Diving Raja Ampat?
- Thread starter Vigfus
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Dom@DiveAdvice
Contributor
Hi Vigfus - I was just there leading a group - our 3rd trip and I will be back in 2012 - its incredible. We got some incredible video of the mantas at Cape Kri but I still need to get it on the website - I'll be happy to let you know when it is up.
Too much to tell about Raja Ampat so please forgive me if I attach below a copy of a reply I just sent to a client inquiry. I also just got feedback from other clients who were there just after us - so feel welcome to drop me a note by e-mail and I will be happy to send you their feedback. I can also send the latest availability of all the top liveaboards in Raja Ampat for 2011 + 2012, but that would take too much space to include here !
Thanks for your note and Dive Advice/Amazing Adventures Travel does represent many liveaboards in Raja Ampat, in fact my wife and I just got back from there - we had a group that we took from Sorong to Ambon and then on to Wakatobi - our 3rd trip to this area - fantastic trip.
Love to help you with your plans for Raja Ampat and for your reference I have attached a copy of our availability update in which we list the world's top liveaboards, their date schedule and spaces available. Indonesia 2012 is on page 19-21.
Because of Raja Ampat's proximity to the Equator, the season there are slightly different than from the rest of Indonesia so the best time to be there is during the Southern Hemisphere summer, from November thru May. There are a few boats that stay there year round but the risks of inclement weather increase and it can get a bit windy from May thru October.
There are a number of excellent liveaboards out there and the choice may depend partly on your budget, their itinerary and your dates.
Most trips to Raja Ampat start from Sorong, West Papua, which means a domestic flight from Manado, Jakarta or Bali, the three main points of entry into Indonesia.
Some itineraries start in Sorong and finish in Ambon, or vice-versa. I will be leading an 11 night trip from Sorong to Ambon aboard the lovely Pindito, Nov 26-Dec 7, 2012, so if that time period works for you, it is certainly a lovely boat and will be a fabulous trip.
All the boats in my availability update are first class and I would recommend any of them, but I particularly like the following.
PINDITO - Scuba Diving Indonesia Liveaboards Dive Cruises - approx $400pp/night
ARENUI - Thearenui.com - approx $460pp/night
DAMAI - Welcome To Dive Damai - approx $510pp/night
PARADISE DANCER - Dive Raja Ampat Indonesia with Paradise Dancer LiveAboard Raja Ampat from approx $454pp/night
SEVEN SEAS - Komodo, Raja Ampat and Banda Sea Liveaboard Dive, Adventure Cruises & Yacht Charter approx $500pp/night
MANDARIN SIREN - World Wide Dive and Sail, Liveaboard diving Southeast Asia approx $385pp/night
INDO-SIREN - World Wide Dive and Sail, Liveaboard diving Southeast Asia approx $377pp/night
SHAKTI Shakti Raja Ampat Liveaboard - Raja Ampat West Papua (Irian Jaya) Indonesia Sailboat Liveaboard Diving approx $365pp/night
You can see some details of the boats on my website but you can find even more on their own websites.
These are their 2012 nightly rates, and some include nitrox and all drinks, while others charge extra for those.
Hope this is a good start and please get back to me with any questions you may have on these.
Incidentally, the Shakti is one of the boats that stays all year round in Raja Ampat and is owner operated by a very experienced couple, but they do not have ensuite bathrooms. For some that is an issue, while others don't worry about it.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards, Dom
Dominick Macan
Dive Advice Travel
dom@diveadvice.com
DIVE ADVICE TRAVEL - Welcome to Dive Advice Travel
SKYPE: Dominick Macan
"In Partnership with Amazing Adventures Travel of Mill Valley, California"
Too much to tell about Raja Ampat so please forgive me if I attach below a copy of a reply I just sent to a client inquiry. I also just got feedback from other clients who were there just after us - so feel welcome to drop me a note by e-mail and I will be happy to send you their feedback. I can also send the latest availability of all the top liveaboards in Raja Ampat for 2011 + 2012, but that would take too much space to include here !
Thanks for your note and Dive Advice/Amazing Adventures Travel does represent many liveaboards in Raja Ampat, in fact my wife and I just got back from there - we had a group that we took from Sorong to Ambon and then on to Wakatobi - our 3rd trip to this area - fantastic trip.
Love to help you with your plans for Raja Ampat and for your reference I have attached a copy of our availability update in which we list the world's top liveaboards, their date schedule and spaces available. Indonesia 2012 is on page 19-21.
Because of Raja Ampat's proximity to the Equator, the season there are slightly different than from the rest of Indonesia so the best time to be there is during the Southern Hemisphere summer, from November thru May. There are a few boats that stay there year round but the risks of inclement weather increase and it can get a bit windy from May thru October.
There are a number of excellent liveaboards out there and the choice may depend partly on your budget, their itinerary and your dates.
