Hello Divers,
Since mentioning that I've just returned from a trip to Raja Ampat Dive Resort I've had several posts asking for feedback so thought I'd put together a quick report to try to answer most of the questions. This is my first report so please let me know if I miss any important details and I'll try to fill in the gaps.
Cost:
From what I could tell from my research I believe Raja Ampat Dive resort is the cheapest credible land based option. We did stop during one of our surface intervals at another very basic resort near Kri Island where we had a quick look around but from what I could see they didn’t have a proper set-up (dive guide but no DM, didn’t seem to have their own compressor, heard the divers complaining about no briefing etc).
While it’s the cheapest in Raja Ampat it’s still very expensive – the total cost of a 1 week dive trip from Singapore to Mozambique, Palau or Maldives would be less
I recommend seeking clarification up-front on the charges – especially fuel surcharge to Manta Point / The Passage and bring your e-mail for reference when settling the bill (Per boat is reasonable. Per diver is not)
Pricing is all in Euro and there is no credit card facility so you need to carry a lot of cash.
Prices are here http://www.rajaampatdiveresort.com/index.php?option=pricelist
Resort:
The resort is in a lovely quiet cove with a nice beach. They have left the jungle canopy in place above the huts so it’s nice and cool during the day and AC isn’t needed at night. There were surprisingly few mosquitoes.
Utilities are very basic – cold water only and the power only runs from around 5pm to 9am
The huts are very nice, clean and comfortable with typical basic ensuite bathrooms (a western toilet and bin for the paper)
Breakfast quality was basic/poor (eggs + pancakes cooked the night before) but lunch and dinner very good (local style chicken / fish + rice – not much variety)
I didn’t look at alternative activities but would guess there’s basically nothing for a non-diver to do except read a book on the beach
There isn’t any good snorkelling off the beach (I didn’t go to Kri Eco Resort but guess they must have good snorkelling given the quality of their house reef)
To get to the resort you take a 2hr public ferry (this is nice and clean / safe) from Sorong then 5 mins by dive boat. The dive resort will organise the transfer from Sorong. (for connection options to Sorong refer to the Kri Eco resort website)
Staff are very friendly
Diving:
The resort is located about 30 mins North by boat from Kri Island (where most of the northern Raja Ampat dive sites like Mike’s point, Chicken reef etc are located) or about 1 hour north from Manta point (where they want to charge a fuel surcharge – refer above). You’re therefore diving the same sites as if you stay at Kri Eco Resort. There is more than enough world class diving to keep you occupied for a week or two without needing to venture further away (I’d be interested to hear from liveaboard divers about what sites we missed by only diving close to Kri Island and Manta Point)
We were diving in a group of 5 (I believe max size is 6?) and had both a DM and Dive Guide who were both good (limited English but this wasn’t a problem for us even though none of us speak bahasa)
We were only interested in “big stuff” so can’t comment on how good the guide would have been at searching for macro
We didn’t dive with Arif who runs the dive centre and is an instructor but I feel confident speaking to him that he’d do a good job teaching a course (and his English is very good).
I felt they were quite safety conscious (warning us off diving Manta Hwy because of gnarly currents) – can anyone confirm this?
There is no nitrox at the dive centre but I didn’t feel it was necessary.
Typical day is 2 morning dives, return for lunch, 1 afternoon dive. I believe they do night dives as well but we didn’t try.
Season – I’m not sure about the off season but can vouch that from Christmas to New Year the diving was brilliant and water dead flat (I wish I’d bought my wakeboard)
Vis was “only” around 30m but it’s the plankton that bring the fish
Water temp was around 30 degrees (warmer than air temp) but I would recommend a full length wetsuit due to strong currents on some sites
We saw everything we wanted to see and more - I put together a quick video at YouTube - ACD dive Raja Ampat, Christmas 2010
Would I return? Absolutely – but I want to head to both Palau and Maldives first and would love to hear from Raja Ampat liveaboard divers on what sites I missed so I can decide whether to go for that option as something different next time.
