Raja Ampat liveboards

[Nabanga]

I have finally, after diving for nearly 30 years, reached the point where i can afford a liveaboard trip to RA. Looking online there are many options, but all through agents. There dont seem to be any boats with their own websites - any leads?
Also any first hand recommendations for boats.
Thanks!

 

[rongoodman]

Raja Ampat Liveaboard Scuba Diving, Indonesia | Aggressor Liveaboards. I've never been on this particular boat, but I would book a trip on any of their fleet without hesitation.

 

[borisphotosafari]

You can check agents on line and then Google the name of the liveaboard. All liveaboards have full webpages, and most have prices on them.
I use Diveadvice.com, they have prices and spaces available. So does Liveaboard.com and PADI travel.

 

[Damselfish]

The agents can be a good way to discover what all is out there, but I've never seen a LOB without it's own website that you can't book directly. There are pros and cons to using an agent of some sort vs doing it directly. From the US, an agent can sometimes make it easier to pay for a trip in some other countries, and sometimes make it easier to deal with large time zone differences or language barriers. For Laos, I dunno.

There are a lot of boats in RA with differing itineraries and a huge range of prices. It is hard for people to recommend boats without any idea of your budget or time of year. Also few folks have been on more than one or a couple so hard for them to recommend boats other than what they've been on vs only read about, same as you can do here.

 

[Damselfish]

Raja Ampat Liveaboard Scuba Diving, Indonesia | Aggressor Liveaboards. I've never been on this particular boat, but I would book a trip on any of their fleet without hesitation.

I would not book any Aggressor without researching the individual boat. (Though I have heard good things about this one.) Many are great, but they've had their share of misses and issues too. Most are franchised and simply marketed by Aggressor - which doesn't have a great track record of dealing with any problems with their franchises, so the name doesn't mean much.

 

[All Star Liveaboards]

I have finally, after diving for nearly 30 years, reached the point where i can afford a liveaboard trip to RA. Looking online there are many options, but all through agents. There dont seem to be any boats with their own websites - any leads?
Also any first hand recommendations for boats.
Thanks!

All Star Liveaboards just launched our new website that takes you through the full experience from destination to experiences, itineraries, the vessel and lastly our trip calendar. Our Raja Ampat season runs during the standard November-March time. Feel free to explore the new website, Incredible Scuba Dive Trips Aboard All Star Indonesia, and contact us with any questions you may have. All Star Liveaboards | Contact Us

 

[outofofficebrb]

I was on the Raja Ampat Aggressor and I highly recommend it. It was excellent. I agree with @Damselfish not all aggressors can be relied upon.

 

[runsongas]

using a travel broker like padi travel (former diviac) or divebooker can be more convenient so you can pay with a credit card. otherwise, a lot of places in indonesia require a wire transfer because they won't take visa.

 

[Shasta_man]

Highly recommend this one.

Dewi Nusantara

 

[borisphotosafari]

Dewi is a very nice boat, $$$$. I also like Amira, not as $$$$ and lots of room