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Ilike Liveaboard review: expedition through East Indonesia in remote areas from Saumlaki to Maumere

Ilike Liveaboard review: expedition through East Indonesia in remote areas from Saumlaki to Maumere

I enjoyed the dive trip on the Ilike so much that I got back onboard less than five months later for another incredible diving expedition through eastern Indonesia.

This diving cruise through the forgotten islands departed from Saumlaki and went through four different seas: the Arufa sea, the Banda Sea, the Savu Sea, and the Flores Sea. What a remarkable way to discover the most inaccessible parts of Indonesia! Read on for my review of the Ilike Liveaboard cruise through the forgotten islands.

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Ilike Liveaboard Indonesia

 

Getting to Saumlaki, Indonesia

The cruise departed from Saumlaki in the forgotten islands. Saumlaki is not an easy place to reach. I started from Bali, and it took me three flights to get there: Bali to Makassar, then to Ambon, and finally to Saumlaki.

Most flights require an 8-9 hour layover in Makassar airport overnight. It’s not the most pleasant time for a stopover, but at least if you decide to stay at the airport, showers are available so that you can freshen up in the morning.

TIP: If you have an overnight stopover, there is an Ibis Budget located next to the airport. It takes 2 minutes to walk there and is a convenient place to get 6 or 7 hours of sleep between your flights. It is usually quite cheap, around €30. Click here to find the best rate.

The second stop on the way to Saumlaki is Ambon. Ambon is the most underrated muck diving destination in the world, so it made for a great stopover. It’s definitely worth scheduling enough time to stay for a dive before flying on to Saumlaki. You can read more about muck diving in Ambon in my article here.

I had initially booked a Lionair ticket for this flight, which I regretted profoundly. The flight I had booked got canceled, and I have not been able to get a refund. You can read about my experience with Lionair here. I avoid Lionair as much as possible and recommend Garuda if available.

TIP: At the time of writing, Garuda allows 30 kg of diving equipment as free extra baggage, making it the best choice of airline for divers in Indonesia.

Judging by the plane, Saumlaki would be a pretty small place: out plane was 90% empty, and more than half the passengers were foreigners who would be joining the Ilike Liveaboard trip along with me.

 

The Ilike boat review

The boat was still as lovely as it was on my trip to Raja Ampat five months ago. Little has changed, and you can read the description of the ship in my previous review.

One of the main advantages of the Ilike boat is that it has only seven cabins, which creates a friendly atmosphere between all passengers. As with the previous trip, the other passengers all came from Europe, with the exception of an American lady. There was even a camera crew onboard who were filming a documentary about the region.

The Ilike boat has been designed for crossings and expedition trips. They have their own generator and water-making facility. The crew is expert at navigating through tricky situations, which as you will see below was useful for us as we came close to a cyclone.

Saumlali to maumere with Ilike Liveaboard getting ready for lunch

 

Internet availability during the cruise to the Forgotten Islands from Saumlaki to Maumere

There is no internet onboard the Ilike. If you want internet during the journey, buy a Telkomsel sim card with a data plan. Telkomsel is the only provider covering these areas. The best place on the boat to get a strong signal is on the top deck outdoors.

We got weak coverage while in the harbor at Saumlaki. Then from Saumlaki until Alor, we had virtually no coverage. I did leave my phone on, and my emails did download once during an overnight crossing, so it’s worth leaving your phone on.

In Alor, the coverage was very strong. The best area was near the airport, where the connection was even strong enough for video calls.

From Alor to Maumere, we got internet about every two days when we would pass or anchor near villages. In Maumere Harbour, the coverage was good.

 

The ilike liveaboard cabins review

This time the suite was already fully booked, so I stayed in a standard cabin.

While the standard cabin is a little bit smaller than the suite and has bunk beds, it was perfectly comfortable. The cabin has more storage room than the suite, so that was easy. Another advantage of these cabins is that they are located in the middle of the ship, making the overnight crossing feel a little less bumpy than in the suite at the front of the boat.

TIP: On a regular itinerary, the suite is more spacious and comfortable. However, for expedition trips with many overnight crossings, cabin number 4 was the most comfortable, as we felt the movement of the waves less. If you are a light sleeper, I’d recommend avoiding the budget cabins during crossings, as they are located next to the engine, which can be loud if the boat is navigating all night.

There is a paid laundry service onboard, and the dress code onboard is very casual, so you really don’t need to bring much luggage.

All the cabins are comfortable with good (and tall) mattresses, individually controlled AC, and private marble bathrooms with hot water.

Ilike Liveaboard review: expedition through East Indonesia in remote areas from Saumlaki to Maumere

ilike liveaboard standard cabin

 

Ilike Liveaboard itinerary from Saumlaki to Maumere through the forgotten islands

 

Passing through the sleepy town of Saumlaki

Our cruise started in Saumlaki, which is located in the Arafura sea, quite close to northern Australia.

