The Banda Sea is a large, semi-circular body of water that lies northeast of Alor and runs up to the Seram Islands just south of Raja Ampat’s Misool. The western part of the Banda Sea is open to the Flores Sea. At the same time, the eastern border of the Banda Sea is fringed by an arching chain of islands, atolls, and numerous semi-active volcanoes, commonly referred to as the Forgotten Islands. It is this chain of volcanic islands that gives the Banda Sea one of its more popular monikers, The Ring of Fire. The Banda Sea is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting bodies of water in all of Indonesia. As you can see from the map, many different seas border the Banda Sea, like the Ceram Sea, Maluku, Flores, Timor, Arafuru, and the Aru Sea, all of which flow into the Banda Sea and deliver an abundance of nutrients that feed not only the corals but also the marine life, big and small. As a result, you can find more species of coral in the Banda Sea than you can see in Raja Ampat. Wakatobi, for example, in the western Banda Sea, has an estimated 750 coral species. Raja Ampat’s coral count is estimated at around 550. A quick teaser video from our last snorkel tour through the Banda Sea and Alor with the Mermaid II liveaboard Another aspect that makes the Banda Sea so special is its remarkable remoteness. Only a handful of tiny villages can be found on its islands, and with the exception of Wakatobi, which has had to build its own airstrip to comfortably and conveniently service its luxury resort, there aren’t any resorts in the area. The inaccessibility of the Banda Sea’s Islands has almost entirely spared the area from
The Banda Sea is a large, semi-circular body of water that lies northeast of Alor and runs up to the Seram Islands just south of Raja Ampat’s Misool. The western part of the Banda Sea is open to the Flores Sea. At the same time, the eastern border of the Banda Sea is fringed by
If you’ve ever booked — or even just dreamed about — a Snorkel Venture tour, chances are you’ve already crossed paths with one of our travel experts: Bernita, Crystal, Graham, or Kelly. They’re the people behind the scenes bringing each journey to life, overseeing everything from the moment a tour is conceived to the final details before our travelers meet their tour leader at the destination. Let’s catch up with the Snorkel Venture travel team and take a look at where their adventures have taken them in 2025. Bernita in the Dominican Republic I was fortunate enough to tick off a bucket list trip in early 2025... a trip to the Dominican Republic to snorkel with the humpback whales that go there to breed and/birth their babies. The trip was liveaboard based. The Silverbank, the Marine Mammal Sanctuary where the humpbacks can be seen, is 80 nautical miles from Puerto Plata. Only 3 boats have permits to enter the sanctuary, each carrying up to 20 guests, so I felt very privileged to be there. The encounters are regulated to protect the humpbacks; much of the day is spent on the small tender boats looking for whales. They can be seen spy hopping, breaching, tail lobbing and sleeping. We also saw groups of males chasing females trying to mate or fighting amongst themselves. The area is a shallow underwater plateau with coral formations coming up to the surface, but the trip is not about the coral and no time is spent snorkeling around the coral heads, unless there is a whale there to see. When we find a whale/whales that are slow moving or sleeping, we quietly enter the water and watch them. The moms are mostly relaxed and the babies are quite curious. The sleeping whales come up to breathe
If you’ve ever booked — or even just dreamed about — a Snorkel Venture tour, chances are you’ve already crossed paths with one of our travel experts: Bernita, Crystal, Graham, or Kelly. They’re the people behind the scenes bringing each journey to life, overseeing everything from the moment a tour is conceived to the final
This trip report is going to be a bit different, and I make no apology for this. You see, being a photographer I tend to recall things based around pictures I’ve taken, so I’m not going to list all the sites we visited, but I am going to curate the places that have had a particular impact upon me, especially from a visual image point of view. This is difficult on a tour like this as there’s always a lot to choose from, and it is a very personal view. Chatting with our group at the end of each day never stops informing me that whilst there is often universal appreciation for the various delights we may have all encountered that day, each and every individual has their own unique perspective. So alongside sharing with the group the exciting sea snake encounter we had all swim amongst us, there’ll be someone as equally rapt about watching a starfish make its way slowly across the reef, or a pair of tiny bulldozer shrimp and a partner goby doing their thing—keeping what must rank as one of the oddest cohabiting trios in apartment sharing history. Yet another reason to love the enthusiasm for snorkeling and those that do it! First Snorkel of the Tour: “Like Being in a Dream” Our trip began in Siladen Resort, North Sulawesi. This area is known for its bustling sea turtle population. So, I made a wager with my group that I thought almost impossible to lose, yet it didn't make me any less nervous as you never know when Mother Nature might play a cosmic joke on you. I promised the group that, if we didn't see a turtle during our first snorkel I would run naked around Siladen village! So, it was with no small
