For those of you reading this that have been snorkelling in Alor, you already know just how amazing that place is. By far one of my top snorkelling places in Indonesia, and trips we offer at Snorkel Venture. It is still one of those places that feels like a well-kept secret. We can spend a week there and never see another dive/snorkel operator around. Leaving us with the immaculate reefs to ourselves. We also have a great boutique resort we use, Alami Resort. Such a splendid resort and run so well by the managers Max & Rhome' (& Team). Giving this place that little extra feeling of paradise. When in Alami, we charter the whole resort for our group making it feel like a home from home. But what makes Alor super special, is the abundance of marine biodiversity it has to offer. We can go out in the morning and come across migrating whales. Then in the afternoon, we'll be muck snorkelling looking for all the small weird and wonderful critters. So there really is a huge range of marine life here. Something Alor can possibly offer if you are LUCKY!! Are some of the big sea creatures we don't see in other places. Being situated in the Savu sea above East Timor. With a very deep sea around the island. There is an oceanic channel that runs through there called the Wetar Strait. This is like a runway for migrating whales. Periodically through the year Pygmy blue whales pass through the Alor island chains heading north. I once had guests see them from the plane as we were coming into land. These giant gentle ocean mammals are a sight to behold. Only slightly smaller than their larger subspecies blue whale, they are huge at a whopping 24 metres.
For those of you reading this that have been snorkelling in Alor, you already know just how amazing that place is. By far one of my top snorkelling places in Indonesia, and trips we offer at Snorkel Venture. It is still one of those places that feels like a well-kept secret. We can spend a
These weird and wonderful creatures are always a treat and cool to see. Real crowd pleasers. Probably the closest thing we have to aliens on earth. With the ability to change colours, Shape, and texture makes them fascinating to watch. Living predominantly on the reefs, we are lucky to find them on most of our tours. The most common species we see are the Octopus, Cuttlefish, and squids. Cephalopods can be characterised by their arms and tentacles, incredible camouflage and impressive level of intelligence. Octopuses or octopi, squid and cuttlefish are the most well-known members of the Cephalopoda class of animals. They have all evolved from a common, hard-shelled ancestor (more similar to a nautilus). The word “cephalopod” comes from Greeks and means “head foot,” which perfectly describes animals that have eyes just above their many limbs. Octopus There are around 300 species of octopus and they are found to be in every ocean. known for their high intelligence and their amazing ability to blend into their surroundings. They are some of the most fascinating creatures to observe. The octopus is equipped with three hearts: one that pumps blood through the body (including the 8 arms), and two that pump blood through the gills. It is an interesting fact to know that the octopus does not have tentacles. They are in fact arms. Octopus are the only marine animals, apart from the Cetacean family (Whales & Dolphins), that demonstrate primitive problem-solving and pattern recognition skills. But whatever kind of intelligence they possess, it's different from the human brain, probably closer to a cat. The skin is covered by three types of specialised skin cells, these can quickly change their colour, allowing them to easily blend in with its surroundings. While it is very intelligent they can also be very inquisitive.