Most trips to Raja Ampat start from Sorong, West Papua, which means a domestic flight from Manado, Jakarta or Bali, the three main points of entry into Indonesia.
Some itineraries start in Sorong and finish in Ambon, or vice-versa. I will be leading an 11 night trip from Sorong to Ambon aboard the lovely Pindito, Nov 26-Dec 7, 2012, so if that time period works for you, it is certainly a lovely boat and will be a fabulous trip.
All the boats in my availability update are first class and I would recommend any of them, but I particularly like the following.
PINDITO - Scuba Diving Indonesia Liveaboards Dive Cruises - approx $400pp/night
ARENUI - Thearenui.com - approx $460pp/night
DAMAI - Welcome To Dive Damai - approx $510pp/night
PARADISE DANCER - Dive Raja Ampat Indonesia with Paradise Dancer LiveAboard Raja Ampat from approx $454pp/night
SEVEN SEAS - Komodo, Raja Ampat and Banda Sea Liveaboard Dive, Adventure Cruises & Yacht Charter approx $500pp/night
MANDARIN SIREN - World Wide Dive and Sail, Liveaboard diving Southeast Asia approx $385pp/night
INDO-SIREN - World Wide Dive and Sail, Liveaboard diving Southeast Asia approx $377pp/night
SHAKTI Shakti Raja Ampat Liveaboard - Raja Ampat West Papua (Irian Jaya) Indonesia Sailboat Liveaboard Diving approx $365pp/night
You can see some details of the boats on my website but you can find even more on their own websites.
These are their 2012 nightly rates, and some include nitrox and all drinks, while others charge extra for those.
Hope this is a good start and please get back to me with any questions you may have on these.
Incidentally, the Shakti is one of the boats that stays all year round in Raja Ampat and is owner operated by a very experienced couple, but they do not have ensuite bathrooms. For some that is an issue, while others don't worry about it.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards, Dom
Dominick Macan
Dive Advice Travel
dom@diveadvice.com
DIVE ADVICE TRAVEL - Welcome to Dive Advice Travel
SKYPE: Dominick Macan
"In Partnership with Amazing Adventures Travel of Mill Valley, California"
Did a trip report for our trip to Raja Ampat in March:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/in...cities-fish-raja-ampat-march-6-17-2011-a.html
+ much more info can be found in the Indonesia forum.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/in...cities-fish-raja-ampat-march-6-17-2011-a.html
+ much more info can be found in the Indonesia forum.
Raja Ampat is fabulous for video and for still photography too. I'm making my 30 something trip with a small group there this Oct/Nov. To be honest I've lost count of how many trips I've made since '99. I've dived all over Indonesia and Raja Ampat is by far my favorite.
Where Raja Ampat excels is in variety. It's the best area for colorful corals and fishes, the density, diversity is incredible. But there are wonderful critters. And great manta experiences too. Reefs, walls, piers, jetties, black sand muck critters, "vertical muck", mushroom shaped islands, swim throughs, caves..... it's all there along with beautiful topside scenery.
I've narrowed in on mid-October to mid-December as being the most likely time to have little rain or wind. Over the past 12 years, trips during that time period usually get 1/2 day of rain in daytime during the trip and we've had only a couple of times when wind was a factor (chop makes it more difficult to load dive tenders and can make us alter plans).
There are of course, awesome dive sites and ordinary dive sites in Raja Ampat. Much of the awesome vs ordinariness depends on diving a site during best conditions for it (current, time of day, visibility). Diving the wrong side of the reef, when current is the wrong direction or strength, or hopping into the wrong area is why I believe some divers go there and don't think Raja Ampat is anything special.
But do note that Raja Ampat is not high-voltage shark diving.. don't expect Cocos or Galapagos if you go to Raja Ampat. Plus if you want only muck/macro there are better choices for that limited range of special critters.
Since 2004 I've chartered a liveaboard for my trips, before that we went land-based. I always line up my own team of cruise director and guides who have a lot of experience working in Raja Ampat. I usually hire them myself but sometimes the LOB owner helps with this arrangement . The crew on ships changes quite frequently and they often have inexperienced divemasters who don't know the area. I won't rely on them to support my trips, which are mostly full of very experienced and well traveled divers with many photographer / videographers. I choose the itinerary and sites based on the group aboard and could guide the dives myself (over 2000 dives in Raja Ampat now) but don't (well.. not generally).
In my opinion a Sorong-Sorong liveaboard trip of 11-14 days is the best. A round trip gives the group a chance to move around Raja Ampat based on conditions. If vis or currents aren't right in the north, the ship can go south and return later. If vis & current direction in the daytime is good in the north, we'd stay there and put off the macro dives until later. We can't always know the conditions exactly, but from the previous trip and conversing with others operating in the area, we can get a pretty good idea of where we need to go to get the best diving at the time.
