12 free days in honeymoon. Raja resort?

[sashax415]

(First post ever!)

Hi there, we are planning our honeymoon, which starts in Bali and ends in the Maldives this January. We have 12 free days to play with and would love to go to Raja Ampat for a week. Unfortunately, our dates aren't terribly flexible, so we can't consider Misool or Raja4Divers, which have set schedules. Explorers is sold out for our dates and we like Solido, but it is quite a bit more than we want to spend (though we could have made a concession for Misool). So we have been leaning toward Papua Paradise, which has availability and is the right price for us, but we've also read that the location isn't ideal.

Hoping to get a bit more insight, as we've never been to the area, and are shooting a bit in the dark. Is Solido/Kri Island far superior to Papua Paradise?

Lastly, we've also gone back and forth on Komodo and Flores and possibly Lombok, but Raja seems like the best of them all? Are we wrong?

Here is our itinerary and open days. Would love any feedback/thoughts/idea on how and when to best fill our days.

Dec 25–Dec 29 Ubud
Dec 29–Jan1 Uluwatu
Jan 1–2 OPEN (travel to Sorong)
Jan 2–9 OPEN (7 nights in raja ampat)
Jan 9-12 OPEN (Bali? Nusa Lembongan?)
Jan 12 travel to Bangkok
Jan 13 travel from Bangkok to Maldives
Jan 13—Jan 20 Maldives

 

[outofofficebrb]

6 days in Ubud is a lot. I’d cut down on that. I’ve dived Komodo and Raja and like them for different things. Raja had better coral life and Komodo had more fish life. Some dives I could barely see my buddy! They’re both really good diving.

 

[chillyinCanada]

For what it's worth, I have a friend who loves Papua Paradise. However she hates the travel between Sorong and the resort and back again.

 

[chillyinCanada]

How does Wakatobi work for your timing and budget?

 

[Neptune Scuba Diving]

Ah, definitely cut on the Ubud stay, maximum 3 days and even so you will get bored. Ubud is very much far away from all the other cities like Kuta, Seminyak, Sanur etc. Basically if you go to Ubud you go to visit only Ubud otherwise your transportation costs will increase significantly.

Jan 9-12, come back to Bali, stay in a nice quiet resort around Sanur or Gianyar.

With respect and appreciation,
Julian

 

[Dan]

Check out this Raja Ampat Dive Lodge | Dive Resor also.

 

[sashax415]

6 days in Ubud is a lot. I’d cut down on that. I’ve dived Komodo and Raja and like them for different things. Raja had better coral life and Komodo had more fish life. Some dives I could barely see my buddy! They’re both really good diving.

Sorry, I miswrote the dates for Ubud. We will really have 4 nights there—the thinking was to build in a little extra time to get over jetlag.

 

[sashax415]

Check out this Raja Ampat Dive Lodge | Dive Resor also.

Thanks! Don't know how I missed this in our original search. Can you speak to its location vs Papua Paradise?

 

[sashax415]

How does Wakatobi work for your timing and budget?

Wakatobi looks great, but we've just read that it doesn't compare to RA? We're also less interested in muck.

 

[peeweediver]

Wakatobi isn't muck diving, just no large pelagics. It is really beautiful, but it is also constrained by timing due to their plane taking you there from Bali and it's pricey as well. However, as a honeymoon spot with great diving, pretty darn cool. Also, we spent 4 nights in Ubud and wish we had one more. Great hiking in the rice fields, dances at night and amazing food. Temple sightseeing also wonderful. Just not diving.

Rob