• Professional cruise directors
• Outdoor sleeping facilities
• Complimentary snorkelling equipment and two sea canoes (add SUP)
• Free tea, soft drinks, juices, coffee and mineral water
• Excellent food and snacks (vegetarian and special menus on request)
• Dining in the spacious air-conditioned lounge
• Teak wooden furniture in the lounge, cabins and on the deck
• Spacious sun and semi-covered decks
• Mooring fees
• Fuel surcharge

• Visits to restaurants, museums, galleries etc during the trip
• A fine selection of wines, beer and spirits for sale
• Travel to and from the vessel (including internal/domestic airfares)

What To Expect

While many of you are seasoned travellers, some of you may be unfamiliar with the ways and means of travelling in the remoter regions where we journey. Cruising in eastern Indonesia on a traditional wooden pinisi ship can be an exciting new world for some.

Each cruise is led by professional, multilingual tour leaders who will escort guests in all activities both on land and at sea, answer any questions, provide in-depth daily briefings, and ultimately ensure the smooth running of every aspect of the cruise.

Life On Board

Life on board our ships is one of pure enjoyment, with good food, top-class service and fine company mixed with just the right balance of exploration and relaxation. Whilst on board, guests are immersed in a world of barefoot fun and adventure, with air-conditioned private en-suite cabins, indoor and outdoor social hubs and dining areas, sun decks, a wide selection of Indonesian, Western and Asian cuisine, a full bar, and highly attentive service from our crew, whose smiles and friendly personalities offer an even greater insight into the Indonesian way of life.

Food

Our galleys are staffed with talented individuals who pride themselves on being able to conjure up all manner of dishes and delicacies from across the world, using only the best quality meat, seafood and fresh produce available – with the latter often sourced from local markets and the fishermen we meet along the way. Vegetarian dishes and most special dietary requirements can be accommodated with minimal fuss. Our stewards are on hand all day to serve meals and make sure you have all you need; from cold towels and fresh juices to a full plate of food and an iced drink whenever you need it.

While all non-alcoholic drinks are inclusive, each boat has a full cash bar stocked with local and imported wines, imported spirits and domestic beer, usually at local prices.

Accommodation

Our comfortable cabins are located below decks and offer all the necessary amenities, including double beds or twin bunks, private en-suite bathrooms, lots of natural light, individually controlled air-conditioning, ample storage space, and plenty of electrical and USB outlets.

Each boat also includes a salon, bar, sundeck and outdoor dining areas.

We Respect the Environment

We respect the environment in which we operate and are deeply committed to the integrity and preservation of the Indonesian Archipelago.

We show locals the value of protecting the species they have. For example, whale sharks are under constant threat due to the sky-high value of their fins, but thanks to our visits, local fishermen are paid a healthy fee for spotting the whale sharks and letting you in the water to be up close to them. As a result, the fishermen are very glad to protect these beautiful animals.

We also work with local NGOs on coral restoration projects in the area, and support centres like the Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Centre which helps to rehabilitate animals back into the wild and put an end to animal trafficking.

We Support Local Communities

Our motto for these sailing adventures is “Seeing Indonesia through Indonesian eyes”. We hire locals and work with local communities to promote authentic cultural experiences and interactions between tourists and locals to foster mutual understanding and respect.

More than half of our tour guides are women. In Indonesia the workforce is extremely male-dominated, so this is a way for us to break down barriers and create a more inclusive workforce.

We partner with local NGOs working on community development projects. As well as make an effort to bring life-changing water filters, glasses, school books and LED lights to the remote villages we visit. We buy from local fishermen, and vendors and always pay the locals when they treat us to a cultural performance.

We have created a series of three books which are available for sale on our boats. The money from each book sold is entirely invested back in creating new books to distribute to communities we visit. These are just some of the ways we work to offer a responsible and equitable sailing experience.

