• Camp Leakey
  • Mahakam
  • Neusapen Mahakam
  • Kalimantan
  • Derawan
  • Turtle Derawan
  • Manta
  • Whaleshark Kalimantan

Tour module 8 days diving or snorkelling Nabucco, Kakaban en Sangalaki

Around the islands of Maratua, Sangalaki, Kakaban and Derawan, off the east coast of Klimantan, you can enjoy snorkelling, diving and relaxing.

Large sea turtles, manta rays, dolphins, sharks and barracudas (just to name a few) are abundant spotting! Whale sharks are also available all year round, except around the full moon.

You will stay in the Maratua Seaview resort with their own diving center.

This roundtrip is a sample how your trip could look like. The target prices are based on middle class hotels. Our Indonesia experts are happy to help you tailormade your trip to your demands.

Target prices

€ 1.000 p.p. in Standard Twin Villa, based on participation of 2 persons, including 14 snorkle sessions
€ 1.475 p.p. in Standard Twin Villa, based on participation of 2 persons, including 14 dives

Including:
•Car and boat transfers from airport to resort and vice versa
•Full board accommodation (except day of arrival and departure)
•7 diving days, 2 or 3 dives / day, of which 1 diving day to Sangalaki and Kakaban dive spots
•Water, coffee and tea

Exclusive:
•Domestic flights
•Extra dives, surcharge for other distant dive locations and rental of diving equipment
•Optional excursion to the whalesharks at Talisayan (€ 440 per boat, max. 6 participants)
•Soft and alcoholic drinks
•Tips and personal expenses
•Travel and cancellation insurance
•Booking costs and Calamiteitenfonds € 30 per booking

Day 1 Van Berau naar het Maratua Seaview resort

After breakfast your driver will be waiting for you for a three-hour drive to the harbour. From the harbour it is two and a half hour by speedboat to the island of Maratua. The rest of the day is free. Overnight stay at Maratua resort.

Day 2 to 7 (included) Diving at Maratua

This week you are a guest at the Maratua island resort with the Extra Divers diving centre. Every day you can make 2 or 3 boat dives at the atoll or the islands in the area. At an additional charge (on the spot), day trips are made to the islands of Kakaban and Sangalaki. Kakaban is known for the brackish island lake with non-biting jellyfish. There are also diving spots with reef sharks and large schools of barracudas. The dolphin playground is very worthwhile too! In Sangalaki, big manta rays with a wing-span up to five meters attract the attention and you will certainly spot sea turtles. The island does not have the nickname turtle island for nothing.

Dive information

Diving season: All year. The rainy period from November to March is no obstacle. Visibility may be slightly less than in the other months. Water temperature: 25C - 28C Dive level: dive sites are available for beginners to advanced divers.

Dag 7 Walvishaaien spotten

Up very early this morning. At 05:30 the boat leaves for Talisayan, a short 2 hour boat ride from Maratua. Off the coast of Talisayan are several bagans, floating fishing platforms, where the whale sharks like to come to eat the residual catch. You have until lunchtime to dive or snorkel among these impressive sharks. NB: The whale sharks do not show up during the days around full moon!

Day 8 Terug naar Berau

After breakfast your driver will be waiting for you for a three-hour drive to the harbour. From the harbour it is two and a half hour by speedboat to the island of Maratua. The rest of the day is free. Overnight stay at Maratua resort.

Maratua Seaview resort

Maratua Seaview Resort is a newly built dive resort located in the southern part of beautiful Maratua Island, Kalimantan, Indonesia. Nestled on the edge of a forest and facing west into the azure expanse of the Celebes Sea, the resort offers tranquility and nearness with nature, combined with the comforts of modern amenities and the convenience of a fully equipped dive centre. Room amenities All rooms are fitted with air-conditioning, ensuite bathroom, hot and cold shower, hair dryer, towels and drinking water. The resort has 3 types of villa: Twin Villas These rooms are semi-detached units that face west into the sunset, and are perfect for large groups keen on staying social as the rooms share a common verandah. There is a sliding door partitioning off the verandah should you opt for some privacy. After a day of adventure and activities, bask in the glorious sunset at the verandah with some cold drinks from the restaurant which is conveniently situated nearby. Garden Villas The Garden Villas are private chalets tucked among the tropical trees and natural rock formations, offering a more cosy and enhanced sense of seclusion. Let the beautiful birdcalls wake you up in the morning, and spot multi-coloured butterflies just outside your room. Perfect for nature lovers and those who prefer a quiet environment. Seaview Villas These romantic suites sit atop rock outcrops that reach out over the sea, and some units have a rooftop deck for an uninhibited view of the beautiful Celebes horizon. The rooms are breezy and spacious, and open onto a private verandah, perfect for some book reading or just plain day dreaming together. Also, did we mention stargazing on a clear night on the rooftop deck is downright spectacular? meer info more info Informations supplémentaires

Dive spots Derawan Archipelago

Derawan archipel sive spots

Dive Season: The best months for diving are September to December and March to April but also the months between. The Moluccan islands have the seasons reversed from the rest of Indonesia, when they have the dry season, its rainy season in Indonesia.
Visibility: Usually is good (20-30m) except some muck sites close to the harbour or where sand is easily stirred up.
Water Temperature: 20C/68F – 27C/80F
Skill Levels: Dive sites are available from beginner through advanced.
Dive Access: Land based diving, boat diving and shore diving. Many live-aboard start and end their itinerary in Ambon. Good option to add land based diving at the beginning or ending end of you live-aboard trip.

