Indonesia Beyond the Tourist Routes

Indonesia is made up of thousands of islands, but some of its most remarkable places remain far beyond the familiar tourist routes.

The Derawan Archipelago, located off the coast of Kalimantan, is one of them. Here, tropical islands are surrounded by clear warm water, healthy coral reefs and an underwater world that still feels wild. It is a place of white beaches, jungle lagoons, small island communities and long days shaped by the rhythm of the ocean. 

For Deep Division, an expedition to Indonesia is not about collecting destinations. It is about slowing down, entering a different environment and learning to move through it with attention.

A Different Kind of Freediving Journey

This is not a traditional depth-training camp.

There are no planned sports sessions, required personal bests or pressure to reach a particular number. The expedition is open to experienced freedivers as well as people who have never trained in freediving before but feel comfortable in the water and want to explore the ocean more consciously. 

Participants learn the foundations needed to feel calm and confident underwater: breathing, relaxation, breath-hold awareness, finning, equalization and basic diving technique. These skills are not treated as a race towards certification. They are tools that help us interact with the underwater world safely and respectfully. 

The result is a journey positioned somewhere between a freediving expedition, an ocean retreat and an exploration of one of Indonesia’s less-visited island regions.

Maratua: Life at the Edge of the Ocean

Maratua is the central point of the expedition.

Days begin near the shore with breathing practices, yoga or quiet preparation before heading out on the water. From the island, the group explores home reefs, coral gardens, caves, channels and nearby islands by boat. Evenings remain unstructured enough for recovery, stretching, conversations, reading or simply watching the sky above the sea. 

Life here is deliberately simple. The ocean is never far away, turtles can appear close to shore, and daily plans are influenced by tides, weather and sea conditions rather than city schedules.

This simplicity is part of the experience.

It creates space to observe how we breathe, how we respond to uncertainty and how quickly strangers begin to work as a group when they share responsibility in the water.

Encounters That Cannot Be Scheduled

The waters around the Derawan Archipelago are home to coral reefs, turtles, groupers, parrotfish, barracuda, reef sharks and zebra sharks. One of the most anticipated parts of the expedition is the opportunity to encounter whale sharks near traditional fishing platforms in the open ocean. 

Whale sharks are the largest fish in the ocean, yet their movement is calm and unhurried. Seeing one underwater can completely change a person’s sense of scale.

But wildlife encounters are never guaranteed performances.

The ocean decides what appears, how close it comes and how long the moment lasts. The task of the freediver is not to chase or control it, but to remain calm, maintain distance and become a temporary observer.

Islands, Caves and Hidden Lagoons

The expedition moves through several distinct environments rather than remaining at one dive site.

The route includes the reefs and karst caves of Maratua, the jellyfish lake and jungle lagoon of Kakaban, the clear layered waters of Labuan Cermin, the turtle habitats around Sangalaki and open-water channels where large schools of fish and barracuda gather. 

Some days are spent snorkeling or freediving above coral plateaus. Others include kayaking, cave exploration or moving between islands by boat.

The journey is therefore not only underwater. It is an exploration of how ocean, jungle, limestone formations and island communities exist together.

Learning to Be a Guest

Remote destinations can easily be presented as untouched playgrounds created for visitors.

They are not.

These islands are living ecosystems and the homes of local communities. Coral reefs are vulnerable to careless contact, marine animals need space, and small islands have limited resources for water, energy and waste management.

Travelling responsibly means accepting that comfort may be simpler, transport may depend on the sea and the program may change with the weather. It also means using reef-conscious products, avoiding contact with wildlife and listening to the people who understand the local environment.

The goal is not to conquer a remote place.

It is to pass through it carefully.

The Value of Moving Slowly

Freediving teaches us that force is rarely the most effective response.

Relaxation, awareness and adaptation usually take us further. The same principle applies to travel.

Indonesia cannot be understood through a checklist of attractions. A more meaningful experience develops through repetition: returning to the water, noticing changes in the reef, learning the daily rhythm of the island and sharing the experience with the same group of people.

Over time, the expedition becomes less about what participants have seen and more about how they have learned to see.

That is what makes this journey part of Deep Division.

Not the distance travelled or the number of underwater encounters, but the combination of exploration, learning and community that continues after everyone leaves the island.