Liveaboard Expedition
Komodo to Alor, Indonesia
Komodo’s mantas and Alor’s surprises on one boat, with no flights in between.
1 - 15 September 2029
From $9,995 USD per person
Dive Komodo and Alor on a Single 14-Night Trip
Join Pixel Expeditions aboard Indo Master for a 14-night journey from Labuan Bajo to Kalabahi. We will spend at least four days in Komodo National Park, five days working east past Flores and Lembata, and then four days around Alor and the Pantar Strait. And you’ll unpack once.
Your 14-night Liveaboard Adventure With Pixel Expeditions
Photo by Byron Conroy
There are boats that cross from Komodo to Alor. But they often split the journey into two trips or try to push the whole thing into 10 nights, which usually leaves two days or fewer at one end. We wanted proper time at both ends, so this trip is extended to 14 nights.
Komodo comes first, and we’ll dive it from south to north. After starting with a visit to the Komodo dragons, we’ll head to Nusa Kode, then on to Manta Alley, where groups of five or six mantas are common and up to 30 have been seen in the channels. Central Komodo is next, with strong currents at Takat Makassar and one of the park’s healthiest coral gardens at Tattawa Besar. We’ll finish in the north at Castle Rock and Crystal Rock, where white-tip reef sharks and trevally work the schools of fusiliers in the currents.
Photo by Gerald Rambert
Then the boat turns east. From 6 to 10 September, we’ll only dive 2 or 3 times a day to keep moving. Stops can include Komba, an active volcano with sulphur vents and black sand slopes, and Tanjung Bacatan off Lembata, where blacktip, whitetip and grey reef sharks are regular. Watu Ile, in the strait between Lembata and Pantar, has walls and boulders covered in soft coral, and giant trevally sometimes school there in large numbers. But the focus here is to keep moving.
The last four days then put us into Alor. The water is cooler here, often around 22°C (72°F) in the Pantar Strait, and the tide moves hard. Vienna Run is a kilometre-long drift past sponges, sea fans and reef sharks. Mucky Mosque, at the entrance to Kalabahi Bay, is black sand with Rhinopias, ghost pipefish and the occasional wunderpus. At Clown Valley the cold layers sometimes bring mola mola or a passing thresher shark, though both are occasional, so count them as a bonus. Ashore, we’ll visit Lativui Village to watch a traditional dance.
The Route
1 September: Board in Labuan Bajo, sunset check dive
2 September: Komodo dragons, Nusa Kode
3 September: Manta Alley
4 September: Central Komodo
5 September: North Komodo
6-10 September: Heading east to Alor, 2 or 3 dives a day
11-14 September: Diving Alor
15 September: Disembark in Kalabahi
Distances leave us room, and we are leaving the exact route flexible, so we may add a day in Komodo or Alor. Weather, tides and national park rules can change the order and the sites.
How many dives you’ll do
This trip has fewer dives than if you did Komodo and Alor itineraries separately, and we’d rather tell you that now.
If you book a 7-night Komodo trip and a 10-night Alor trip back-to-back, you’ll generally be offered more than 50 dives over 17 nights. We’re scheduling 42-44 over 14 nights. Land visits and weather may take a few of those; the plan is flexible, so the low 40s is a fair number to expect. But with more nights, that’s comfortably more than most transfer itineraries.
The difference really comes from the crossing, where we dive 2 or 3 times a day. It might be less than you’re used to, and the sites are more exploratory in nature, but hey, this is Indonesia. In return though, you stay on board. Two separate trips mean packing up in Labuan Bajo, going to the airport, two flights, a bus and a boat, all to get back on the same boat. But you… well, you’ll be relaxing on the sun deck between dives.
If you really want every possible dive, book the two trips separately. But if you want to dive both places and see the beauty in between, without the airports, come with us.
A day aboard Indo Master
Komodo and Alor days have up to 4 dives. Crossing days have 2 or 3 dives, with the boat moving in between.
Light breakfast → briefing → Dive 1
Full breakfast → relaxation → briefing → Dive 2
Lunch → relaxation → briefing → Dive 3
Snack → briefing → Sunset or night dive
Dinner and a look through the day’s photos
All dives are made from fast RIBs, with cylinders filled directly onboard for efficiency. Every diver is equipped with a Personal Locator Beacon for safety.
