Best scuba destination for Xmas: Raja Ampat or The Philippines?

[krist3l]

I'm attempting to pick a destination for a scuba vacation this Christmas and I'm torn between choosing a liveaboard in Raja Ampat vs The Philippines.

Having previously been to a liveaboard in Komodo, I was determined to make Raja Ampat my next trip, but I keep hearing from fellow divers about The Philippines being spectacular as well.

Has anybody had a particularly AMAZING experience with a particular liveaboard in either of the locations? I know so much comes down to the boat itself.

A bit about me: AOW, 35, ~60 dives, and really do prefer just easy, beautiful, chill diving. There were definitely some sketchy current dives in Komodo so I'd rather avoid super challenging environments. Give me lots of fish, coral, color; I'm less interested the muck and the small stuff. I would be interested in at least a 7-day trip, with some days to explore local areas / relax on either end. As far as the boat goes, I don't need anything fancy: just good food and good companionship.

I have a trip coming up to the Sea of Cortez this August so I'll experience slightly different life there as well. Other than that it's been just a few dives here and there in Indonesia, Nicaragua, Canada, Belize, Thailand, Vietnam, Spain.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Hi, @krist3l. Sorry I just missed you in chat. I saw your question there and saw the link you provided.

I have dived both Raja Ampat and the Philippines by liveaboard. I have also dived Komodo by liveaboard.

I dived Raja Ampat with Aggressor and dived Tubbataha Reef with Discovery Fleet. I also dived Puerto Galera and areas of Coron to El Nido in the Philippines. Many people here have told me that Tubbataha Reef is the best diving that the Philippines has to offer. With that said, it was very good, especially the whale sharks. However, if we are comparing it to Raja Ampat, Raja Ampat still blows it out of the water in terms of diversity and density/abundance both in soft/hard corals, colors, and fish life.

To give you perspective, I first dived Komodo in Oct 2016. Since then, I've dived the Great Barrier Reef via liveaboard on Spirit of Freedom, Bahamas, Raja Ampat, Tubbataha + Coron + El Nido in the Philippines. I head to the Red Sea this fall and Similans in the spring. While I would be open to the idea of returning to Tubbataha, I was running back to Komodo and Raja Ampat. I booked a return trip to Komodo for Oct 2019 along side another Banda Sea trip (also Indonesia) right before it. I am now contemplating returning to Raja Ampat after the Similans in the Spring. All this detail just to tell you....While I would be open to the idea of returning to Tubbataha and the Philippines because the diving was good, it does not have me running back like I do with Komodo and especially Raja Ampat. Indonesia, overall, has better diving in my experience and opinion, especially when you described what you were looking for. The decision here is easy for me after having dived all 3.

I had an excellent experience with Aggressor. Depending on your budget, there are many other options that are excellent. The prices really vary. I suggest you do a 10-11 night sailing because I was hungry for more after a 7 night. That should let you hit central, southern, and northern Raja Ampat. @Dan_T has been there like 7 times (no exaggeration) and he will echo my sentiments for you.

Let me know if you have any questions and of course, feel free to PM me.

I wrote a trip report for Tubbataha. Unfortunately, I did not write one for Raja Ampat, but hopefully, this will still help if you are interested in that particular vessel. Discovery Fleet MV Discovery Palawan Tubbataha Trip Report, April 19-April 25, 2018

 

[krist3l]

Just realizing that Tubbataha season is mid-March to mid-June. So that option is actually out for Christmas...

Any other places in the Philippines that would compare to Raja Ampat?

I have to say, I'm slightly concerned about the currents in Raja Ampat after diving in Komodo... We had several people run out of air and had to abort a couple of dives due to currents. Is it just as extreme in Raja Ampat?

 

[outofofficebrb]

Just realizing that Tubbataha season is mid-March to mid-June. So that option is actually out for Christmas...

Any other places in the Philippines that would compare to Raja Ampat?

I have to say, I'm slightly concerned about the currents in Raja Ampat after diving in Komodo... We had several people run out of air and had to abort a couple of dives due to currents. Is it just as extreme in Raja Ampat?

You may want to look at liveaboards for the Visayas region around that time. A lot of boats that do Tubbataha transition there in the Tubbataha off-season. You can also look at safaris (a bit less expensive), but you basically dive and eat from a day boat and sleep at beach resorts or hotels/guest houses at night.

Overall, they were stronger in Komodo. Komodo was also more erratic and changed much more quickly than in RA. There were some dives where you had to do a negative entry to catch the split point of the dive site but after the initial strong current, it was fine. There were a few mellow drift dives.

The cruise director grouped us off based on experience and/or air consumption. We had beginners all the way to very experienced and it worked out very well. (This was on the Raja Ampat Aggressor.) They dive off 2 tenders, and conditions permitting, you and a buddy group can go up individually if low on air and the group continues. That lends itself to a lot more flexibility as well. In our case, we just kicked around looking at stuff until time was up or air was low. Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[outofofficebrb]

I will beat @Dan_T to the enabling videos...Here is a great resource for you to see what the diving is like in Indo: Nu Parnupong

 

[krist3l]

Looks like the Raja Ampat Aggressor is already booked for the Christmas trip... next best option?

 

[outofofficebrb]

Looks like the Raja Ampat Aggressor is already booked for the Christmas trip... next best option?

Check paditravel.com. You can identify Raja Ampat as your destination, then sort by date or boat. There are too many to list and it will be budget dependent. Some popular ones are Samambaia, Arenui, Damai, the latter being more expensive. It will show what is available. Happy shopping!

 

[Dan]

I hear good things about Samambaia. PADI Travel shows 1 spot left. Grab it
Samambaia | Liveaboard | PADI Travel

 

[Dan]

Next time you need to book it a year in advance in order to get a good boat. By now most of the good ones are booked up.

An alternative one, at this time is to check some of the resorts there. My last trip to stay in a resort in Raja Ampat is in Raja4 Divers Resort, Pulau Pef - Little Raja Ampat Trip Report

 

[krist3l]

I'm seeing:

- Solitude Adventurer

- Raja Ampat Aggressor

- Smy Ondina

- La Galigo

- Queen of the Sea - Ratu Laut

- Samambaia!

- MSY Seahorse

- Ambai

Any experiences with these?