Exploring Komodo National Park Aboard Indonesia’s Most Luxurious New Yacht - Robb Report

Some might say that no trip is worth 40 hours of plane travel, but they’ve probably never watched the sun set over Indonesia’s Komodo National Park from the top deck of a traditional sailboat. Finding your way to Komodo is something of an odyssey in its own right—the journey includes a plane, a car, and a boat—but once you’ve set sail on Celestia, even the most arduous travel experiences melt away, soon becoming little more than a faint memory.

Celestia, a new seven-cabin luxury charter plying the waters of Komodo National Park, Raja Ampat, and the Spice Islands feels like a dream, and that’s because it kind of is. During lockdown in 2020, Jasmine Chong, a fashion designer based in New York, was texting back and forth with her brother, Jason Tabalujan, an investor based in Jakarta, dreaming up the ultimate family vacation they could take once the world opened up.

“One of life’s greatest luxuries is time, especially time spent with loved ones,” says Chong. “Our family vacations growing up usually involved the ocean and snorkeling, so we knew the perfect trip for us would encompass that.”

In the process of turning that dream into a reality, Chong and Tabalujan ended up going to unexpected lengths, commissioning boat builders in Sulawesi to build a double-masted luxury phinisi using traditional UNESCO-recognized techniques. The result is a timeless and breathtaking luxury yacht with enough space for 14 of your nearest and dearest, that combines age-old artisanship with contemporary design. Celestia is the most luxurious new ship in Indonesia, and one of those rare objects that looks even better in person than it does in photos.

The attention to detail—from the tropical toile and rattan design touches to the fresh juices that welcomed us back on board after each exhilarating excursion—feels intentional and personal. Meals are a highlight of each sailing: Executive chef Wayan Kresna Yasa is equally at ease with traditional Indonesian dishes like tempeh lodeh as he is while innovating with fusion fare like ledok nusa, a New England seafood chowder made with coconut milk and basil oil. Chef Wayan sharpened his cooking skills at Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Acadia before opening his own restaurant in Bali, which is where Chong and Tabalujan tracked him down, thanks to a recommendation from their friend Ratna Kartadjoemena of Indonesian hospitality pioneers Potato Head.

Each day aboard the Celestia brings with it surprising new adventures; the vessel is like a roving villa, delivering a different dazzling natural wonder each morning. The spectacular scenery—both on land and underwater—is the star of the show. The Komodo islands weren’t the tropical jade-and-turquoise idyll I was anticipating; instead, the sea is a deep, almost unsettling, blue, with craggy grass-covered mountains filling the horizon. Thanks to seamlessly planned arrivals, we avoided the crowds and rarely saw any other travelers.

Celestia's interiors are clad in teak — Celestia’s interiors are clad in teak Celestia

I did see plenty of wildlife, though, enough to make me feel like I was living in a David Attenborough documentary. Some days I snorkeled with iridescent schools of fish and sunbathed on deserted islands; on other outings, I watched as a deadly Komodo dragon stalked its prey and stared slack-jawed as thousands of bats took to the skies above Kalong Island at sunset. I lost myself in it all, blissfully disconnected from my usual barrage of emails and the frenzy of my daily life back in New York.

“We want our guests to feel connected and disconnected at the same time,” says Chong. “Connected to themselves, immersed in nature, to the people on the voyage they are creating memories with—and disconnected from the humdrum of the everyday, leaving whatever stressors they may have back on land.”

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