Raffles Cruise
Raffles Cruise
Underwater frames without a tank: GoPro, phone case and three shots worth taking
Updated 24 October 2026
A GoPro is enough to bring home reef frames from the surface on Raffles Cruise: no tank, no dive housing, only a strap and a steady hand. This guide sets out three shots, the land cameras for Padar and Komodo, and when the crew's documentation serves you better.
What a snorkeller needs in the camera bag
Three things go in the bag: an action camera or a phone in a waterproof case, a wrist strap or a floating handle, and a dry bag for the rest. Add a lens cloth, a spare battery and a power bank. No camera is lent on board.
Charging points are on request, confirmed in writing before you pay. Ask what you can plug in and where, and the written reply reaches you before you pay. Local Wi-Fi is on board, and a steady connection at sea is not promised, so do not plan to upload from the boat.
Keep the camera in the case until you are at the shallow edge. Check the seal on land, not in the water. Dry the case on a towel before you open it, since one drop of salt water on a lens ruins the next ten frames.
Frame one: the reef from the surface
Pink Beach and Taka Makassar are the two reefs for it. Pink Beach is 1 to 8 m deep, with reef close to the shore and a mild current. Taka Makassar is 1 to 5 m deep, with a sandbank and shallow reef in one picture.
Hold the camera at the surface and angle it down by about 45 degrees. Keep the horizon level, and let the light come over your shoulder. Water at Pink Beach is calmer in the morning, and the light is softer. That is the hour for this frame.
Float, and let the frame settle before you press. A reef frame wants stillness more than speed. Take ten frames of the same patch of water, and keep the one where the fish are in the sunlit third. The sea gives you time at a shallow stop, and the crew calls the end of it.
Frame two: a manta passing below you
Manta Point is the hard one. The current is strong and the water 3 to 15 m deep, and the party travels along the reef. On the open trip the guide swims with the party; on a private charter a guide is on request, or you stay aboard. Put the camera on a strap, and keep it on your wrist.
If a manta passes, you are not the one to move. Hold your place, point the camera down, and press. No flash, ever. A wide view gives the animal room in the frame and gives you distance.
No sighting is promised. Whether mantas are there is the sea's decision. A frame of the drift itself, a line of swimmers along the reef, is a good picture too. So is the face of the person next to you when the water turns clear, and that frame needs no luck from the sea.
Frame three: the boat from the paddleboard
Two stand-up paddleboards are on board, and the 3D2N offers Pink Beach by snorkel or paddleboard. From a board, you see the boat as no one on deck can.
Look at the hull: it carries the name RAFFLES, and from the water you see two masts, two cabin decks and the set sails. The morning is the time, while the surface is calm. Wear the life jacket on the board, keep the camera on a lanyard, and ask the crew when the boards go out.
Kelor, on the third morning, is the second chance. The stop there is free time to walk, swim or paddle board, and the light at that hour is low, which suits a boat portrait as it suits nothing else on the route.
Cameras on land: Padar and Komodo
Padar is the land frame. The walk at sunrise climbs to a viewpoint above three bays with differently coloured sand, in about 25 to 45 minutes. Sunrise in July is 06:18, and guests step off the boat some 65 minutes before it, so carry a headtorch.
On Komodo you follow a park ranger, in closed shoes, with little shade. Keep your distance from any dragon, and keep your hands on the camera. Sightings are never guaranteed.
A drone is a different matter. Drone use depends on national park rules, so ask us before you fly one. We make no claim about permits. Tell us the model and the dates, and we reply in writing before you pay.
When documentation by the crew serves you better
If you want to be in the frame, the open trip lists photo and video documentation as included in the seat, confirmed in writing before you pay. Open-trip equipment is on request, confirmed in writing before you pay. Ask what is included for your date.
On a charter, documentation can be added on request, quoted apart. It serves a party that wants everyone in the pictures, or a couple who want the evening at Kalong recorded without a phone in the hand.
For a photographer, the opposite holds: your own camera, your own timing. The photography page sets out the light on a 3D2N sailing.
FAQ
Can I use a GoPro while snorkelling?
Yes. An action camera rides on the surface with you, on a wrist strap. The current at Manta Point is strong, so keep it on the strap. Use no flash near any animal, and never chase an animal for a frame.
Do phone cases work in the sea?
A waterproof case works at the surface, if the seal is checked on land first. Rinse it in fresh water afterwards. A phone in a case suits Pink Beach and Taka Makassar, the shallow stops. Keep it on a lanyard, never loose.
Is the documentation included on the open trip?
The photo and video documentation is listed as included in the open-trip seat, confirmed in writing before you pay. We name no equipment. On a charter it can be added on request, quoted apart.
Can I charge batteries on board?
Charging points are on request, confirmed in writing before you pay. Ask what you can plug in and where, and the written reply reaches you before you pay. Pack a spare battery and a power bank, since the days at sea are long.
Can I fly a drone?
Drone use depends on national park rules, so ask us before you fly one. Permits are on request, confirmed in writing before you pay. Tell us the model and the dates, and we reply in writing.
Check availability — Raffles Cruise
Raffles Cruise is booked through PT Komodo Explorer Indonesia. We arrange the pickup, take the payment and keep your booking in order. The boat sails with its own crew of 8.