Can you join a Sumbawa liveaboard without diving?

By Sumbawa Liveaboard Editorial Desk

Sourced figures: prices in the table are published by the operators and guides named, with source and check month. They are not our offers, and they change. Nothing here is legal or medical advice.

Yes. You can join without diving, and the closest published fit is the 15-day Naga Biru voyage from Tropical Snorkeling, built around snorkelling. Sumbawa Tour's private 4D/3N from Sumbawa Besar also lists snorkel gear. On a dive boat the day follows the dive schedule, so ask what non-divers will do before you pay.

Are there trips designed for snorkellers?

Few are published among the Sumbawa liveaboard trips we checked, and only one is a long voyage. Tropical Snorkeling runs a 15-day West Komodo and Sumbawa trip, one way between Bali and Labuan Bajo, aboard Naga Biru, which takes 12 guests in seven cabins. Conditions decide the sequence of stops, it says, so it is sold as a pattern and not a timetable. Its cabin band, and the half-day rate listed below, are shown in this page's price table.

The other options are not snorkelling products as such, but a non-diver can use them. Here is how they differ.

If your group mixes divers and non-divers, the short private format should give you the most say over the programme, because the whole boat is yours to discuss. If you travel alone and do not dive, a cabin on a snorkel-led voyage means everyone around you shares your schedule.

What can non-divers do at Saleh Bay?

This is the stop where not diving costs you least. Ocean Earth Travels says the bay is a deep sheltered inlet, roughly 70 m in parts, yet encounters happen within the top few metres, close to the platforms. So the whale shark encounter is at snorkelling depth, on that operator's account, and Amanwana goes further by offering viewing from the boat with no need to enter the water.

Expect an early start. Kompas puts the prime window between about 05.30 and 09.00 WITA, so a land-based trip leaves around 03.00. A liveaboard may sit closer to the site, but ask how far the tender ride is. Nor is a sighting assured: Sumbawa Tour says it can neither promise one nor refund you if sea conditions get in the way.

The conduct rules apply just as much to someone floating at the surface, and our page on the rules for these encounters sets them out. Our Saleh Bay liveaboard guide explains how the trips are put together.

Set your expectations for the water as well. Liveaboard Indonesia gives Saleh Bay visibility as typically 10 to 15 m because the water is plankton-rich, so do not expect clear-water photographs. Amanwana's guest rules also ask guests to remove jewellery and use coral-reef friendly sunscreen, requests that make sense for a snorkeller on any boat.

What about Moyo and Satonda on land?

Both give a non-diver a real reason to be there. On Moyo, The Langkah, a local operator, says a motorbike taxi from Labuan Aji and about a 5-minute walk bring you to Mata Jitu and its several pools, which run hardest as the rains end, in April and May. By a June crossing you are past that window, so ask how the falls are running. The encyclopedia entry for Moyo adds wildlife for anyone walking: deer, wild pigs, wild bovines, long-tail macaques, and bats of 21 species with flying foxes among them. Komodo Resort suggests hiking shoes for the island. Our Moyo Island guide has the detail.

Satonda's main sight for a non-diver is its crater lake, inside the island, which needs no certificate at all. The catch is that an itinerary naming Satonda may mean only a dive stop. Our Satonda guide lists what to confirm. On a dive-focused boat, ask whether land visits go ahead when the divers would prefer another dive.

Can you swim near a volcano?

Some operators describe doing it. Tropical Snorkeling writes of snorkellers among bubbles coming up through Sangeang's black sand, and Arenui's sample itinerary places a site called Hot Rocks in the shallows, with volcanic gas bubbling up through the seabed. Another source, Liveaboard Indonesia, places the Hot Rocks vents at 5 to 15 m, a range that reaches well below what most snorkellers will see closely, so ask how shallow the bubbles run on the day.

Sangeang Api is an active complex volcano, and the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, citing Indonesian authorities, records an eruption on 30 May 2014 that took the alert level to 3 out of 4. Check the alert status close to the date and let the captain decide. Whether a given trip goes there at all is another matter, covered in does a Sumbawa liveaboard visit Sangeang.

What should a non-diver ask a dive boat?

A dive boat can work for a non-diver, but its rate and rhythm assume tanks. Komodo Resort, for one, lists scheduled dives with tanks and weights among its inclusions, along with snorkelling gear. We have not found a published non-diver rate for any boat, so ask.

1. Is there a reduced rate for a guest who does not dive, or do I pay for dives I will not make?
2. How many dives a day are scheduled, and what happens on board in between?
3. Does a tender take snorkellers out while divers are down, and who stays with them?
4. Is a guide assigned to snorkellers, or do we look after ourselves?
5. Do you supply fins? Green Rinjani lists snorkel equipment without fins on its boat, and Sumbawa Tour's list leaves them out too. Ask about a life vest at the same time.
6. Which land visits are firm, and which depend on what divers want?

Two more points fall on you. Australia's travel advice says to take care swimming or snorkelling near motor-powered boats, which is exactly where you will be when tenders are running. It also warns against assuming that insurance covers adventure activities, so read your policy for snorkelling from a boat as well as for diving.

What else do non-divers want to know?

Can non-divers enjoy a Sumbawa liveaboard trip?

Yes, on the right boat. One operator reports whale shark encounters in the top few metres, and Moyo and Satonda both have land visits. A boat scheduled tightly around dives will suit you less.

Do you need to swim to see the whale sharks?

No, on at least one published excursion. Amanwana lets guests watch from the boat or snorkel, though that trip runs from its resort.

Is snorkel gear included?

Yes on several published lists, but check the details. Komodo Resort lists snorkelling gear as included, while Sumbawa Tour and Green Rinjani both list gear that stops short of fins.

Is there a lower rate for non-divers?

None is published that we have found. Komodo Resort's listed rate bundles scheduled dives, so ask each operator directly.

Which sources support this page?

• West Komodo and Sumbawa snorkelling trip, Tropical Snorkeling
• 4D/3N private liveaboard programme, Sumbawa Tour
• Amanwana whale shark experience trade guide, Aman (PDF)
• Whale sharks of Saleh Bay, Ocean Earth Travels
• Report on people and whale sharks, Kompas
• Moyo Island guide, The Langkah
• Moyo Island, encyclopedia entry (Wikipedia)
• Sumbawa liveaboard page, Komodo Resort
• Sample Komodo and Sumbawa itinerary, Arenui
• Sumbawa destination guide, Liveaboard Indonesia
• Sangeang Api, Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program
• Sangeang Api, encyclopedia entry (Wikipedia)
• Komodo to Lombok four-day trip, Green Rinjani
• Indonesia travel advice, Australian Government Smartraveller

How do I reach the desk?

Say who dives and who does not: WhatsApp 6281139414563, or bd@juaraholding.com.