Getting to Raja Ampat

[SteveM54]

I'm trying to plan a liveaboard trip (10-17 days on the "boats") to the Raja Ampat area for Jan. - Feb or March of '25.
My once in a life time trip !!!!

Starting in St. Louis, Mo.
Going through Seattle - Taipei -Jakarta - then Sorong.
That's 11,873 flight miles over 67 hours in airports - traveling alone.
Kind of "dicey" but do-able.
I'm concerned about being totally worn out from the ride just getting there (just hit 70) & then having to sleep for three days just to recover from the "jet lag".
So if anyone else has had this type of experience, please share your ideas with me as to:
1. Did you stop for a "day or three" somewhere & dive or tour or just rest or ????
2. What liveaboards did you like or not ? Found one that has a 7 day & then the next trip is 10 more days = 17 days back to back.
3. I have the time to add a week on the front end of this trip so ideas & comments would very much be appreciated.

I don't care about on the way home but on the to Raja Ampat - I'm worried about: delayed luggage, lost gear & just being wiped out.
Thanks

 

[Mr. Sunday]

Getting to R4 doesn't have to be "brutal" - stop in Singapore for 1 night, eat well, rest, etc.

The flight to Sorong is just past midnight - you give yourself 12-18 hours and it's much easier.

I stopped in Jakarta for a night. It was still brutal.

 

[Bookworm11]

Airtags only work if you have an iPhone. You need Tile if you use Android phones. I prefer Google Flights myself for flight searches. ALWAYS book directly with the airline. I am doing the same thing you are except from the East Coast. I ended up booking Boston-Doha on Qatar in economy, overnighting in Doha at a hotel (arrive at 5:30 pm, depart to Jakarta at 9am), arrive in Jakarta at 5pm, fly on to Sorong at midnight, and arrive at 6am, and stay the night in Sorong. Then 8 nights on the Velocean (this is all in early January 2025) (my dive shop chartered it)-then hopefully the Velocean will drop me in Wamiea at my dive land resort for 10 nights, then back to Sorong for a night, then fly to Denpasar for 5 nights in Ubud, and 4 nights in Sanur, and fly home premium economy on JAL once I reach Tokyo (using Malaysia Air connecting thru Kuala Lumpur with lounge access to get to Tokyo, and having 11 hours in Tokyo to sight see in the daytime.

 

[cetacean]

I would not connect to Manado through Singapore unless you want to spend a few days in Singapore first. With the demise of Silkair and its replacement by Scoot, you cannot interline baggage unless you have purchased the entire trip as one ticket through Singapore Air. That means you have to clear immigration, collect your bags, and check in to Scoot. Don't count on doing this during off hours using the automated bag check. The process is far from seamless. The Changi transfer desks that used to take care of all this for you will no longer do so. Post-pandemic, I've concluded that Jakarta is the easiest transfer point unless you want to spend time in Bali at the beginning of a trip.
uben
If you're adding on a land stay, in addition to Lembeh and or Bali, I'd consider both Ambon and Raja itself. Papua Paradis accommodates stays of less than a week and has very good macro at several sites--though nowhere near Lembeh or Ambon's quality.

And stick an airtag in your checked bags. Provides peace of mind, and if your bags don't make a connection, you can direct the airline to them.

@reubencahn

Singapore immigration is now even faster - fill out the form online - there are now rarely any lines. Last time I cleared immigration in less 3 minutes. Collecting bags in Singapore is usually another 5-10 minutes... You are talking about potentially the most efficient airport in the world.

Yes - getting your bags to Scoot is harder now that they've move everything from SilkAir to Scoot, but it's not "hard" (relative to virtually any airport in the US).

"A few days..." - I usually overnight in Singapore - good food, reasonably priced accomodations, etc. What you're suggesting is that it's hard to transit in Singapore, because Scoot goes out of the "low cost" terminal, and there is no interline baggage transfer (unless flying in on SIA). Which is another reason I mentioned that Singapore is great for a stopover.

The new Jakarta terminal makes it much easier to transit there - however, it's stll Indonesia vs. Singapore. I've spent many long hours in that Jakarta terminal waiting for the plane to depart for Sorong (or Manado), Changi is still much (much) nicer for spending time in...

