Dive trip with Sundari Voyages - 3 nights

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.