On a round trip we can also, and do, stay at sites that are really hot. Often we stay the entire day and allow everyone to dive when and as much as they like. This is a real hit with photographers. I've literally had mantas flying over my head and a Flamboyant Cuttlefish under my elbow. Fortunately my video port allowed me to shoot both :>) And finished up the dive with scenes of a beautiful bommie covered in a cloud of golden sweepers with a stop for a Ponthoi Pygmy Seahorse on my way out. The photographers really loved a chance to go change their lens.
You can't do that on a one-way trip that has a schedule to keep. It seems like one would see more on a one-way cruise, but that isn't the case. A one-way covers more territory and has longer cruises.
Checking Dom's prices for LOB's, I see that my $358/night price is comparable or on the low end of the LOB scale. This for cabins with ensuite bath, individual A/C, indoor dive deck and the following:
All the trips I offer are limited to 12 guest divers with from 2-4 extra guides hired in addition to the ship's standard crew. We have a 1:3 or 1:4 ratio of guide per divers. Plus we usually manage 3 dives on departure day, 2-3 on the last day of the trip and offer 5 dives almost every other day. I've started calling them "Value Added" trips.
I have a few spaces still available this fall on one trip. Plus I just announced trips for 2012.
Raja Ampat Limited Participation Dive Trips
Go to Raja Ampat. It's worth it. The problem is you'll want to go back. I have people coming back on their 7th, 8th trips to Raja Ampat in as many years.
Where Raja Ampat excels is in variety. It's the best area for colorful corals and fishes, the density, diversity is incredible. But there are wonderful critters. And great manta experiences too. Reefs, walls, piers, jetties, black sand muck critters, "vertical muck", mushroom shaped islands, swim throughs, caves..... it's all there along with beautiful topside scenery.
I've narrowed in on mid-October to mid-December as being the most likely time to have little rain or wind. Over the past 12 years, trips during that time period usually get 1/2 day of rain in daytime during the trip and we've had only a couple of times when wind was a factor (chop makes it more difficult to load dive tenders and can make us alter plans).
There are of course, awesome dive sites and ordinary dive sites in Raja Ampat. Much of the awesome vs ordinariness depends on diving a site during best conditions for it (current, time of day, visibility). Diving the wrong side of the reef, when current is the wrong direction or strength, or hopping into the wrong area is why I believe some divers go there and don't think Raja Ampat is anything special.
But do note that Raja Ampat is not high-voltage shark diving.. don't expect Cocos or Galapagos if you go to Raja Ampat. Plus if you want only muck/macro there are better choices for that limited range of special critters.
Since 2004 I've chartered a liveaboard for my trips, before that we went land-based. I always line up my own team of cruise director and guides who have a lot of experience working in Raja Ampat. I usually hire them myself but sometimes the LOB owner helps with this arrangement . The crew on ships changes quite frequently and they often have inexperienced divemasters who don't know the area. I won't rely on them to support my trips, which are mostly full of very experienced and well traveled divers with many photographer / videographers. I choose the itinerary and sites based on the group aboard and could guide the dives myself (over 2000 dives in Raja Ampat now) but don't (well.. not generally).
In my opinion a Sorong-Sorong liveaboard trip of 11-14 days is the best. A round trip gives the group a chance to move around Raja Ampat based on conditions. If vis or currents aren't right in the north, the ship can go south and return later. If vis & current direction in the daytime is good in the north, we'd stay there and put off the macro dives until later. We can't always know the conditions exactly, but from the previous trip and conversing with others operating in the area, we can get a pretty good idea of where we need to go to get the best diving at the time.
On a round trip we can also, and do, stay at sites that are really hot. Often we stay the entire day and allow everyone to dive when and as much as they like. This is a real hit with photographers. I've literally had mantas flying over my head and a Flamboyant Cuttlefish under my elbow. Fortunately my video port allowed me to shoot both :>) And finished up the dive with scenes of a beautiful bommie covered in a cloud of golden sweepers with a stop for a Ponthoi Pygmy Seahorse on my way out. The photographers really loved a chance to go change their lens.
You can't do that on a one-way trip that has a schedule to keep. It seems like one would see more on a one-way cruise, but that isn't the case. A one-way covers more territory and has longer cruises.
Checking Dom's prices for LOB's, I see that my $358/night price is comparable or on the low end of the LOB scale. This for cabins with ensuite bath, individual A/C, indoor dive deck and the following:
All the trips I offer are limited to 12 guest divers with from 2-4 extra guides hired in addition to the ship's standard crew. We have a 1:3 or 1:4 ratio of guide per divers. Plus we usually manage 3 dives on departure day, 2-3 on the last day of the trip and offer 5 dives almost every other day. I've started calling them "Value Added" trips.
I have a few spaces still available this fall on one trip. Plus I just announced trips for 2012.
Raja Ampat Limited Participation Dive Trips
Go to Raja Ampat. It's worth it. The problem is you'll want to go back. I have people coming back on their 7th, 8th trips to Raja Ampat in as many years.
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