Recommendations for Raja Ampat Liveaboard?

[Sebs]

I'm going on a 12 day Raja liveaboard in March. I'll report back. The boat is the Lady Denok.

 

[TostitoBandito]

I would suggest a longer trip than a week in RA. It takes so much time and treasure to get there and the area is so big that a week is just not enough.

Yeah I'll certainly try! That's generally my approach for any Pacific diving trips due to the travel taking 20+ hours plus the time zones, but we're gonna hop over to New Zealand either before or after the liveaboard since we want to go and it's kinda sorta on the way (and there's direct flights to/from Bali). Might be able to swing a 2.5ish week trip with a 10 night liveaboard, we'll see.

 

[ReadyDiverOne]

Well, I'll chime in since it hasn't been mentioned, the Arenui. Maybe the nicest, most luxurious, best food boat in the world. Arenui the Boutique Liveaboard – Dive Indonesia in Style from our Luxury Diving Vessel

 

[tarponchik]

I've been on only one LVB, Pearl of Papua, and liked it. However, my understanding is, the crucial part of planning is the season and where the LVB goes. We chose PoP because at the moment (end of October) this was the only LVB with a long 10 days trip that went both south to Misool and fairly far north. So we've seen both.

 

[amazingadv]

Hello all,

Never been to Indonesia and it's been on my list for a long time. I'd like to start with Raja Ampat as I think it's got the best combination of critters I'd like to see and the ease of diving (compared to say, Komodo).

Anyways, I haven't done a liveaboard in a number of years and have zero experience with them in Indonesia. Our budget is probably on the mid-high end. I'm familiar with the Aggressors since they're all over the world, but I know that some can be very good and others... not so much. I see that there's a number of other boats in Raja Ampat in the same price ballpark (or slightly higher) as well, so I'm open to any recommendations. Priorities for us are good staff and divemasters, good food/service, and ideally a smaller guest count (like under 20 for sure). Probably looking at a 7 night itinerary, sometime in the January-March 2026 timeframe.

Thanks in advance!

Hi - You may be in luck! We have space available on the Dewi Nusantara Jan 28-Feb 8 and Feb 9-20. This is by far the best boat in Raja. Check this out: Dewi Nusantara
Please contact: kirsten@amazingadventurestravel.com
If you are interested at all, I wouldn't wait too long. Good luck!

 

[Dan]

You pretty much get what you pay for in RA. The diving is very similar across the mid to high end boats, the difference is the amenities Room size, food, dive guide ratio etc.

I would suggest a longer trip than a week in RA. It takes so much time and treasure to get there and the area is so big that a week is just not enough.

Would disagree with Dan re the wooden boats. Don’t find them significantly different from the metal ones, the metal ones are faster (not particularly important in RA) and with far less charm. But I also own a fifty year old wooden boat.

Have you been on Blue Manta?

 

[Luca Brasi]

I was lucky enough to get on the coralia during a sale week . Great boat and crew

 

[Living4Experiences]

I was on the Damai II for my first trip to Indo in November 2023. My trip was negatively impacted by the death of one of the divers at the start of the third day, so for that reason, the crew weren't their usual selves. Putting that aside, the boat itself is beautiful. With only 7 cabins, diver count can be low. There were plenty of crew, and all the guides are local to Raja Ampat. That's one thing I learned about diving in RA. Your guides need to be local and familiar with RA dive sites to understand and navigate the current and tides. It's amazing how they can "read" the water.

The cabins are very spacious compared to most other liveaboards because they've not crammed in 12 cabins plus crew quarters. I traveled solo in my own cabin, so the most I could afford was below deck, which goes against what I would have preferred. For safety reasons, I prefer to stay above the water line for escape purposes. On the Damai's lower deck, you have to go through an adjacent cabin to reach another door to exit and climb up in an emergency, if the stairs are blocked. If that cabin's door is somehow blocked or unable to be opened in an emergency, you're trapped with no way out.

This was my 8th liveaboard and the first on a wooden boat, and I didn't like it. Even with ear plugs, plus being below deck, it's a constant creaking and squeaking sound, so I was sleep deprived. Below deck is where the laundry room is, and that could be noisy. I'm going on the White Manta in March, a steel boat, and my cabin is above the water line.

Edit: I wanted to add something else. Researching a reliable liveaboard is just as important as the other criteria. There have been recent negative trip reports on some of the dive boats. I think Mermaid was one. Aggressor and Master Liveaboards/Siren (any location in the world) are ones to stay away from. I saw the smoke from the Indo Siren burning up in November 2023. If you read the articles in Undercurrent.org, there's a lot of info from there, and they put out a publication last year, "A Decade of Liveaboard Losses."

 

[AdivingBel]

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Beautiful boat. Excellent crew.

 

[Bookworm11]

The Velocean is all suites and has 2 for singles. The food is superb. Check it out!