Fly from Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali

Sultan Babullah Airport

Itinerary: Rare Species, Remote Cultures and Remarkable Corals

Day 1

Starting your adventure today you have a tour of Ternate’s historical highlights before boarding and meeting the crew and settling into your new home for the next two weeks.

Over lunch, you set sail for the short journey to Halmahera Island’s Dodinga Village, a pivotal place in scientific history, where the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace first came up with the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection.

Later that afternoon, you enter the water for the first time and snorkel and swim on your first coral reef before heading south as the sun sets behind the perfectly conical volcanic islands peaks of the northern Moluccas.

Day 2

This morning you do a trek to a waterfall located in central Halmahera, walking through towering coconut trees. After the trek, you take a walk around the village and experience their hospitality by the beach.

You head back across the island to the ship in time for lunch as you set sail to the south. Once you reach the Equator you will be in for a treat as the crew welcome you to the middle of the planet with some fun and games and a most unique ocean swim.

Late in the afternoon, you snorkel once more before heading to the island of Bacan.

Day 3

Today you will be searching for some very special species of butterfly, some unique birds and some quirky mammals.

You explore the deep forest and rivers of Bacan Island, where Wallace first saw what he called ‘the most beautiful butterfly in the world, the Golden Birdwing. During your trek, the other species that you might see here include cuscus, the black-crested macaque and some hornbills.

After lunch, you spend the afternoon snorkelling and swimming on the nearby reef and beaches.

Day 4

Culture and spice will fill your day as you find yourself off the coast of the white sand island of Obi Latu, a place filled with clove and nutmeg plantations.

Obi Latu’s steep hillsides are covered in clove and nutmeg forests, reaching back to the rich and heady days of the spice trade, which saw many European powers vying for control of the East Indies. While the spice trade might not be what it once was, the growers can still make a good living on this remote island in the Banda Sea.

You go ashore and walk through the villages and plantations and see the fruits and spices growing on the trees and drying in the sun ready for market, in the same way it has for centuries.

Day 5

Today will be a day for snorkelling, culture and history as you find yourselves in the middle of the Banda Sea in the remote and breathtaking Sulu Archipelago.

You spend the morning exploring the beaches and reefs of Mangoli Island, where the reefs are teeming with fish and other marine life. True to the desert island locale, you also kayak, paddle, swim, explore and relax on the white-sand beaches.

Later that day, you feast on some history and culture as you visit the local village market and visit the ruins of a 17th-century Dutch fort, which once protected the spice trade along these routes.

Day 6

The cultural experiences ratchet up a notch today with a war dance performed in your honour, while the nighttime will be filled with Indonesian music.

You go ashore on Taliabu Island, where you will be treated to a traditional dance known as the ‘cakalele’, by local warriors. You also have a chance to explore the local village and meet the people of this remote island.

The afternoon will see us snorkelling on a reef teeming with fish before moving to another deserted island, where you can swim, kayak and relax. This evening the crew will prepare a beach bbq for us, and they will regale us with traditional Indonesian folk songs and sea shanties as you party by firelight late into the night.

Day 7

The Bokan Islands are an area of unsurpassed beauty and today will be a day of marine exploration and relaxation as you snorkel, swim, paddle and kayak around the glorious reefs, beaches and islands with many caves and snorkelling spots.

You also have the rare privilege to swim in a small marine lake filled with stingless jellyfish, the exotically named Danau Paisu Pok Luk Panenteng, one of only 20 lakes of its kind in the world.

Day 8

A trio of unique experiences await us today involving culture, conservation and wildlife.

You visit the bustling Indonesian island port town of Bangai, a place filled with activity and commerce. Here on Banggai Island, you visit the local market, explore the neighbourhoods, the sultan’s palace and the maleo bird egg ‘museum’, all from your fleet of brightly-coloured motor rickshaws, which will be on the dock awaiting your arrival.

You pay a hands-on visit to LINI, an NGO doing great work with coral restoration on the surrounding reefs, in addition to working with local fishermen in finding sustainable solutions for supplying fish for overseas markets and the live aquarium fishing trade.

