Samambaia Liveaboard, Indonesia

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 Jun, 2018

Pure relaxation!! Great dive sites with chilled boat atmosphere

The atmosphere on the boat immediately invites you to relax. The cabins are beautiful and offer enough space with en-suite bathrooms. The beds are very comfortable. The whole crew fits together well. Everyone is super friendly and helpful at all times. Special requests are catered for, especially since we were only with five guests on board. The service was outstanding. The dives were very nice and with the dive guides you feel in good hands even as a "rare diver", especially with the senior guide Frankie. Chef Akee spends wonders in the small kitchen. You get the full-service package! You only have to dress yourself, but even there you can get help if the neoprene doesn't want to do as it should. We can only recommend the Samambaia and will definitely be back. Thank you for the great 12 days! We already 😍 miss you

Recommended for

1. Manta rays at 5 dives 😊 2.Dive guide Frankie who gives a lot of safety underwater. 3. Chef Akee's great food

21 Mar, 2017

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

03 Dec, 2017

I have been many dive boats but Samambaia is definitely deserves the five star rating.

Divings were splendid with beautiful dive sites, corals & bundles of sea-life. We even had movie cinemas view of school hammers head sharks right in front of us where we were secured on reef hook just enjoyed the magic moment.

Recommended for

All crews members were amazing. Services were splendid & flawless.. Food is five star restaurants standard with delicious dish, balance nutrition & and presentation 👏. Entire boat with bedroom, dining room, living room has stylish decorations with most comforts..

12 May, 2026

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

21 Aug, 2016

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

16 Apr, 2018