Departing from Bali and Flores, this sensational 7-night cruise offers an in-depth exploration of the legendary Komodo National Park and Moyo Island of East Indonesia. This cruise ship sails every year from April to September, the best season to discover the region.

Rising from the seas of East Indonesia where two continental plates collide, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Komodo National Park is a wonder of nature in every way imaginable. Ancient volcanic activity has created some of the most spectacular coastal terrain on Earth, with picture-perfect savannah hills, bays and beaches. The Park’s dramatic landscape also sets the perfect stage for stunning marine discoveries at some of the best diving and snorkeling sites in the world.

Komodo National Park spans an area of 669 square miles (1,817 square kilometers) and comprises of three main islands — Komodo, Padar and Rinca — and 26 smaller islets. Several of these are inhabited by prehistoric creatures, the native Komodo Dragon, that are the largest lizard species to walk the Earth. Located in the Coral Triangle between the major landmasses of Sumbawa to the west and Flores to the east, the waters of Komodo National Park are embraced by fast flowing currents from the Indian Ocean and warm tropical Indonesia seas enriched with volcanic nutrients. The result is a vibrant marine environment home to more than 1,000 species of marine life, including the manta ray, sea turtles and mola mola (ocean sunfish), as well as over 260 species of coral. From shore to shore, the sheer number of marine life and a variety of different underwater environments make this region endlessly rewarding for both divers and non-divers alike. Complemented by a dry and sunny savannah-like tropical climate, Komodo National Park’s variety of land and sea experiences makes cruising an ideal way to discover the region.

Elsewhere, the gifts of Moyo Island and Saleh Bay can also be easily accessed on an Aqua Blu voyage. Situated between Bali and Komodo National Park, Moyo Island is a Nature Reserve featuring unspoiled nature and marine habitats virtually untouched by outside influences. Within green bursts of jungle, explorers are presented with a large variety of flora and fauna with the picturesque Mata Jitu cascading waterfall as the reward. At Saleh Bay, seize the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the congregation of rare whale sharks who have made the bay their sanctuary, and hold your breath at seeing tens of thousands of fruit bats take flight come nightfall.

Bringing a nearly forgotten chapter of world history back to life, the Ambon & Spice Islands 7-night cruise expedition across the Banda Sea is a enthralling adventure embracing culture, nature and wildlife. Setting sail from the rustic Indonesian port city of Ambon, Aqua Blu cruises south across the Banda Sea to the Spice Islands, a destination steeped in historical significance and endowed with both unspoilt nature and culture. As the origin of the nutmeg, a spice that was worth more than gold in terms of weight, the Spice Islands (also called the Banda Islands) were the Holy Grail for famous Old World explorers including Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan, who sought but never managed to find it.

Eventually, the Spice Islands were discovered and the Dutch established and exercised control over them — with a monopoly on the nutmeg trade — from 1607 up until the late 18th century. In that time, the Dutch built up numerous colonial-styled architecture and extensive fortifications. Surrounded by the local town and the oldest nutmeg plantations on Earth, these structures remain mostly well-preserved. Today, setting foot on the Spice Islands is like entering a spectacular living museum on Earth, where time appears to have stood still for decades and centuries-old relics, such as Fort Belgica, exist alongside rich Indonesian local traditions such as nutmeg cultivation and kora-kora war canoe racing.

Sailing towards the edge of the Pacific Ocean, the Raja Ampat 7-night cruise expedition is a visual spectacle with unmatched marine diversity on show at the best dive and snorkel sites on Earth.  Translated to mean “Four Kings”, Raja Ampat captivates with the enigmatic beauty of its limestone karst island clusters, spawned out of legendary myth and continuing to bewilder and enthrall explorers with dramatic landscapes that shelter secret lagoons, bays and beaches. In between excursions to discover the world’s most biodiverse environments, Raja Ampat offers the chance to find that one perfect private hideaway out of thousands. To put it simply, every day is a National Geographic moment right before your eyes.

Raja Ampat’s world-class wildlife excursions are both on the ground and underwater. It is here that famous 19th-century naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace had stumbled upon species of the bird of paradise that exist nowhere else but in this region on Earth. Catching sight of the otherworldly beauty of the Wilson’s bird of paradise and the Red bird of paradise and their mesmerizing behavior is arguably one of life’s most rewarding wildlife experiences. These winged wonders live alongside 350 other bird species, including forest kingfishers and king parrots. Meanwhile, Raja Ampat’s many beaches are often the nesting ground for turtle species including the Pacific leatherback, the largest of all living turtle species on Earth, while the world’s most extensive network of mangrove forests support populations of dugong and juvenile fish. Raja Ampat is also a designed a Marine Protected Area (MPA) by the Indonesian government.

Limited to four departures in a calendar year, Aqua Expeditions presents explorers a highly-exclusive opportunity to embark on unique 12-night voyages that sail across the great seas of East Indonesia. Not only do these journeys incorporate key aspects of Aqua Expeditions’ Spice Islands and Raja Ampat 7-night itineraries, our Limited Cross-Destination Cruises also includes one-of-a-kind excursions, including visits to the intriguing Abui tribe of Flores at Alor, journeys to the multicolored Kelimutu volcano crater lakes in Flores, and explorations of the stunning marine environments of southern/central Raja Ampat and Pulau Koon.

These Limited Cross-Destination Cruises are currently available:

• Raja Ampat to Spice Islands via southern/central Raja Ampat and Pulau Koon (Once yearly – February)
• Spice Islands to Maumere/Flores via Pulau Koon and Alor (Once yearly – March)
• Labuan Bajo/Flores to Spice Islands via Kelimutu Volcano and Lakes and Alor (Once yearly – October)
• Spice Islands to Raja Ampat via Pulau Koon and southern/central Raja Ampat (Once yearly – November)