Alor Archipelago, May 2026 snorkeling trip report

Date: April 28 – May 10, 2026

Water temp: 28 C / 82 F in the north, 26.5 C / 80 F in the south

Seas: Generally calm, some light chop

Alor and Pantar Strait

Our snorkeling tour to Alor began and ended in Pantar Strait. This is the body of water that separates Alor and Pantar. Fierce currents move through the strait bringing cool water and nutrients with them. Three island-volcanoes, Pura, Ternate, and Buaya, stand rigid in the middle of the straight. These islands, along with the coasts of both Alor and Pantar, have some of the most amazing reefs in the world.

Our first snorkel of the tour was on a long coastal reef off Alor. The shallow coral garden was the perfect site to introduce everyone to currents in Alor. Though they weren’t strong, but they went this way, then changed to the opposite direction, then changed again after 20 minutes. Welcome to Alor! We didn’t miss a beat and saw amazing stuff. Mantis shrimp seemed to be all over the place, but the highlight was the halimeda ghost pipefish. On the first snorkel!

But reefs in Pantar Strait are remarkable. We had a fantastic time on East Pantar, snorkeling over reefs that had dense clouds of anthias fishes hovering above the packed substrate. And then another great session on reefs across the way on the island of Pura. Babylon on Ternate is similar to what we did on Alor, with the same type of currents going back and forth to make things even more interesting.

Beangabang Bay

This small bay at the southeastern-ish tip of Pantar may be one of the best places for muck snorkeling in the world. Yes, in my opinion it holds up even to Lembeh. This black sand bay is fringed with reef on the sides and has an old concrete jetty covered with coral. We did two snorkels here plus night snorkel. It’s usually really cold down here, so we took advantage of the warmer water! Here’s the list of things we saw in the bay: Reptilian snake eel, bobbit worm, spotted box crab, dragon sea moth, coconut octopus, recently metamorphosed lionfish, bobtail squid, harlequin swimming crab, soft coral cowrie, estuary sea horses, mantis shrimp, warty frogfish, and a dozen nudibranchs. Still want more? I can go on…A rare-in-shallow-water species of fish, the long nose hawkfish in two meters!

Lembata

The marine habitats in Waihinga Bay on Lembata are varied, but all of in the shadow of the active, steam-spewing volcano, Lewatolo. We spent a full day here, snorkeling the seaward reef and vertical wall in the morning. Our session included everything from turtles to magnificent dart fish to snapping shrimp. And great viz for views into the deep blue.

In the afternoon, we went over to the fringing reef along the shores of Lewatolo. We spent more time in the sand and sea grass mainly because the guides were finding us frogfishes! Two different species, warty and painted. Plus juvenile sweetlips, dragonets, and sea slugs. Our night snorkel nearby was also very productive. A paired, male and female Kuiter’s dragonets and a corallimorph decorator crab were some of the highlights. The best for me was the live caltrop murex snail. First time seeing a live one!

Adonara

Adonara is about a series of channels, both of which can have strong current! But they are really fun and offer a ton of critters. we snorkeled the large channel at the base of Ileboleng in the morning. Mostly black sand with coral heads strewn about. They act as oases for marine life and are covered with coral. Most have resident schools of anthias. Usually something like a robust ghost pipefish would be the highlight, but they did not attract the attention like the multispine damselfish did. It’s not supposed to range here! Strong currents and cool waters brought him up here (from Coral or Tasmin Seas!)

The smaller channel is fringed by a reef that begins from shore and slopes sharply into the deep. We remained mostly along the reef margin and let the current carry us along. It was schools of fish in the blue and colorful coral along the margin. It was just a pleasant snorkel with something for everyone. And it might be one of our most diverse sites in terms of coral.

Komba Volcano

Komba volcano is worth the cruise even if there wasn’t cool snorkeling. It’s a small, active volcano whose previous eruptions caused the total collapse of the eastern flank. The exposed rock and venting steam create a mosaic of colors around the rim. We spent sunrise enjoying the view. Coral communities on the exposed, shallow reefs consist of low profile or robust growth forms. For some good reason, we always have great octopus sightings. And some that were significant and with the octopus out and about. We also saw square-spot anthias, a species that is usually found below snorkeling depths. Deeper inside the bays reefs gives way to black sand with coral-encrusted boulders strewn about. We saw several species of razorfish and a big school of bumped parrotfish to complete the day. Another cruise around the volcano for sunset and then back to the main islands to the south.

Overall Impression of the Alor Archipelago

Reefs and marine habitats in the Alor and Solor Archipelagoes are among the healthiest in the world. They benefit from cool, nutrient-rich water from the south and in combination with its diversity are also among the most resilient. Some of the reefs in Pantar Strait have upwards of 80% coral coverage and the abundance of reef fish is staggering. Many of the sites are shallow and accessible to snorkelers. Most importantly, there is a ton of muck snorkeling for small critters! We look forward to returning in 2028! Check out the video highlights below and here for more photos…