This trip report is going to be a bit different, and I make no apology for this. You see, being a photographer I tend to recall things based around pictures I’ve taken, so I’m not going to list all the sites we visited, but I am going to curate the places that have had a
Hi everyone! I’m Emma, and I manage the freediving program at Snorkel Venture. I’ve just got back from leading another unforgettable shallow water freediving workshop in Belize, and wanted to share with you all what happens on one of these trips, and how the skills you learn can improve your snorkeling experiences in the water. I’ve taught thousands of people to freedive over the course of the last twenty-five years, and some of the biggest myths I’ve come across are that freediving is all about ‘going deep’, holding your breath for a seemingly inhuman amount of time, and that it’s a pastime only suitable for the young and athletic. That may be what the TV and the internet tell us, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Most life is in the top few feet of the ocean, and most people learn freediving skills in order to better see or photograph it. My most unforgettable freediving experiences have been at depths of less than twenty feet, and a typical dive is less than a minute in duration. I’ve taught Paralympians and non-athletes with severe physical challenges to freedive, and age is never a barrier! Annabel Briseno was a grandmother in her fifties when she started freediving, and she went on to break three world records. I developed the shallow water freediving program specifically for Snorkel Venture guests. It’s an opportunity for you to learn freediving skills at your own pace, with a focus on real-world snorkeling application, and there’s never any pressure (pun intended) to do anything. At the heart of my approach is that freediving is an individual journey, which you will discover is more about what’s going on in your head than in your body. My role is to support you and ensure you feel safe to
Hi everyone! I’m Emma, and I manage the freediving program at Snorkel Venture. I’ve just got back from leading another unforgettable shallow water freediving workshop in Belize, and wanted to share with you all what happens on one of these trips, and how the skills you learn can improve your snorkeling experiences in the water.
With over 17,000 islands, Indonesia has a ton of great snorkeling destinations and sites. As snorkeling professionals, we have spent a significant amount of time exploring this vast archipelago and we've decided to come up with our own list of the country's best snorkeling sites. Of course, this list is completely subject to seasons, marine life behavior, personal preferences, currents, visibility and so much more. You could snorkel what many people might consider as "the best site in Indonesia", only to find that the marine life is scarce, the visibility is poor, and the coral doesn't appear very vibrant on account of the cloud cover at that given moment leaving you a bit confused about what people are talking about. Please note that when talking about snorkeling sites in such a subjective way we also need to take into account the unpredictable element of nature as well. Please note that these sites aren't ranked or presented in a sort of order, we simply think these are some of the best snorkeling sites in Indonesia. Tatawa Kecil | Komodo Tatawa Kecil is not a site we are able to visit often as it's a small rock in the middle of a very current-prone channel in Komodo. However, when the currents are amendable we can explore this small rock island and enjoy the surreal beauty beneath its rugged topside. This site is all about large hard coral formations, big fish, potential for manta rays, and all-around excitement. Current: Mild to none (when we snorkel it) Visibility: Typically very good Reef: Mostly made up of hard corals with some sponges and soft corals mixed in. Marine Life: Anthias, Fusileers, Bluefin Trevally, Giant Trevally, Napoleon Wrass, Giant Sweetlips, Many different types of butterfly fish and angel fish, Scorpionfish, Hawksbill Sea turtles, Whitetip
With over 17,000 islands, Indonesia has a ton of great snorkeling destinations and sites. As snorkeling professionals, we have spent a significant amount of time exploring this vast archipelago and we’ve decided to come up with our own list of the country’s best snorkeling sites. Of course, this list is completely subject to seasons, marine
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