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

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

This tour module takes you to the bounty island of Nabucco in the Derawan archipelago. The main goal is of course diving or snorkeling.

Large sea turtles, manta rays, dolphins, sharks and barracudas (just to name a few) are abundant spotting!

The tour module starts every Saturday with the charter flight from Balikpapan to Maratua.

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

€ 1.295 p.p. in Garden bungalow based on participation of 2 persons
Extra dives approx. € 40 per dive
Included:
•Domestic charter flights Balikpapan-Maratua and vice versa
•Boat transfers from airport to resort and vice versa
•Accommodation on half board basis (except day of arrival and departure)
•Dive package 10 dives
•Water, coffee and tea

Not included:
•Other flights
•Extra dives, surcharge distant diving locations and rent diving equipment
•Other meals
•Soft and alcoholic drinks
•Tips and personal expenses
•Travel and cancellation insurances
•Booking costs and Calamiteitenfonds contribution € 30 per booking
•SGR contribution € 5 per person
•CO2 compensation € 22 per person

From Balikpapan to Nabucco

Garuda Indonesia carries out a charter flight for Nabucco island resort from Balikpapan to Maratua on Saturday. The flight leaves at 14:15 and arrives at Maratua airport around 15:30. An employee is ready for your transfer to the resort.

Nabucco dive package 10 dives

The dive package consists of 10 dives, including dive master and boat. Rental of diving equipment (€ 25 per day) not included Surcharges for day trips to Sangalaki and Kakaban

Diving at Nabucco

This week you are a guest at the Nabucco 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 can be slightly less than in the other months. Water temperature: 25C - 28C Dive level: dive sites are available for beginners to advanced divers.

Back to Balikpapan

The last day the speedboat will pick you up on time to bring you back for the flight from Maratua to Balikpapan. Departure is at 16:00, arrival 17:15. Enough time for your flight to Jakarta.

Nabucco Island resort

The small scale Nabucco Island resort is a paradise for divers and snorkelers. The resort has 17 rooms spread over 8 double bungalows and one family bungalow. The resort has its own diving center, from where you can make beautiful dives between sharks, manta rays and also many small tropical fish. All rooms have air conditioning, hot running water and a private terrace with a view over the sea. meer info more info Informations supplémentaires

Nabucco

Nabucco

Nabucco is one of the islands in the Maratua Atol, about 50 km off the coast of East Kalimantan.
Appealing dive sites are Big Fish Reef, where you come face to face with sharks, barracudas and rays.
Sangalaki is known for the numerous manta rays that are almost always to be found here. Giant turtles are always seen there.
With some 30 dive locations in the area you can easily dive 2 weeks long.


Climate

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.