Raja Ampat Question???

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Cali_diver

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I have the opportunity to go to Raja Ampat next year in November and I was wondering if this is a good time to go? What is the weather like etc.? Also I like to add a few days on the front end of the trip to explore and dive other places so I was wondering what you can add with R4?
 
November/December is absolutely prime season in Raja Ampat ... don't pass it up! Seriously, your odds are good for smooth seas, possibly a few little showers, and great diving. Many divers start their RA trip with a few days in North Sulawesi, since Manado is one of the jumping-off points to RA. From Manado you can dive some combination of Bunaken, Bangka, and Lembeh before transiting to your RA trip, and there are good choices of resorts and dive operations available for any budget in the area.
 
Nov/Dec is a good time to go. How much time do you have to spend either before or after RA? Besides how much time I'd say where you enter Indo also can make a difference. If you are entering via Manado or Makassar, I'd definitely say the spots in Northern Sulawesi that High Desert mentions. If you are entering via Bali, or perhaps Jakarta, and are pressed for time, Bali offers outstanding diving. If you are entering Bali or Jakarta, and have more time, stopping in Northern Sulawesi or Ambon on the way up to Sorong are options. It also depends on your interests..for example if it were for macro then Lembeh, Bangka, Ambon and Tulamben in Bali would be top choices.
 
Let me throw out another option for an add on to RA. One time we flew into Jakarta and then onto Ambon where we dove with Maluku Divers Resort for a few days before our trip! We had an excellent time! You can easily fly onto Sorong from Ambon. You can also add it on at the end of the trip. We have been to RA 2x in November and had great weather both times! Have fun!
 
As others have said, it's a good time of year. It's sort of a cusp season in some places and the weather may be changing, so choose wisely. I personally prefer to get to Sorong via Singapore since I don't much like Indonesia domestic air travel, so the less I can do of it, the happier I am. From Singapore, Manado is a snap. Hooking on to Raja Ampat trips at that time of year, I've personally put customers at Bali, Manado, Ambon and the Togians/Gorontalo through Singapore. It's also possible to get to Dili from Singapore, though none of my divers have yet combined the two.
 
Thanks Marcia I was going to send you an email when I got a little idea of what I wanted to do. We had a blast at Scuba Seraya! What a beautiful place to be. Thank you so much for helping us out with that. What is Manando like? Ambon? I might need to use Cathay Pacific for miles reasons so can I get there through hong kong?
 
Hello!

I think you already got the answer! but, just my two cents! raja ampat is all year diving, but specially around the time you are asking is the best! you should always expect some current in diving in raja ampat, and always in the tropics: rainshowers. the locations for diving is really big. if you are diving from a liveabourd is very expensive and if you enjoy walks on the beach is not possible in liveabourds. one dive area very famous is the dampier straits near the capital city of waisai (capital of the raja ampat regency). here you have more affordable options for accommodation and diving and beutiful locations. i always stay in this region with the homestays in manusar island (yenkoranu) its basic but very nice, and if you are experienced diver its great! things are changing in raja ampat, so i hear, and there are new alternatives coming for other budgets while i was there i heard about this: checkout rajaampatbiodiversity.com

just some more info!
have fun!
 
Thanks Marcia I was going to send you an email when I got a little idea of what I wanted to do. We had a blast at Scuba Seraya! What a beautiful place to be. Thank you so much for helping us out with that. What is Manando like? Ambon? I might need to use Cathay Pacific for miles reasons so can I get there through hong kong?
So glad you had fun on Bali. Make sure to write a little thingie in its own thread so it's not buried in a Raja Ampat thread :wink:

And of course I'll be glad to help you with options for Raja Ampat/before/after when the time comes.

Manado isn't much in terms of beauty, but oh, the diving nearby! Lembeh, for example, is just one of those places you have to have on a bucket list. Ambon still has the flavor of frontier diving. It's famous for having lots of rhinopias and frogfishes. You get some bragging rights by going there to dive, for sure.

Cathay from Hong Kong--you'd want to go to Singapore, I think, and then pick up Silk Air. Silk isn't the cheap option, but it's reliable and their safety record is good. I'm not an airline expert, but it may be that Cathay codeshares with Singapore Airlines, which operates Silk Air, so perhaps your points could get you all the way! Silk has flights from Singapore to both Manado and Ambon.
 
Singapore Air is part of Star Alliance, whereas Cathay Pacific belongs to OneWorld. Since Cathay Pacific partners with DragonAir, I doubt you could codeshare from Cathay onto a SilkAir flight. Best route into Indonesia on Cathay Pacific is Los Angeles-Hong Kong-Denpasar, and then ticketing on other airlines from there.
 
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