Super Santa last minute special – 1 space in a deluxe cabin has opened up for the Christmas trip to Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia… just in case you are in the area and lost for anything else to do!!

Dates:   Friday 23 Dec to 01 Jan
Boat: Mermaid I
Offer: 20% Off
Price: €1,836 (Normally €2,295)

Contact Symbiosis IMMEDIATELY if you can make it.

Huge 25% discount on a 4 day deluxe river cruise on the lower Mekong River from Saigon, Vietnam to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Boat: The Toum Tiou
Dates: 05 to 08 April 2012
Special offer: 25% off published price

Other dates with cabins still available aboard the Toum Tiou II (normal price)

3 day/2 night cruise from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap (Angkor)
Jan 27th – 29th – 3 available cabins
Feb 2nd – 4th – 2 available cabins
Feb 23rd – 25th – 3 available cabins
Mar 15th – 17th – 4 available cabins
 
3 day/2 night cruise from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh
Jan 1st – 3rd, 2012 – 6 available cabins
Jan 30th – Feb 1st – 7 available cabins
Mar 12th – 14th – 4 available cabins

ONLY for the following cruises:
03 to 12 January 2012 – Special 9 day Classical Route + South
14 to 21 January 2012 – Classical 7 day Route   

Cost for 2 people, sharing: 
9 day cruise : € 1,850 for 2
7 day cruise : € 1.435 for 2

 The price includes:
– Transfers from and to Male airport.
– 9 days or 7 days dive safari with full board (not including beverages), in a double cabin (sharing) on the Maldivian Dream
– 25 dives or 19 dives, respectively, depending on the route, with tanks, weights, boat and guides
– Free Nitro
– 12 or 15 litre tanks.
– Mineral water
 
The price does not include:
– Flights
– Drinks on board (only mineral water)
– Maldives Taxes liveaboard (€65 approx.)
– Tips (USD50 approx.)
– Rebreather optional supplement 200€ per person per week (oxygen and cal)
– Supplement cabins 9 & 10 (2nd deck, double bed): 45 € /person
– Surchage for higher taxes in Maldives from 1st January 2012: 45 € / person
– Anything not specified as included

To book, please contact Symbiosis Custom Travel today!

A wildly-coloured gecko, a fish that looks like a gherkin, and a monkey with an Elvis-like hairstyle are among the more than 200 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong region last year.

The area’s diversity is so astonishing that a new species is found every two days, but regional cooperation and decision-making must take centre stage to preserve its richness, the group added.

Read the full story from Reuters.

The Philippines Island Hopping, Diving & Kayaking Safari is an exceptional adventure, hopping from one palm-fringed tropical island to another by traditional, outrigger boat (banca), culminating in Coron to snorkel or dive on a fleet of Japanese shipwrecks, and to kayak around spectacular, towering limestone islands. This is an ideal trip for divers and non-divers together.

Scheduled, join in trips in March and April 2012

Microbreweries and beer gardens are making inroads in Phnom Penh as the taste for hops keeps growing.

Cambodia might not rank among the world’s brewery or beer garden capitals, but change is coming.

From its setting on the banks of the Tonle Sap river, Kingdom Breweries, Phnom Penh’s newest boutique producer, opened in October 2010, is gearing up to give local brands Anchor and Angkor a run for their riel, using only the best German and Czech hops, premium German malt and top-quality water to produce the brand’s flagship pilsner.

Read the full story in the LA Times.

Offer: 10% off Komodo to Flores dive cruise
Boat: S/Y Indo Siren
Dates: 14th-26th October 2012
Price: was 3200 Euro NOW 2880 Euro per person sharing

Departs from Bima Bay- a macro critter hotspot and ends at Maumere, Flores. This fabulous 12-night extended Komodo tour will visit the regular sites of a Komodo itinerary including Castle & Cannibal rocks, Manta Alley and Gili Banta as well as exploring the reefs along the northern coast of Flores Island.

Offer valid if booked this month, December 2011, only. Contact Symbiosis for more info.

Offer: 10% off Central & Southern A dive cruise
Boat: S/Y Maldives Siren
Dates: 16th to 26th March 2012 – was 2400 Euro NOW 2160 Euro

Departing from Male, this 10-night diving safari will visit Felidhoo, Mulaku and Laamu atolls, along the eastern side of the archipelagpo, before ending at the southern atoll of Huvadhoo. Fantastic corals attract a plethora of marine life including reef sharks and marble rays & a variety of angel and surgeon fish. The shallow bays are excellent for critter hunting too, whilst in the deep south tiger sharks can even be seen!

