Question Itinerary help in Raja

[Diversanon]

Hi all,

First time going to Raja and not certain if boats that leave from or arrive at different ports would be missing out on Raja dive sites due to the travel. Most are Sorong to Sorong but I saw some from Sorong to Ternate or Manado to Sorong. Would be interested in hearing from others on pros vs cons

 

[Centrals]

Hi all,

First time going to Raja and not certain if boats that leave from or arrive at different ports would be missing out on Raja dive sites due to the travel. Most are Sorong to Sorong but I saw some from Sorong to Ternate or Manado to Sorong. Would be interested in hearing from others on pros vs cons

Manado to Sorong by boat! Are you sure?

 

[outofofficebrb]

Hi all,

First time going to Raja and not certain if boats that leave from or arrive at different ports would be missing out on Raja dive sites due to the travel. Most are Sorong to Sorong but I saw some from Sorong to Ternate or Manado to Sorong. Would be interested in hearing from others on pros vs cons

Hi! I’m a serial repeat diver (annually) in this area, both by liveaboard and land based. Sorong to Sorong is the best, and 10-12 days is ideal. During the itineraries you mention, you’ll be missing out on some dive sites in the heart of Raja Ampat whether it’s in central/Dampier Strait or south in Misool. Some itineraries from/to Ternate skip Misool entirely (south). Something is definitely compromised. I’m a purist and firmly believe if you want to really experience RA by liveaboard, the 10-12 Sorong to Sorong is best which gets you both these areas and sometimes north to Wayag as well.

Lembeh deserves its own trip if you like muck diving. I have also heard nice things about Halmahera and that it is also its own trip.

While I’m a liveaboard addict in general, I actually love being land based more in this area. It makes for what feels like a longer day for transfers to sites but it’s great.

Liveaboards have set schedules and they need to complete diving in an area to stay on schedule. With land based diving, dive sites and areas can be chosen based on ideal conditions. e.g., Today would be a good day to dive X because of Y. If you want to dive that other site, we should do it tomorrow when it’s Z. If you love a particular site, it’s also possible to repeat it. There are more boats going land based that can scatter in different directions based on preferences and experience levels which can sometimes be an issue on liveaboards and the decision to dive the sites at a different time based on the experience (or lack of) for a particular passenger.

I hope this helps!

 

[outofofficebrb]

Manado to Sorong by boat! Are you sure?

Yes, there are some that do Lembeh to Raja Ampat though they’re not very common. I think Mermaid does it. But you definitely sacrifice not seeing Raja. It’s more time sailing and diving other sites and Halmahera.

Edited to add: it looks like Wallacea fleet also does it (Ambai/Seahorse)

 

[Darnold9999]

Have done RA to Monado and would not do it again. Diving in Lembeh with liveaboard guides is not very good and the dive sites between Monado and RA were spotty, some good some not so good with evidence of dynamite fishing common. Sorong to Sorong would be my preference.

Land based works but you have a higher risk of diving with less experienced divers than on a liveaboard - if that matters to you.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Have done RA to Monado and would not do it again. Diving in Lembeh with liveaboard guides is not very good and the dive sites between Monado and RA were spotty, some good some not so good with evidence of dynamite fishing common. Sorong to Sorong would be my preference.

Land based works but you have a higher risk of diving with less experienced divers than on a liveaboard - if that matters to you.

That is often the same feedback that people have for sailings between Bali and Komodo and that you’re better off doing just Komodo within the park. When land based in Raja Ampat, we definitely had some less experienced divers but the nice thing was they were grouped together in a separate boat going to separate dive sites. As an example, at Papua Explorers, there were 3-4 boats going out each day. It works out for both parties. Someone less experienced isn’t having to deal with the stress of feeling like they’re diving above their level, that they’re cutting other people’s dives short when it’s not conducive to surfacing separately based on conditions, or affecting when/where others can dive. For the more experienced, fewer compromises need to be made and dives can be dived more at the optimum time and conditions for the most action.

 

[Cali_diver]

If wanting to do Raja stick to a Sorong to Sorong. Sorong to Ternate is a Raja Halmahera trip, more for someone looking to see other places beyond Raja after experiencing Raja. Like others have said.. keep Manado(Lembeh) as a stand alone and make sure you do it land based. As an aside Lembeh works great as a Raja trip add-on either before or after.

 

[Diversanon]

Hi! I’m a serial repeat diver (annually) in this area, both by liveaboard and land based. Sorong to Sorong is the best, and 10-12 days is ideal. During the itineraries you mention, you’ll be missing out on some dive sites in the heart of Raja Ampat whether it’s in central/Dampier Strait or south in Misool. Some itineraries from/to Ternate skip Misool entirely (south). Something is definitely compromised. I’m a purist and firmly believe if you want to really experience RA by liveaboard, the 10-12 Sorong to Sorong is best which gets you both these areas and sometimes north to Wayag as well.

Lembeh deserves its own trip if you like muck diving. I have also heard nice things about Halmahera and that it is also its own trip.

While I’m a liveaboard addict in general, I actually love being land based more in this area. It makes for what feels like a longer day for transfers to sites but it’s great.

Liveaboards have set schedules and they need to complete diving in an area to stay on schedule. With land based diving, dive sites and areas can be chosen based on ideal conditions. e.g., Today would be a good day to dive X because of Y. If you want to dive that other site, we should do it tomorrow when it’s Z. If you love a particular site, it’s also possible to repeat it. There are more boats going land based that can scatter in different directions based on preferences and experience levels which can sometimes be an issue on liveaboards and the decision to dive the sites at a different time based on the experience (or lack of) for a particular passenger.

I hope this helps!

This is actually extremely helpful. I know that liveaboard itinerary’s typically have to follow more rigid routing, and that doesn’t always work out with mother nature.

I wasn’t sure if sorong to sorong routes would cover the most territory in RA given how large it is. Many of these ships only give vague sample plans so was hard to plan off that. Given your thoughts here, I assume 12 days would be preferable to shorter itineraries as well.

 

[Diversanon]

If wanting to do Raja stick to a Sorong to Sorong. Sorong to Ternate is a Raja Halmahera trip, more for someone looking to see other places beyond Raja after experiencing Raja. Like others have said.. keep Manado(Lembeh) as a stand alone and make sure you do it land based. As an aside Lembeh works great as a Raja trip add-on either before or after.

So you would recommend full Raja experience instead of checking out Halmahera yet? I know dewi does this route so was wondering if that should be for repeat after going to raja first

 

[Cali_diver]

@Diversanon I did the Dewi Halmahera trip a few years ago during the eclipse, and I am doing it again in a couple weeks. Halmahera has some really cool diving but I would definitely do the Raja only trip first. Raja is amazing... I can't even count how many times I have been there and I keep going back! Covid culled a few of the boats so hopefully Raja will not get as crowded as it has been too quickly...so the sooner you go the better!