Trip Report: Raja Ampat Dive Resort

[bugeye]

I've got to finish my video...

Awesome! I can't wait to see it!

 

[Magrone]

I think it is quite new and considerably more expensive than RA Dive Resort.

I've only recently come across the website.........it wasn't up last year when I was researching.

Actually, if you break down an 8 day 7 night package with 24 dives for two people both RA dive lodge and RA dive resort are about the same. About $100 USD more for RA Dive Lodge and it looks much nicer, at least from the website.

 

[jake11]

We have been to Raja 2x and we were on liveaboards both times. We are heading back again in 2 weeks!! There is nothing like a live aboard in Raja! It is so worth the pain of getting there!! The top side scenery is GORGEOUS!!! The sunsets out on the water are incredible! Our first Liveaboard was 11 nights, the last one 12 nights and now the upcoming one is for 14 nights! The longer the better!! I will have to check my log book and get back to you on sites worth going to. There was one sea mount that was just spectacular with schooling barracudas( huge ones), schooling giant trevally, schooling napoleans, schooling huge bat fish( bat fish on steroids), huge bumpheads,snappers ,jacks, etc. etc. Of course the current was raging but is was so cool! When we ducked behind the wall there was a boat load of small stuff on the wall! Spectacular dive! Okay.. I went and got my log. This dive was in the Misool area and it was called Babulor Ridge! I wrote next to the entry...CRAZY FUN!!!! Another sea mount we loved in the Misool area was called Andalucia! Excellent dive for both big and small stuff. We also liked Batu Tengah, Karang Bayangan etc. Also, the mooring here looks like you are in Bora Bora and a ride through the area was amazing! I could go on and on but I would for sure try a live aboard! We ended both of the previous trips in an area called Batanta! It is a macro paradise and we dove for about 1 hour and 25 minutes both times! So much stuff and the area had even been dynamited for fishing and we kept finding stuff for the whole dive! Loved it and love the area!!
Book you live aboard soon! You won't regret it!

 

[jake11]

I forgot to say ..Great trip report and cool video bugeye!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jacpot]

We have been to Raja 2x and we were on liveaboards both times. We are heading back again in 2 weeks!! There is nothing like a live aboard in Raja! It is so worth the pain of getting there!! The top side scenery is GORGEOUS!!! The sunsets out on the water are incredible! Our first Liveaboard was 11 nights, the last one 12 nights and now the upcoming one is for 14 nights! The longer the better!! I will have to check my log book and get back to you on sites worth going to. There was one sea mount that was just spectacular with schooling barracudas( huge ones), schooling giant trevally, schooling napoleans, schooling huge bat fish( bat fish on steroids), huge bumpheads,snappers ,jacks, etc. etc. Of course the current was raging but is was so cool! When we ducked behind the wall there was a boat load of small stuff on the wall! Spectacular dive! Okay.. I went and got my log. This dive was in the Misool area and it was called Babulor Ridge! I wrote next to the entry...CRAZY FUN!!!! Another sea mount we loved in the Misool area was called Andalucia! Excellent dive for both big and small stuff. We also liked Batu Tengah, Karang Bayangan etc. Also, the mooring here looks like you are in Bora Bora and a ride through the area was amazing! I could go on and on but I would for sure try a live aboard! We ended both of the previous trips in an area called Batanta! It is a macro paradise and we dove for about 1 hour and 25 minutes both times! So much stuff and the area had even been dynamited for fishing and we kept finding stuff for the whole dive! Loved it and love the area!!
Book you live aboard soon! You won't regret it!

Hie Jake, which liveaboards would you recommend? I am currently researching for a nice LOB to RA sometime this year or early next year.

Thanks bugs for the excellent dive report and video.

 

[jake11]

There are so many to choose from now it is hard to say! Our favorite trip was on the Paradise Dancer with Wendy as the cruise director and Yan and Acho as dive guides!
Awesome boat, excellent crew and amazing rooms!HUGE!! Check it out and check out their specials that they run sometimes! We have been on the PD 2x and absolutely LOVED it both times! Perfect trips from beginning to end!

 

[Scoober]

Some great info above. Thanx. Couple of questions: (i) when would be the absolute best 2-week period to do a liveaboard in RA, in terms of viz and in terms of weather not precluding diving the best sites; (ii) I have seen alot of sloping bottoms--any wall diving?

 

[highdesert]

Some great info above. Thanx. Couple of questions: (i) when would be the absolute best 2-week period to do a liveaboard in RA, in terms of viz and in terms of weather not precluding diving the best sites; (ii) I have seen alot of sloping bottoms--any wall diving?

Mid-November through the end of the year will probably give you decent odds of diving in RA with good weather/viz. However ... several factors:

- Indonesian weather, including rainy/dry seasons, has been unsettled in the last several years. You may or may not subscribe to the global warming theory, but global weather instability is a fact now.

- An experienced dive guide in RA, when asked when the local rainy season was, replied, "All year." Yes, there are general seasonal guidelines, but particularly when you're near mainland Papua Barat, a strong shower is not uncommon any time of the year.

- It can happen that viz is good in the North, but not in the South ... or vice versa. Some liveaboards that do a north/south loop will do it the reverse from their usual route if they think it will improve the chances of better viz, depending on the current weather.

As far as walls, many RA dives are near small, pinnacle-like islands, with steep drops to a couple hundred feet or more, maybe more so in the South than the North. You may not get the vertical, hundreds-of-fathoms walls you can find some places, but I would classify at least a third of the dives we did there as walls.

 

[jake11]

I agree with highdesert. Case in point.. in November of 2009 we had awesome viz in Misool and hardly any current. This past November of 2010 at the EXACT same dive sites the viz was pretty poor and the currents were ripping. This past November only about 5 of us made it to the windows at Boo. Most people gave up, but I kept pressing on against the super strong current and we made it there. You had to give it all you had to even make it through the leftside window and then you shot like a rocket back through the middle window. In November of 2009 I had many pictures taken posing in the middle window with crystal clear viz. This past November someone got a picture of me rocketing back through the middle window like a bat right out of you know where in the middle of the murk ! They kept moving us up to try to get somewhere with improved viz but it never got any better. We started in Kaimana and moved up to Sorong. We received emails from some people that did the next charter as well as our charter and they went back to Misool. They said it was amazing how much it had changed for the better in one weeks time. We also had reports that during the time we were in the South the North had amazing viz! We had great weather with very little rain both years during that time frame. We are heading back in 12 days so we shall see what the viz and weather are like in March!

 

[Scoober]

Awesome info. I am learning to love this Board! Don't think it was around when I was a working, schlepping dive bum in the field. Anyway, I am thinking of organizing a small group trip on Dive Damai. I met Alberto at DEMA last year, and feel confident that he can pull off a 5-Star trip, and be as felxible as we like with respect to the itinerary (our small group would take the entire boat). I am thinking that we want to be in the Raja Ampat area, but according to Alberto, he will take us anywhere we like. I am new to the East end of Indo. Any thoughts?
Thanx heaps