Accommodation

The Blue Manta Explorer Dive Liveaboard offers 14 elegantly-furnished en-suite rooms, combining both single cabins and twin/double cabins. There are six cabins on the upper deck and four on the main deck, all with expansive windows overlooking the ocean, as well as four cabins below deck, each with a port hole.

Whether you opt for a double or twin-bed cabin, they are all spaciously designed with wooden finishings and contemporary bathrooms. There are desks in each cabin which provide space to work and wardrobes which allow you to store all your gear neatly away, while fresh towels are available on request.

Dining

The Blue Manta Explorer Dive Liveaboard provides a diverse range of cuisine, drawing on both Western and Indonesian-inspired dishes which are expertly prepared by their three chefs. Start the day with freshly baked breads, cereals, fruits and hot dishes, followed by a morning tea snack when you return from diving.

Lunches are quite relaxed affairs, with a range of meat and vegetarian dishes to choose from, while dinners are at the fine dining end of the scale, with an outstanding array of innovative cuisine. You can choose to dine on their alfresco deck, or eat within the intimate surrounds of their interior dining room.

Afternoon tea is also served and snacks are available throughout the day, ensuring you never go hungry. Local beers and wines are also available to accompany your meals, together with soft drinks, fresh juices, tea, coffee and iced water.

The Blue Manta Explorer Dive Liveaboard can cater to special dietary requirement with advance notice.

Amenities

The Blue Manta Explorer Dive Liveaboard has an elegant lounge area with TV and DVD player where you can select from a choice of films, or opt to share your photo and video footage from the day with the other divers onboard. There’s also an upper lounge area where you can take in the ocean views, as well as a sprawling sun deck with plenty of sun loungers and deck chairs to relax in between dives.

You can stay completely connected while onboard the Blue Manta Explorer Dive Liveaboard, with a 24/7 wifi connection via satellite. There are also two masseuses onboard for an indulgent treatment at your leisure, as well as a library filled with fish identification books and marine-oriented literature.

The Blue Manta Explorer Dive Liveaboard takes safety very seriously, with fire and smoke alarms throughout the vessel, life jackets in all cabins, night watch security and oxygen available, as well as staff who are fully trained in first aid.

Diving

The Blue Manta Explorer Dive Liveaboard spends part of the year in the Komodo National Park, while the rest of the year is spent in Raja Ampat and the Maluku Islands. Komodo is renowned for its spectacular drift diving, large pelagics and critters, not to mention the land-dwelling Komodo Dragon which can be spotted on land excursions. Renowned as the “Amazon of the underwater world”, Raja Ampat is a remote paradise that sprawls off the west coast of Papua, while the islands of Maluku are an off-the-beaten track dive destination, home to untouched coral landscapes and captivating critters.

The Blue Manta Explorer Dive Liveaboard has four dive guides who are highly experienced diving throughout Indonesia. Dive groups have a maximum of four divers per guide, with tanks, weight belts and weights included in the price. A full range of equipment can be rented for the duration of the trip and Nitrox is also available for a surcharge.

There is the option for up to four daily dives, depending on the itinerary, including night dives at select locations. Dives are made from three dive tenders, which transport guests out to the dive sites where they will then don their gear. A range of different specialty diving courses are also available onboard the Blue Manta Explorer Dive Liveaboard with advanced notice, with the Enriched Air Diver course one of the most popular.

The Blue Manta Explorer Indonesia Liveaboard is a photographer’s dream boat, with a spacious camera room offering individual rinse tanks, wide work tables and blow-dry stations. Their onboard photo pro is happy to offer expert advise, and the small dive groups aim to allow maximum photography time for avid shooters.

Water temperatures throughout the Komodo National Park, Maluku and Raja Ampat range from 72°F (22°C) to around 84°F (29°C), so a 3-55mm wetsuit with hood is recommended. Visibility varies hugely between seasons and destinations, but 10-30 meters is to be expected at most dive sites.