Sundari Voyages | Komodo

Boat

Sundari Voyages brings the character of a traditional Indonesian sailing vessel into a fresh, photography-minded Komodo liveaboard. Her wooden hull was completed by master builders in Bira, Bulukumba, in 2024 and the boat began sailing in 2025. At 34 metres long and 6.5 metres wide, she has the presence and stability of a substantial phinisi while keeping shared dive expeditions deliberately intimate. The name Sundari means “beautiful” in Sanskrit, an apt choice for a boat built around polished timber, wide sea views and long days in one of Indonesia's most cinematic national parks.

The main deck contains four balcony cabins as well as an indoor dining room with an open kitchen. Four further cabins occupy the upper deck. Outdoor life unfolds across a sun deck, forward-facing relaxation areas and a timber lounge where guests can stretch out between dives, review photographs or follow the island skyline at sunset. Every guest cabin faces the sea, so the accommodation feels connected to the landscape rather than hidden below the waterline.

Sundari is powered by a Mitsubishi 6D22 main engine rated at 280 PS with a Mitsubishi 6D15 rated at 185 PS. The operator publishes a cruising performance of approximately 10 knots. Two tender boats support dive drops, shore visits and guest transfers. The safety inventory includes dry-powder and foam extinguishers, a fire blanket, six lifebuoys, life-raft capacity for 40 people, 60 adult and seven child life jackets, international signal flags, medical oxygen, first-aid equipment, emergency communications and navigation systems.

The social atmosphere is active but unhurried. Breakfasts and main meals are timed around the water, with a post-dive snack waiting after the afternoon immersion. The operator serves three full meals daily, including a barbecue dinner, and supplies free-flow drinking water, juice, coffee and tea. Menus draw on fresh local ingredients and can accommodate vegetarian, vegan, lactose-free, halal and allergy-sensitive requests when notice is given before provisioning.

A defining feature is the onboard media team. Shared dive trips carry an in-house underwater photographer and videographer, and the package includes underwater group photo documentation. The dive setup adds a camera table, dedicated rinse tanks and freshwater showers. This makes Sundari particularly appealing to travellers who want to improve the way they observe and record marine life without turning every dive into a formal workshop. Guests still bring and manage their own personal camera systems unless a separate service has been arranged.

Archipelago Dive Reserve places conservation inside the voyage rather than in a brochure. Its director participates in the trips, one percent of each booking supports free scuba programs for local students under 22 through P3Kom, and the published itinerary finishes with an ocean or beach clean-up. Those choices give guests a practical connection to Komodo beyond checking famous sites off a list.

Cabin

Sundari has exactly eight sea-view cabin units: four on the main deck and four on the upper deck. Every room is air-conditioned and contains storage, a private ensuite bathroom and a warm-water shower. The operator's current inventory and deck plan reconcile as follows:

• 2 Master Cabins — upper deck, cabins 7–8: one double bed in each cabin; maximum 2 sleeping places per room; the most spacious category; sea-view windows, private ensuite with warm shower, individual air conditioning, storage, television and a private outdoor bathtub area
• 2 Signature Ocean Cabins — upper deck, cabins 5–6: one double bed in each cabin; maximum 2 guests per room; sea-view windows, private ensuite with warm shower, individual air conditioning and storage; offered for double or single occupancy
• 2 Deluxe Private Cabins — main deck, cabins 3–4: one double bed plus one additional single bed in each cabin; maximum 3 guests per room; private balcony, direct access to the social level, private ensuite with warm shower, individual air conditioning and storage; designed for a family of three or a small private group
• 2 Deluxe Shared Cabins — main deck, cabins 1–2: one double bed plus one additional single upper berth in a bunk-style arrangement in each cabin; maximum 3 physical sleeping places per room; private balcony, direct social-area access, private ensuite with warm shower, individual air conditioning and storage; allocated for dive buddies or solo travellers according to the departure's rooming plan

The complete bed arithmetic is 4 upper-deck double beds for 8 people plus 4 main-deck double beds and 4 auxiliary singles for 12 people: 20 physical sleeping places across 8 cabins. That is not the normal shared diving capacity. Published shared departures are limited to 12 divers, with optional room for up to four non-divers when the operator approves the allocation. Visitors should therefore treat 12 divers—or 16 total approved guests on a mixed departure—as the operating plan, not assume that all 20 physical places will be sold.

The distinction between Deluxe Private and Deluxe Shared concerns sales use as much as furniture. Both categories have a double plus an extra single and a balcony, but cabins 3–4 are marketed as complete private units, while cabins 1–2 can enter the shared rooming pool. In a shared cabin, the operator must assign the actual double, single or upper berth; a double mattress should never be described as two independent twin beds.

