Satonda Island liveaboard: the crater lake and the reef around it

By Sumbawa Liveaboard Editorial Desk

Yes, a liveaboard can stop at Satonda: Coralia's Labuan Bajo round trip and Sumbawa Tour's private 4D/3N name it as a stop, and Neptune One's Bali crossing passes it, with a landing not stated. The island offers two separate experiences, a crater lake inside it and a dive reef outside it. The programmes differ, so read each itinerary before you pay.

Where is Satonda, and how does it fit a route?

Satonda is a small volcanic island off Sumbawa's north coast, in Pekat District of Dompu Regency. Its encyclopedia entry gives the size as about 3 by 2 km and the map position as about 8.111 S, 117.746 E, and places it less than 30 km north-west of Tambora. An island that size works as a stop on a longer route, and the itineraries further down this page all treat it as one line among several.

Legally it sits inside Moyo Satonda National Park. The West Nusa Tenggara provincial government reports that the park dates from Ministerial Decree SK.901/MENLHK/SETJEN/PL.2/8/2022, and that its area falls across two regencies, Dompu among them. Size, status, permits and what a visitor might be charged are covered on our Moyo Satonda National Park page.

On a map, Satonda belongs to the north-coast line that a Sumbawa liveaboard follows. Komodo Resort describes Neptune One following that coast past Moyo and Satonda toward Gili Banta. Boats starting from Sumbawa Besar reach it far sooner: Sumbawa Tour's programme goes from Goa harbour to Satonda before its whale shark mornings. Our comparison of routes by start point and length shows how those patterns differ. If your itinerary only has room for one island, read whether Moyo or Satonda deserves the time.

What do guests usually do on a Satonda stop?

What operators publish falls into three patterns, and they tell you different things about your day.

• Dive-led. Coralia's sample itinerary names a site called Sumbawa Surprise and a night dive at Satonda, which implies a boat that stays into the evening.
• Sightseeing-led. Sumbawa Tour lists Satonda as a stop on its short private programme. Ask what the visit includes, because a place name on an itinerary says little about your hours there.
• Passing through. Komodo Resort's description of Neptune One says the route runs past Moyo and Satonda. That word alone does not tell you whether guests land, so ask.

What happens ashore and at dusk on Satonda?

Sumbawa Tour's three-day programme is the only timed account we have opened. It gives a hike to the viewpoint from 08:00 to 09:30, a descent to the lake by about 10:25, a swim until 11:00, and then the beach for snorkelling until 12:00, about four hours ashore in all. Neptune Scuba Diving calls it a short walk from the beach to the rim, and Liveaboard Indonesia a short trek from the anchorage. Those accounts do not settle how steep it is, so ask what the path is like for the least mobile person in your group. We found no park rule on swimming in the lake.

The other event happens at sunset. Dive The World says a large colony of fruit bats leaves the island every evening to feed, in the thousands, and Liveaboard Indonesia and Neptune describe the same flight. Only a boat still at Satonda at dusk will see it. Sumbawa Tour's three-day programme arrives around 18:00 and sleeps there, and Coralia's sample includes a night dive, while a midday stop on a crossing would miss it. Dive The World says the sheltered bay suits a night dive, with clown frogfish, crinoids and banded boxer shrimp on the sand and coral patches. Ask what time your boat arrives and leaves.

What can divers and snorkellers expect outside the crater?

Komodo Resort lists Satonda dive depths of 10 to 35 m. The same page gives Moyo reefs as 5 to 30 m and Saleh Bay as 5 to 18 m, so on that operator's figures Satonda starts deeper and goes deeper than either. Those are one company's numbers for the sites it dives.

Coralia's sample round trip from Labuan Bajo, over 10 nights, takes in Moyo, Saleh Bay and Satonda and totals about 30 to 32 dives. It does not fix a share for Satonda, and it warns that the itinerary may change. On certification, Komodo Resort singles out Gili Banta, not Satonda, for Advanced certification, as our diving guide explains.

Snorkellers have less to go on, since the depth range above describes diving. Ask the crew where the reef top sits, and whether a tender stays with snorkellers while divers are down. Our guide to joining a trip without diving has the wider question list.

What is the lake like, in plain terms?

A 77-hectare lake fills the caldera, in two intersecting craters. A hydrochemical study describes a stratified, mildly alkaline lake, linked to the sea and poor in species, with calcareous reefs built by cyanobacteria and red algae. That description matters for expectations: this is a landscape and a piece of geology, and you should not picture a lagoon full of reef fish.

