I discussed this with my dive club buddies and the group consensus would be also in early part of the year and go with the liveaboard that is available (many of the liveaboards have been booked solid up to 2 years in advance). So, we are booking for early part (February - March) of 2025, specifically from Sorong to Kaimana, covering Misool, Fak-Fak & Triton Bay. We plan to fly in to Sorong & out of Kaimana.
Hopefully you will have TB all for yourself in April next year!
With only 1 resort in the entire area and 8 bungalows there, it will be almost to myself.
The price for TB is scary, I'm trying to justify it to myself given no nitrox and limited electricity supply, but as yet I can't.
Perhaps one week, I don't know?
It is pretty remote which I think justifies part of the costs. Everything has to be boated in - a bit more far flung than the Raja Ampat resorts to Sorong and Waisai. According to
@Luko he also thinks that part of the 21% tax includes the service charge aka tip but I am not sure.
Is Triton Bay the new Raja Ampat? I hadn't heard of it until just recently. White Manta's newsletter said: "Triton Bay is a must-visit destination for adventurous scuba divers who wish to explore the best Indonesia has to offer, away from the growing crowds of other destinations."
I have friends that have dived TB and they say that they liked it even more than RA and it is truly unspoiled with fewer crowds, so similar to what was mentioned in the article. This friend loves RA so I have a litmus and baseline.
Two weeks is $6K, with three dives per day, that makes it around $166 per dive
plus there's quite a few flights to get there.
Maybe I should just dive Truk / Chuck Lagoon on OC Trimix, might be cheaper
That's the single cost...Darn you, single supplement! At $3K per week, it isn't astronomical given the place/context...(enter Wakatobi, stage left!). Papua Explorers in Raja Ampat (less remote, more options) is slightly more or about the same as that per week as are many liveaboards for a week. (I'm not talking super budget options or super luxury options either.) Usually, liveaboards go for $3000-3500 for a week in many parts of the world, including Komodo/Raja Ampat and barring some exceptions like the Red Sea, Thailand, Philippines which on average have lower diving costs across the board or areas with much higher averages like the Galapagos.
I will say it's especially a chunk after enjoying Tulamben with you - the value proposition was pretty incredible there and I can see why you love it so much because I do, too.
If you can buddy up with someone, it will remove the single supplement and bring it down significantly...By like $1000+. I know you don't usually do 3 boat dives per day so if you did 2 plus optional night dives that's $4500 for 2 weeks, so about $2250 a week which is quite reasonable. Their 2024 rates are about $200 more than their 2023 rates. (I think when we went to Bangka it was $1900 for 7 days but that's definitely not remote and super close to mainland so that feels pretty in line given the circumstances.)
With that said, it's not a small amount of money and I'm not oblivious to that. I like to think about it with context and relative terms. They're the only ones there and it's either I am not okay with the pricing and I don't go or if I really want to go, it's my only option and I need to place a value that I'm willing to pay for it to enjoy the diving that is on offer. When talking about other areas and premiums, I definitely ran from some options in Puerto Galera and Lembeh because I couldn't justify the premium vs what was on offer with other resorts for the price.
So who wants ramen with me?