The last of the day’s highlights will be a snorkel on a local reef where you see the most elegant, but very threatened, Banggai Cardinal Fish – a darling of saltwater aquarium lovers worldwide.

Day 9

Today you will have the chance to see possibly one of the strangest and most unique flightless birds found in the world – the Maleo.

After a morning snorkel, you sail north to visit the endemic Maleo in its beachside environment, the symbol of the province within which it lives. you visit a conservation project on the mainland where scores of Maleo live and breed. Entering in twos, you can watch them at their sandy nesting sites from a camouflaged hide as they go about their business.

Later that afternoon, you set sail for the Togean Islands National Park, for some island hopping and spectacular snorkelling, wildlife and culture.

Day 10

The Bajau sea nomads of Southeast have a very unique way of life living in harmony with the water, and today you will get to see it up close.

You go ashore to Kabalutan Village, where a population of about 2500 Bajau call home, and you are welcomed into their world to meet and talk with them about their lives.

In the afternoon you snorkel and swim on some pristine coral reefs before moving on further into the park.

Day 11

Some great wildlife experiences await us today both in the water and the air, with birds, fish and invertebrates as the main features.

You enjoy a snorkel on the lush reefs near the island of Malenge, before taking your snorkels and masks for a rare second swim with stingless jellyfish in nearby Lake Mariona, the second jellyfish lake on your route.

You visit a local village and meet the people, and enjoy a late afternoon walk in the local forest before being witness to a most amazing show of nature as flocks of hornbills come flying in to roost in the trees – a once-in-a-lifetime sight.

Day 12

Waking up in the east of the park, you go snorkelling and visit a local village before setting sail on a long crossing towards the Sulawesi mainland, where you can relax, watch the world go by and take in the beauty of the sea from the decks of your ship.

In the afternoon, your chef will offer a cooking class for those interested in learning how to prepare some traditional Indonesian dishes. For the rest of us, it’s sunbathing, reading, relaxing and reflecting.

To finish the day, cocktails will be served on the back deck before a specially prepared dinner is served, followed by a party with the crew’s band providing the music and entertainment.

Day 13

This morning you are on the outside ‘elbow’ of North Sulawesi and you have the chance for some more cultural exchanges and some impressive snorkelling.

After breakfast, you go ashore to a remote village and meet the local people as they invite us into their village to share in their way of life. you also go for a walk in the nearby forest on the lookout for birds.

You snorkel a local reef before you head north, stopping off en route for another snorkel and a swim towards the end of the day before the crew throws us a final beach BBQ, where you dance and sing into the night under the stars next to a roaring bonfire.

Day 14

Waking up just off the coast near the Tasikoki Rescue Centre, you go ashore and have a short tour of the impressive facilities at this NGO and hear all about their conservation programme and also have the chance to see orangutan, cockatoos, sun bears, monkeys, and other endangered wildlife.

After a final swim and snorkel on the beach and then a short sail into Bitung Harbour, you say a fond farewell to your crew and tour leaders and head to Manado City.

Everyone tends to dress very casually, so choose clothes that are comfortable for walking/trekking and suitable for wearing on the boat.

Clothing

The tropical climate means you can safely leave all of your warm weather gear at home. Bring cool cotton t-shirts and shorts. We cruise during the dry season in each of the regions that we visit but rain is always a possibility so bring a lightweight waterproof jacket. It can sometimes be a bit windy on the boat and this will also help keep you warm. Likewise, a lightweight fleece could be useful for pre-dawn trekking or if there is a cool wind on the boat – even if you don’t need it onboard, it will be useful for the plane.

We are respectful of the local cultures and customs – bring clothes that cover your shoulders and knees for village visits. Finally, you might want to bring at least one smart-casual outfit for sunset cocktails and evening meals on the boat.