The Master category adds both floor area and the outdoor bathtub, while the Signature Ocean keeps a simpler double layout for couples or solo guests. All four upper rooms are reached by stairs. The four main-deck Deluxe rooms sit beside the social level and are easier to reach but may hear more activity around meals and dive preparation. No cabin is below deck, and no published category offers two separate floor-level twin beds.

The boat includes bath and salt-water towels plus daily housekeeping. Families should confirm upper-berth suitability and minimum ages, while solo travellers should obtain the named cabin and berth on their confirmation. Guests requiring step-free access or a specific mattress arrangement should enquire before payment; a traditional multi-deck phinisi is not presented as wheelchair accessible.

Diving

Sundari's shared trips are devoted to Komodo National Park and run for 4, 5, 6 or 7 days. The published planning totals are unusually clear: 11 dives including one night dive on 4 days / 3 nights; 15 including one night dive on 5 days / 4 nights; 18 including two night dives on 6 days / 5 nights; and 22 including two or three night dives on 7 days / 6 nights. Weather, current, guest ability, park direction and safe passage always govern the final count.

Groups are capped at four divers per guide and matched by certification and experience. The current minimum for joining the full Komodo program is Open Water certification plus an Adventure Deep Dive, because several celebrated sites require profiles beyond 18 metres. A diver without that deep qualification can complete it onboard. Night diving requires the corresponding Adventure Night Dive; guests who do not hold it may train during the trip or skip the night dive, but no replacement day dive is added.

The included recreational equipment list is comprehensive: standard tank, BCD, regulator, mask, fins, booties, weights and belt. A 15-litre tank is also available without an additional rental charge when needed. Guests should still reserve sizes in advance and carry their certification, computer and any personally fitted mask. Sundari operates on compressed air rather than Nitrox. Cabin and dining-area charging points use 220 volts, with generator power published from 06:00 until 22:00 so the boat can become quiet overnight.

Komodo rewards controlled, current-aware diving. In the central sector, Batu Bolong, Tatawa Besar, Tatawa Kecil, Siaba Kecil, Mawan and Manta Point combine coral density, drift profiles, turtles and manta possibilities. The north adds the exposed pinnacles of Castle Rock and Crystal Rock, the accelerating channel at the Cauldron and Golden Passage. In the south, cooler nutrient-rich water feeds dramatic sites such as Cannibal Rock, Yellow Wall, Three Sisters, Secret Garden, Pillarsteen and Manta Alley.

Dry-season departures from April through November usually concentrate on central and northern Komodo. The operator describes water around 26–27°C and typical visibility near 15–20 metres. From December through March, the program turns toward central and southern Komodo, with manta activity, fewer day boats and visibility that can exceed 20 metres in protected southern water. These are seasonal tendencies, never wildlife guarantees.

Each diver remains responsible for gas, depth, computer and buddy contact. Negative entries, reef hooks or blue-water pickups may be used when conditions require them. The cruise director can move a site, split a group, request additional supervision or refuse a dive that does not fit a guest's demonstrated ability. Mantas, sharks, turtles and schooling fish are wild encounters, not inclusions.

Other Information

• Destination: Komodo National Park, Indonesia
• Embarkation port: Labuan Bajo, Flores
• Airport: Komodo Airport (LBJ)
• Construction: traditional wooden phinisi; hull completed 2024, launched 2025
• Dimensions: 34 m × 6.5 m
• Cabins: 8 sea-view ensuite cabins—4 main deck and 4 upper deck
• Shared dive capacity: maximum 12 divers; up to 4 approved non-divers may be added
• Engines: Mitsubishi 6D22 / 280 PS and Mitsubishi 6D15 / 185 PS
• Published cruising performance: approximately 10 knots
• Tenders: 2
• Dive groups: maximum 4 divers per guide
• Gas: compressed air; Nitrox is not offered
• Electricity: 220 V, published generator hours 06:00–22:00
• Trip formats: 4D/3N, 5D/4N, 6D/5N and 7D/6N shared diving; private charter by arrangement

Included on the operator's current shared diving trip: hotel-to-harbour transport on embarkation day; harbour-to-hotel or harbour-to-airport transport on the last day; the booked air-conditioned sea-view cabin with private warm-water ensuite; three full meals per day including one barbecue dinner; post-dive snacks; free-flow drinking water, juice, coffee and tea; cruise director/instructor and divemaster services; in-house underwater photographer/videographer and group photo documentation; recreational diving equipment comprising tanks, BCD, regulator, mask, fins, booties, weights and belt; a 15-litre tank when required; one bath towel and one salt-water towel; daily housekeeping; and an emergency life jacket in each cabin.

