Question Raja Ampat March/April, best land-based shallow coral sites?

[Corals_6336]

Hi, planning to spend two weeks in Raja Ampat in March/April, snorkeling at the best coral sites.

I was eyeing Dampier strait, particularly Kri, but the ongoing bleaching event that started in December 2024 threw me off and the reports of Yenbuba jetty/Soredo bay are not encouraging at all.

So I am now not sure if I should rather try to stay and snorkel on the east fringes of Misool (saw videos but wasn't impressed by the corals, which seemes betteru around Kri at that time) or in Pam islands.

I won't mind as much wildlife as possible besides corals (possibly not crocodiles, but they're quite rare anyway), but given that they can easily move while corals cannot, finding plenty of various species of colorful pristine corals to photograph would give me some peace of mind of at least being assured of finding them when I snorkel, with everything else being an extra that could change depending on the day.

All suggestions welcome, thank you.

 

[cozcharlie]

This is obviously a dive forum , so I’m not real familiar with the snorkeling options. Given the popularity of snorkeling these days (I run into snorkeling groups more and more frequently at top tier dive destinations), you might see if there are any snorkeling focused liveaboard options. They will be more expensive than most land options but you will probably get more out of it. A lot of the good sites are going to require you to snorkel from a boat due to distances, currents and tides (which are often highly correlated ). I guess you can go from one home stay to another but even that would be challenging because you would still need a boat part of the time.

All of the above said , if your are sticking with land I think you are on the right track with Fam/Pam or whatever they are calling them (I think there is a debate on another thread , but I have usually heard Fam). Melissa’s Garden was probably the most vibrant site we dove in Raja and much of it was very shallow (but I you will probably need to visit by boat, not certain what is close to it ). Misool has a great reputation, but I am not familiar with the land options other than the resort that is booked years in advance (and Misool is a long way from the rest of Raja, so once you are there you are there ).

 

[JustinJRL]

I've not snorkelled much in Raja ampat outside of Kri and Gam, but the coral at Friwen wall, Fam wall, Batu Rufus are phenomenal as you are entering/surfacing.

The snorkelling on Kri in general is awesome, but not necessarily for the shallow coral.