Samambaia Liveaboard, Indonesia
- from $ 456 / day
- 9.4 Superb
- 21 Verified Reviews 21 Verified Reviews
- Free Internet Free Nitrox Flexible Booking
MV Samambaia is a new traditional wooden Phinisi sailing some of the best areas of Indonesia. Climb aboard and be welcomed to luxury and comfort, where focus is on the finer details and the needs of guests.
On board the M/V Samambaia the 18 experienced, professional and friendly crew are on hand to help to create an unforgettable journey. Guests are catered to with delicious international cuisine cooked fresh every day with locally sourced ingredients, and freshly prepared bread and pastries. For relaxation guests can choose the partially shaded sundeck with comfortable loungers and enjoy the spectacular Indonesian views, or enjoy a relaxing massage from the on board masseuse.
Catering to only 14 guests The Samambaia Boat has 6 tastefully decorated cabins on the lower deck and a beautiful Master cabin on the main deck with stunning 180° sea views. Each cabin has a private en-suite bathroom, under bed storage, wardrobes and individually controlled AC.
Divers and snorkelers alike will marvel at the underwater beauty of Indonesia, with unique cruises to Raja Ampat, Banda Sea, Alor and Komodo. Divers can not only enjoy spectacular day and night diving, but a range of activities during the surface intervals such as scenic rides through lagoons and coves, trekking, visits to secluded beaches and whale watching. Whilst the Samambaia Yacht is new the crew and dive guides have years of experience in the area.
Call us or book online today to start your amazing adventure.
Choose your departure date
Included: VAT, Airport Transfer, Hotel Transfer, Drinking Water, Soft drinks, Tea & Coffee, Welcome Cocktails, Full-Board Meal Plan (All meals), Snacks, Diving Package, Nitrox Course, Scuba Diving Courses, Kayaks, Land Excursions, Snorkeling Guide, Wakeboarding, Beach Towels, Cabin Towels, Complimentary Toiletries, Deck Towels, WiFi internet.
Required Extras: National Park Fees (100-150 USD per trip), Port Fees (75 USD per trip), Visas and Fees.
Optional Extras: Gratuities (20 USD per day), Local Flights, Alcoholic Beverages, Private Dive Guide, Rental Gear, Snorkel Gear, Laundry / Pressing Services, Massage (500,000 IDR).
Book now, pay later: You can easily place your booking online. We will then hold the spaces for you and you can confirm with a payment later.
* Extra fees are shown per person.
Pay by bank transfer or online with Best Price Guaranteed
Boat features
Food & Drinks
If you have any specific dietary requirements whilst on-board your cruise, you can add this to your special requests on step 2 of the booking form. We advise limiting these requests to religious beliefs or food allergies.
Diving
The crew speaks English, French, Portuguese, and Italian.
Gear Rental
There is diving gear available on this boat. Please provide your rental needs on the booking form. See below for further details on inclusions and pricing. Show prices.
Drawings & Vessel Layouts
Accommodation
Boat Specifications
- Year built 2015
- Length 34
- Beam 9
- Top speed 12
- Cruising speed 9
- Engines Yanmar Marine Turbo 500 hp
- Max guests 14
- Number of cabins 7
- Number of bathrooms 7
- Tenders 2 x 6.5 m fibreglass tenders with 2 x 40 hp
- Water capacity 10000 liters
- Fuel capacity 10000 liters
- Freshwater maker 2 x 5000 liter per day
Boat Navigation and Safety
Samambaia Reviews
- 9.4 Superb
- 21 Verified Reviews
- Vessel 9.7
- Crew 9.3
- Food 9.8
- Diving 9.1
- Value 9.2
- 9.6 Exceptional
- john C
![United States]()
United States
Our experience was phenomenal!
The highlights of the trip were the knowledge and attention of the dive guides. They turned every dive and every excursion into an adventure for the mind as well as the senses. Getting to see Komodo dragon and giant fruit bats soaring overhead are experiences that will last a lifetime. The atmosphere created on board by Gian Paolo, Serge, Frankie was familial and fun. Our experience was absolutely amazing.
- Recommended for
- The three best things about the trip were the dives, the dive guides and crew, the boat.
- 10 Exceptional
- David G
![United States]()
United States
Best Liveaboard trip yet, great experience
Really enjoyed the diving, the schedule and all the diverse sites and different creatures and especially the 2 Manta Dives.
- Recommended for
- The diving, the crew and the dining
- 10 Exceptional
- Ryan S
![United States]()
United States
Stop looking. Samambaia is outstanding in every way
The specific highlight was when Serge, the cruise director, had to make a change in our plan. Because of Serge’s experience and extensive knowledge of the area, the “backup” dive ended up being an incredible dive with a dozen gorgeous mantas. The overall highlight was just how dependable and consistent the crew were. Everybody on Samambaia goes out of their way to make your experience extraordinary.
