Dan
Contributor
I’ve been to Raja Ampat 10 times, Maldives 6 times. Which one to go in March, depends on what you like to see. If you like to see corals & lots of different kinds of fishes & critters, Raja Ampat wins. If you want to see sharks (including Whaleshark), Mantas, then Maldives wins.
As far as nice liveaboard in Raja Ampat, I’ve been on 71 liveaboard trips and 36 different liveaboards (but not on Scubaspa, yet) all over the world and 11 of them operated in Raja Ampat, I rank Blue Manta among the top liveaboard worldwide, including its cruise director, Cedric. You can get an 11D/10N trip for about $6K and you just add 20% single supplement (extra cost for having a cabin for yourself). They offer massage service too on deck or in your room. So, to me, spending $9.5k on Scubaspa for 8D/7N trip in RA is way too expensive for the value that you’re going to get.
Check out Blue Manta price & schedule here:
whitemanta.com
Here’s my last year trip on Blue Manta last year. We are coming back there in February 2026.
As far as nice liveaboard in Raja Ampat, I’ve been on 71 liveaboard trips and 36 different liveaboards (but not on Scubaspa, yet) all over the world and 11 of them operated in Raja Ampat, I rank Blue Manta among the top liveaboard worldwide, including its cruise director, Cedric. You can get an 11D/10N trip for about $6K and you just add 20% single supplement (extra cost for having a cabin for yourself). They offer massage service too on deck or in your room. So, to me, spending $9.5k on Scubaspa for 8D/7N trip in RA is way too expensive for the value that you’re going to get.
Check out Blue Manta price & schedule here:
Blue Manta Schedule | White Manta Diving
whitemanta.com
Here’s my last year trip on Blue Manta last year. We are coming back there in February 2026.