Excluded from the operator's current shared diving trip: transport to the operator's office for pre-trip check-in; hotel-to-airport transport before the homeward flight; national-park admission, local-government entrance charges and Padar, Gili Lawa or Komodo naturalist-guide fees; scuba courses or Adventure Dive training taken during the trip; domestic or international flights; hotels and meals before or after the cruise; travel and diving insurance; alcoholic beverages; souvenirs, personal spending and additional private photography services; and crew gratuities.

Sundari's longest shared program offers seven days and six nights in Komodo with up to 22 dives, including two or three night dives. The route below is an original representative schedule built from the operator's published site lists and daily rhythm. It is written to help visitors picture the experience, not to lock the cruise director into an unsafe sequence. Dry-season sailings lean north; wet-season manta trips turn south; central Komodo connects both.

Komodo Photography Expedition — Representative 7 Days / 6 Nights

Day 1 — Labuan Bajo, welcome aboard and central check dives
Hotel pickup leads to a 09:30 embarkation in Labuan Bajo. Cabins are assigned before the vessel, diving and camera briefings. Equipment is fitted carefully because recreational gear and a 15-litre option are part of the package. Sundari then leaves the harbour for a protected central reef. The first dive checks weighting, buoyancy, gas use and group compatibility without sacrificing an entire day to administration. A second afternoon immersion may explore a gentle coral slope such as Siaba Besar, where turtles and bright reef fish provide an inviting introduction. When timing, qualification and conditions allow, the first night dive reveals crustaceans, nudibranchs and hunting reef species.

Day 2 — Central Komodo's coral crossroads
The day begins early with a light bite, briefing and first immersion before the larger breakfast. Tatawa Besar can deliver a colourful drift over broad coral gardens, while Tatawa Kecil offers a more concentrated current challenge for experienced groups. Mawan or Siaba Kecil may complete the daylight schedule, one with a chance of manta activity and the other with an energetic channel ride. Camera users can work beside the onboard photographer on positioning, lighting and respectful animal approach. After three dives, the group has time to swim, paddle or watch the islands change colour before dinner.

Day 3 — Batu Bolong and manta country
Batu Bolong is one of Komodo's defining reefs: an isolated rock wrapped in coral, clouds of anthias and larger hunters. Current races along its exposed sides, so guides select the protected face and keep the group within a carefully defined depth corridor. The next dives may move toward Manta Point and nearby central sites. At the cleaning or feeding grounds, divers settle low, avoid the active zone and allow each manta to choose the encounter. An animal may pass overhead or remain elsewhere in the park; the quality of the dive is not reduced to a single sighting. A sheltered night dive can follow for properly qualified guests.

Day 4 — The seasonal fork: northern pinnacles or southern gardens
From April to November, Sundari normally aims north. Castle Rock and Crystal Rock can collect trevally, barracuda, tuna and reef sharks in fast blue water. The Cauldron—often called Shotgun—funnels divers through an accelerating channel before releasing them across a shallower garden. Negative entries and open-water ascents may be required. From December to March, the boat instead turns south toward Padar Kecil, Secret Garden or Three Sisters, where cooler water nourishes soft coral, sea fans and macro life. The itinerary changes direction, but not ambition: both versions seek three strong, well-timed dives rather than chasing a fixed map.

Day 5 — Golden Passage or the wild south
On a northern schedule, Golden Passage brings another purposeful drift between islands, with protected coves and Gili Lawa scenery available during the surface interval. A nearby pinnacle or reef supplies the second and third dives. On a southern schedule, Cannibal Rock, Yellow Wall, Pillarsteen, Eagle Rock or Manta Alley may enter the plan. These sites trade northern hard-coral panoramas for dramatic soft corals, invertebrate life and possible manta or pelagic activity. Water can feel distinctly cooler, so exposure protection selected before departure matters. Where anchorage and group energy permit, this is a natural evening for the expedition's second night dive.

Day 6 — Padar, Pink Beach and the dragons of Komodo
An early shore transfer can lead to the Padar viewpoint before the heat builds. The climb is exposed and stepped, rewarding steady effort with the park's famous pattern of curved bays. Back aboard, breakfast restores energy before diving resumes around Padar or Pink Beach. A regulated visit to Komodo or Rinca then places guests under the authority of a park naturalist for a dragon walk. Sightings and trail choice remain natural and controlled by the ranger. Depending on the day's tide, a third dive fits before Sundari's barbecue dinner. The evening celebrates the voyage without pretending it is over; one final diving morning remains.

Day 7 — Final dives, clean-up and return
The last dives are chosen for favourable tide and distance to Labuan Bajo. A gentle central reef may provide turtles, coral and a relaxed last photo session, while a livelier site is possible for a suitably matched group. Diving finishes around 13:00 in the published plan. The crew begins rinsing and drying equipment as Sundari turns homeward. The ocean or beach clean-up gives guests a direct way to remove waste from the environment they have enjoyed. Lunch, image sharing and final accounts complete the return. Disembarkation connects with the included local transfer, but flights are intentionally left until the following day after 12:00.