- Recommended for
- The entire crew is amazing, the itinerary is comprehensive yet flexible, comforts from bed to meals are five star
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Ryan B
![United States]()
United States
Great boat, grwat diving, great teip
Manta Ray, Pigme Sea horses, snakes. Banda islands and Raja Ampa
- Recommended for
- Diving. Staff. Wonderful boat
- 10 Exceptional
- Robert G
![United States]()
United States
We have been diving on liveaboards since 1990, this is the best vessel and crew we have experienced in 28 years!
Rest assured, you won't be disappointed with the Samambaia. The crew members are intelligent, foresighted, and genuinely interested in accommodating your simplest request. Serge, the vessel coordinator, is a detail person, and acts promptly and efficiently with all verbalized requests and some non-verbalized. On the 2nd day he noticed that I was not eating the starchy carbs, from that point on I had in place, extra vegetables and fruit. Little things like this can make a trip. The vessel was constructed in 2015 and Gian Paolo, the owner, ensured that his vessel would address the short comings in every liveaboard he had previously experienced. He accomplished his goal with flying colors. The rooms are spacious, plenty of storage space, bathrooms are well above par and the dive deck and tender operations smooth and hassle free. Dive briefings are professional, understandable and well presented. Lastly the entire crew is most accommodating, they never say "no" if it can reasonably be accomplished.
- Recommended for
- Serge, the vessel coordinator; the crew; and the owner's attention to vessel detail during construction.
- 10 Exceptional
- Lance S
![United States]()
United States
Absolutly fabulous trip!
The Samambaia was beautiful, comfortable and luxurious. The crew were delightful and extremely helpful. The diving was incredible and the knowledge shown by both the cruise director and the dive guides was both vast and helped to learn and enjoy more. The surrounding scenery of the islands was amazing.
- Recommended for
- Crew, food and diving.
- 10 Exceptional
- John S
![United States]()
United States
World Class
Komodo National park diving is world class. Food is out of this world and fresh. El toro our dive guide is top notch boat is immaculate and well kept Owner Gia Paulo is a fantastic human being.
- Recommended for
- Professionalism of the crew, commitment to safety and service
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Ann K
![United States]()
United States
Perfectly Run Intimate Adventure
The diving was the main highlight as it should be. The crew made sure we got to sites when other divers weren’t there. They sent a launch out before every dive to check currents and activity. I guess it’s the luck of the draw, but every single guest was wonderful. The rooms are gorgeous, spacious, and tastefully decorated. There was always hot water for showers.The cook made impossibly good food for a boat. There was homemade ice cream, Italian and Asian food. I don’t eat meat, and they seamlessly accommodated that. There’s an espresso machine on the boat. Soft drinks and beer come with your fare. You can bring wine for a corking fee. The sun deck is lovely. They did my laundry at no charge. Transfers to and from the airport were perfect.
- Recommended for
- The boat is very well organized, which is the main thing. Compared to the last boat I was on, which was VERY high-end, this one has better food and seemingly ceaseless hot water, a more fun-loving crew, and the owner was on board.
- 9.2 Superb
- ASSOULINE M
![France]()
France
PERFECT ! Marvelous boat & team. The absolute dream for a dive trip. Seriously!
Exceptional experience. The boat is new (launched in september 2015) and a marvel of traditional and modern ironwood and teck wood work. We were lucky to get the master cabin which is the best floating room we ever had on such trips (comes with a king size bed, full 9 feet ceilings, private bath and most importantly a stunning 280° continuous windows on the main rear deck and the beautiful Komodo sea and islands landscapes!). Each time you set foot on board (and there are many occasions), you are welcome with a large smile and either a fresh drink or a hot chocolate (quite precious after night dives). Marvelous combination of Italian hospitality at its best (the boss and owner was on board with his son and lovely wife), including wine tasting and high fooding standards, perfect Indonesian seamanship and service, with expert massage on request, and a wonderful German diving instructor (with both a serious dedication to safety, a refreshing sense of humor and a true ability to share his passion and vast knowledge a the marine life). We took the nitrox course (the nitrox is free on board).The dive sites are world class, among the best we dived for the last 25 years (that includes Sipadan, the Red Sea, Djibouti, Costa Rica, Cozumel, Turkey, Corsica, Phuket / Phi-Phi, Ko Tao, Cebu, Sri Lanka, Bali, Lombok / Gillis, West indies, Turks & Caicos, Tioman...). In a week around the national park of Komodo, from Bima to Labuan Bajo, you can expect to sea amazing soft corals, most of the indo-pacific benthic life (including a large number of stone fishes, cuttle fishes, nudis..), turtles, sharks, mantas... Some "firsts" for me were the attack of the ominous bobbit worm, the "live" feeding of a starfish by an anemone, the "live" feeding of a very large holothurie, the magic show of the Spanish dancer, among the best video footage I got. On the top of the liveaboard experience and diving, the Komodo dragon encounter is not to be missed. Not such much at the Rinca ranger station (although the hike there is worth it), than the pack of 5 roaming freely on the beach at horseshoe bay! If you are looking for an amazing week, do not hesitate one second, Go for it !