It is a small island with beaches that look amazing from the sky. Unfortunately, there are not many roads, and the beaches are inhabited by crocodiles, so it’s not the best resort island destination.

We didn’t do any dives in Saumlaki, since good dive sites there have not yet been discovered. We set out on our journey around 5 pm. The captain was anxious to leave as quickly as possible, as a big storm, possibly a cyclone, was coming in, but we had to wait for the last three passengers who had booked their flight with Lionair and arrived 2 hours late.

We got the bad news that a big storm was in the area and would probably disturb our dive plans in the Banda Sea.

 

Escaping a storm and diving in Dawera Island

The Ilike brought us to Dawera Island a small isolated island west of Saumlaki. The overnight crossing was very rough due to the storm coming in.

The storm also prevented us from diving the good dive site in the area called “a little bit far rock” as it was too exposed and with dangerous conditions.  A little bit far rock sounds like a fascinating dive site: an underwater pinnacle starting around 12 meters and going down to 25 meters. It can see a lot of fish action. We were definitely all sorry to miss it.

Expedition cruises are always dependant on the weather. Unfortunately for us, the forecast for the Banda Sea where we were supposed to spend the first 4-5 days of the cruise was pretty grim.

This is when it is essential to have an experimented cruise director, captain, and crew that can adjust plans in order to make the most of adverse weather conditions. Even though navigating through this storm was not pleasant, we felt safe in the hands of the Ilike crew.

Not only did we feel safe as we traveled, but the Ilike team also had a backup diving plan for us, and we dived the Dawera wall instead of a little bit far rock.

 

Review of Dawera wall dive site

Dawera is interesting because the village actively protects the reef. The diving along the wall was pretty, but not the most amazing dive site. Normally I’d say it isn’t worth the effort to get there, but as plan B, it allowed everyone to do a check-out dive and have some good time underwater.

Dewara wall is a deep wall with many sea fans, cracks, and holes. The most beautiful part of the dive is around 15 meters. It is a gentle drift dive. We saw turtles, barracudas, tunas, and countless other small fishes.

diving at dawera wall

The after-diving plan was to visit the Dawera village for sunset, but heavy rain prevented us from doing that.

 

Meeting hammerheads while diving in Terbang Island

We continued our journey west, still, through unfavorable weather, we eventually made our way to Terbang.

Review of Terbang Selatan dive site

Here we encountered a very healthy deep wall that is typical of the Banda Sea. The wall starts at 5 meters and was covered with soft and hard corals in many beautiful colors. Imagine a gentle drift dive through lots of sponges, big sea fans, and black corals. The wall is so deep that even at 30 meters you can’t see the bottom. I think their colors would have been even better if the weather hadn’t been dark and stormy. Some of us got the chance to see a group of hammerhead sharks cruising by. We also saw a few reef sharks. The wall is so long that it is possible to do multiple dives.

diving in terbang selatan

The Ilike crew decided to skip “snake island” since it would have been a two-day journey there and back through stormy weather. They decided to push through as fast as possible out of the Banda Sea, towards Alor, where the weather was supposed to be better much better.

 

Saumlali to maumere with Ilike Liveaboard sunset on the way to alor

 

Good diving and deserted beach island cocktails on Wetar

As we were leaving the Banda Sea, the weather started to improve a bit, and we had a sunny afternoon in Wetar.

What a difference the sun makes, both above and underwater. We did three dives in Wetar, and the most memorable one was Cottonwood Canyon.

Review of Cottonwood Canyon dive site :

It is a gentle plateau with a dramatic drop-off and big crack. At about 26 or 28 meters, there is a massive overhang a bit like a cave. The area is fully covered in soft and hard corals. We saw sharks, moray eels and many other smaller fishes.

diving in wetar with a turtle

After the three Wetar dives, the Ilike crew organized drinks on a deserted tropical beach and then we got back on the boat and watched a fantastic sunset. As we navigated that evening, we could feel the gentle rocking of the ship. The wind changed direction often, and the sounds of the wind and waves were very relaxing and refreshing. What a pleasure it was to be able to enjoy the top deck with a bit of sunshine after all the stormy weather.

Saumlali to maumere with Ilike Liveaboard Weta beach

 

Amazing dives and tribe meeting in Alor

We finally arrived in Alor after four days of overnight crossing. We were trying to get out of the Banda sea as quickly as possible and escape the storm. The sea during the last night was tranquil — what a nice change. We woke up refreshed near the Alor airport and got treated to an encounter with a Dugong. What an amazing animal! He was inquisitive and even tried to board our boat a few times.

Dugong in Alor

Dugong in Alor

Saumlali to maumere with Ilike Liveaboard going on land in Alor

We also got to meet the local Abui tribe who performed a traditional ceremony for us.

