow Wall lives up to its name - a vertical face layered in yellow and orange soft corals. Torpedo Alley, the name hints at what cruises past: electric rays, often spotted resting on the sand. Manta Alley delivers on its promise. 2 dives here, and the presence of oceanic mantas is close to guaranteed. They come to the cleaning stations, gliding in from the blue, allowing you to hover at a respectful distance and watch.
The northern sites turn up the current. Castle Rock and Crystal Rock are exposed seamounts where the water moves with serious purpose. You hook into the lee and watch grey reef sharks circle the ridge. Giant trevallies smash into bait balls. Schools of barracuda stream past in silver ribbons. Batu Bolong is a classic: a single pinnacle rising from deep water, covered in corals and surrounded by fish life from top to bottom. The current here can be strong, but the rewards are substantial. Gili Lawa Laut offers cleaner conditions and the chance to drift along walls patrolled by sharks and eagle rays.
Between dives, the Sea Safari VI adds topside adventures. A trek to the Padar viewpoint rewards with the iconic photograph: 3 bays in 3 different colours. On Komodo island, you walk with park rangers across the savanah. The dragons lie in the shade, motionless, their size surprising even when you expect it. Stay behind the ranger, give them space. In the late afternoon, the boat anchors near Kalong. As the sun drops, thousands of flying foxes lift from the mangroves, their wings silhouetted against the orange sky. It is a strange, beautiful end to a diving day.
The central sites offer a gentler pace. Tatawa Kecil and Tatawa Besar provide sloping reefs with good coral cover and plenty of reef fish. Siaba is known for its turtles, green and hawksbill, resting on the ledges or gliding up for air. Wainilu, a muck site, rewards macro lovers with frogfish, ghost pipefish, and blue-ringed octopus.
On the last full day, only 2 dives are scheduled. The afternoon is spent on Komodo island for the dragon walk. Then the Sea Safari VI begins its cruise back toward Labuan Bajo.
Final Day
The Sea Safari VI has arrived in Labuan Bajo. Breakfast is served, then transfer to the airport. You leave with a camera card full of mantas, a logbook full of current-swept pinnacles, and the memory of those dragons moving slowly through the dry grass.
Raja Ampat National Park Central
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: Penemu, Barracuda Reef, Melissa's Garden, Yanggefo, Gam, Arborek, Manta Sandy, Manta Ridge, Dampier Strait: Sardine Reef, Mioskon, Friwinbondan, Cape Kri, Mansuar. Go in search of the Red Bird of Paradise at Sawingkrai Village on Gam.
Day 1
The crew transfers you to the Sea Safari VI in Sorong harbour. After a brief tour and cabin assignment, lunch is served. The afternoon is yours to settle in and explore the vessel. Dinner is taken in the comfort of the air-conditioned upper deck saloon, as the boat prepares for the overnight crossing toward the central islands.
Core Days
The Sea Safari VI liveaboard spends its week in the heart of Raja Ampat, where the marine biodiversity is higher than anywhere else on Earth. Over 1,400 fish species. 75 percent of the world's known corals. You dive it day after day, and still feel like you have only scratched the surface. The Dampier Strait delivers the famous current-swept sites. Sardine Reef and Mioskon are classic pinnacle dives with schools of fusiliers and trevally stacking in the current, reef sharks circling the edges, soft corals in colours that seem artificial. Cape Kri holds the species record. You drop onto the slope and immediately lose count. Friwinbondan and the reefs around Mansuar offer cleaner conditions and the chance to spot wobbegongs resting on ledges.
Manta encounters are a regular feature. Manta Sandy and Manta Ridge are cleaning stations where the rays come to have parasites removed by small reef fish. You kneel on the sand, stay still, and watch them glide in from the blue. They pass close, close enough to see the individual spots on their bellies. At Yanggefo and Gam, the diving shifts toward macro. Pygmy seahorses hide in the gorgonian fans. Ghost pipefish hover among the crinoids. Wonderpus octopus changes shape and colour as it walks across the sand. Epaulette sharks, a Raja Ampat speciality, cruise the shallow rubble at night.
Between dives, the Sea Safari VI adds topside texture. A visit to Sawingkrai Village on Gam takes you into the forest before sunrise. You wait quietly. Then the red bird of paradise displays, bright red feathers, elaborate dance, a flash of colour against the green. At Penemu, you climb to the viewpoint. The limestone karsts spread out below, scattered across a lagoon that shifts from turquoise to deep blue. Melissa's Garden, a submerged reef named for its density of life, gets a full morning of diving. Barracuda Reef delivers on its name.
On the last full day, only 2 dives are scheduled. The afternoon is spent cruising back toward Sorong, watching the islands slide past from the deck.
Final Day
Time to leave the boat, after a continental breakfast.
[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].
The thrill of Indonesian diving is perfectly complemented by the generous hospitality aboard the Sea Safari VI liveaboard, where the routine of up to 4 dives a day is meticulously supported by excellent food. The daily schedule kicks off with a continental breakfast, preparing you for the first dive. Following your first immersion, a full cooked breakfast is served to properly fuel your day. This hearty spread includes hot coffee, cereals, eggs, fresh fruits, pancakes, noodles, beef salami, and pepperoni. This meal ensures you are energised for the second morning dive.
Lunch is the next main meal, served buffet-style in the large, air-conditioned dining area on the main deck, and it precedes the third dive in the afternoon. All main meals-including lunch and dinner-offer a wide selection, with the buffet typically featuring a choice of at least 5 different dishes per sitting. The menu draws from international cuisine alongside strong influences from Indonesian, Chinese, and Italian cooking.
The fourth dive, an optional night dive, is scheduled just before dinner. Evening meals are a highlight, with themed selections like BBQs and samples such as Steamed prawn with onion sauce, Eggplant moussaka, Sauted vegetables with bean sprouts & salted fish, and Beef with black pepper sauce.
Complimentary refreshments include hot drinks, drinking water, and snacks like biscuits, candy bars, ice creams, and fruit, which are available throughout the day. Soft drinks, beer, wine, and spirits are available for purchase on Sea Safari VI. The cruise dining service commences with lunch on the first day. Please notify the crew of any dietary requirements in advance.
