Trip Report - Tambora liveaboard - Raja Ampat

[humuhumunukunuku]

Thanks for the trip report! When were you in Raja Ampat and what were the conditions like when you were there? I am considering a trip to that area early next year.
Thanks

 

[needmynitrogenfix]

Thanks for the trip report! When were you in Raja Ampat and what were the conditions like when you were there? I am considering a trip to that area early next year.
Thanks

i was there late feb.
weather: partly cloudy and nice ocean breeze, only had rain on the last dive of the trip and boat ride back to sorong.
seas: very calm/small waves
water temp: 28° for all dives
visibility: 30-40m for a few dives, 20m for all the rest except one dive was around 12m. they said it was some of the best visibility they have seen in raja ampat.
they also said the previous trip (early feb) had lots of rain and bad weather, so im not sure what is typical that time of year.

---------- Post added March 14th, 2014 at 04:26 PM ----------

what i also liked about liveaboard vs. land is that instead of sweating my ass off i found that the nice ocean breeze combined with being cooled down during the dives, i didnt sweat once during the trip! only used about half the clothes i brought with me.

 

[Shasta_man]

<<the nice ocean breeze>> exactly. Just watch out for reflections off the water, etc, as that can fry you up quickly without realizing it. I wouldn't survive staying inland in many of these places. We did the excursion on Peleliu and it was baking. And if it's raining, you move the boat around the other side of the island and voila, no rain. We tended to have rain most nights but all was good in the morning, which seemed typical of weather in that area of the world. In Bali, it put nearly a foot of water in the walkway outside the hotel nearly every day promptly at 6 AM.

 

[Cali_diver]

I think it is important not to prejudge the people you will be on a boat with, no matter what price range. I have met amazing people who have become lifelong friends on my liveaboard trips. Some very surprising personalities that I may have missed if I had prejudged them beforehand. It seems quite often the people who have these prejudicial tendencies are the ones who have the least amount of fun!! Sometimes people are just shy or there might be a language barrier. Be open minded, get to know people, and enjoy.

Great report and glad you had a great time. RA is a magical place and congrats on spotting your own pigmy!

 

[chillyinCanada]

There were no snooty people on my LOB. quite the eclectic mix actually. The person I liked the most out of all, spoke very little English and of course, I didn't speak even one word of hers. Her husband helped with translation when he could but his English wasn't all that either. Yes, no one snooty but those photogs, wow, are they ever focused! ! Hee hee

One thing, when this thread started I was believing that Tambora was a different price range than my "snooty" boat. but once I checked the pricing there is not that much difference.

 

[Cali_diver]

Too funny chilly, I did the same thing and checked the prices. Not too much difference at all, except mine has wine with dinner and massages after the dive!! The Tambora looks nice, so it is great to have another choice.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Cali! Same here, one glass of wine with dinner, and massages after every single dive. Same LOB maybe? yes nice to have another option, especially with the actual boat tenders vs RIBs.

 

[needmynitrogenfix]

no, i was refering to the 5 or 6 liveaboards which cost much more than tambora, some of which have very fancy giant rooms, etc.. completely useless and silly! i think the only time i spent in the room was to sleep at night and to change clothes for a few minutes.