Indonesia is increasingly appearing on the must-visit lists for megayachts. From the beauty of Bali to the rugged coastline of southern Flores, Indonesia provides some spectacular scenery. It also provides the opportunity to swim in pristine waters, meet indigenous people, and above all, have an unforgettable experience. However, yacht-specific facilities are still in development, so tapping local knowledge is key.
Jimmy Blee and Richard Lofthouse of Asia Pacific Superyachts, which provides logistical and technical support to yachts, have extensive experience in the region. They are accustomed to being called on around the clock and to be quite hands-on. In fact, Indonesia is a place where hands-on contact is quite important, and face-to-face meetings make for more success.
The following Megayacht News Destinations Guide features a sample itinerary that they can arrange for you and your guests. Blee and Lofthouse say that March is an ideal time to visit.
Day 1: Bali to Moyo Island
Bali, Island of the Gods. The Gods must have been asleep when they made facilities for superyachts. Changes are afoot, and we hope to see more international-class facilities in the future both here and further afield. Nevertheless, we’ll do all the clearances, fueling, provisions, etc. here prior to your and your guests’ arrival. Once done, we’ll head East to Moyo to stand by for your arrival into Ngurah Rai International Airport.
You’ll be VIP cleared through the airport, picked up, and delivered to the charter float plane. It’s approximately a one-hour flight from Bali, over the stunning Rinjani volcano in Lombok (the pilot will even circle a time or two so you can get some photos), and onwards to Moyo Island. The pilot will land on the water right next to where the yacht is waiting.
Day 2: Moyo Island & Satonda
This beautiful nature reserve is located off the northwest tip of Sumbawa. It provides a great anchorage as well as wonderful snorkeling and land activity. As we approach, you’ll see a jetty, and then, set in the jungle, almost camouflaged, are 20 white luxury tents. They’re part of the Amanwana resort.
We can spend half a day in Moyo, enjoying snorkeling/diving/the beach. You can also use Aman’s resort facilities if required (charged for, of course), and we can organize land tours to a beautiful waterfall through them. The resort has a very nice restaurant for lunch, too. Afterwards, we’ll move to Satonda, where we can visit a crater lake, the beach, and snorkel.
The evening sees an overnight run to Komodo. In the early morning of Day 3, we’ll run past Sangang Volcano and Banta Island.
Day 3: Komodo
Anchor in the northern bay of Komodo. Spend the morning on the beach or diving/snorkeling and, of course, looking at/out for the famed Komodo dragons!
After lunch, we’ll move to spend the afternoon at the beautiful Pink Beach on eastern Komodo.
We’ll make a night run along the south side of Flores to Aimere for guests to experience Ngada on Day 4.
Day 4: Ngada Tribes – Bajawa and Bena
Once the guests are onshore, we then have a short drive (<2km) to Bajawa, and from there we have various options to visit local villages. The best and most traditional is Bena (pictured below) and is <10km from Bajawa. We will organize decent transport and a guide. It makes a great half- to full-day trip and is certainly an experience!
Traditionally, the Ngada people consider themselves to have come from Java centuries ago. However, the monoliths that are found in the villages have their roots as far afield as Laos and Malaysia. Other traditional symbols are the ngadhu and bhaga. The ngadhu is a carved umbrella-shaped structure about 3 meters high, while the bhaga is a mini thatched house. Both are symbols of ancestors, and each pair is associated with one family in the village. The major annual festival is the six-day Reba ceremony at Bena, which takes place in late December or early January and includes singing, dancing, and buffalo sacrifices. Village life still runs along traditional lines, with ikat weaving, carving, and pottery prevalent.
Pre-arrival, we’ll investigate the possibilities of staying at the village overnight, as permission must be sought from the kepala desa, or head man. We’ll set up as many cultural experiences as we can here for the guests to enjoy, as this rich society has remained pretty much in isolation for centuries.
Assuming we are able to stay overnight, we will do so. The yacht remains at Aimere for our departure on Day 5.
Day 5: Ngada Villages to South Rinca
After Bena, we proceed South to Nage village (approx 7km), stopping first for the option of a thermal power shower at Malange Mata Air Panas (hot springs).
At Nage we can also see ngadhu and bhaga (male and female dedicated monuments) and tombs. The village also gives us amazing views of Inerie volcano (2,245 meters).
From Nage we head back to Aimere, rejoin the boat, and we cruise back west, taking in the stunning and rugged coastline of South Flores. Highlights will be the dramatic Pulau Mules rising out of the ocean. We will end the day by anchoring in the horseshoe bay at the southern part of Rinca on the inside of Pulau Kode.
Day 7: South Rinca to North Rinca
Depending on the timings of the previous day, we can either spend the morning at the horseshoe bay and then head up to North Rinca in the afternoon, or just head directly north in the early morning. Either way, there’s lots to see on land and along the ocean.
North Rinca presents a much more natural Komodo dragon viewing opportunity. Here we get a chance to see them much more in the wild. They can often be seen stalking along the beach or simply sunning themselves on rocks. Either way, an awesome experience.
Overnight, we’ll make a run to Labuan Bajo, for everyone’s departure back home in the morning.
Day 8: Departure, Labuan Bajo Airport
For the return home, we’ll drop guests off at Labuan Bajo Airport in the morning. There are two options from here:
- Private jet: We can position a private jet at the airport. However, we cannot clear the country from here, so would have to fly back to Bali, clear out, and then proceed home from there
- Commercial: If the above is unnecessarily costly and difficult, we can fly either commercial or charter from Lab Bajo back to Bali, where we meet the private jet or send guests onward via an international flight.
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