Trip Report Raja Ampat 2 weeks at Cove Eco Resort

[Luko]

if you are late you get a bit chastised .

Hahaha.. i clearly recognize Obin's management style!
I was a bit scolded on the first day because I was bold enough to interrupt his schedule briefing with a comment but after that we became "best friends forever" since it happened I knew some of his guide friends, after a couple of days we could call the dives we wanted with our own boat and own guide.

Clearly a resort offering some of the most convenient dive arrangements I have been to.

 

[Centrals]

I've been to Raja Ampat 5 times.

You are probably responding to someone who had never been to R4!

 

[DirtFish]

Hahaha.. i clearly recognize Obin's management style!
I was a bit scolded on the first day because I was bold enough to interrupt his schedule briefing with a comment but after that we became "best friends forever" since it happened I knew some of his guide friends, after a couple of days we could call the dives we wanted with our own boat and own guide.

Clearly a resort offering some of the most convenient dive arrangements I have been to.

Thank you Luko! It was your recommendation that helped with our decision to book Cove Eco.
Maybe some day our diving paths will cross.

 

[lavieafond]

Thanks for your review. We are headed there in May!

 

[Bookworm11]

I certainly can afford a LOB. And my experiences are not total BS. My LOB cost $8k USD for 8 nights. 1/3 of the divers got ill from norovirus and missed at least one full day of diving. I was so ill I missed eating food for the last 4 nights of the cruise. I was really ill for 36 hours. On the LOB, there was one DM for the five of us in our group. He consistenly took us down to 90 feet or more even when the other groups did not go that deep, and there was nothing to see there. Frequently, I did not see what he was pointing out as I was at the tail end of the group. I never saw a wobbegong with the LOB. I saw fewer mantas, and with worse visibility, and further away, and for less time. As this was my first and only LOB, I can't say if this is a typical experience. But as it was very expensive, and not very rewarding, it did not leave me wanting to rush back for more. Further, as I dive solo, I am not willing to pay double to dive. And I am not willing to share a cabin with a man. The LOBs I've looked at either require you to pay double or share with a man, and I am not going to do that.

At the land resort, I had my own DM. Everyone diving at the resort was diving in groups of three or less, and most were groups of two or solo. I saw way more mantas, in better visibility, they were closer, and I saw them longer. I saw many more fish and nudis with my DM. I even saw a large octopus for well over 8 minutes about 1 foot away!

 

[cetacean]

@DirtFish

Thanks for the extensive write up! Did you look into pre-paying for excess baggage? We've been diving in Indonesia many times, we also pre-pay for extra luggage - that way we don't stress about the weight limits.

With our camera gear we would never make it under those limits.

 

[cetacean]

Totally agree. I don't get the obsession with LOBs...3-4x the cost, less comfort, not guaranteed better diving. To each their own.

And once again we get the "I don't get the obsession with LOBs..."

Good luck never diving Cocos, Darwin & Wolf in the Galapagos, or some of the more remote sites in the Solomons.

Daft comment. You pay for a wider range of access. Land based diving usually offers better coverage of a smaller region, where LOBs offer greater access of a larger region.

 

[JonnieB]

Edit.