Raja Ampat in July

[Pulmcc]

Hey everyone. I am starting to plan a trip to Raja Ampat and it looks like the ideal time to go is between October and May. I know July is rainy season so visibility may not be as good but would it still be worth the trip? We live in the U.S. so it's quite the trek and have to time our trips with our kids' school schedules so it's either July or December (we would be able to spend 2 weeks in the area). Unfortunately, we already have big trips planned for Dec 2024 and Dec 2025 but if you think that it is best to go at the end of December, I will plan for Dec 2026. Otherwise, I will look further into July 2025. Thanks.

 

[Cali_diver]

That is a tough one.... Are you looking at a liveaboard or a resort? Let me preface this with I have been to Raja many many times so I have a bit of experience with the conditions. I just got back from a trip there in July and we had warm blue water, pretty good viz, lots and lots of fish. It was great because there were no other boats there and we could choose our dive sites accordingly. In December there are boats everywhere I mean everywhere... you have to call in to reserve sites and you will have other boats drop their divers on you. In April I was on a small site in the south and 6 other tenders dropped their divers on the site. It was ridiculous. Some of the resorts have priority so if you look at Dec. 2026 at Misool for example you will have priority on sites in the south so less issues with crowds.

 

[Pulmcc]

That is a tough one.... Are you looking at a liveaboard or a resort? Let me preface this with I have been to Raja many many times so I have a bit of experience with the conditions. I just got back from a trip there in July and we had warm blue water, pretty good viz, lots and lots of fish. It was great because there were no other boats there and we could choose our dive sites accordingly. In December there are boats everywhere I mean everywhere... you have to call in to reserve sites and you will have other boats drop their divers on you. In April I was on a small site in the south and 6 other tenders dropped their divers on the site. It was ridiculous. Some of the resorts have priority so if you look at Dec. 2026 at Misool for example you will have priority on sites in the south so less issues with crowds.

I was thinking liveaboard since my wife doesn't dive and she can at least snorkel (which she likes to do), hopefully at most locations. For example, this itinerary on the Coralia fits our schedule. I could be wrong but staying at a resort will limit our time together as well as what she can do.

https://www.coralia-liveaboard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Coralia-Liveaboard-Sample-Itinerary-Raja-Ampat-Dampier-Strait-Batanta.pdf

After Raja Ampat, was thinking about heading to Komodo for a few days (doubt liveaboard) before heading home.

 

[Cali_diver]

@Pulmcc I think she would really enjoy that! I just did a trip in April on the Pindito and at a resort in Batanta with a snorkeler and she had a fantastic time at both. A good boat, and I am pretty sure that Coralia fits that bill, will make sure they have a guide for your wife. Then she can choose which sites etc that she wants to snorkel and doesn't get forced into sitting on a dive boat for 2 morning dives. I would always choose a LOB over a resort so I think its a great idea. What time of year is the trip you are looking at?

 

[Pulmcc]

@Pulmcc I think she would really enjoy that! I just did a trip in April on the Pindito and at a resort in Batanta with a snorkeler and she had a fantastic time at both. A good boat, and I am pretty sure that Coralia fits that bill, will make sure they have a guide for your wife. Then she can choose which sites etc that she wants to snorkel and doesn't get forced into sitting on a dive boat for 2 morning dives. I would always choose a LOB over a resort so I think its a great idea. What time of year is the trip you are looking at?

Looking at July 2025. Only other time we have is December but looks like it’s pretty chaotic during that time, not to mention more expensive. Unfortunately; Coralia does not provide guides for snorkelers but did say that they will have SMB’s and the boat drivers will be nearby. They also said that snorkeling will only be available at shallow reef dive sites, not submerged reefs or pinnacles.

 

[Cali_diver]

Oh that's too bad... they always had a guide (often the Cruise director) on the Pindito and both of the Damai boats when we had snorkelers. We also were able to snorkel on Mayhem and Magic Mountain which were both submerged reefs. It probably won't be an issue... Raja in the shallows is amazing! At least in July you wouldn't have to worry about getting hit by another tender since you will probably be by yourself on the site.

 

[Pulmcc]

Oh that's too bad... they always had a guide (often the Cruise director) on the Pindito and both of the Damai boats when we had snorkelers. We also were able to snorkel on Mayhem and Magic Mountain which were both submerged reefs. It probably won't be an issue... Raja in the shallows is amazing! At least in July you wouldn't have to worry about getting hit by another tender since you will probably be by yourself on the site.

That's good info, appreciate it. I will look up those liveaboards. Thanks! I know weather is unpredictable but any idea how often the liveaboards are affected in July by weather?

 

[Cali_diver]

Well Raja is an area that doesn't have long unprotected crossings and there is pretty much always going to be safe anchorages. So other than rain and possible wind issues which would make getting in and out of tenders possibly difficult in some areas I don't think it would effect the boats too much. I haven't heard any horror stories of people getting stuck in Sorong harbor like we have heard happened in Komodo last year. It might be a better question for the operator and make sure you get trip insurance. I have been to Raja in July 3 times and we have always had good conditions in Central area. It has usually been a trip combined with Cenderawasih Bay but we have always spent a few days in Raja. We had more rain in April this year than when we were there in July... It's tropical so anything can happen.

 

[reubencahn]

One of the best trips I've done was Raja in July/August. We did two liveaboards with a short stay at Papua Paradise in between. Sites were empty. Vis was fantastic. Life plentiful. Only downside is you will not get to Misool. Summer months boats generally stick to central and north RA. Some of the more northern sites are spectacular, so I would look for a boat that will get you there.