Inquiry about Indonesia

[Kromar]

Hi,

My girlfriend and I last visited Komodo and Raja Ampat in 2017. It was a spectacular experience, and we think it’s been too long, so it’s time to go back. We are aiming to travel in the winter of 2025, with February or March being the best months for us. I’d like to ask those who frequently visit these regions about the current conditions of the underwater life in both Komodo and Raja Ampat.

In 2017, while visiting Komodo, we stayed in Labuan Bajo and did daily boat dives with one of the local dive shops. In Raja Ampat, we stayed at Kri Eco Resort, which was extraordinary. This time, we’d like to try something new, so I’d also appreciate recommendations for dive resorts and liveaboards.

Thanks,
MK

 

[cozcharlie]

You probably need to provide more information about budget and other preferences. As a couple you could probably spend $100/day in Raja at home stay or close to $1,000 day on a luxury liveaboard.

I was in Raja about 6 months ago —the life was still good but the visibility was probably less than normal as I recall .

Also the winter of 2025 is fairly soon , many places are probably already booked

 

[Kromar]

You probably need to provide more information about budget and other preferences. As a couple you could probably spend $100/day in Raja at home stay or close to $1,000 day on a luxury liveaboard.

I was in Raja about 6 months ago —the life was still good but the visibility was probably less than normal as I recall .

Also the winter of 2025 is fairly soon , many places are probably already booked

Our daily budget would be around $300-400 per day of diving. We aim for around 10 days of diving.

 

[cozcharlie]

You might look for a budget/mid range liveaboard for Raja. Something should be achievable at that budget range if there is still space for your dates. I am not familiar with the land based options in your price range. Papua Explorers and Raja 4 Divers are a couple of places that get mentioned on this board but I didn’t see their rates online (I suspect they are slightly above your budget and likely booked ).

Hoping this follow up post will generate some other responses from people more familiar with the options in your budget range (your budget is probably a little lower than average for 2 people but still realistic). You can do cheaper with a homestay but you get what you pay for . Obviously use the search function in this board to look at trip reports etc.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Our daily budget would be around $300-400 per day of diving. We aim for around 10 days of diving.

Is that $ per person or for the pair of you?

 

[Kromar]

Is that $ per person or for the pair of you?

That would be per person.

 

[cozcharlie]

That would be per person.

I thought you meant per couple , which was why I was thinking you were a little below average in budget. With $300-400 dollars per person per day that should give you access to most land options. You probably can do most mid range liveaboards on that budget. You might look on liveaboard.com to see what liveaboards actually have space in your price range and travel dates and then search this forum for further detail (liveaboard.com also has reviews ).

As I mentioned, Raja4divers and Papua explorers are a couple of land based resorts that get mentioned here but there are others. I usually Sorido Bay which is probably just outside your price range and is probably booked (it is the sister resort to Kri Eco where you stayed last time —sorido has air conditioning). Misool resort is another well regarded land based option but it is usually booked up years in advance (and is fairly pricey ).