Ambon & Spice Islands Cruise
Embrace nature, culture, and wildlife on an exclusive adventure discovering East Indonesia’s Spice Islands.
Hidden Gems of the Banda Sea
Discover the remote islands of the Banda Sea, steeped in rich history and home to wealth of marine biodiversity.
Setting sail from the rustic Indonesian port city of Ambon, Aqua Blu’s Spice Islands cruise heads across the Banda Sea to the Maluku Islands, a destination steeped in historical significance and endowed with both unspoilt nature and culture. As the place of origin of nutmeg, a spice that was worth more than gold in terms of weight, the Spice Islands were the Holy Grail for famous Old World explorers including Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan, who sought but never managed to find it.
Along this route, guests will find some of the world’s most pristine sites for diving and snorkeling, featuring coral gardens, lava flows, and a wealth of biodiversity. With daily underwater excursions – led by expert guides – there will be opportunities to encounter schools of tropical fish, rays, sea snakes, and possibly even hammerhead sharks.
Trip highlights
Pulau ManukThis lone volcanic crater island in the Banda Sea rises 3,000 from the sea floor. The easternmost volcano of Indonesia, Pulau Manuk rises from the bottom of the Banda Sea that’s nearly 10,000 feet deep. Here, marine life is equally impressive, with many pelagic species such as sharks visiting the underwater springs of Pulau Manuk to warm themselves. The surrounding waters are also home to one of the largest aggregation of sea snakes on Earth.
Nusa LautLying to the east of Ambon, the island of Nusa Laut is home to some stunning hard coral seascapes that can be witnessed while diving or snorkeling. This island is a heartening story of successful, locally-led marine conservation; on the northeast coast, the villagers of Ameth and Akon keep a close eye on the shoreline to deter any unauthorized fishing boats.
Banda NeiraThe epicenter of the Old World global spice trade, Banda Neira is a kaleidoscope of tradition, culture, nature and wildlife. Banda Neira’s claim to fame originated with the myristica tree. Once found only on the Spice Islands, the tree was the source of nutmeg and mace. Today in Banda Indonesia, the oldest nutmeg plantations in the world remain, and like the Alba truffles of Italy, Banda nutmeg is still regarded as the highest grade varietal of the spice in the world.
Pulau RunIt’s difficult to imagine now, but this remote island village was once worth as much as Manhattan. In the middle of the 17th century, all but one of the Spice Islands – the British-controlled Pulau Run – were under Dutch rule. After tiring of Dutch hostility, the British eventually exchanged Pulau Run for a then-swampy strip of North American land which has now come to be known as Manhattan.The rest, as they say, is history.
AmbonThe vibrant capital of Maluku province offers a fantastic introduction to the region. Serving as the gateway to the Spice Islands, Ambon is renowned in the circles of natural history as the ‘Galapagos of Asia’. While Charles Darwin was coming up with his theory of natural selection in Galapagos, his contemporary Alfred Russell Wallace was taking up residence in the Spice Islands’ cities and towns, primarily Ambon, and coming up with arguably a more complete version of a similar theory based on his observations of the region’s wildlife.- Pulau ManukThis lone volcanic crater island in the Banda Sea rises 3,000 from the sea floor. The easternmost volcano of Indonesia, Pulau Manuk rises from the bottom of the Banda Sea that’s nearly 10,000 feet deep. Here, marine life is equally impressive, with many pelagic species such as sharks visiting the underwater springs of Pulau Manuk to warm themselves. The surrounding waters are also home to one of the largest aggregation of sea snakes on Earth.
- Nusa LautLying to the east of Ambon, the island of Nusa Laut is home to some stunning hard coral seascapes that can be witnessed while diving or snorkeling. This island is a heartening story of successful, locally-led marine conservation; on the northeast coast, the villagers of Ameth and Akon keep a close eye on the shoreline to deter any unauthorized fishing boats.
- Banda NeiraThe epicenter of the Old World global spice trade, Banda Neira is a kaleidoscope of tradition, culture, nature and wildlife. Banda Neira’s claim to fame originated with the myristica tree. Once found only on the Spice Islands, the tree was the source of nutmeg and mace. Today in Banda Indonesia, the oldest nutmeg plantations in the world remain, and like the Alba truffles of Italy, Banda nutmeg is still regarded as the highest grade varietal of the spice in the world.
- Pulau RunIt’s difficult to imagine now, but this remote island village was once worth as much as Manhattan. In the middle of the 17th century, all but one of the Spice Islands – the British-controlled Pulau Run – were under Dutch rule. After tiring of Dutch hostility, the British eventually exchanged Pulau Run for a then-swampy strip of North American land which has now come to be known as Manhattan.The rest, as they say, is history.
Getting there
Embarkation
Ambon
Meeting point: Pattimura International Airport (AMQ)
Transfer duration: 45 minutes
Embarkation point: Ambon Harbor
Embarkation time: 4:30PM
Disembarkation
Ambon
Disembarkation point: Ambon Harbor
Disembarkation time: 6:00AM
Transfer duration: 45 minutes
Drop off point: Pattimura International Airport (AMQ)
Our yacht sailing East Indonesia
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