Raja Ampat...liveaboard vs land-based

[smellzlikefish]

I can't imagine being restricted to only one place in Raja. Misool is great, but so is the rest of the region. I was on the amy Ondina and wanted for nothing. The whole crew was really amazing.

 

[iolar]

Based on all comments, I think we've decided on a live-aboard.... now for choosing one among the many! Thank you for your input- it helped sway us!

 

[gurselen]

Raja - simply the best diving we have ever experienced. May-June 2017 we sailed with Indo Siren, and stayed at MER and Papua Paradise.

While Misool Eco Report was the highlight of the trip, Kri was great too. Everything was spectacular.

Hi there,
Would you describe the difference in terms of accommodation and diving between MER and Kri? It seems a big difference on rates.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I just got off the RA Aggressor in October. I’ve been on a few liveaboards and can tell you the service and staff were incredible. I’ve kept in touch with most of them. They are so thoughtful, incredibly warm, very observant of how you like your food, camera equipment handled, and how you get ready to dive, etc. They are very organized. I can’t tell you how many times i had my wetsuit on and before i knew it someone was helping me zip up and helping me with things.

Good camera facilities and plenty of charging stations. The rooms and the salon were comfortable and nicely appointed, as was the sun deck and dive deck. You never had to go far for coffee or drinks too. The food was really good. Their dinghies are quite new. I would return to dive with them in a heartbeat!

 

[Cert1967]

Hi there,
Would you describe the difference in terms of accommodation and diving between MER and Kri? It seems a big difference on rates.

I'm sure you will receive responses from the 'local' folks who have greater knowledge of the area than I. My experience comprises about six weeks total in RA - still a rookie.

MER - Batbitem Island - is a resort near the island of Misool.

KRI is an island and is also used as a marker for the general area.

Better know land resorts in the KRI arera are Papua Explorers, Cape Kri, Raja Ampat Dive Lodge and Sorido Bay Resort. There are also a number of homestay opportunities in the area. The accomodations and service very greatly. Perhaps Sorido would compare best with MER.

MER is outstanding. Delightful folks run the place - most of the 'lcoals' are from the nearby island of Yellu. Their food is excellent. MER also has some of the world's best diving a short boat ride away - many are within site of the resort.

KRI - you have a variety of choices for land based accomodations. All of the sites are close by. And the dive sites are some of the best in the world.

Liveaboard - why not - the best of RA every day.

The MER folks run a professional diving operation. They also coordinate the liveaboard access to the area's top dive sites. LAB pass throught the area.

KRI dive ops? Depends on where you stay - check their websites.

Diving Indonesia's Raja Ampat, Burt Jones & Maurie Shimlock is an excellent book. The book gives you the lay of the land, resort information, a history lesson, and detailed dive site informaiton.

What's best? Depends on what you are looking for and the price you are willing to pay. Regardless of where you go, the diving may well be the best on the planet.

 

[Dan]

I’ve been to RA about 6x, 3x liveaboards & 3x in resorts (RA Dive Lodge, MER & R4 Divers). Liveaboard is the way to go if you like doing 4x/day of diving. Resorts tend to be less diving/day due to long boat ride to different sites.

The reason I went to dive resorts was because some of my dive buddy’s spouses were nondivers. The non divers would like to do some land touring, snorkeling, birdwatching & canoeing while the divers going out on the boat dives.

As far as dive sites, all RA is a world class diving. Misool is good for seeing soft corals, you may see Oceanic Manta in Magic Mountain. Fam has some beautiful hard corals in Melisa’s Garden. Kri & the rest of Dampier Strait have lots of schooling fish & plenty of wobbegong sharks. You’ll see walking shark during a night dive in all over RA.

Enjoy RA! I just came back from there last week in liveaboard & had a heck of great time.

 

[iolar]

Thanks for all the advice- we like the liveaboard experience anyway as you get more dives and tend to interact with other divers more (at least in our experience). Biggest bang for the buck too. I envy those of you who’ve been multiple times! So liveaboard it will be and maybe we can work out a way to stay at MER for one of their shorter stays.

 

[SabertoothBlenny4]

Misool is amazing!!! Here is some info on land based diving that has a map of some of the dive spots if that helps.
Underwater Guide To Raja Ampat, Indonesia -

 

[Lisamay4]

We are planning a Raja vacation for winter 2019 and from my research it looks like we can't book soon enough! Can't decide between a liveaboard (looking at either Siren or Aggressor) or Misool Eco-Resort. We love liveaboard diving, but I've read that Misool is THE place to dive in Raja. Anyone out there have experience with both land-based and liveaboard in Raja to give me your take on it? Thanks for any advice...

I was at Misool in October and it is stunning in every way and worth every single penny!