Raja Ampat recommendations

[roxolana1]

Hi. I've looked through various reports on Raja Ampat and am hoping for some advice to help me make a good decision about our upcoming trip.

We're looking to spend about 8-10 days diving, though that's somewhat flexible. We love healthy corals and pelagics and would want to see both. We're eager to experience the highest quality diving possible - that's the focus, rather than for example the liveaboard with the best food / most comfort. Some macro would be a nice bonus but that's less of a focus.

I've seen reports of bleaching events and so want to work with the most up to date information. We're planning to go in late Dec / early Jan.

I'd so appreciate any thoughts about which areas are most highly recommended, itineraries which focus on those areas, liveaboards vs land-based options (or a combination).

We also love birding but we don't want to compromise on diving for that - we can always extend the trip after or before to go to birding locations - but figured it's worth mentioning.

We're reasonably experienced divers (my dive count on here is out of date), comfortable with currents.

Thank you!

 

[cozcharlie]

You need to narrow your questions a little . Also specify budget (inexpensive , mid-range or high end ). For the most part you get what you pay for (though diving and service isn’t that much better between mid-tier and high end ). Some of the more expensive operations have been operating a long time and have more experience in the area, which is useful given every dive is tide dependent (you might go with plan A, plan B or even plan C on a good day )

I think most people agree that Misool area in the south is really good diving you would want in a liveaboard itinerary. The actual Misool resort books up years in advance .

I have heard good news recently on Central R4 Dampier Strait /Cape Kri area —was just with a woman who dove and snorkeled there a few weeks ago and she said it wasn’t obvious that bleaching had even happened . Biologists might not agree , but she was someone who spends months per year in Indonesia and liked to look at coral and small stuff so I definitely would give weight to her opinion. Cruise director on liveaboard said things were already recovering in the Spring , so those data points are consistent.

Northern Raja still seems to have issues . It is generally less dived and I gather the locals are not happy with tourists. Locals in northern R4 want money from mining (they don’t get much tourism money that far north ) , tourists like us don’t want mines stressing the ecosystem.


FYI. I gather there was some unrest in Sorong around Independence Day . Haven’t seen press reports but sounded a little messy.

 

[diveUAE]

We visited in July this year and although bleaching was visible another diver on our LOB (Marine Biologist who specialises in corals) said it looked like the corals were recovering.

I've not been, but everyone says to get to Misool for the best corals. Can't do that during the summer, so we stayed central and saw fantastic coral and amazing fish life - some dives we struggled to see the reef for fish.

You mention pelagics, but other than the mantas, don't expect to see a lot in RA. We saw white/black tip reef sharks on many dives, grey reef sharks on some and wobbegong sharks plenty of dives.
Other than that it was mostly smaller fish - but did see schools of barracuda, jacks and sweetlips (not very big schools though). Lots of macro everywhere.

With 8-10 days I'd pick a LOB doing central and Misool, maybe extend with a stay in Central or Fam/Pam area, depending on budget there are both resorts and home stays.

 

[Centrals]

 

[NovaCane]

I have heard good news recently on Central R4 Dampier Strait /Cape Kri area —was just with a woman who dove and snorkeled there a few weeks ago and she said it wasn’t obvious that bleaching had even happened . Biologists might not agree , but she was someone who spends months per year in Indonesia and liked to look at coral and small stuff so I definitely would give weight to her opinion. Cruise director on liveaboard said things were already recovering in the Spring , so those data points are consistent.

Great news! Thanks for the update.

 

[TostitoBandito]

Yikes. I'm aware of the history and that things flare up from time to time between the independence movement and the government, but if things are heading legitimately downhill in West Papua it probably deserves its own thread to keep tabs on the news. Also, get trip insurance.

 

[roxolana1]

You need to narrow your questions a little . Also specify budget (inexpensive , mid-range or high end ). For the most part you get what you pay for (though diving and service isn’t that much better between mid-tier and high end ). Some of the more expensive operations have been operating a long time and have more experience in the area, which is useful given every dive is tide dependent (you might go with plan A, plan B or even plan C on a good day )

I think most people agree that Misool area in the south is really good diving you would want in a liveaboard itinerary. The actual Misool resort books up years in advance .

I have heard good news recently on Central R4 Dampier Strait /Cape Kri area —was just with a woman who dove and snorkeled there a few weeks ago and she said it wasn’t obvious that bleaching had even happened . Biologists might not agree , but she was someone who spends months per year in Indonesia and liked to look at coral and small stuff so I definitely would give weight to her opinion. Cruise director on liveaboard said things were already recovering in the Spring , so those data points are consistent.

Northern Raja still seems to have issues . It is generally less dived and I gather the locals are not happy with tourists. Locals in northern R4 want money from mining (they don’t get much tourism money that far north ) , tourists like us don’t want mines stressing the ecosystem.


FYI. I gather there was some unrest in Sorong around Independence Day . Haven’t seen press reports but sounded a little messy.

Thanks so much for this detailed response! We are willing to go mid or high tier cost-wise for the diving quality, but we are not so fussed about the boat / food. This may well be our only trip to RA given the difficulty of the journey, so we are willing to spend the money to ensure we do the trip right! If folks recommend certain boats, we would love to hear about that as well. Thanks again for all the help here!