Re: Waiwo. I had confidence in their dive op since it's the same guy behind
Dive into Ambon and
Dive into Lembeh. Dive into Ambon did not survive Covid, but I think Dive into Lembeh is still around. I believe there are good reviews out these other two places. So while I had confidence in the dive op, I couldn't find anything current about the resort itself.
Re: Agusta. It's Italian-owned, so the food must be great. To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of Indonesian food, so I would appreciate having Italian options. Agusta has nitrox, which is good.
Re: Soul Scuba Divers. I seriously considered this operator too. The owner, a Frenchman, seems like a lot of fun. I like their Instagram posts. No nitrox, which is a bummer. I also decided that their recommended accommodations,
Yenbuba Homestay, was a little too rustic for me. I think I want 24 hour electricity and air conditioning. I also wasn't sure I'd like the food.
Bluewater Dive Travel has
a good list of Raja4 resorts. I considered everything on their list and these additions:
In addition to TripAdvisor, you can also find reviews on
Undercurrent.
These are highly rated: Sordido Bay, Kri Eco Resort, Raja Ampat Dive Lodge (RADL), and Misool Eco Resort.
Here's another list of resorts:
Land Adventures, Guides, and Resorts - Bird's Head Seascape
Having nitrox was really important to me. Besides the fact that nitrox has intrinsic benefits, I figured that if a dive operator offered nitrox they must be relatively established. However, Triton Bay Divers does not offer nitrox because they are in a very remote location, and I did not hold the lack of nitrox against them. I really want to get there.
Some resorts are quite small and were full. Others had challenging transfers from Sorong. I ended up at RADL.