Ladies: beach throw-overs, kaftans and sarongs are always useful; choose fabrics that dry easily. Also, bring a lightweight sundress or two – the boat offers a great setting for a photo shoot, live it up!

Sun Protection

You’ll be spending plenty of time out in the scorching tropical sun, so be sure to pack sunscreen with a high enough SPF to protect your skin from the sun’s damaging rays, which are stronger in the water, and some sun-protective clothing as well.

Cover-ups, sarongs, sun shirts, and other such clothing will ensure that you come back from your trip with just happy memories and photographs – and not sunburn. A good hat is essential; a wide-brimmed hat or cap will keep the strong equatorial sun off your face and neck. Sunglasses keep your eyes protected. A strap to hold your glasses can be a good idea for more active adventures. Just in case you fail to avoid getting sunburnt, bring an aloe-based lotion to soothe burned skin.

Footwear

Pack comfortable trainers, trekking sandals, sturdy walking shoes or hiking boots for hikes and walks. Bring socks to wear inside your walking shoes to avoid getting blisters. Many travellers appreciate the added stability of a walking stick or hiking pole; lightweight telescopic poles are easy to pack. You might also want waterproof sandals or reef shoes for wet landings and water activities. Flip-flops are great for the beach but it is standard practice to go barefoot on the boat.

Bags

A day backpack is essential on day hikes to carry things such as your water bottle, camera, binoculars, and rain jacket. We will provide you with a metal water bottle, which can be refilled as often as required. A waterproof wet/dry bag is a good idea for gadgets like your phone or camera.

Swimwear

Don’t forget your swimsuit/bikini/shorts/trunks/Speedos —and preferably more than just one swimsuit, so that one or two can be drying while you are wearing another. Luckily, swimsuits and/or swim trunks don’t take up too much space in your luggage. The water is warm but a rash guard (or a wetsuit) will protect you from the sun, abrasions and stings.

Skin and Hair Protection

Ladies, it’s important that you take good care of your skin and hair. The sun, seawater and salty air may be beautiful to experience but it can be tough on your body and will wreak havoc on your locks. Bring moisturising lotion to soothe skin parched by the sun and the saltwater; bring a leave-in conditioner to detangle your hair with ease because the water, mask, and hair ties will leave it in knots. Also consider bringing a scarf or headband to hold back unruly hair, or hair ties/pins to keep your hair off your face and therefore prevent water seeping into your mask.

Note: Your cabin is outfitted with towels, shampoo, conditioner and body wash.

Camera Equipment

If you are a photo enthusiast bring all of the camera and video equipment that you will use as you can expect exceptional opportunities for photography. If you prefer the ease of a point & shoot, bring that. If you want to take underwater photos you might want to invest in a waterproof camera or waterproof housing to capture photos of the incredible marine life.

It’s a good idea to bring a spare memory card; our cruises explore remote regions where memory cards cannot be purchased.

Electronics

The voltage on board is 220 volts. There are several electric sockets and USB charging ports in each cabin suitable for European-type plugs, but we do have a selection of adaptors for non-European-type plugs. Additional sockets are located in the saloon, where we have a dedicated area for the charging of electronic devices and cameras.

Miscellaneous Items

Snorkels, masks & fins in all sizes are provided onboard. If you are an avid snorkeller, you may prefer to bring your own mask & snorkel. If you’re new to snorkelling, you might want to consider purchasing a full-face snorkel mask to bring with you, it’s an easier option for beginners.

Even if you think that your stomach is rock-solid, a squall could turn up and make you feel sick. Sea-sickness tablets are provided on board but you may have a preferred brand, in which case bring your own.

You’ll find reference books and paperback novels on board. However, books of your choice or an e-reader will come in handy for down hours.

There is a comprehensive wilderness first aid kit on board but remember to bring any personal medications.

Essential items should be packed in your carry-on luggage. Medications, corrective lenses, spare underwear, cameras and documents should not be checked in case your bag does not arrive with you.