The Daily Rhythm

On a full dive day, the operator's sample timetable starts around 06:00 with a light breakfast and equipment setup, followed by the first briefing and dive at approximately 06:15. A substantial breakfast comes around 08:30, the second briefing near 10:00 and lunch at midday. The third dive is normally briefed around 14:00, followed by a snack. Between 16:00 and 18:00, the plan can shift to trekking, paddleboarding, swimming or a quiet sunset. At 18:30 the choice is a night dive or logbook time; dinner and the next day's briefing follow around 19:30.

This rhythm uses Komodo's best tidal windows rather than hotel hours. A briefing can move earlier, a meal can wait or a land excursion can change days. The small groups allow guides to separate photography pace from a faster recreational team, but every diver must enter and surface with the assigned group. A guest who skips a dive or is held back for safety does not receive a private replacement.

Photography, Observation and Non-Diver Time

The in-house photographer adds value by helping guests recognise when an encounter is becoming intrusive. At a manta station, the best image often comes from holding position outside the cleaning lane, keeping bubbles away from an approaching animal and allowing the manta to make the close pass. At a current-swept pinnacle, safety and group contact come before changing lenses or chasing a subject into blue water. Macro dives reward slow finning, precise buoyancy and patient searches rather than touching coral to stabilise a camera.

Guests without a camera still benefit from this approach because briefings explain behaviour, habitat and likely action before entry. Group documentation creates a record of the expedition without requiring every traveller to carry a housing. Additional private photography remains a separate personal service and is not part of the standard package.

Approved non-divers can join land visits, lounge time and suitable surface activities, but they do not automatically follow a scuba group into a fast channel. Snorkelling, paddleboarding or swimming is chosen where current, tender coverage and guide availability make it safe. Families should discuss ages, swimming confidence and supervision before the rooming plan is approved. This preserves the relaxed mixed-group appeal of Sundari without treating Komodo's open water as a resort pool.

Shorter Shared Programs

The 4-day / 3-night trip plans up to 11 dives including one night dive. It concentrates on a seasonal selection of central plus north or central plus south, while retaining Padar, Komodo trekking, Pink Beach, the final barbecue and clean-up where conditions and timing permit. The compact format is intensive: arrival a day early and completed equipment fitting are especially valuable.

The 5-day / 4-night program raises the plan to 15 dives including one night dive. That extra day creates better tidal options and allows the cruise director to combine the central classics with a fuller northern or southern sector rather than treating every site as a hurried stop.

The 6-day / 5-night trip offers up to 18 dives including two night dives. It sits between the short safari and the seven-day expedition, with enough time for repeat access to a manta area or current-sensitive pinnacle when the first tide is unsuitable.

All counts are maxima. A land activity, long repositioning, weather front or qualification limit can reduce them. The named natural experiences—manta rays, Komodo dragons, sharks and turtles—remain possibilities rather than deliverables.

Seasonal Site Selection

Dry season, April–November: central and north are the usual emphasis. Potential sites include Castle Rock, Crystal Rock, the Cauldron, Golden Passage, Manta Point, Tatawa Besar, Tatawa Kecil, Siaba Besar, Siaba Kecil, Batu Bolong, Mawan and Police Corner. Sunny conditions, 26–27°C water and approximately 15–20 metres visibility are the operator's broad planning description.

Wet or manta season, December–March: central and south become the focus. Padar Kecil, Secret Garden, Three Sisters, Cannibal Rock, Yellow Wall, Eagle Rock, Pink Beach, Lasa Island, Gigi Rusak, Tanjung Loh Sera, Manta Alley, Teripang Island and Boulders are among the published options. Western wind can make the first open-water passage lively, but the southern sector offers protected water, fewer day boats and visibility that may exceed 20 metres.

No season makes every site available. The cruise director reads forecast, tide and experience before choosing. That flexibility is a strength: it puts the group where Komodo is working best rather than following yesterday's route for the sake of a brochure.

Preparing for the Voyage

• Arrive in Labuan Bajo one day before sailing for registration and equipment fitting.
• Bring certification proof, logbook, dive computer, DSMB and any personally fitted equipment.
• Complete the Adventure Deep Dive before travel or reserve the onboard option.
• Hold the Adventure Night Dive qualification for night diving or arrange training.
• Provide dietary needs, rental sizes and 15-litre requests before provisioning.
• Carry mandatory insurance covering scuba to 30 metres and hyperbaric treatment.
• Use closed footwear, sun protection and drinking water for land excursions.
• Keep the day after disembarkation free and book flights no earlier than 12:00.