Banda Api at dawn
Climb it before the heat if you like, or watch it from the deck with coffee as the light comes up the cone. Either way you anchor in its shadow.
Banda — 8 days
Banda
For two centuries these ten specks of land were the only place on earth nutmeg grew, and empires fought over them. Today Banda Neira is a sleepy town of colonial verandas under a volcano that last erupted in 1988 — and its lava flow is now one of the fastest-growing coral gardens ever recorded.
- Duration
- 8 days · 7 nights
- Season
- October – December · March – April
- Embark
- Ambon
- Sea
- Banda Sea
Moments
What stays with you.
Forts and nutmeg
Fort Belgica still looks out over the harbour. We walk the plantations with a family who has farmed nutmeg for generations and eat its fruit candied, the way the Bandanese do.
The drop-off
Off Hatta and Ai the reef ends and the blue begins. Hammerheads pass in the season, and the walls are so clean you can see the fish before you see the water move.
Aboard
The Kuda Nil Explorer
8 cabins for up to 16 guests, a dive deck, and evenings that start at the bow. See the cabins →
Inclusions
Everything on board.
- Private charter of the Kuda Nil Explorer, 8 cabins
- Full board — chef-prepared meals, snacks, soft drinks, tea and coffee
- Dive and snorkel guides, tanks, weights and air
- All village visits, land excursions and local guides
- Marine park and harbour fees
- Airport transfers at embarkation and disembarkation
Gallery
In pictures