Saumlali to maumere with Ilike Liveaboard the Abui tribe in Alor

After a couple of hours of dancing in the Abui village, we made it to the market in Kalabahi and got a chance to interact with the friendly people from Alor. It almost felt weird after spending six days aboard the Ilike boat to be back in a town with cars, traffic, and shops.

Saumlali to maumere with Ilike Liveaboard the market in Kalabahi

But the main attraction in Alor is still diving. We did nine dives here, so we had plenty of opportunities to explore the amazing dive sites in Alor.

TIP: the water can be very cold (17-19 degrees), so bring an extra layer of clothes.

For more information on diving in Alor, you can read my other article here.

Saumlali to maumere with Ilike Liveaboard kids of Alor

There were several interesting sites that we got to dive in Alor with the Ilike liveaboard.

Review of Cave Point dive site:

A gentle plateau with a wall with hard and soft corals from 10 to 30 meters. Cave point is one of the nicest walls in the area. There is a cave around 25 meters. The visibility was excellent, which was a great change after the Banda Sea. We saw a few frogfishes and nudibranchs. There are also a few sharks patrolling the area and schools of batfishes.

Dicing

diving in Alor cave point

 
Review of Clown Calley dive site:

This dive site just off Pura Island is very unique, particularly because it has a considerable number of anemones, and it is located on an active volcano. The dive site is a gentle slope that goes below 50 meters, with sandy patches and limestone rocks. The key attraction here is obviously the thousands of anemones and their clownfishes.

We also encountered a wobbegong shark and lots of other small fishes and nudibranchs. Diving this site was just like a dream. Thresher sharks have also been spotted here, but we were not lucky enough to see them on this trip.

DIving in Alor Clown valley wobbegong shark

diving in Alor Jetty pantar shrimp

The family composition and reproduction of clownfishes are fascinating. When you see a family on an anemone, the bigger fish is the female. All the small ones are males. The bigger male will take care of the eggs, ventilating them to give them oxygen. Once the female dies or leaves its family, the biggest male clownfish will become a female and lay its own eggs!

Review of Yan Village dive site:

This dive site is also located off Pura island but on the north side. The site is a gentle slope with black sand and coral bommies.

This is a great spot to find Rhinopias, between 3 and 30 meters. Make sure you check out the spaces between the concrete blocks because that is where they hide.

Macro lovers will love this place! It is possible to find many shrimps in the anemones, along with multiple types of nudibranchs and frogfishes.diving in Alor Jetty pantar leaf fish

 
Review of Pacalam village pier dive site:

This site, as the name indicates, is located under the pier of Pacalam village.

There is a large concrete jetty with poles, and the corals congregate around the poles.

This site has a lot of frogfishes, leaf fishes, pipes fishes, octopus, crabs, and shrimps.

Beware of the currents: we experienced a current change while underwater. Part of our group got wiped out by the current, and we got inundated by warm dirty water. Visibility went from 20 meters to 1 meter in less than 1 minute. It was a bit similar to being in a sandstorm

diving in Alor Jetty pantar

 
Review of Babylon dive site:

Babylon is a gentle wall that goes from 5 to 30 meters. It has lovely coral and sea fans, and if you look closely, you might find leaf fishes, frogfishes and mantis shrimps.Diving in Alor babylon dive site nudibranch eggs

Ilike Liveaboard review: expedition through East Indonesia in remote areas from Saumlaki to Maumere

Ilike Liveaboard review: expedition through East Indonesia in remote areas from Saumlaki to Maumere

 
Review of Current Alley dive site:

Current Alley is a submerged pinnacle, creating a wall on one side and a gentle slope on the other side. Currents here can be fierce, so the site tends to attract a lot of big fishes. Hammerheads have been reported at this site, but we didn’t see any. We did see over 20 reef sharks, a school of barracudas and some mobula rays.

Diving in Alor current alley dive site

Saumlali to maumere with Ilike Liveaboard sunset in Alor

 

Action packed dives in Lembata island

As we kept cruising the west Flores Sea, we encounter many small islands with pretty deserted beaches. We made our way to Lembata island and Kawula where we experienced some great action-packed dives.

Ilike Liveaboard Indonesia at sunset
Liveaboard Indonesia at sunset
 
Review of The Ledge of Bacatan dive site:

This dive site is on a corner between the bay and the open sea. There is a wall from 10 meters to 40 meters. Some parts of the reef have been destroyed by the current. The corals and the wall weren’t bad, but they were a step down from most of the walls we had dived on in Alor in the previous days.

What makes this site unique is the presence of big fish. The corner area can have strong currents. This strong current attracts an incredible amount of big fishes. We saw a marble ray, eagle rays, plenty of reef sharks, a school of barracudas, turtles. Some of us even saw two hammerheads sharks and a manta ray (which I missed as I was busy looking at the colossal marble ray).

