Raja Ampat in September

[P-Dog]

Aloha everyone - I have a sudden opening in my schedule for the entire month of September and am thinking of heading to Raja Ampat - on a budget! Since I'll be there for a full month I need to pay close attention to costs.

First, Is September a good time to visit and dive?

Second, Planning a trip of this magnitude fairly last minute is daunting and I'm wondering if anyone has much experience with the home stays that offer diving? On a liveaboard I usually dive four or five dives a day. Can you do that much at a home stay? Do you need a guide to dive the house reefs? Night dive at home stays?

Third (to those that have been there), Is the diving better in the north or south?

I'm going to try and splurge on a liveaboard while I'm there, but that means that I will have another three weeks that needs an itinerary.

Thank you!

 

[matts1w]

First: No, September is not really a good time, but it is still divable. September is kind of the tail end of the rainy season. Some boats will still be on other itineraries- many around Komodo.

Second: I don't have experience with homestays, but there are members here that do. I can add that budget Raja Ampat isn't really all that cheap compared to the rest of Indonesia.

Third: My experience is the best diving is around Kri. I would book most of my time around there.

 

[also_anon_dc]

Planning a trip of this magnitude fairly last minute is daunting

You don't have to plan it yourself. I've used Bluewater Dive Travel and there are other dive travel agencies.

 

[stepfen]

Second, Planning a trip of this magnitude fairly last minute is daunting and I'm wondering if anyone has much experience with the home stays that offer diving? On a liveaboard I usually dive four or five dives a day. Can you do that much at a home stay? Do you need a guide to dive the house reefs? Night dive at home stays?

Stayed in Corepen (Gam) for 3 weeks (over 2 trips) BEFORE covid.

For diving: They are in a very convenient location (close to all the main attractions of Dampier straight), good guides (David the owner and main guide dives there for years and years, Maria is very good guide too - I doubt post covid they have other guides as they used to do). Their boat is the standard boat used by most land operators in the area (not LoBs). They normally do 2 morning dives. Every night after dinner David discusses with visitors their intentions and the conditions (tides/currents etc) for next morning and together they decide the sites. IF several guest request it, they would do an extra afternoon or night dive. I can't think of anything any other homestay could do better in terms of diving.

About house reef, diving without a local guide is officially prohibited in Indonesia. Now, IF you are nice to your hosts, IF you show them that you can handle it, IF conditions (currents etc) allow it and IF they want it, they MIGHT allow you to dive the house reef.

About planning/booking etc. I did everything through www.stayrajaampat.com . Basically you fill in a booking request form with your details (dates etc), they forward it to the hosts, within hours (keep the time zone differences in mind) hosts reply confirming availability and it's all set. You pay for your stay (and diving) once you are there (cash or credit cards accepted).

You can have a look at stayrajaampat for other homestays, recent reviews etc.

Make sure you understand what homestay is: Very basic accommodation (usually a small hut with a mattress on the floor and a mosquito net) in a remote area, with limited electricity (usually 6-10pm or so), NO AC (few homestays offer a fan if you are lucky - in Corepen I didn't need one as the sea breaze was very pleasant) , common toilet/shower. All meals included: fried bananas or pancakes for breakfast, fish or occasionally chicken with rice and vegetables for lunch/dinner and some snacks i.e. cookies/tea/coffee for surface intervals. Food was quite delicious (apart from the breakfast maybe), but it does get a bit repetitive after a while.

Apart from diving, snorkeling, socializing with fellow guests and relaxing watching the ocean, there is very little you can do there. Hosts can arrange some activities (early morning bird watching walk, boat trip to mangroves, a day trip to Piaynemo), or you can walk yourself to nearby homestays and that's all more or less.

Keep in mind: no such thing as a shop anywhere near.

I hope these help

 

[SaltyWombat]

Third (to those that have been there), Is the diving better in the north or south?

I found the best diving to be in the central part, around Kri as @matts1w mentions. The topside experience, looking at the islands, etc., is nice in the north & south though.

Lucky for you there are lots of homestays in the central region.

 

[JustinJRL]

I think September would be fine for homestays.

The worst part about Raja is getting there.

I was on Kri last October and weather was excellent. September will be at the tail end of rainy season, but from what I understand diving is great year round and seasons mostly matter for sea conditions. You can search on stayraja as @stepfen has mentioned, for places with diveshops on site. Kri is an ideal choice because there are many homestays within walking distance. @stepfen did a good job describing the homestay expectations.

Having done a liveaboard and a homestay, next time I will be spending as long as I can at a homestay. I don't need fancy dinners, I don't need AC, and I can probably survive without alcohol for a week or two.

 

[P-Dog]

I think September would be fine for homestays.

The worst part about Raja is getting there.

I was on Kri last October and weather was excellent. September will be at the tail end of rainy season, but from what I understand diving is great year round and seasons mostly matter for sea conditions. You can search on stayraja as @stepfen has mentioned, for places with diveshops on site. Kri is an ideal choice because there are many homestays within walking distance. @stepfen did a good job describing the homestay expectations.

Having done a liveaboard and a homestay, next time I will be spending as long as I can at a homestay. I don't need fancy dinners, I don't need AC, and I can probably survive without alcohol for a week or two.

Thank you for your information. You are so right. I'm trying to get there from Kona, Hawaii and it's just a nightmare. I'm wondering if I should make the trip to the Mainland to fly out of California to make it a bit easier...I'll keep checking my options!

How difficult was it to arrange diving through the homestays? That is my main question. I am totally okay with simple accommodations and food. I just prefer western style toilets.

My current plan is something like this:

liveaboard at Cenderawasih Bay for two weeks.

Homestay on Arborak for a few days/week.

Homestay on Kri for a few days/week.

I've been trying to get into the Cove Eco Resort for it's remote location, but they are full for my dates.


Also, how easy were the boat transfers arranged by the homestays?

I'm looking at having my big dive gear bag and a small clothes suitcase - can the homestay boats fit all that? I'm sure they are accustomed to divers...

 

[Carlos Diver]

P-Dog,
You should have plenty of flights to Japan from Hawaii. You should be able to hop nonstop to DPS and CGK from HND or NRT. Also, the possibility of flying the puddle jumper through Guam and MNL into either city.

I know those aren't ideal, but you can match those against flying back up to LA or SFO for the jump.

The fun with making flights work doesnt stop once you get to Indonesia, if anything, it gets more ``fun.''

Hope I helped.

 

[cetacean]

About house reef, diving without a local guide is officially prohibited in Indonesia. Now, IF you are nice to your hosts, IF you show them that you can handle it, IF conditions (currents etc) allow it and IF they want it, they MIGHT allow you to dive the house reef.

This may have been something they told you, but definitely not true.

Wakatobi advertises unguided house reef dives (available all day long, including night dives). We've done this dive many times... Also, during our recent stay at Sorido Bay (Kri Island) we could (and did) dive the house reef without guides (the actually recommend it - easy dive, virtually impossible to get lost).

 

[JustinJRL]

How difficult was it to arrange diving through the homestays?

In my limited experience it was easy. That was on Kri, where there are a few dive centers. If one was full, I would go to the next one the day before, or have the homestay manager arrange it for me. I could see it being an issue if your homestay doesn't speak english. Soul Scuba is the most reputable dive center on kri and is run by westerners (but highly involved in the community).

As for getting around the islands, It shouldn't be a problem but it will be costly. There always seemed to be somebody around with a boat looking to make money.