Raja Ampat--liveaboard and land--Which boat?resort? time of year?

[viva1]

Hi--

I'm starting to plan for a 2-3 week trip to Raja Ampat for Nov. 2014. I'd like to do a combo of liveaboard/resort. Maybe 1 week each? Someone told me that the Misool Eco Resort is fantastic. It looks expensive, but I'd be willing to pay if it's the be-all and end-all. Any thought about Misool vs the other resorts in the area? Which is closest to the best diving (I love gorgeous coral, mantas, beautiful reef fish-- sharks are not important to me.

I've heard that Nov./Dec. is the best weather for diving and land. Is that true?

In terms of the liveaboard, what boats do you recommend. I've heard good things about Seven Seas, but would like more input.

What town should we try to get a liveaboard from to find the type of diving we want? It looks like there are a couple of places to start from. I don't know if it makes any difference...

Thanks!

 

[OnTheSpot]

Hi Viva,

You are planning to go to an awesome place - so that's a good start. A liveaboard and resort combo will ensure you dive some amazing sites. I am jealous.

Time of the year? Here is what we say:
Most Indonesian liveaboards visit Raja Ampat during the months of October until the end of April, although it is possible to find a few boats running trips all the year round. During the months of July to mid-September, strong winds and rain can cause rough seas, causing boats to schedule other areas to visit and closing some of the dive resorts in this period.

However, it is possible to enjoy West Papua diving all year round since several boats leave Raja Ampat and move east along the north coast of Papua into Cenderawasih Bay. Here you can find whale sharks at any time of the year and many of the dive sites are sheltered from rough seas.

The Papua provinces of Indonesia have 2 rainy seasons - in November/December and again in July/August.


Yes Misool Eco Resort is very nice, very right-on and run by cool people. It is very well-placed to be close to some awesome diving. Even their house reef is pretty special. There are other options like Kri Eco Resort which is the longest running Raja Ampat resort.

Most standard Raja Ampat trips leave from Sorong. Sorong Airport has a regular flight service to / from Manado, Bali and Jakarta.

As for boats there is a huge choice. A lot depends on budget and timing. This is a list of recommended ones where you can compare their schedules, prices, facilities etc. Hope it helps. Let me know if you need more. Raja Ampat Liveaboard in West Papua - Indonesia - MV Pindito

 

[jcclink]

Consider a liveaboard that does the southern itinerary (Sorong to Misool). Misool has some amazing dive sites, but transfer from Sorong to Misool Eco Resort has not been a fun experience for many of us. (My return transfer last Nov only took 8 hrs.) Liveaboards provide the opportunity to dive many great areas that are not possible from resorts. Choose a liveaboard that has several years of experience diving RA. Some of the newer arrivals don't know the best dive sites or how to dive them.

 

[Hintermann]

Hi--

I'm starting to plan for a 2-3 week trip to Raja Ampat for Nov. 2014. I'd like to do a combo of liveaboard/resort. I've heard that Nov./Dec. is the best weather for diving and land. Is that true?

!

I have a 12-day livebaord cruise booked on the MSV Seahorse in November 2014. That trip is covering a combination of northern and southern sites with a total of a whopping 39 dives offered. I cannot tell you much about the local resorts but after that sort a liveaboard trip I would have thought that the diver would have seen a good cross section of the marine life in Raja Ampat.

Mid-October to mid-December (hence all of November) is certainly considered to be the best time to dive in Raja Ampat. The weather on land could be abit variable, including rain in some areas. But most people go there to dive.

 

[Shasta_man]

Diving from the liveaboard will be equal to the resort so you don't HAVE To do the resort too. Conversely, diving from the resort will be good though you wouldn't get quite the diversity of diving as you get from the liveaboard, and you'll get more diving on the liveaboard. Liveaboards are typically 12-14 days @ 4-5 dives a day in that area.

