Komodo Diving: Highlights from Our 2019 Liveaboard Trip

Above and below water

Komodo was about far more than dragons

Komodo is immediately associated with its famous dragons, and seeing those enormous lizards during our 2019 visit was every bit as impressive as we had hoped. But the underwater world was just as memorable. Across the itinerary, we moved between current-swept reefs, calm muck sites, seagrass, black volcanic sand and coral scenery that seemed to change with every dive.

In 2019, sixteen of us travelled via Bali in both directions before spending eight days aboard the Indo Siren liveaboard. Our days settled into a wonderfully simple rhythm: dive, eat, talk about the dive—and do it all again.

Komodo below the surface

Fast water, big encounters and tiny discoveries

Each carefully planned dive felt different. At some sites we drifted with the current while sharks, barracuda and giant trevally hunted among dense schools of jacks and fusiliers. On others, we held position and watched manta rays pass astonishingly close overhead.

The encounter nobody expected

A dugong at Shotgun

The biggest surprise came while we were riding the current through the Shotgun dive site. We were extraordinarily lucky to see a dugong swim past—a brief encounter that instantly became one of the defining memories of the trip.

Turtles were far more regular companions. At one site there were so many that “turtle garden” felt like the only suitable name for it.

Colour against black sand

The volcanic sites looked unlike anywhere else

The volcanic sites on the itinerary were particularly striking. Coral colour stood out dramatically against the dark sand, and the coral cover at the places we visited looked exceptional. Even without a standout animal sighting, the reef scenery alone held our attention.

That variety was what made Komodo so compelling: gentle searching one dive, a fast drift the next, then mantas, turtles or a reef crowded with colour. No two dives felt interchangeable.