Komodo Diving Liveaboard from Labuan Bajo

A shakedown dive, then the pinnacle everyone comes for.

1. 08:00

   Pickup, harbour, gear set-up and buddy check on the dive deck. Certification cards and logbooks are checked here, so bring them.

2. 10:00

   Dive 1, Siaba Besar. A shallow, currentless bay used as the check dive: weighting, trim and a look at your kit before anything with current. Turtles on the sea grass make it a pleasant one rather than a chore.

3. 13:00

   Dive 2, Batu Bolong. A pinnacle rising from deep water, dived on the sheltered side because the current splits around it. The wall is solid coral from five metres down and holds the densest fish life in the park. The dive is planned in one direction on the slack and the guide will abort it if the timing slips.

4. 16:00

   Dive 3, Mawan. A gentle drift over sand and coral bommies with manta cleaning stations at the north end.

5. 19:30

   Optional night dive at Wainilu. Muck diving rather than reef: frogfish, nudibranchs, mandarinfish at dusk. Skip it if three dives is enough.

The northern sites, and the reason the trip is a liveaboard.

1. 05:30

   Coffee on deck. The boat has moved north overnight and is on site at first light, which is when the trevally and sharks are hunting.

2. 06:00

   Dive 1, Castle Rock. A submerged seamount with no reference to the surface, dived on a negative entry with a reef hook. Grey reef sharks, big schools of fusiliers and a wall of trevally on the current side. This is an advanced dive and the current is the whole point of it.

3. 09:30

   Dive 2, Crystal Rock. The same water, a shallower pinnacle that tops out at five metres, so the safety stop is on the reef. Better visibility than Castle Rock and easier to photograph.

4. 13:00

   Dive 3, The Cauldron, also called Shotgun. A channel between two islands where the tide accelerates and shoots you through a narrowing gap into a bowl. Timed to the slack, then ridden on the flood. The most fun dive in the park and the one that most needs the guide's tide table.

5. 17:00

   Anchor at Gili Lawa. The climb up the hill for sunset is worth doing on a surface interval.

Mantas at the cleaning station, then a drift home.

1. 06:30

   Dive 1, Karang Makassar, the Manta Point. A drift along a rubble field where reef mantas queue at cleaning stations. Divers stay low and still on the bottom and let the animals come, which they do if nobody chases them.

2. 09:30

   Dive 2, Tatawa Besar. A soft-coral drift, orange from end to end, with no work involved. A good last dive because it is shallow and leaves a long surface interval before flying.

3. 12:00

   Lunch under way, gear rinsed and hung by the crew.

4. 15:00

   Alongside at Labuan Bajo. No flying for 18 hours after the last dive, so book your flight out for the following day.