first trip to Raja Ampat

[SEEKER646]

Looking to make first trip to Raja Ampat
Can anyone recommend a good dive operation there?
Live aboard vs. shoreside comments?
Best time of year to go
And any recommendations re travel arrangements from US East Coast?

Last - What are the surprises with travel logistics - and extra expenses that we won't know before but will encounter?
Thx in advance

 

[photog]

Looking to make first trip to Raja Ampat
Can anyone recommend a good dive operation there?
Live aboard vs. shoreside comments?
Best time of year to go
And any recommendations re travel arrangements from US East Coast?

Last - What are the surprises with travel logistics - and extra expenses that we won't know before but will encounter?
Thx in advance

Hi Seeker646.. actually followed your profile here from the GOD (Grumpy Old Divers) forum.

I've been organizing small groups to Raja Ampat since '99. Have 3 trips with space available in 2015 - including one space in April/May with a hefty discount for the right diver - I'm speculating that you might be one of them....

However I prefer mid-October through November for the weather. April/May is my second choice. I have 2 trips in November 2015, and have done the same time period every year for 16 years (as well as others!)

I started with land-based, but switched to LOB in 2004. We get to see a lot more from a ship. This is especially true since the areas nearer Sorong have gotten so crowded with resort & homestay day boats, and short liveaboard trips the last couple of years. Plus can move the ship to areas where we know something amazing is happening (like the enormous baitballs and hunting mobula rays last year), or where we know the visibility is best, etc.

I help all my guests with travel arrangements. I know the ropes quite well, and I help them avoid nasty surprises.

I can nail down expected costs for you within $100 or so.

I only take 12 guests maximum on these trips. The cost is about the same as a comparable liveaboard in Raja Ampat.

email cityseahorsetours@gmail.com for info. I seldom check scubaboard messages.

 

[Wingy]

No commercial interest so I have nothing to sell but would recommend Tambora live aboard. Did my first trip to Northern Raja, Hamlahera, Morotai with them last year and have another trip booked with them in a few months. Lovely owners and crew, good dive guides, excellent briefings and safety of divers is always paramount.

I agree you get to see a lot more than landbased with LOB diving - we didnt see any other boats for days until we got close to Sorong.

 

[OnTheSpot]

Here is a list of Raja Ampat liveaboards divided into low. mid and high budget

 

[Zippsy]

Here is a list of some of the Raja Ampat liveaboards divided into low. mid and high budget

I clarified that for you.

 

[LiquidDivingAdventure]

I would agree with Zippsy, the list is SOME of the liveaboards. Missing are the Arenui, Damai, Tambora, Mantra, White Manta, Black Manta and others. I have a commercial interest but still offer free advice....yuk yuk

My suggestion is to start with your budget, how much do you want to spend, and that will narrow down your options. There are a some of popular land based operations like raja4divers and Misool Eco in the Raja Ampat area. Why land over LOB...? Personal choice possibly or maybe not comfortable on a ship...? That has to be your personal choice. If you want to hang by a pool part of the day, then LOB is not the choice. If you want to dive as much as possible, the either land or LOB might work.

With the LOBs you will find charters available during the "best" time of year. When the weather turns a bit, most travel to other destinations like Komodo.

As for travel from the US East coast, I often recommend FirstBusinessFlights.com for my long haul travelers. They can get you biz class seats for a bit more than economy depending upon the destination.

For the commercial plug, there are on occasion berths and cabins on a variety of ships that may be last minute availability and reduced prices. However not always so on the better ships. I do discount most all charters or land based trips if you are interested in saving a few bucks.

Extra costs are the usual suspects...domestic flights, possible hotel stays, gratuities, ground transportation, land tours, fuel surcharges and port/marine park fees, etc.

 

[Jon S-J]

Hi Seeker646, I run a dive travel agency based in Makassar, let me answer some of your questions.

Best time - Sailing and diving is possible all year round in Indonesia, there are two distinct seasons, November to March in Raja Ampat, May to September in Komodo, this is due to the winds changing direction from East to West and vice versa. In October and April, most boats transit between these two areas, usually going through the Banda Sea, or North Sulawesi/Wakatobi.

So October to April, where the sea is still expected to be steady and calm is the season. It is important to note that a liveaboard is discouraged from May to September because strong, heavy winds and rains are more likely to occur.

Land v Sea - Raja is a huge area, so it very much depends which liveaboard you go on, some are only 7-8 nights so will do either the North or the South, the North is well served by resorts, and you will probably get to many of the same sites from a resort as you will from a boat, but there is really only the one resort in the South, the very nice and quiet expensive Misool Eco Resort. But if you take one of the longer, 12-14 night trips on a boat you will get to see both North and south and everything in between, and a number of boats have their own "secret" sites they have found en route, which is where the boats do have the advantage. Most resorts have a 7 or 14 night package and only do transfers on set days.

Logistic - its pretty easy, there are daily flights from Jakarta to Sorong, which is where you have to start any Raja trip, land or boat based, Garuda is the most reliable and has the most generous luggage allowance for divers, allowed 20kg/pax overweight IDR 23.000/kg (Plus as long as the dive gear is packed separately another 23kg/person for dive gear/sports equipment and 7 kg hand luggage allowance) but it's not a direct flight so Express Air is the 2nd alternative.

The boat or resort usually picks you up from the airport and from there to the harbour.

Extra costs - park fees just gone up to 1,000,000 rupiah this is a year long tag, which is odd, since few people travel back in the same year, but that is Indonesia for you! Visa on Arrival again just gone up to US$35 for 30 days, as above any excess baggage, some of the resorts charge for transfers above and beyond the package, eg Misool, €300 per person. then depending on which boat, nitrox, equipment and fuel surcharges are also applied.

The 2015-2016 season is already quite booked up, especially over Christmas but there are still some available cabins.

If you have any more questions, you can reply here or email me at info@diveoptions.com.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

Jonathan

 

[SEEKER646]

Thanks all the comments.
We have about 7 nights to spend in Raj Ampat on a reasonable/midline budget – what resorts do you recommend versus what live-aboards?

We are two very experienced divers [40 years globally] so looking to see something different to justify the trek from US east Cost to Raj.

 

[Hintermann]

IMO, having come all the way from the US, a liveaboard (one of many good ones) with a 10 to 11 day itinerary is a great choice to get most of the wide and varied experience of Raja Ampat. Generally, mid-October to mid-December is considered the best time to dive in RA.

 

[Tippytoes12]

As you just have seven nights , then consider the Black Manta liveaboard. We have been on it twice and it is a fantastic boat which is very reasonably priced. We just spent the seven nights on the boat and saw loads and loads. Incidentally we were told that the Manta season is from January on wards. We saw many including six on one dive over Christmas. Passengers on previous weeks boat didn't see any.