Your Liveaboard in Indonesia: Indo Master
Indo Master is a 47 m wooden sail and motor vessel, built in Sulawesi in 2022 from ironwood and teak. She carries a maximum of 18 guests in 9 en-suite cabins, each with its own air-conditioning and hot water. Four are upper deck suites, and the other five are on the lower deck.
Photographers get indoor and outdoor workstations, individual storage drawers, and large rinse tanks with fresh water changed often. The crew will handle your camera on the way in and out of the water. Between dives, there’s an air-conditioned saloon with a cocktail bar, a sundeck, plus kayaks and paddleboards.
She has three Bauer compressors and two high-powered Zodiacs, and Starlink is available on board for a fee.
The Team Behind Your Adventure
Indo Master is run by Master Liveaboards, who also run Maldives Master, the boat for our Maldives Far South expedition. On board, you’ll have a Cruise Director and three local dive guides, plus tender drivers to help with your gear and getting out of the water. The dive team are all certified emergency responders, and the boat carries medical oxygen, trauma kits and an AED.
Pixel Expeditions
delivers more than a liveaboard
One boat from Komodo to Alor, and 14 nights to do both properly, without touching your suitcase.
Adventure is calling. Will you answer?
What’s Included in Your Komodo to Alor Liveaboard?
From $9,995 USD per person
Transfers between the airport or local hotels and the harbour on 1 and 15 September
Full board accommodation with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks
Unlimited water, tea, coffee, fruit juice and soft drinks
Up to 4 dives daily in Komodo and Alor, 2 or 3 on crossing days
11L (AL80) cylinder with air fills
Weights and weight belt
Land visits to see the Komodo dragons and to Lativui Village, Alor
Not Included
Marine park and port fees, paid on board
Flights, hotels and additional transfers
Nitrox
Equipment rental and larger cylinders (pre-book)
Beer, cocktails, wine and spirits
Wi-Fi and laundry
Crew and dive guide gratuities
Dive and travel insurance (mandatory)
Frequently Asked Questions
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In a word, time. Doing them separately means leaving the boat in Labuan Bajo, then taking two flights, a bus, and a boat to rejoin it four or five days later. On this trip you stay on board for 14 nights. You’ll do fewer dives (low-mid 40’s, against over 50 on two separate trips), and you’ll see both regions in three fewer nights.
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You need PADI Advanced Open Water, or equivalent, certification to at least 30 metres (100 feet) plus a minimum of 50 logged dives. Currents can be strong in Komodo and Alor, so we strongly recommend experience diving in them. The crew can keep anyone out of a dive if conditions are beyond their experience.
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Fly into Bali (DPS) or Jakarta (CGK), then on to Labuan Bajo (LBJ). Domestic delays are common in Indonesia and the boat can’t wait, so plan to land on 31 August, latest, and stay the night.
Getting home takes more planning. Alor has no direct flights to Bali or Jakarta, and only one flight a day to Kupang, leaving at 10:05 at the time of writing. Your last dive is on the morning of 14th September, so we’ll get it done early to ensure a flight on the 15th falls within the recommended 24-hour surface interval. Plan a night in Alor on 15 September and fly on the 16th if you want a more relaxed journey home.
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Expect 26-28°C (79-82°F) in the Flores Sea. The south of Komodo and the Alor side are cooler, usually 23-26°C (73-79°F), and can drop to 20-21°C (68-70°F). Bring a full 5mm to 7mm wetsuit, plus a hood or vest if you feel the cold. The boat only rents 3mm suits.
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Wildlife encounters are never guaranteed, this is the open ocean. Mantas use the cleaning stations at Manta Alley and Takat Makassar, and groups of five or six are common at Manta Alley. Mola mola and thresher sharks are occasional visitors around Pantar and Alor.
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Full board on Indo Master, up to 4 dives a day in Komodo and Alor, 2 or 3 on crossing days, an 11L cylinder with air fills, weights, and transfers on the first and last days.
Flights, nitrox, marine park fees, alcohol and crew gratuities are extra.