Is it possible to do Raja Ampat on a budget?

[Bowmouth]

if there is poor cottage in any place near the diving shop i will use it.

You could do it really cheap and bring a tent.

 

[jdfmail]

Thanks for the insight, I guess S/D and location are the key points and perhaps a lot of area is covered in a liveaboard trip so lots of fuel consumed. I guess I will just save for longer and also perhaps take Bowmouth's advice.

That being said, if anyone reading this has any info on cheap diving, or recommendations on good dive boats that are in the lower end of the scale, from what I have seen that is around $220/night, please post here.

thanks again...

 

[silent running]

I am no travel professional, and November will be our first trip to Raja Ampat, but I can make a few guesses ...

- First, Raja Ampat is in very high demand right now. It's the hot destination for Indo-Pacific divers. Most boats are booked a year out. So you are probably paying a "supply and demand" premium to book a space to dive there.

- RA is a long way from nowhere. Fuel and freight costs to supply a boat are probably astronomical, by local standards.

Hi hd, I think the main and probably only reason for the high prices of RE boats is the demand, pure and simple. Given that fuel in Indo is subsidized by the government and that the price of diesel in Alor, where I just came from, is less than $2 a gallon, along with the low cost of manual labor, boat operating costs are lower than probably anywhere else in Asia right now. These boats charge $300+ a night because that's what the market will bare. And it has kept me from going to RE as I hate being fleeced, especially for passage on one of the Pinisi style boats, which aren't exactly stable in heavier seas. That and the fact that there's great land based diving for about $100 a day in many other parts of Indo.

You can dive on a boat in PNG for $300+ night or less and may have an even better experience, given the health of the environment, similarly high diversity and greater chance of seeing big stuff. I have seen what my friend Capt. Craig of MV Golden Dawn in PNG pays for diesel-yikes. I don't mind paying that kind of money if the diving is excellent, I know that the operating costs really are high and the boat is at least a modern, sea worthy boat. -Andy

 

[highdesert]

Diesel is $4+ down the street ... maybe I should fill my duffel with it after our trip in November ...

 

[silent running]

Diesel is $4+ down the street ... maybe I should fill my duffel with it after our trip in November ...

Yes, if you don't mind the smell.

Speaking of flammable liquids, don't buy any duty free liquor in the Bali ot Jakarta airport, security will take it from you as soon as you reach the boarding gate at your gateway airport to the US, due to the American TSA confiscate any container over 500 ml rule. I wish the check-in agent in Bali had told me, as they should have. They took my duty free bottle of Arak in Hong Kong. Good thing it was only 5 bucks and and not an $80 liter of Glenmorangie Port Wood finish, boy would I have been pissed then!

Alas, now I won't be able to enjoy one of those lovely Arak and honey lemon juice soda cocktails I had in Bali. Man, those tasted good after 12 days alcohol free days of diving...

 

[mylovedhl]

You could do it really cheap and bring a tent.

Before i sleep in tent with my friends in Phillipine but maybe i feel awful alone in tent especially in Raja ampat..

 

[jdfmail]

Silent Running,

That's why I thought that I could find it cheaper. Thailand on a pretty decent boat is less than $150/night so I thought I could find it for that or less since these boats seem to be less spacious. I find it hard to believe that there aren't any operators that provide service at locals prices.

I guess I won't be diving here for awhile...

 

[silent running]

Silent Running,

That's why I thought that I could find it cheaper. Thailand on a pretty decent boat is less than $150/night so I thought I could find it for that or less since these boats seem to be less spacious. I find it hard to believe that there aren't any operators that provide service at locals prices.

I guess I won't be diving here for awhile...

Hi jdfmail, my Indonesian friend has never been to RE either, I'm guessing high cost is the reason, even though he has a good professional job in Jakarta, but probably doesn't like to get ripped off any more than I do. I'll ask him if there's any liveaboard boats in the RE area that cater to native Indonesians. If there are, I'm guessing they will soon be swamped with bargain hunting EU tourists who will then complain that the boat doesn't have any internet or recycling facilities...

 

[Travelnsj]

Take a look at the Kri resort. No hot water but the people I talked to who have been there liked it. I been to the Sorido resort around the corner and really liked it......plus the diving....the finest I have found so far.

 

[Bowmouth]

Silent Running,

That's why I thought that I could find it cheaper. Thailand on a pretty decent boat is less than $150/night so I thought I could find it for that or less since these boats seem to be less spacious. I find it hard to believe that there aren't any operators that provide service at locals prices.

I guess I won't be diving here for awhile...

You really can save some money by flying to Manado, take a taxi to Bitung, board a ferry from Pelni (at Pelabuhan Jetty) and "cruise" to Sorong.
I would certainly do a couple of days diving in Lembeh because it simply has some of the best (macro) diving there is to find in the world.