- Recommended for
- BOAT - DIVES - TEAM
- 9.2 Superb
- Jonas L
![Finland]()
Finland
If you dive with samanbaia in the Bandasea you have more hammerheads than nudies
The best experience was definitely our dive at Karang Hatta. We had already seen hammerheads and were quite satisfied but the show wasn't over, along came a Whaleshark as the grande finale. At Gili Manuk we hade the opportunity to see a smaller school of hammerheads at a "cleaning station". We had hammerheads on almost every third dive we did so the season to go to the Bandasea seems to be September. The diving was excellent. Another highlight on samanbaia was the food. We had sushi made from Spanish mackerel fresh caught from the boat a couple of hours before. The Italian dishes were also amazing, risotto, gnocchi, tagliatelle everything fresh made in the kitchen, supervised or made by Gian Paolo him self. Samanbaia was excellent value for the money.
- Recommended for
- The food, the diving, the cabin
- 8.8 Fabulous
- Daniel F
![Switzerland]()
Switzerland
Banda Sea Cruise
Great new boat with very high standard of service and awesome food.
- Recommended for
- Boat, Crew, Food
- 10 Exceptional
- Christophe B
![France]()
France
Superb experience with MV Samambaia in East Flores and Alor
I particularly liked the professionalism and friendliness of the crew (Serge, the dives director, Gian Paolo who built the ship and the Indonesian crew), the beautiful boat, the quality of the Italian food and the superb dives in remote places where it would otherwise be very difficult to go (south Alor, Pura, Rusa...). I strongly recommend this ship and will definitely be looking at the next cruises!
- Recommended for
- The beautiful boat, the professionalism and friendliness of the divemasters and the crew, the quality of the food
- 8.8 Fabulous
- Paalu R
![Singapore]()
Singapore
Luxury boat and great rooms!
South of sorong and a bit of north west. Was disappointment with the visibility of the southern sites. And we wasted the first day travelling from sorong to misool area without diving. I felt the itinerary could have changed to include a check out dive on the first day and travelled more on the last day before flying. Other than that, the dives from the fourth day onwards were fantastic!
- Recommended for
- I like the room, upper deck with nice lounge chairs and the details of the towels and dive equipment arrangements
- 9.6 Exceptional
- RAFFAELLA A
![Italy]()
Italy
Very enjoyable holiday
Misool island area for diving; the view from the island with the 1000 steps viewpoint, the underwater sea life in general.
- Recommended for
- Diving, food, beautiful boat.
- 10 Exceptional
- Jong Eng Q
![Singapore]()
Singapore
Best Diving Experience on a Liveaboard
We took the 8D/7N Raja Ampat cruise. 2 words come to mind: top-notch and professional. We had the best diving experience diving with mantas not once but twice! It is professionally run by Serge and the DMs. They have an extremely organised system. Diving groups were kept small to 3-4 divers for every DM. We were shown pygmy seahorses, ghost pipefishes, wobbegong sharks, mantas, incredible corals, sea-fans. Admittedly the viz was not great but each dive was teeming with marine life and beautiful corals. They have an amazing crew that could not do enough for you and the food was so good in taste and presentation. We felt like we were eating at a 5* restaurant. We were impressed by their environmental sustainability efforts which should be applauded as they only use environmentally friendly products in their detergents, soaps and shampoos. This was an unforgettable diving experience!
- Recommended for
- Dives, Food and Crew
- 10 Exceptional
- marina L
![Denmark]()
Denmark
Amazing
Everything.
- Recommended for
- Diving safety, very helpfull crew and the food
- 9.2 Superb
- Fernando F
![Uruguay]()
Uruguay
Very nice boat
The hole trip was very nice.
- Recommended for
- the cabin, the crew, the meals
- 10 Exceptional
- Anita F
![Austria]()
Austria
One of the best experiences ever in diving
Shotgun, Batu Bolong, sunset on Padar island
- Recommended for
- incredible friendliness of all the crew, divesites chosen for the divers´ best experience, allover experience