 

[cetacean]

I stopped in Jakarta for a night. It was still brutal.

Coming from the west coast shouldn't be "brutal." esp. if you had a night to sleep in a bed in Jakarta.

 

[cetacean]

Airtags only work if you have an iPhone. You need Tile if you use Android phones. I prefer Google Flights myself for flight searches. ALWAYS book directly with the airline. I am doing the same thing you are except from the East Coast. I ended up booking Boston-Doha on Qatar in economy, overnighting in Doha at a hotel (arrive at 5:30 pm, depart to Jakarta at 9am), arrive in Jakarta at 5pm, fly on to Sorong at midnight, and arrive at 6am, and stay the night in Sorong. Then 8 nights on the Velocean (this is all in early January 2025) (my dive shop chartered it)-then hopefully the Velocean will drop me in Wamiea at my dive land resort for 10 nights, then back to Sorong for a night, then fly to Denpasar for 5 nights in Ubud, and 4 nights in Sanur, and fly home premium economy on JAL once I reach Tokyo (using Malaysia Air connecting thru Kuala Lumpur with lounge access to get to Tokyo, and having 11 hours in Tokyo to sight see in the daytime.

This looks like a very good plan...

One comment::
I believe that Malaysia Airlines only serves Narita, so I'm assuming that's where you are connecting in Tokyo.

The airport is well outside the city - so getting from the airport into Tokyo takes a little time (over an hour by bus, ~50 min by bullet train). I've had friends miss their connection because the missed timed their return to Narita... with 11 hours you should be fine

 

[reubencahn]

@reubencahn

Singapore immigration is now even faster - fill out the form online - there are now rarely any lines. Last time I cleared immigration in less 3 minutes. Collecting bags in Singapore is usually another 5-10 minutes... You are talking about potentially the most efficient airport in the world.

Yes - getting your bags to Scoot is harder now that they've move everything from SilkAir to Scoot, but it's not "hard" (relative to virtually any airport in the US).

"A few days..." - I usually overnight in Singapore - good food, reasonably priced accomodations, etc. What you're suggesting is that it's hard to transit in Singapore, because Scoot goes out of the "low cost" terminal, and there is no interline baggage transfer (unless flying in on SIA). Which is another reason I mentioned that Singapore is great for a stopover.

The new Jakarta terminal makes it much easier to transit there - however, it's stll Indonesia vs. Singapore. I've spent many long hours in that Jakarta terminal waiting for the plane to depart for Sorong (or Manado), Changi is still much (much) nicer for spending time in...

The new Jakarta terminal is a thousand times nicer than it was. Changi is still a thousand times nicer than that. But for me, unless I'm stopping over long enough to spend time in Singapore, I prefer connecting in Jarkarta. Overnighting at Changi has also gotten expensive.

 

[Mr. Sunday]

Coming from the west coast shouldn't be "brutal." esp. if you had a night to sleep in a bed in Jakarta.

Perhaps not for you. Everyone is different. I personally find international travel stressful and tiring. It takes me more than a night to adjust.

If you find it easy. Good for you.

 

[cetacean]

The new Jakarta terminal is a thousand times nicer than it was. Changi is still a thousand times nicer than that. But for me, unless I'm stopping over long enough to spend time in Singapore, I prefer connecting in Jarkarta. Overnighting at Changi has also gotten expensive.

@reubencahn

I don't overnight at Changi - I go into the city - you can almost always find a really nice hotel for about $100/night (SGD).

 

[cetacean]

Perhaps not for you. Everyone is different. I personally find international travel stressful and tiring. It takes me more than a night to adjust.

If you find it easy. Good for you.

It's stressful and tiring for almost everyone, it's all a matter of the payoff on the other end.

Because the diving going west from the west coast is so much better than the Caribbean we've been doing it for the last 20+ years. The travel time (and hassle) has always been worth it...

I've traveled to Lembeh (from CA) for 4 days of diving because it was worth it (also a chance to dive with a Nat Geo team that did the famous nudibranch issue). To get to the best diving you have to get off the beaten path...

 

[Centrals]

Perhaps not for you. Everyone is different. I personally find international travel stressful and tiring. It takes me more than a night to adjust.

If you find it easy. Good for you.

We are all individual and have different requirement in life!
Some people just do not the sense to appreciate it.