 

[jake11]

Check out the Dewi Nusantara! We had an excellent trip on her to RA. If you go with the land option and choose Misool Eco Resort then look up Bram who is a dive guide there! He was one of our dive guides on the AA2 and he was excellent!!! Have fun!! It is an amazing place!

 

[Quero]

Viva, as you've got two to three weeks, I would recommend doing a liveaboard that covers both the south (Misool, famous for stunning corals) and areas further north, particularly Dampier Strait where manta rays are regularly seen. While most Raja Ampat liveaboards depart from and return to Sorong, some range further out at different periods to include Cenderawasih Bay or Ambon as well as the "standard" Raja Ampat itinerary. Because it's likely that you will have to fly to Sorong, you might want to spend the remainder of your time, particularly if you've got three weeks, in the Manado area, if you don't already know it, for diving at Lembeh. Many of my Raja Ampat-bound customers do exactly this, especially if they are coming from far away and need some time to get over jet lag. They will get to Asia, spend from a few days to a week diving at Lembeh from a land-based resort, and then continue on to Sorong for their liveaboard trip.

 

[Darnold9999]

I would agree with Quero. Do as long a liveaboard as you can get - a week is not enough - and a few days at Lembeh. Have done this twice once with Lembeh for three days at the beginning and once for a week at the end of the trip. Before was better, but both worked. Before allowed me to get comfortable in the water again in a very benign environment. Shallow diving, minimal currents then on to the liveaboard already acclimatized to the climate, time zone and diving. No matter how you get to Sorong it will be a very long trip and adjusting to everything takes a day or two. Spending those days near Monado diving just worked better for me than doing the same adjustment on a boat. Also did the same trip staying for three weeks in Bali first and then doing a liveaboard - best of all possible worlds but not normal.

Of the three boats I have done I would rate them in order of preference, Damai, Dewi Nusantara, Ondina. I think you will find them also in the same order in terms of price. Have heard very good things about Arinui from friends who did a trip on that boat.

I would avoid any repositioning trips - i.e. ones that go from Sorong to somewhere else or somewhere else to Sorong and the beginning or end of the season. Outside of the marine protected area many reefs in the area have been destroyed by dynamite fishing - or at least the ones between Raja and Lembeh were on the repositioning trip I did - very disappointing.

Have not done any of the resorts in the area. Visited Misool Eco Lodge for a day on the way by, very nice set up, very isolated. Some excellent diving nearby, but you will likely do many of those dives from a liveaboard so doing both would not make sense for me. I would either do a liveaboard or a resort but not both in Raja. Might do Misool Lodge for a week and then a liveaboard that only did North Raja if such a thing could be arranged.

 

[Hintermann]

>> I would recommend doing a liveaboard that covers both the south (Misool, famous for stunning corals) and areas further north, particularly Dampier Strait where manta rays are regularly seen. <<

The cruise that I am booked into in November 2014 on board the MSV Seahorse has the following itinerary over 11 days: South Misool,Batanta, Dampier Strait, Mansuar Waigeo, Gam and Kri areas. I was told by others here that it is a good selection of north and south dive sites. You might want to look at that trip if places are still available.

 

[LiquidDivingAdventure]

Ahhhh Raja Ampat and to select a liveaboard.... The Arenui, the Pindito, Dewi Nusantara, the Damai I & II, the Seahorse. I book clients on all of these charters and it usually comes down to the diver's travel dates and which ship has availability. All of these are first class charters.

Raja Ampat land-based I'd pick raja4divers (Pulau Pef) or Misool Eco, both very similar in cost, excellent house reefs. But if I were going to do a Raja Ampat iveaboard, I'd suggest a land based trip to Tulamben, Ambon (critters without the crowds), Bunaken, or Lembeh.

We have a 2014 charter on the Arenui to Alor and Komodo and are booking folks to either Raja Ampat resorts or Ambon or Lembeh after the charter to give them a variety of Indonesia. Not sure I'd recommend Raja Ampat for both land-based and liveaboard legs of a trip.