Contact Symbiosis for more info

Offer: 30% off Southern Visayas dive cruise
Boat: S/Y Philippine Siren
Dates: 3rd to 13th July 2012
Price: was 2600 Euro NOW 1820 Euro per person sharing

This 10-night sailing cruise departs from and returns to Cebu with dives at Cabilao, Balicasag, Pescador & Dauin. Combines the sea-fan covered walls and fields of table corals with macro critter paradise. See seahorses & frog fish, thresher sharks and even whale sharks!

Contact Symbiosis Custom Travel to book

Boat: MV Anastasia
Capacity: max 15 persons in 6 twin cabins and 1 master cabin
Price: USD 2999 per night, full board
Validity: from now until 27 December 2011

Price is inclusive of:
– Return transfers between airport and the yacht
– Full board, including soft drinks during meals
– Snorkelling
– unlimited mineral water during trip.
– One excursion on Fisherman Island
– For licensed divers: 3 guided dives per day, 1 night dive per week.
– For non-divers: guided snorkelling, introductory dive

Rates exclude:
– Service Charge ($6 per person per day
– 3.5% GST tax on above rates

Equipment available on board for divers
– Tanks, weights & belts
– Compressor
– Oxygen kit
– Divemaster
Dive gear not mentioned above must rented before boarding if you are not bringing your own.

Contact Symbiosis Custom Travel for more information.

NOTE: A 12 HOUR NO-DIVE POLICY IS OBSERVED FOR PASSENGERS ARRIVING BY AIRCRAFT AND A 24 HOUR NO-DIVE POLICY FOR PASSENGERS DEPARTING BY AIRCRAFT AFTER THEIR LAST DIVE

Mermaid II New Year sale starts now. 10% off all new bookings for liveaboard dive cruises in Indonesia’s Komodo National Park – join in or full boat charter – throughout January & February 2012.

It may be raining occasionally in Bali but Komodo is in a rainfree belt. The mantas are there year round and the visibility in the awesome south is great this time of year. 

Mermaid II being a steel vessel offers stable comfort year round.

Bookings through Symbiosis Custom Travel.

Offer: 15% off Best of Thailand dive cruise
Boat: S/Y Oriental Siren
Dates: 25th January – 4th February 2011
Price: was 2300 Euro now 1955 Euro per person sharing

This 10-night cruise departs from Chalong Bay in the south of Phuket and heads out to Koh Phi Phi & the Similan Islands. Leopard sharks, black tip reef sharks and nurse sharks can all be seen cruising the reefs or resting on the sandy bottom. Seahorses, harlequin shrimp and schools of barracuda along with manta rays, warm water and great viz offer a superb way to start the year.

Click here to learn more and to book.

The Philippines Department of Agriculture is putting in 30 million Piso to restore the 2,000-year old Ifugao Rice Terraces, often described as the 8th Wonder of the World, to their former glory.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala made the commitment during his November 25 meeting with Ifugao officials and other leaders in Banaue. Alcala said the rice terraces are a source of pride for Filipinos, for which reason it must be preserved at any cost.

The Ifugao Rice Terraces are considered an UNESCO World Heritage site, and have been declared by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation as a Globally-Important Agricultural Heritage System.

Alcala said the P30 million is an initial amount, with P10 million coming from the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) for the repair of the damaged portions and the enhancement of the irrigation systems for the terraces in the village of Batad. The remainder will come from the National Rice Program for the reinforcement and upgrade of similar terraces in four other sites.

These include the picturesque Banaue rice terraces that can be seen at the Danara Viewpoint and the terraces in Mayoyao, Hapao and Kiangan.

Full story by MARVYN N. BENANING in the Manila Bulletin

The best way to explore the amazing rice terraces of the Ifugao, Botoc and Kalinga tribes of the Philippines Cordillera is to make a trek from village to village, staying at small guest houses and as guests of local tribal families. Here’s how.

What: 30% on a 10 night liveaboard dive cruise to the legendary Cenderawasih Bay in Indonesia’s West Papua

When: 03 to 13 December 2011

Boat: MSY Aurora, a traditional pinisi sailing schooner

Embarkation: Sorong, West Papua

Disembark: Manokwari, West Papua

Booking to Symbiosis Custom Travel asap

Offer Title: Bird’s Head Peninsula special offer, West Papua, Indonesia.

Save $500 per person plus receive Nitrox at 50% off.

Trip dates: 

February 4 – 15 and March 16 – 27 2012 aboard the Paradise Dancer

*

Offer Ends March 16, 2012

Conditions: Does not include port charges, other fees. All are additional. Cannot be combined with other discounts, promotions, or standard privileges. Subject to withdraw or change without notice.

Contact Symbiosis for further information. Must mention this special at time of initial reservation.