Raja dive planning (land-based)

[dumpsterpurrs]

Hi, my buddies and I are headed to Raja this Dec. We will be staying and diving with Kordiris on Gam and Lalelka in Misool. We're spending 11 days in Dampier and 6 days in Misool (can potentially add 3 days in Misool if needed, but it would overly complicate some of our travel plans).

As we're all limited in some ways (some travel across the globe, some have very limited budgets, some are dealing with health issues unrelated to diving, etc.), we want to make every single dive count. Last time we dived together in Komodo, we had many many mediocre dives at sites we weren't interested in, even though we had shared our interests with the dive shop.

This time we'll try to arrive with at least a list of dive sites we'd like to visit, curated to our interests. We would still be open to check out new sites recommended by the dive shop, but at least we'll have a better idea of whether we're really seeing the "best" Raja has to offer and not have to wonder if the dive shop just wants to schedule something convenient to them regardless of customers' interests - assuming all other conditions being equal (which unfortunately happens way too often everywhere).

So which dive sites in the Dampier Strait and Misool would you recommend as absolute musts? Which ones are Maybes? Which ones are Skippable? Here's our preferences:

• No muck. We want 90% wide angle, can also do 10% macro on the reef.
• Schooling of both colorful reef fish and predators. We love feeding frenzies and getting lost among dense schools of fish.
• Vast, healthy reef, not rubble or sandy bottom or small boomies only. We love both soft and hard corals.
• Good viz is of course preferred, especially for the photogs and videogs, but we also enjoy a few dark and mysterious dives every now and then.
• We prefer reliability. We're not keen on those "let's go to the empty blue/sand and mayyyybe we'll see something." We understand fish moves, we want to try our luck with sites with higher reliability.
• We all love currents! We've done hundreds of dives across Indonesia, from Pulau Weh to Alor.
• We're not "Pokemon collectors." We don't have a bucket list of animals we must find. We mostly dive for the vibe.
• We're ok with not seeing everything. We'd rather do better dives at the same sites than "wasting" time at less impressive sites ("" bc diving time is never really wasted... but still, we'd rather go to, say, Melissa's Garden x10 times than once + 9 so-so other sites)

Based on online research, I've come up with these lists, which I guess must be quite inaccurate, considering none of us have actual experience in Raja. Your advice would help us fine tune these lists and hopefully have a better chance at an epic trip.

Group A: absolutely must dive at least once, some multiple times:

• Dampier Strait:

1. Melissa's Garden (currents)
2. Keruo Channel (Fam Wall)
3. Batu Rufas
4. Manta Ridge
5. Mayhem <-- moved from Group B according to Luko's advice
6. Citrus Ridge
7. Blue Magic
8. Sardine Reef
9. Chicken Reef
10. Cape Kri (early AM)
11. Mike's Point
12. Cape Mansuar
13. Ransiwor (rising tides) <-- moved from Group B according to Luko's advice
14. Yenbuba Jetty <-- moved from Group B according to Luko's advice
15. Sauwandarek

• Misool:

1. Andiamo
2. Candy Store
3. Warna Berwarna (Living Colors/Vibrant Colors)
4. Magic Mountain (Shadow Reef)
5. Boo Windows
6. Yillet Kecil
7. Nudi Rock
8. Four Kings

Group B: maybe, also considering, depending on recommendations:

• Dampier Strait:

1. Otdima
2. Cross Over
3. Sorido Wall
4. Lau Lau Reef <-- moved from Group A according to Luko's advice
5. Mioskon <-- moved from Group A according to Luko's advice

• Misool:

1. Farondi
2. Goa besar
3. Andy's Ultimate
4. Boo East
5. Boo West
6. Eagle Nest
7. Tank Rock
8. Gorgonia Passage
9. Wedding Cake
10. Neptune’s Fan Sea
11. Kaleidoscope

Group C: skippable:

• Dampier Strait: Saonek, Mansuar South, Batanta, Waisai House Reef, Urai Island, Friwen Bonda, My Reef, Black Rock, Lalosi Ridge, Tanjung Putus, Manta Sandy, Passage, South Kri, Sapokren, New Reef, Wall of Grace, P-47, Batu Lima, Friwen Wall, Yanggelo, Krew Wall, Aborek Jetty, Anita's Garden, Eagle Rock, Tapokren
• Misool: Wobbegong City, Two Tree, Balbulol, Barracuda Rock, Putri Pinnacles, Romeo, Whale Rock

Which dive sites would you recommend switching lists? Any other dive sites I should add to any of the lists?

Many thanks!

 

[Luko]

My own spot preferences in Raja Ampat central :
- Cape Kri : starting deep (36-38m) with 4 consecutive resident sweetlips schools, then goes up next to a coral plateau where the current picks up and can get quite nasty, you may have to hook and look around the schools of jackfish, snappers, sharks passing by, etc.


- West Mansuar, this site is probably one of the most densely populated with fish : it starts with bommmies coverd with glassfish, schools of sweetlips, then when going west as the viz gets generally better, current can pick up while you're into layers of fish (fusiliers, snappers, cudas, jackfish, emperors, etc.).


- Mayhem : on this site the action can get quite frantic. There's fish everywhere schools of bumpheads, jacks, cudas, snappers, mackerels, fusiliers always Giant Trevallies hunting creating some movement, dogtooth tunas passing by in the blue. Wobbegongs everywhere. Absolutely not to be missed.


- Rufas ridge but that's because I'm a photographer and the ridge with passing schools of fusiliers is the Central Dampier response to Boo's Window.


- Sardines and Chicken reef were great with lots of fish everywhere too, it's been a while I haven't dived Sardines, some people say it is not as good as it were since the bleaching.


- Been a long time I haven't dived Otdima too, but was great also.


2nd preferences :
- Citrus Ridge : deeper on the outside of the ridge, it can be currenty but that brings schools of cudas and jacks. I really like the shallows near to the mangroves, crystal clear water, pristine corals, under the mangrove foliage.


- Yenbuba corner : that's the extremity of Yenbuba where the current splits and brings a lot of life, coral is pristine, no trace of bleaching, then you can finish it an hour later under the Yenbuba jetty which I think is fun with all the fish around, esp the big napoleon wrasse.


- Ransiwor : I was surprised with the number of fish esp. small schools of sweetlips and turtles everywhere too.


- Fam wall can be a ride in the end, depending on the current, bright orange carpetwall of soft corals, nice gorgonians, school of fusiliers around.


- Manta Cove (only if you dive with Cove Eco resort) : a spectacular bommie that mantas use as a cleaning station surrounded with a school of batfish.


Lately disappointed with :
- Blue Magic, even though you will come across oceanic mantas, many leisure/liveaboard divers systematically hooking even when the current is mild they have destroyed the top of the pinnacle.
- Manta sandy. It's a circus. Ridiculous. Ranks of divers kneeling waiting for the mantas in the distance over a sand runway.
- Lao Lao and Mioskon : even though still schools of fish in Lao Lao, I found this area was the most hit by coral bleaching when I dived it a month ago.

Personally I think Melissa's Garden is overrated, I dived it multiple times because I was always with people who wanted to dive it, I appreciate the zillions of reef fish but that's about it (That's another place but for instance PNG Milne bay outer reefs are infinitely superior), to me it doesn't have the medium sized fish schools density of the Central Dampier great sites.


You can check out my Raja Ampat gallery, I try to put the name of the spot for each image (last photos in the album for the latest dives) :

UW Raja Ampat 2013/25

Raja Ampat trips at RADL, Cove Eco resort and Agusta Eco resort. 2013 - 2025.

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