Thought I would share our experiences on board the RAE.
In short it was great!
11 days/10 nights – 33 dives.
Boat departs from Sorong, but we arrived 2 days early and stayed near Waisai (Scuba Republic) for some “pre cruise” diving and RAE picked us up in Waisai without extra cost. They also dropped us at Tabari Dive lodge after the trip – on day 10 after the 2 morning dives. This saved us a lot of time, and we appreciated the flexibility.
We lucked out and it was only the 2 of us + 2 other guests. We’re DM and OWSI with 8-900+ dives, the other couple was a marine biologist, who logged dive number 4000 and a CD who celebrated 1.100 dives during the trip. No airhogs;-)
Still we had 2 dive guides: Diego and the Cruise Director (sorry forgot his name, will just use CD)
Originally this was a “RA North”-trip including Wayag, but since there was a dispute regarding mining, Wayag and most of the north was closed for tourists, so we stayed more central – visited Piaynemo (as originally planned) and did more dives in Pam/Fam area.
Got lucky at Manta Sandy and saw 3 mantas (July is not the season, so did not expect to see them).
More details:
Booking: I booked directly with Grand Komodo Liveaboards. Kian answered my many, many emails quick and professional – especially when our original boat (Putri Papua) sank and they offered us the RAE instead (bigger, more comfortable) – he also gave a detailed description of what happened with PP and what they’re doing to prevent it – not much they can do, since it was very sudden bad weather that coursed the boat to sink.
Boat: Used to be a fishing vessel, before it was rebuilt with 7 cabins (2 on upper deck, 5 below) for 14 guests.
It’s a wooden boat and I know some don’t like the sounds when it moves, but it doesn’t bother us.
There’s a small sun deck (more than enough for the 4 of us, but maybe with 14 divers it could get crowded).
Dining area is inside with strong ac.
Cabin: I’d booked an upper-deck cabin, and it was a nice size (not the smallest nor the biggest we’ve ever had.)
Had windows above the bed – I think they open, but we never tried.
The double (queen size) bed was against the wall on one side, making it a bit difficult to get up at night. Still: it’s quite common to have it this way and the bed was comfortable.
One cabinet with 2 doors above each other for storing clothes. Next to the bed there were 2 small drawers and space under them.
Under the bed was room for hand luggage – our big suitcase we left at the end of the bed.
Bathroom was ok and there was plenty of hot water. No shampoo.
Towels were changed every 2-3 days – we had 2 sets: 1 for the cabin and 1 for dive/sun deck.
My husband did not like his pillow – said it had a bad smell, just asked to get it changed and got a new one.
Good/strong ac.
Outside the cabin was a place with big pegs, where we could hang our wet swimsuits.
Everything was nice and clean – beds were made every day (unlike the boats we were on in Thailand, where they never made the beds).
Food:
Food was good and there was more than enough for the 4 of us. Usually egg, bacon (yes, pork!), vegetables and pancakes for breakfast + of course toast if you wanted.
3-4 dishes for lunch – some fish, chicken, pork and vegetables + rice and fresh fruit.
Same for dinner – except there would be cake or similar for dessert.
There was a water dispenser with hot/cold/normal water. And a fridge with beer and soft drinks (mostly coca cola – no diet/zero).
In short it was great!
11 days/10 nights – 33 dives.
Boat departs from Sorong, but we arrived 2 days early and stayed near Waisai (Scuba Republic) for some “pre cruise” diving and RAE picked us up in Waisai without extra cost. They also dropped us at Tabari Dive lodge after the trip – on day 10 after the 2 morning dives. This saved us a lot of time, and we appreciated the flexibility.
We lucked out and it was only the 2 of us + 2 other guests. We’re DM and OWSI with 8-900+ dives, the other couple was a marine biologist, who logged dive number 4000 and a CD who celebrated 1.100 dives during the trip. No airhogs;-)
Still we had 2 dive guides: Diego and the Cruise Director (sorry forgot his name, will just use CD)
Originally this was a “RA North”-trip including Wayag, but since there was a dispute regarding mining, Wayag and most of the north was closed for tourists, so we stayed more central – visited Piaynemo (as originally planned) and did more dives in Pam/Fam area.
Got lucky at Manta Sandy and saw 3 mantas (July is not the season, so did not expect to see them).
More details:
Booking: I booked directly with Grand Komodo Liveaboards. Kian answered my many, many emails quick and professional – especially when our original boat (Putri Papua) sank and they offered us the RAE instead (bigger, more comfortable) – he also gave a detailed description of what happened with PP and what they’re doing to prevent it – not much they can do, since it was very sudden bad weather that coursed the boat to sink.
Boat: Used to be a fishing vessel, before it was rebuilt with 7 cabins (2 on upper deck, 5 below) for 14 guests.
It’s a wooden boat and I know some don’t like the sounds when it moves, but it doesn’t bother us.
There’s a small sun deck (more than enough for the 4 of us, but maybe with 14 divers it could get crowded).
Dining area is inside with strong ac.
Cabin: I’d booked an upper-deck cabin, and it was a nice size (not the smallest nor the biggest we’ve ever had.)
Had windows above the bed – I think they open, but we never tried.
The double (queen size) bed was against the wall on one side, making it a bit difficult to get up at night. Still: it’s quite common to have it this way and the bed was comfortable.
One cabinet with 2 doors above each other for storing clothes. Next to the bed there were 2 small drawers and space under them.
Under the bed was room for hand luggage – our big suitcase we left at the end of the bed.
Bathroom was ok and there was plenty of hot water. No shampoo.
Towels were changed every 2-3 days – we had 2 sets: 1 for the cabin and 1 for dive/sun deck.
My husband did not like his pillow – said it had a bad smell, just asked to get it changed and got a new one.
Good/strong ac.
Outside the cabin was a place with big pegs, where we could hang our wet swimsuits.
Everything was nice and clean – beds were made every day (unlike the boats we were on in Thailand, where they never made the beds).
Food:
Food was good and there was more than enough for the 4 of us. Usually egg, bacon (yes, pork!), vegetables and pancakes for breakfast + of course toast if you wanted.
3-4 dishes for lunch – some fish, chicken, pork and vegetables + rice and fresh fruit.
Same for dinner – except there would be cake or similar for dessert.
There was a water dispenser with hot/cold/normal water. And a fridge with beer and soft drinks (mostly coca cola – no diet/zero).
Status of Wayag Access & Tourism Amid Mining Dispute
Tourism Implications for July 2025
