Raja Ampat plus...

[NicoleLikesScuba]

I'm considering going to Sorido Bay Resort in December for 7-10 days. What would be the best location to add to this itinerary before or after this destination. Not sure if adding Alor beforehand (end of Nov) would be worth it (not sure it's the ideal time as it's at the end of the season and getting there time consuming as I would have to spend an extra night in Kupang). Lembeh?

 

[Cali_diver]

Lembeh is a great addition to Raja Ampat.. flights are easy in between and it is very different diving so you get a variety. It is mostly muck so you will see frogfish, octos and other cool critters.

 

[diveUAE]

I would add another place in RA - it’s incredible and you already paid the fee for diving in the marine park + spend time and effort getting there.

 

[Dan]

Sorindo Bay is in central RA. You may want to explore the south RA, like Misool Eco Resort for seeing oceanic manta & walking shark. Another option is to the west/north RA, like Raja4Divers in Pulau Pef.

 

[Dan]

Here’s my trip report of Pulau Pef staying in Raja4Divers Dive Resort. I’ll be there again in January 2025.

Trip Report - Pulau Pef - Little Raja Ampat Trip Report

Summary Let me start with a question that I always ask to myself about my last vacation trip. Is it worth the time & money to travel half around the world to dive in Pulau Pef and staying in Raja4 Divers Resort for a week? The answer is absolutely yes! For those of you who just want to get a...

scubaboard.com

 

[Centrals]

www.stayrajaampat.com

Far more flexible.

 

[Luko]

For a change of diving type you can add Lembeh of course, Ambon would be another option, conveniently one hour direct flight away from Sorong for both destinations.

Adding one week in R4 would be worthwhile, Sorido is expensive and doesn't allow you to boatdive on saturdays. there are lots of options where you can dive the same spots everyday of the week, besides that they all would be less expensive than Sorido. Check out Agusta resort (flexible checkin dates and duration unlike other resorts), Papua divers or RADL for example.
Raja4divers is located at the western tip of Dampier strait, it's another sub-location, where it will take more time and additional costs to get to the "star" sites (Cape Kri, Blue Magic, Sardines, etc.).

 

[living4experiences]

Sorido Bay is a nice choice but very expensive. With only 7 cottages, they are generally booked out very far in advance. I enjoyed my stay there last December, but I didn't like the no diving on Saturday thing because of their religion. My 10-day stay had 2 Saturdays. IMO, I shouldn't be forced into observance of someone else's religious practices.

Even though I knew this beforehand, it turned out to be an annoyance. Not only is there no diving, there are no other services available except dining.

Why not stay in Raja and just relocate to another resort? It's a big marine park and lots of variety to the sites. Next year, I'm staying at Cove Eco and RADL followed by a week on White Manta.

 

[NicoleLikesScuba]

Thank you all!!! These are great suggestions! I will look into each and every one of them.

 

[rmorgan]

Thank you all!!! These are great suggestions! I will look into each and every one of them

One more idea—there is decent availability of Raja liveaboards for December, and the prices will be coming down over the coming weeks