SeaTrek The Wonders of North Maluku: A Snorkelling, Wildlife & Cultural Adventure

13 Days/12 Nights

Your Time With Us

Ternate to Ternate

Ports of Call

Cruise Fare

Per Person

This 13-day trip is a brand-new itinerary that we have created for the 6-cabin Katharina in 2025 that will explore the many islands, forests, villages, reefs, and shoals of North Maluku at a slower pace than normal, with lots of cultural and wildlife and experiences combined with exploration, beach time and snorkeling on distant and unexplored reefs.

Whether it’s swimming with whale sharks & mantas rays, or leisurely gliding along a stunning tropical reef surrounded by myriad fish and corals, snorkelling lies at the very heart of what we do at SeaTrek. We do it well and we do it often – usually twice a day for an hour or more at a time. No matter if you are a novice or a seasoned pro, our tour leaders will ensure that you have everything you need to have some of the best underwater experiences of your life.

Our four-day orangutan programme that features in our Orangutans & Dragons itinerary can be worked into any of our SeaTrek cruises throughout the year, regardless of length or location, so just let us know if this is something you would like to do when visiting Indonesia and we will happily arrange it for you. We are also a wealth of information on other great destinations and wildlife and cultural excursions in Indonesia that can be added on to your SeaTrek cruise. The possibilities are endless so all you have to do is ask.

Our mission is to provide the best experience possible for our guests given the current conditions and when unexpected opportunities for adventure may present themselves along our cruise routes. Sometimes weather conditions, tides or other local factors dictate that we need to vary from the published route, and at times there are special opportunities to explore and discover new locations, events, and activities. These explorations will always be a definite enhancement to the published itinerary and will be undertaken after discussion and agreement among guests. Ultimately, the boat captains and your tour leader will make decisions to maximize trip safety and your overall enjoyment, so please come prepared to be flexible!

Our tour leaders are a wealth of information on the regions we visit and will prepare you for each activity with on board talks and presentations to give you a greater understanding of the different experiences you will have each day. They will also act as your cross-cultural bridges to all the people we meet along the way, so feel free to ask them to translate when talking to local Indonesian people on your travels.

– You will be collected from your hotel after breakfast and we will head straight to the Katharina, which will be waiting at anchor out in Ternate harbour.

– After settling into your cabins, we will have a safety briefing and orientation as we cruise for about 90 minutes to the north and enjoy our first snorkel of the trip.

– Back on the boat, we will have lunch as we spend the afternoon cruising north-east with the jungle and volcanic landscapes of Halmahera Island to our starboard side.

– Arriving after dark, we will spend a quiet night at anchor.

– After breakfast, we will head off to explore the local area in the tender boats. The area is renowned for its limestone outcrops. A big highlight of the day is to visit the Kahatola waterfall, which cascades directly into the sea in a beautiful, enclosed bay. We will also get a snorkel in before lunch on the boat.

– Later that afternoon, we will go for a second snorkel and then just before sunset we will raise anchor and head south for an overnight crossing to our next destination.

– We will wake up surrounded by volcanic peaks to the north and south off the island of Makian, where we will snorkel a beautiful local reef.

– In the mid-afternoon, we will go ashore to the village of Bastiong, where we will meet the friendly villages and walk through their fruit plantations and forest to a giant waterfall, where we can bathe in its cool clear waters. On our way back, the villagers will likely get their instruments out and give us a performance as we all sing and dance together.

– At sunset, we will raise the anchor and head south to a small chain of islands and spend the night at anchor.

– Today is a day of play as we snorkel, paddle board, kayak, snorkel and explore the beaches and reefs of the Sali and Kusu Islands.

– At sunset, we will move a short distance south to the island of Bacan and spend the night at anchor in anticipation some jungle exploration in search of some iconic Indonesian species.

– Today we will go ashore on Bacan to see the Golden Birdwing butterfly, one of nature’s biggest and most beautiful specimens. We will also stop at a village to see a copra processing plant. Along the way, we hope to encounter troupes of Black crested macaques that live here.

– We will visit a local hot spring in the afternoon, and after dinner we will head east for an overnight crossing to the Bajau “sea gypsy” village of Daworalamo.

– We will go ashore and be welcomed into the local community on Daworalamo, which is home to a large settlement of the famed Bajau people, who spend their entire lives living on and above the water.

– After lunch, we will snorkel on a local reef, and then later in the afternoon we will weigh anchor and head west in the direction of Bacan once more.

– We wake up at the port town of Labuan, Bacan’s capital. We will go ashore early to look for the Wallace Standardwing Bird of Paradise which is found in the forests near here.

– After a late breakfast on the boat, we will go back ashore and explore the vibrant life of this bustling seaside town.

– In the afternoon, we will visit Nusa Ra Island where we will spend time snorkelling, kayaking and paddle boarding.

– After dinner, we will make a short crossing to the north where we will spend a quiet night at anchor.

– This morning we will go ashore and meet with the local people of Mandioli village.

– After lunch, we will go by dingy to explore the river at Kasiruta to see the ruin of an old 17^th century fort.

– Today is a day of play as we spend time snorkelling, paddle boarding and exploring the local islands and reefs and beaches of North Kasiruta. The area is pristine and relatively untouched and known for its white sandy beaches, crystal clear turquoise water, which is ideal for snorkeling and swimming. The local called this place the “Raja Ampat of Kasiruta” because of its limestone formations and very picturesque setting.

– After dinner, we will make a short crossing to the north where we will spend a quiet night at anchor.

– Today we will visit the Guraici Archipelago, a chain of islands with white sandy beaches, vibrant coral reefs, and some lovely local villages. We will spend a full day here snorkelling, swimming and beachcombing. -The islands are part of a government-controlled conservation area, designed to protect the reefs and the many beautiful marine species that live there.

– We will also have the chance to see manta rays which are often found in these waters.

– Today we will celebrate the crossing of the Equator, with the crew performing some age-old rituals as old as the sea itself.

– In the morning we will go snorkelling, and then we will go ashore at Kaoya Island and visit the Equator monument.

– After lunch, we will explore some more and later in the afternoon go snorkelling once more.

– Today we will go ashore on Tidore Island, an island dominated by a massive volcano, and once a rival sultanate controlled by the Spanish while the Portuguese controlled Ternate just across the bay. We will visit a local blacksmith, and a couple of Spanish forts as we circle the island.

– After lunch, we will head over to Halmahera and visit Dodinga Village, a seminal place in the history of science, and the place where Victorian explorer and naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace (a contemporary of Charles Darwin) came up with the theory of natural selection.

– If we have time, we will go for a final snorkel in the late afternoon.

– Today marks the end of our adventure, but first we will head out for a tour of the city, which has retained its commercial and political importance as the administrative and trading centre of North Maluku.

– We will visit a couple of old Portuguese and Dutch forts and pay a visit to the Sultan’s Palace with its rich collection of heirlooms.