Home Stay at Raja Ampat.

[stepfen]

My opinion is: it's worth considering. Rp 5M = USD $370. Awesome site.

Definitely! I just snorkeled Melissa's Garden and the nearby Pam wall because that day the boat had too many passengers so diving gear wouldn't fit. Even snorkeling there was fantastic.
Most of the people visiting only Gam/Kri usually take a day trip to Piaynemo (it's the highlight of Raja Ampat topside). The best that one can do is combine this day trip to Piaynemo with diving Mellisa's garden and Pam wall. This is easily done, but only if few people (up to 4-6) share the boat. More divers than that, and it's getting too heavy for the boat to do the long trip. All these can be arranged by the homestays and the dive operators.

 

[Centrals]

I certainly have my favorites: Blue Magic (mantas), Cape Kri (tons of fish, can be VERY currenty), Melissa's Garden (acres of hard corals). After that, my recollection is vague.
- Bill

Thank you Bill.
I believe(based on reading) both Blue Magic and Cape Kri are in Dampier Strait while Melissa's Garden is quite a distance away and requires special transfer arrangement.
Would I pay minimum of US$60.00 for the transfer? NO.

 

[Thrawn7]

If that is true, what makes you think that the air they provide is good? Do you have a way to evaluate it?

No way to tell. Though they'd be putting themselves at risk since they're using the same air.

Gear quality is often pretty bad in Indo. Even in Bali where all the dive gear suppliers are. Its very expensive in Indo.

If there is an issue, do you have a way to contact DAN?

There is mobile reception. Evacuation to a decent medical facility is going to take quite a long time.

If you have a minor injury (e.g. coral scrape) are they able to provide first aid?

One of the guests at one of the homestays stepped on a sea urchin barefoot (he wasn't a guest of the dive op). We dropped him back off at his homestay, no idea how they treated him. There's probably a basic first aid kit with the dive op, never got to see it.

How did you find the quality of their DMing?

Pretty good. Knows the area very well. Local guy.. but have experience working on one of the fancy high end liveaboards. Not a babysitting type of DM'ing. They're pretty flexible on how they run things.. you can ask for specific dive sites and so on. Only had one dive really where the current was misjudged.

 

[Thrawn7]

One of the nice things about diving from a homestay on Kri.. you can do Cape Kri.. a LOT.

I did 6 dives out of 26 there. Its worth it...

Melissa's Garden for $60 extra is worth it too. Considering you get to visit Fam as well

 

[Centrals]

The most common complaint that I had read is : insufficient of food occasionally.
Some of the Home Stays are only charging IR300k(~US$20.00) per day full board!!!! I would imagine a daily increase of 50k -100k would have eliminated the issue completely.

 

[SeaWarden]

My partner and I did Raja Ampat in July last year. I was in the middle of monsoon (rainy season), so out of the 4 days we went, we were only able to do 3 days of diving.

The food was amazing, and the boat we took was a speed boat with 600 hp. We are going again on April 6th, so ask away.

 

[stepfen]

The most common complaint that I had read is : insufficient of food occasionally.

I've stayed in Raja Ampat 3 weeks in total (in 2 occasions). I can't say I was hungry after any meal. Yes, for several meals I could eat more if there would be more food. Especially most of the fish courses were so delicious I could keep eating for ever. So yes the food is limited, but insufficient ? I wouldn't say so. Keep in mind that I am a big guy. I also saw people asking for extra food (fried rice or eggs etc) in cases they didn't like something or food was not enough for them and it was offered to them.

The only exception is breakfast which usually is very plain (cake, fried bananas or pancakes) - enough amount, but how many fried bananas, cake or pancakes can one eat and for how many days in a row?

The way I handled it was to pack with me some snacks (especially chocolate - my favorite). And I was good. BTW if you have food with you don't forget airtight containers for it. I didn't see any, but rats are supposed to be able to attack everything there.

The above experience is just from one home stay but from discussions I had with fellow travelers it seems that typically food is similar to this in all homestays more or less.

 

[Centrals]

I am more than likely to fly Gardua from HKG to SOQ and the check bag allowance is a very generous 30kg. And my pack never ever comes anywhere near 18kg so plenty of allowance for just a few cans of sardine and bean. I don't think rats would have any interested on unopened tinned food. As for the snacks, I can live without it anytime and anywhere so never an issue.

I have done a lot of reading on diving in Raja Ampat lately. And the conclusion is that Home Stay should really suit me. It reminds me on by-gone days of backpacking before the appearance of even Lonely Planet!
I won't shed a tear if WiFi is not available. I didn't hear anyone asking for password when I was trekking in Nepal and Pakistan all those yrs ago.