These weird and wonderful creatures are always a treat and cool to see. Real crowd pleasers. Probably the closest thing we have to aliens on earth. With the ability to change colours, Shape, and texture makes them fascinating to watch. Living predominantly on the reefs, we are lucky to find them on most of our
If you had asked me 10 years ago, while I was finding my way in the world as a diving instructor. “Do you want to be a snorkel guide?” I most likely would have laughed and said NO. 10 years on and I could not imagine doing anything else. Like most people who choose this career and lifestyle, you start out with a lust for travel and the ocean. Even better to combine the two together. As I was making my travels and wishing I could stay in all these exotic places longer. But instead having to go back to the UK to save money for the next adventure. I kept meeting all these people that were maintaining a life I wished for. living by the sea, great tans and having a great lifestyle. Not to mention spending their days at sea looking for beautiful marine creatures. All of them were working as dive instructors or dive masters. Without too much hesitation I decided that was the life for me. In 2009 I packed up and moved to Thailand to embark on my not so certain career in the diving industry. I was informed the best way into the industry was to do a 4 month divemaster internship. I joined a dive centre on a small island in the South Andaman sea, and began my 4 month internship. Once completed I was hooked. The ocean, and working in the dive and travel industry was my new home. I would spend the next 4 years working as a divemaster in Thailand, gaining a wealth of experience on the sea. After 4 years it was time to transition into becoming an instructor. Again I decided a great way to gain experience as an instructor was to do another internship. I was very
If you had asked me 10 years ago, while I was finding my way in the world as a diving instructor. “Do you want to be a snorkel guide?” I most likely would have laughed and said NO. 10 years on and I could not imagine doing anything else. Like most people who choose this
If you've looked through our website or seen our newsletter you'll notice that we have a pretty extensive inventory of snorkeling safaris available all over the world. Not only that, but the snorkeling safaris range in length from one week to one month. We know, based on inquiries and guest feedback, that many of you are interested in longer trips, or even combining multiple snorkeling trips together to make one long snorkeling adventure. However, we also know there are a good number of you who are more interested in quick snorkeling trips that don't involve a ton of travel logistics or planning. Here are our recommendations for quick snorkeling safaris to world-class destinations that are one week to ten days in length. Shorter Flights (from The States) Mexico Mobula Expedition | 6 Nights This is the shortest snorkel safari that we currently offer, and also one of our most unique. This tour is all about finding fleets of mobula rays as they congregate in the Sea of Cortez during their bi-annual migration. This is a fantastic adrenaline-pumping snorkel safari that is unlike any other snorkel safari out there. Belize by Liveaboard - Belize Aggressor IV | Length – 7 Nights This fantastic liveaboard snorkel safari is one of our easiest trips when it comes to travel time, while still delivering some outstanding snorkeling. Basically, arrive at the airport, board the vessel, and you're off on an extraordinary snorkeling adventure around some of the best reefs in Belize. Belize Photography Workshop – Belize Aggressor IV | Length – 7 Nights This tour runs nearly identical to our Belize by Liveaboard snorkeling safari, same easy logistics, the same great snorkeling, same great liveaboard. The only difference about this tour is that it's aimed at those interested in improving their underwater photo skills
If you’ve looked through our website or seen our newsletter you’ll notice that we have a pretty extensive inventory of snorkeling safaris available all over the world. Not only that, but the snorkeling safaris range in length from one week to one month. We know, based on inquiries and guest feedback, that many of you
Traveling to Indonesia—especially from the U.S. & Canada—is the opposite of a quick trip. As an American who lives in Indonesia and travels back to the states several times a year to visit family and also to lead snorkeling safaris in places like Cuba, Belize, and Mexico, this is something we are very familiar with. In light of the significant travel time from the Americas to Indonesia, we've started running a variety of combo snorkel safaris that are not only longer but make stops in at least two different snorkeling destinations! Our Alor-Komodo snorkel safari is arguably our most popular tour and we run a ton each year. Other popular two-stop tours include Misool-Wakatobi (18 nights), North Sulawesi-Raja Ampat (14 nights), and Triton Bay-Raja Ampat (12 nights). If you want something longer that includes more destinations, we also offer the newly launched North Indonesia Snorkeling Safari (20 nights), which makes stops in Bunaken National Park, Halmahera, and finishes in Raja Ampat. If that's still not enough snorkeling for you, then you might want to check out our nearly month-long Epic Indonesia Snorkeling Safari (27 nights) which pretty much stops in every major snorkeling destination Indonesia offers! Something else we've just started doing by request from a number of our die-hard snorkeling guests is combining several trips that have dates that line up well together. Here are just a few tour combinations we've put together for clients recently for the upcoming 2024 snorkeling season. April: North Sulawesi - Raja Ampat + 14 Night Misool Resort Snorkel Safari April: North Sulawesi - Raja Ampat + Alor - Komodo Safari September: Alor - Komodo Safari + Wakatobi Snorkel Week October: North Sulawesi - Raja Ampat + Coralia Liveaboard in Raja Ampat October: North Sulawesi - Raja Ampat + 11 Night Misool Resort Snorkel Safari
Traveling to Indonesia—especially from the U.S. & Canada—is the opposite of a quick trip. As an American who lives in Indonesia and travels back to the states several times a year to visit family and also to lead snorkeling safaris in places like Cuba, Belize, and Mexico, this is something we are very familiar with.