The contrast is the point of the stop. According to the same encyclopedia entry, species are extremely few in the lake, yet the reef in the open sea, just 100 m from it, is diverse. You look at the lake for what it is, then you return to the sea for marine life. The chemistry, the word "salty" and the question of swimming are handled on our page asking whether Satonda crater lake is salty.

What local customs surround the lake?

Sea Trek, a sailing operator, reports that residents of Nangamiro village tie a small stone or a piece of coral to wishing trees at the lake. That account comes second-hand through a company that sells voyages there, so treat it as a local tradition relayed by an outsider. It is not a listed visitor activity.

Sensible behaviour follows from that. Look and photograph without handling what others have tied. Ask your guide whether visitors are welcome to take part before you do. Because the island lies inside a national park, do not gather coral for the purpose, and ask first.

Which published trips name Satonda?

These products belong to the sellers named, set out so you can read them for yourself. They are not our trips, and only the operator can say whether a departure is open.

Treat each of these as what the company hopes to run. If a named stop decides your booking, have the operator confirm it for your own dates. For the short format, see our page on 4D/3N trips from Sumbawa Besar, and for the long one, the Bali to Komodo crossing guide. Coralia and Sumbawa Tour both name Moyo and the Saleh Bay whale shark stop in the same itinerary as Satonda.

Which months make a Satonda stop more likely?

Satonda lies on the north side of Sumbawa, so season shapes which boats come by. Neptune's site says few boats attempt the crossing between December and March, when swell from the northwest monsoon reaches this coast. A climate guide to Sumbawa puts the rainy season at December to March and the dry season at June to September.

Read together, those point to the drier months for a north-coast passage, though one describes weather and the other an operator's view, and neither gives sea state for Satonda itself. Our page on timing a Sumbawa liveaboard weighs seas against whale shark claims.

How much does a Satonda stop cost on its own?

We found no published rate for Satonda alone, because trips are sold whole. The useful question is what the entire trip costs and whether island fees sit inside that number. Our guide to Sumbawa liveaboard costs gathers published rates and extras, and the 2027 rates page covers dated departures.

What should you ask before paying for a Satonda stop?

1. Is Satonda fixed on this departure, or subject to sea conditions and the boat's timing?
2. Do guests go ashore to the lake, or is this a dive stop only?
3. How long is the visit ashore, and what is the walk like for the least mobile person in our group?
4. How many dives are planned here, and is one of them at night?
5. What replaces Satonda if the boat skips it?
6. Are national park charges inside the rate, or paid separately?

Ask for the answers in the same written thread as the booking.

What else should you know about a Satonda stop?

Can a Sumbawa liveaboard visit Satonda's crater lake?

Yes, some do, though published itineraries do not all spell out a landing. Ask whether guests go ashore on your departure before you count on seeing the lake.

Is Satonda part of a national park?

Yes. It belongs to Moyo Satonda National Park, which the West Nusa Tenggara provincial government reports was established by ministerial decree in 2022.

Is certification needed to enjoy the stop?

No. The lake sits inside the island, so seeing it does not depend on diving, provided your boat lands guests. The reef outside is where certification comes into play.

Is Satonda the same stop as Tambora?

No. Satonda is its own island, and Tambora is the volcano to its south-east. A trip can name one without the other, so check both separately.

Can a named Satonda stop change?

Yes. Coralia warns that its sample itinerary may change, so read any named stop as the operator's plan and confirm it for your dates.

Which sources support this page?

• Satonda Island, encyclopedia entry (Wikipedia)
• Decision establishing Moyo Satonda National Park, West Nusa Tenggara provincial government
• Satonda Crater Lake hydrogeochemistry study (ResearchGate)
• Sumbawa liveaboard page with site depths and the Neptune One crossing, Komodo Resort
• Coralia sample itinerary, Komodo and Sumbawa from Labuan Bajo (PDF)
• 4D/3N private liveaboard programme, Sumbawa Tour
• Satonda lake and its wishing trees, Sea Trek
• Sumbawa liveaboard crossing and season notes, Neptune Scuba Diving
• Sumbawa climate guide, Climates to Travel
• Sumbawa Tour: Liveaboard Tour 3 Days 2 Nights
• Liveaboard Indonesia: Sumbawa
• Dive The World: Sumbawa diving guide

How do I reach the desk?

Write with the month and how much the lake matters to you compared with the diving: WhatsApp 6281139414563, or bd@juaraholding.com.