My family and I just returned from a four-day live aboard dive trip on the Amalia, which I chartered so we could do what we wanted. My son is 15 and has logged about 20 dives, so I was a bit concerned about their ability to dive Komodo, given the strong currents it is known for, but I was thrilled to see him diving at such an advanced level - completely neutral buoyancy, calm in currents - that we were able to do all of the advanced dives that the northern Komodo area offers. Highlights were Batu Balong, Crystal Rock, Castle Rock and the Cauldron. My daughter is not a big diver but did a few of the easy dives. Bottom line - the diving here is spectacular. I have dived in many places around Indonesia and the world, and would say Komodo is better than Fiji and perhaps on par or close to Raja Ampat. It might have not quite as many fish as Raja Ampat, but the diversity of life across the dives, and the exciting currents make for spectacular diving. Swimming in huge schools of swirling fusiliers with jacks on the hunt, having sharks swim towards you out of curiosity and lack of fear, seeing hundreds of different species, coral upon coral, awesome currents such as the 'shotgun' on the Cauldron dive. All of it is world class.

I love that the entire area is a national park with protected reefs, so the only other boats or people you see are dive boats and some local fishing boats - no large boats or ships, no towns, no pollution, no human development. This pristine wilderness above and below, on land and at sea. It's awesome. The topside attraction is clearly the Komodo dragons but note they are tough to spot in July/August due to the mating season, which was something I read about but our boat downplayed a bit. We did an extended hike, which was a great call because it was only on the extension that we came across a male and female basking in the sun overlooking the ocean.

The Amalia is a ton of fun, with loads of character and great food. The crew and dive staff are completely professional, highly service oriented and very friendly. They made the trip as stress free as possible. Rian was our dive master and he made us feel at ease and completely safe under water. The whole staff took great care of us while on the boat. I slept up top in the open air every night and we spent our time between dives lounging on the deck, eating and visiting remote beaches. The food was great and they were creative in coming up with options for us whether snorkeling, visiting beaches, stand up paddling or jumping off the top of the boat. It was a blast for the whole family.

We are pretty sturdy travelers and if you are into luxury accommodations this might not be for you. The cabins are snug, the bathrooms very snug and things are not as immaculate as you'd get in a high end hotel. They should be, and we didn't care, but high end travelers might, so just a heads up.

Overall a 5 star experience! Thank you again to the Amalia team!!!