North Maratua - Big Fish Country

Our famous channel with very strong currents opposite of Nabucco. Diving is only possible during incoming current. A reef hook is a must as the channel entry will be crossed. A huge school of barracudas, white and black tip reef sharks as well as eagle rays are the big attraction here. This is not an easy dive site, but definitely worth the effort! Before diving here you should have gained some experience with currents.

North Maratua - Small Fish Country

Juste à côté de BFC, vous pourrez profiter de ce récif de corail bien conservé et coloré. Beaucoup de fusiliers et une grande variété de poissons de récif vivent ici. Des rencontres surprenantes avec des poissons perroquets à bosse, les thons ou les raies aigles qui sont souvent de passage.

North Maratua - East Wall

Located between Nunukan and Nabucco this beautiful steep wall is worth a trip. Nurse sharks, leopard sharks, grey reef sharks or stingrays are quite common here.

North Maratua - Leos`s Point

South of BFC this sloping reef with sandy plateau on 27-30m is known for good sightings of big stingrays or leopard sharks. Next to colorful reeffish you can also find many different macro creatures.

North Maratua - Leo's Wall

Leo’s Wall starts on a slope and ends on a beautiful wall with overhangs. In the shallows you will find lobster, often banded sea snake or octopus. There is usually no strong current, so it is a good dive site to search for macro creatures.

South Maratua - Bantukan

Untouched colorful coral reef west of Nunukan. Many fish schools, sting rays or eagle rays can often be seen. As a nice change to the usual walls you dive here on a gentle slope from 5-15m depth with a sandy plateau at the bottom that shows plenty of coral blocks in between.

South Maratua - Ujung Karang Tinggi

This reef also starts with a gentle slope and continues with a steep wall. The huge variety of soft and hard corals is outstanding and gives many macro creatures good opportunities to hide. Often bumbhead parrotfish, travellies or tunas are passing by.

South Maratua - Pala Pala

A completely unexplored reef south of Nunukan. A fantastic wall until 30m with huge fan corals welcomes you here. Lots of small caves and overhangs provide spots for sleeping rays or nurse sharks. On the sandy bottom mantis shrimps, nudi branches and garden eels can be found.

South Maratua - Buli Gusungang

Here we also start the dive on a beautiful steep wall which is covered on colorful soft corals. An easy slope follows where on single coral blocks macro creatures can be watched. Don’t forget to look into the blue from time to time, sharks or dolphins like to pass by here!

Kakaban - Baraccuda Point

Spectacular dive site with strong currents where encounters with eagle rays, white and black tip reef sharks are not uncommon. A reef hook is a must as on the slope sometimes the current can push downwards. Towards the end of the dive a colorful steep wall with fantastic soft corals can be enjoyed. We recommend this dive site to advanced divers with experience in currents.

Kakaban Wall

A beautifully overgrown steep wall just next to the jetty of the famous jelly fish lake with a lot of macro creatures. The wall shows some holes and craters that invite you for exploring. Here is usually not much current to be expected.

Sangalaki - Manta Point

THE place to have an encounter with manta rays. The easy slope in front of Sangalaki is the feeding place for these elegant creatures. Next to the manta rays you find a sandy area on 5-15m with many coral blocks to discover macro creatures. Fusiliers, nudi branches, scorpionfish or sepia can be seen here.

Talisayan

Absolute hoogtepunt in Talisayan is zwemmen met de walvishaaien. Het hele jaar door, behalve rondom volle maan, komen de vissen van 5 tot wel 10 meter naar de bagans, drijvende vissersplatforms, om zich te goed te doen aan de restjes sprot. Talisayan ligt op een uur varen vanaf Derawan en Sangalaki en circa 1,5 uur van Maratua en Nabucco.

Maratua

Maratua

Maratua is a small island in the Derawan archipelago. The island of Maratua has three small villages. Since 2016, a small airport has been used for a weekly charter flight to Balikpapan.

Around Maratua it is of course fantastic snorkeling and diving. Within 20 minutes of sailing you will find about 20 dive sites, each with its specific character.

Climate

Berau

Berau (Tanjung Redeb)

Berau is the area in East Kalimantan, which also includes the Derawan archipelago. The capital Tanjung Redeb has an airport with several daily flights to Balikpapan and daily to Samarinda and Jakarta.
Berau is both the base for the Mystic Kalimantan tour of the east coast and to the Derawan archipelago. The city itself has little to offer.

Talisayan

Talisayan

The absolute highlight in Talisayan is swimming with the whale sharks. All year round, except around the full moon, fish from 5 to 10 meters come to the bagans, floating fishing platforms, to feast on the scraps of sprat.

A colorful Bajo (sea gypsies) village is located near Talisayan. A little further you will find the Labuan Cermin mirror lake with salt water on the surface and fresh water in the depth.