This dive was so good that we did it a second time.

TIP: If the current is ripping, my advice is to stay at the corner and hook yourself, as this is where most of the big fish action is.

batacan diving indonesia marble ray

batacan diving indonesia cuttlefish

 

Review of Sirumang Ledges dive site:

Simurang Ledge is another corner plateau that is a mix between a wall and a sandy bottom. We saw fewer fishes there than in Bacatan, but we could focus on the macro more. We saw stingrays, scorpionfishes, anemones, and red spider hairy lobster. We also saw orangutang crabs in the sponges.

 

Cruising the beautiful landscapes of East Flores towards Serbete

We continued west towards Serbete and Gedond. While the views from the boat were amazing, the diving in this area was a bit of a letdown after Alor. Many of the reefs have unfortunately been dynamite fished.

Review of Serbete dive site:

The Serbete dive site is a white sandbank dropping into a gentle slope, then a wall

with cracks and holes up to 25-30 meters. The wall has some macro life with pygmy seahorses and nudibranchs.

We also saw many sharks and turtles that were interested in us and kept following us around. The most exciting part of this dive was that the sponges were spawning. It looked a bit like a volcano erupting as what looked like dark smoke was coming out of them. It was actually eggs and sperm that were released into the water.

diving in serbete coral spawning

diving in serbete Turtle

Learning about sponges gave me a new respect for them. Did you know that some sponges are over 4000 years old, making them some of the oldest living organisms on the planet? A sponge the size of a barrel, would be about 200 years old. Impressive! See this article from the Washington Post for more info

Review of Tanjung Gedong dive site:

This dive site is on the corner of a bay next to a small village. The reef was very damaged by dynamite fishing, so it was not a great dive.

diving in serbete

 

Last great diving day in Babi Island and Maumere

Babi Island is near Maumere, and it was our last day of diving. The landscapes were stunning, and the diving was pretty good too. It was my second trip to Maumere for diving, and you can read more about my first trip here.

Review of Babi Island Cracks dive site:

This dive site is interesting because of the wall formation. There are plenty of overhangs and holes, making great hiding places for fishes and other creatures.

There is also a big crack that was formed in the 1992 earthquake. We found lots of nudibranchs, flatworms, and other small creatures. We also saw sharks, eagle rays, snappers, tuna, and groupers.diving in maumere babi crack

Ilike Liveaboard review: expedition through East Indonesia in remote areas from Saumlaki to Maumere

 
Review of Hue Channel dive site:

This is a channel with a sloping reef. The current can be ferocious, but when we dove it, there was no current, which probably limited the number of big fishes we were able to find. Despite the lack of current, we still encountered four eagle rays, a shark, some manta shrimps, and cuttlefishes.

Review of Pagabatang Slope dive site:

This slope drops off a beautiful sandy bay paradise. It is a sloping reef with a sandy bottom and nice bommies. We saw many fishes, including sweetlips, bump head parrotfishes, leaf fishes, ribbon eels and ornate ghost pipefish.

Diving in Maumere padang nudibranch eggsbatang

Diving in Maumere padang blue ribon eelsbatang

Diving in Maumere padangbatang

Ilike Liveaboard review: expedition through East Indonesia in remote areas from Saumlaki to Maumere

To finish off the trip on a high note, we went to Pagabatang island, a beautiful beach for a sunset cocktail.

Pagabatang beach

Pagabatang beach

As we approached the end of our trip, navigating towards Maumere, I was relaxing on the top deck as we were cruising. The Indonesian flag was flapping at the end of the boat while the moon rose.

 

I reflected on the amazing ten days of the trip as I watched the landscape go by: Indonesian archipelagoes, pristine forests, deserted beaches. Sometimes we had been accompanied by dolphins as we traveled to these remote areas. We didn’t come across much civilization on this journey, just a few fishing villages and a few roving fishermen.

We witnessed vast landscapes still pristine and untouched by human activity. It felt like a privilege to be there.

Saumlali to maumere with Ilike Liveaboard sunset in Alor

Conclusion

The dive trip through the forgotten island on Ilike has been a fantastic experience on a superb boat. The Ilike is well geared towards expedition trips to the most remote areas in Indonesia.

On the diving trip from Saumlakito Maumere, you should not expect the dives to compare with places like Komodo or Raja Ampat. Dives ranged from average to very good but allowed us to discover a variety of new areas through four different seas. My favorite dives were in the Alor area. The landscapes we crossed were stunning. I will always remember the sunsets cruising through many spectacular islands being accompanied by dolphins.

Despite the stormy weather we encountered at the beginning of the trip, the Ilike cruise through the forgotten islands was a fantastic experience, and I am looking forward to exploring more of Indonesia as I think it holds some of the best diving destinations on the planet.

Happy cruising and diving 🙂

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