Indonesia Travel

Accommodations Review

The ship was beautiful and kept in excellent shape by the crew. A memorable experience to sail on Katharina. My only complaint was that the sails were not able to be put up.

Meals Review

The chef on Katharina was INCREDIBLE. Loved the food and the variety. Rotation of meals over the week was also highly enjoyable. 

Crew & Guides Review

Ari far exceeded our expectations. He knew so much about the local culture, the history of the area, the boat and the wildlife given his more than 20 years of experience. He also made sure that we had the best guides wherever we went. In addition, he was professional, friendly, approachable and organized.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

We had excellent communication with our AdventureSmith contact Nick. He answered all of our questions in a timely fashion and we were well prepared for the trip.

Meals Review

Great food and great crew!

Traveler Advice

Sea was a bit choppy the first couple of days, but not much you can do about that!

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

They helped us organize all our flights.  Even reached out to check in on us when there was an airport closure due to volcanic activity. 

Accommodations Review

The Ombak Putih is a special ship. We were in awe of all the beautiful wooden touches - rare to find in the modern ships of today! Stairs are on the steeper side on the ship, so we made good use of the railings when at sea.

Meals Review

We ate like kings. Lots of healthy options, salads and fresh fish, but many treats and temptations to overeat too. A bit too many fried options for my taste, but others on board enjoyed and much was authentic to Indonesia - lots fried banana for snacks! 24/7 coffee and tea much appreciated and honor system tracking to grab your own drinks aboard and pay for at the end.

Crew & Guides Review

The crew was friendly and helpful, always with a smoothie ready when we came back on board in the heat of the day. We loved our guides Arie and Kees, who provided the perfect combination of education and adventure with their lectures and their snorkeling skills.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

We would never have found this ship, or chosen this unique route, if it wasn't for AdventureSmith's advice and recommendation! Happy to have them as our sounding board for how to access the world's remote locations by small ship (we've done 3 trips). Their recommendations for us have always been spot on.

Traveler Advice

If you like to drink, take advantage of the opportunity to bring your own booze aboard to make your own cocktails! Bring a short wet suit or heavier rash guard top and tights as the water was on the cold side in certain locations.

Accommodations Review

The ship (Ombak Putih) was a beautiful, traditional, completely dialed Indonesian sailing vessel. The quarters below were not huge, but very clean, comfortable and as beautiful as the rest of the ship. Just the amount of hard work that went into this boat was breathtaking. We were lucky to have a small group (9), so there was plenty of deck space around to relax and not feel cramped. Even though this boat was equipped to sail if need be, we motored 99% of the time. We sailed 1 afternoon for fun, but there was no way we were going to cover the ground (almost 1000 miles) sailing the whole time.  Motor noise/exhaust was no issue at any time, night or day.

Meals Review

I couldn’t even think of anything I would change food wise. Amazing. Every stop we made, or local fisherman we saw, fresh fish and local goods were acquired. No food illness, water was processed on the boat etc. Beer was very reasonably priced. Cheaper than Mexico.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Unless you have months on your hands to stumble around foreign countries and really figure it out on your own, a quality specified travel agency like Adventuresmith is absolutely necessary for a trip of this caliber. Having firsthand knowledge of the ins and outs of small ship/remote world travel you’re in good hands. All connections and logistics where handled and everything operated smoothly. No problems.  Having spent so much of my life on the ocean, I love boats, marine life and accessing coastlines via a small boat or ship.  To me it really is the best way to travel. Whether you tie up in a large bustling port city, or anchor off a remote beach, it’s a whole different perspective than land travel. I look forward to another amazing boat trip with Adventuresmith in the future. 

Crew & Guides Review

Ari was our main guide. He was exceptional. An Indonesian and Sulawesi local. Though we had people from all over the world on the boat, English was primarily spoken and Ari was absolutely fluent. No missed communications, or misunderstandings, he was 1 step ahead all the time, with the safety of the group the priority. There were times we didn’t swim, go ashore, or go to certain areas because the Captain and Ari deemed it unsafe, mostly due to ocean conditions. Spending most of my life around the ocean, I understood and respected what they were talking about. This was very comforting to know how attentive they were.  Due to our remoteness on this trip, there was no margin for error or injury.  This isolation became evident not long after we set out, and the crew operated accordingly.  There was no hot dogging or showing off, it was all business.  One instance in particular we were snorkeling around a deep water reef with a lot of current.  We had 2 zodiacs in the water tending to the swimmers.  A large, Rogue dive boat trying to track across the channel started to get swept toward us under full power.  Ari in the zodiac recognize this immediately, drove the zodiac in front of the dive boat and started screaming at the captain.  The boat turned, got swept down current and had to come up the long way to the anchorage.  Without his quick response the boat would have come very close to us.  I was watching it all unfold and would have swam out of the way, but I can’t say that for the rest of the snorkelers, focused on the sea turtles!  Kees was also another exceptional guide.  Having moved to Jakarta from Europe 20 years ago he knew the culture quite well.  His expertise in birding was an eye opener for me.  Most nights he put on informative presentations regarding the next day’s adventures.  Another very smart, professional guide we enjoyed very much.