Since mentioning that I've just returned from a trip to Raja Ampat Dive Resort I've had several posts asking for feedback so thought I'd put together a quick report to try to answer most of the questions. This is my first report so please let me know if I miss any important details and I'll try to fill in the gaps.
Cost:
From what I could tell from my research I believe Raja Ampat Dive resort is the cheapest credible land based option. We did stop during one of our surface intervals at another very basic resort near Kri Island where we had a quick look around but from what I could see they didn’t have a proper set-up (dive guide but no DM, didn’t seem to have their own compressor, heard the divers complaining about no briefing etc).
While it’s the cheapest in Raja Ampat it’s still very expensive – the total cost of a 1 week dive trip from Singapore to Mozambique, Palau or Maldives would be less
I recommend seeking clarification up-front on the charges – especially fuel surcharge to Manta Point / The Passage and bring your e-mail for reference when settling the bill (Per boat is reasonable. Per diver is not)
Pricing is all in Euro and there is no credit card facility so you need to carry a lot of cash.
Prices are here http://www.rajaampatdiveresort.com/index.php?option=pricelist
Resort:
The resort is in a lovely quiet cove with a nice beach. They have left the jungle canopy in place above the huts so it’s nice and cool during the day and AC isn’t needed at night. There were surprisingly few mosquitoes.
Utilities are very basic – cold water only and the power only runs from around 5pm to 9am
The huts are very nice, clean and comfortable with typical basic ensuite bathrooms (a western toilet and bin for the paper)
Breakfast quality was basic/poor (eggs + pancakes cooked the night before) but lunch and dinner very good (local style chicken / fish + rice – not much variety)
I didn’t look at alternative activities but would guess there’s basically nothing for a non-diver to do except read a book on the beach
There isn’t any good snorkelling off the beach (I didn’t go to Kri Eco Resort but guess they must have good snorkelling given the quality of their house reef)
To get to the resort you take a 2hr public ferry (this is nice and clean / safe) from Sorong then 5 mins by dive boat. The dive resort will organise the transfer from Sorong. (for connection options to Sorong refer to the Kri Eco resort website)
Staff are very friendly
Diving:
The resort is located about 30 mins North by boat from Kri Island (where most of the northern Raja Ampat dive sites like Mike’s point, Chicken reef etc are located) or about 1 hour north from Manta point (where they want to charge a fuel surcharge – refer above). You’re therefore diving the same sites as if you stay at Kri Eco Resort. There is more than enough world class diving to keep you occupied for a week or two without needing to venture further away (I’d be interested to hear from liveaboard divers about what sites we missed by only diving close to Kri Island and Manta Point)
We were diving in a group of 5 (I believe max size is 6?) and had both a DM and Dive Guide who were both good (limited English but this wasn’t a problem for us even though none of us speak bahasa)
We were only interested in “big stuff” so can’t comment on how good the guide would have been at searching for macro
We didn’t dive with Arif who runs the dive centre and is an instructor but I feel confident speaking to him that he’d do a good job teaching a course (and his English is very good).
I felt they were quite safety conscious (warning us off diving Manta Hwy because of gnarly currents) – can anyone confirm this?
There is no nitrox at the dive centre but I didn’t feel it was necessary.
Typical day is 2 morning dives, return for lunch, 1 afternoon dive. I believe they do night dives as well but we didn’t try.
Season – I’m not sure about the off season but can vouch that from Christmas to New Year the diving was brilliant and water dead flat (I wish I’d bought my wakeboard)
Vis was “only” around 30m but it’s the plankton that bring the fish
Water temp was around 30 degrees (warmer than air temp) but I would recommend a full length wetsuit due to strong currents on some sites
We saw everything we wanted to see and more - I put together a quick video at YouTube - ACD dive Raja Ampat, Christmas 2010
Would I return? Absolutely – but I want to head to both Palau and Maldives first and would love to hear from Raja Ampat liveaboard divers on what sites I missed so I can decide whether to go for that option as something different next time.
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