Help Choosing Liveaboard Options for Komodo and Raja Ampat Trips

[Kendall Raine]

but we have been on boats where the makeup of other divers significantly limited our itinerary

And how differently do folks think north Raja Ampat can be on a boat with more experienced divers or land-based resort with very localized dive guides (our Raja boat was the one where half the boat were "200+ dive" divers who struggled with descents and had frequent buoyancy "accidents" where they'd just shoot up to the surface when we hit 10meters and so our cruise director said we can only do the sites he thought they would be safe at)?

No one wants to be on a boat with flailers and this is a tricky one unless you know the other guests on the boat in advance (club/shop full charter). Otherwise, you hope the cruise directors/guides will assess diver skills and group by ability and select sites/drops accordingly. The same site in Raja can be a very different dive depending on where you are on the reef and when. The key is the crew. Will they make adjustments to group composition/drops to insure like skills are matched? Will they find a way to let better breathers dive longer or are you subject to the weakest link? Will they accommodate diver's requests (within reason) as the week goes on. The boat itinerary is pretty well set well in advance, but cruise directors will (should) make site selection/timing with conditions and divers' skills in mind. Diving in the north is pretty amazing so I wouldn't worry about visiting lousy sites. FOMO really shouldn't apply to trip to Raja. Bear in mind that Raja is far from anywhere and not the place you want to get hurt.

On my recent trip to north Raja aboard Coralia my guide would send the other two divers in our group up at 60 minutes when they reached 50 bar and he and I stayed down another 10-15 minutes on each dive. When one of my group (who claimed 1000 dives) aborted a dive in moderate current, the cruise directors took me to a high current spot on the next dive instead of going with my group to a less interesting section of the reef. I didn't say anything beforehand, the guide and cruise director just made a welcome adjustment because they were really good at their jobs.

On Dewi Nusantara some years ago the cruise director paired up one on one with my wife for ten days which was more comfortable for her and allowed me to do more challenging dives.

Both boats are at the higher end of the price scale (and both full), but I can't say it would be different on more economical boats. It really depends on how service oriented the crew is. I think you have to spend time reading diver reviews (SB and Undercurrent) and maybe reach out to the reviewers and ask detailed questions before deciding on the boat.

 

[Carlos Diver]

Reading through your OP again, a number of boats you can pay for a private guide for the first day or two to get some experience and get acclimated. You can also speak to them about hiring one for any dive they consider advanced and do the dive more at your own pace. I know Manta offers this. Most boats will have something similar available.

 

[ScubaScottNYC]

Hi all!

We are looking to book a liveaboard in Komodo (thinking about August) and one in Raja Ampat (thinking about December or March) but our past experiences in both areas have been very hit or miss so thought we'd tap into the experiences of folks here to try and pick a better-suited liveaboard option / itinerary for us.

We are most focused on good diving (e.g. good local dive guides who know the area well, can help find critters, and will dive safely (preference for 1-to-4 dive guide to people ratio)). We want better than basics (e.g. will pay for toilets that will flush and AC in the room), but don't care about "luxury" (e.g. very spacious rooms, really amazing food, etc.). I know there are some high-end boats that typically have good reviews (like the Damai or Arenui) but I'm not sure if the extra money is for more luxurious cabins / food experience or for actually better diving (itinerary or guide, etc.)? Do folks have a view on that and do you have some top favorites / definite repeats from a purely diving perspective? (We are willing to pay more for a "luxury" boat if that is what it takes to ensure safer and better diving experiences in the region, but would prefer not to if it doesn't impact diving.)

As some background, I have ~100 dives and my partner has ~40 dives. We are by no means very experienced but we have been on boats where the makeup of other divers significantly limited our itinerary (including ones where the paper profiles of other divers looked way more experienced, e.g. with 200+ quoted dives, but the actual reality was people struggled with basic buoyancy and ascent/descent), so it is important to us that we can get a boat better suited to our level / will split groups by level and not limit the itinerary too much. I understand dive count is not always a good measure so the best way I can think of to describe our level is we are still actively thinking about/making minor adjustments for buoyancy as we dive so neutral buoyancy is not "steeped in our bones" but we also don't need a dive guide to monitor / adjust buoyancy for us; we can go down and up and maneuver around formations when / how we intend / need to. We can't compete with dive guides in terms of air usage, but we have done currents (ex: Shotgun around new moon) and deep dives and won't run out of air on normal deep / current dives at 20-30min, but probably aren't at 60 min+ for those either.

We would also love opinions on best itineraries for Komodo and Raja Ampat. I've historically heard it's best to book LBJ-LBJ Komodo only or Sorong-Sorong RJ only trips as they stay in the region and are definitely not repositioning trips but noticed that a lot of the Komodo offerings seem to go through other areas (Moyo, Sangiang, Gili Banta, Alor etc.) even in peak season so was curious if any of those are good? We like diversity in our dives and enjoy looking at gorgeous coral gardens, massive schools of fish (big or small fish), and big stuff (sharks, mantas, dugongs, etc.) the most but will happily take a bit of macro diving too. I've previously done Komodo via Komodo Dive Resort and liveaboard in Raja Ampat (north route). I personally loved pretty much all my Komodo dives and thought Raja had some amazing schooling activity and biodiversity but the liveaboard dives were more hit or miss. Based on our interests, is Misool a must-hit? And how differently do folks think north Raja Ampat can be on a boat with more experienced divers or land-based resort with very localized dive guides (our Raja boat was the one where half the boat were "200+ dive" divers who struggled with descents and had frequent buoyancy "accidents" where they'd just shoot up to the surface when we hit 10meters and so our cruise director said we can only do the sites he thought they would be safe at)?

I have done both Komodo and Raja Ampat on Gaia Love. Not cheap, but worth every penny. We went to Komodo about 6 years ago. Trip was amazing, and the service was even better. The boat manager says: If you want the best of Indonesia, you should come with us to Raja Ampat". My whole group was sold on the spot. Covid got in the way and the trip was delayed until 2023. Again they blew us away with the diving and service. Now, one of my group says: "What do you know about Wakatobi? I went there but the resort diving was long boat rides and I prefer liveaboards...?" To make the story shorter, lets just say that we're going to Wakatobi with them in June 2025.

Boat isn't cheap, but you get what you pay for and then some. Best food on any liveaboard ever (and we've been on quite a few), I'd even say gourmet level chef prepared meals breakfast, lunch and dinner (+ snacks...). They have 20+ crew members for 20 passengers! You barely have to lift a finger unless there's a drink or a fork on the end of it.... Contact Ken at Ultimate Dive Travel.