First Timer Liveaboard in Raja Ampat - Help Needed

[scubaNYC16]

Back from my trip and wanted to give some feedback on the Swiss-Belhotel in Sorong that may be helpful for others.

I’m glad I booked there and not the Aston. Drove by the Aston on the way from the airport and it’s on a very busy noisy street. The Belhotel is also on a busy street but, I asked for an odd numbered room facing the inner courtyard in the main building based on some reviews from TripAdvisor and the room was very quiet and could barely hear the motorcycle noise from the street or the prayers. If you plan on staying there, definitely make the same request in advance. I stayed there for 2 nights before my boat and my goal was to get some decent sleep and get used to the time change. The bed was comfortable and the AC worked well. I was surprised by so many negative reviews because the staff was very friendly and the food was fine. They change their policy on Grab and you can be picked up right at the lobby. Took a Grab one night to the new pizza place that someone recommended and it was great.

 

[Living4Experiences]

If you can do a trip report, it would be most appreciated. There is a lot of talk about the coral bleaching in the Dampier Strait. What was your experience? What dates were your trip? I think some of the reports were coming out from the first couple of weeks in December.

I'll be in RA in March and I'm concerned.

 

[scubaNYC16]

Not good with trip reports but here’s a summary. I was on Blue Manta from December 24th to January 3rd. There was definitely a lot of coral bleaching in the Dampier Straight. I saw a white anemone and thought it was a special anemone until I realized it was bleaching. The water was so warm, Shearwater was showing 85 there. We did Dampier our first day and then headed south to Yangefo, Piaynemo and then Misool. Didn’t see much coral bleaching after the first day and the diving was incredible. Reefs were super healthy with tons of fish and lots of schooling fish. It was really mind blowing! We had 12 mantas on Magic Mountain. Melissa‘s Garden was probably the best dive I’ve ever done but many other sites felt like that in the shallows. I can honestly say that I didn’t have one bad dive. I can’t wait to go back.

 

[Dan]

Not good with trip reports but here’s a summary. I was on Blue Manta from December 24th to January 3rd. There was definitely a lot of coral bleaching in the Dampier Straight. I saw a white anemone and thought it was a special anemone until I realized it was bleaching. The water was so warm, Shearwater was showing 85 there. We did Dampier our first day and then headed south to Yangefo, Piaynemo and then Misool. Didn’t see much coral bleaching after the first day and the diving was incredible. Reefs were super healthy with tons of fish and lots of schooling fish. It was really mind blowing! We had 12 mantas on Magic Mountain. Melissa‘s Garden was probably the best dive I’ve ever done but many other sites felt like that in the shallows. I can honestly say that I didn’t have one bad dive. I can’t wait to go back.

I'll be in Missol next week on White Manta. I can't wait to see that 12 mantas back in Magic Mountain. My best Manta actions there were 4, including Oceanic ones in January 2020 (right before Covid), as you see in the video, below: