BarnBrat
Registered
Getting There
Our in country flights were mostly Garuda and one Lion Air flight, both were perfectly acceptable and we would fly with both again no hesitation. We had zero issues with flight delays and did not see any indications of canceled or delayed flights at any of the airports. Despite what seems to be the popular opinion, our impression was that air travel was very reliable. We flew from Jakarta to Manado where we stayed 2 nights at the Novotel Golf Resort to burn off jet lag. It’s only about 20min from the airport and they had nice accommodations, a decent restaurant, an infinity pool w/ rum drinks, and $20 massages. Exactly what we needed after 30 hours an airplanes.
Next stop was 1 night in Sorong. We could have caught the 6am flight from Manado to Sorong in plenty of time to catch our boat, but we decided to play it safe. We’ll probably skip this extra night next trip. We stayed at Swiss Bell, room and amenities were very nice, no complaints. Free breakfast was good. We went out for dinner to an absolutely fantastic restaurant... Kitong Papua Resto, address Jl. A. Yani Klademak 1 no 12. Excellent seafood! The standout dish was the passion flower vegetables. I am not a huge vegetable fan but this dish was in the top ten of most delicious dishes I have eaten. Ever. We ordered seconds, and then thirds but they were out of passion flower so we had banana leaf vegetables instead which were also amazing. So yeah, go there, it's amazing! We were a little leery catching the local taxis, especially finding one after dinner in the dark so we used the hotel's car service. At $30 US it was pricey but the driver waited for up to 2 hours and the prices at the restaurant were very affordable so total cost of dinner was still very reasonable... maybe $50 US for 3 people including the car.
*We purchased all in country plane tickets online via Nusatrip. Easily paid online via credit card. We printed out the online confirmation, presented it at the ticket counters and had zero issues.
The Boat – Mermaid 1
Fantastic, zero complaints. Food was amazing, plenty of options at every meal. Staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Before you even asked for assistance a staff member was jumping up to help with whatever was needed. We stayed in the budget cabin, which was below deck with bunk beds. We aren’t the type to spend much time lounging about in the room so it was perfectly suited to our tastes. Clean, comfortable, and plenty of storage. Air conditioned and the cabin stayed at a comfortable temp. Private bathroom, shower was over the toilet but we didn’t find that to be at all bothersome.
The common areas on the boat were spacious and comfortable, never felt crowded. Plenty of space for lounging, napping, etc. The dive deck was impeccably organized and spacious. Divers are spread into 4 groups of 3 to 4 divers and each group rotates the order in which you go out. This helped to keep crowding while gearing up to somewhat of a minimum. Plenty of table space for camera equipment. Overall a very efficient and effective setup!
The Diving –
All dive masters were excellent, I heard no complaints from anyone on the trip. Very knowledgeable and safety conscious. All of them knew the sites and currents very well. Currents make me a little nervous, but I told our guide and he did an excellent job of making sure I was okay on all the dives.
Now, what to say about the diving itself… overwhelming? Mind-altering? I don’t really have the words to describe it. It was our first time diving outside the Caribbean, so I may not have the most objective perspective. Fish, coral, and color everywhere, as far as the eye can see (which I admit is not as far as in the Caribbean) on almost every single dive. There is so much to see I don’t think I could handle diving those sites in 80ft visibility… but I sure would like to try! Man, what I wouldn’t give for that experience!
We were incredibly lucky and had several close encounters with Oceanic Mantas. On our very last dive of the trip 2 massive mantas spent 20 min repeatedly circling over our heads within touching distance. They looked me directly in the eye… it was a truly magical experience.
In conclusion, IMHO the long trek and expensive price of diving in Raja Ampat is well worth every minute on a plane and every penny. Truly Incredible and we’ll be back… soon.
For anyone interested this video does far more justice than I can with words.
Our in country flights were mostly Garuda and one Lion Air flight, both were perfectly acceptable and we would fly with both again no hesitation. We had zero issues with flight delays and did not see any indications of canceled or delayed flights at any of the airports. Despite what seems to be the popular opinion, our impression was that air travel was very reliable. We flew from Jakarta to Manado where we stayed 2 nights at the Novotel Golf Resort to burn off jet lag. It’s only about 20min from the airport and they had nice accommodations, a decent restaurant, an infinity pool w/ rum drinks, and $20 massages. Exactly what we needed after 30 hours an airplanes.
Next stop was 1 night in Sorong. We could have caught the 6am flight from Manado to Sorong in plenty of time to catch our boat, but we decided to play it safe. We’ll probably skip this extra night next trip. We stayed at Swiss Bell, room and amenities were very nice, no complaints. Free breakfast was good. We went out for dinner to an absolutely fantastic restaurant... Kitong Papua Resto, address Jl. A. Yani Klademak 1 no 12. Excellent seafood! The standout dish was the passion flower vegetables. I am not a huge vegetable fan but this dish was in the top ten of most delicious dishes I have eaten. Ever. We ordered seconds, and then thirds but they were out of passion flower so we had banana leaf vegetables instead which were also amazing. So yeah, go there, it's amazing! We were a little leery catching the local taxis, especially finding one after dinner in the dark so we used the hotel's car service. At $30 US it was pricey but the driver waited for up to 2 hours and the prices at the restaurant were very affordable so total cost of dinner was still very reasonable... maybe $50 US for 3 people including the car.
*We purchased all in country plane tickets online via Nusatrip. Easily paid online via credit card. We printed out the online confirmation, presented it at the ticket counters and had zero issues.
The Boat – Mermaid 1
Fantastic, zero complaints. Food was amazing, plenty of options at every meal. Staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Before you even asked for assistance a staff member was jumping up to help with whatever was needed. We stayed in the budget cabin, which was below deck with bunk beds. We aren’t the type to spend much time lounging about in the room so it was perfectly suited to our tastes. Clean, comfortable, and plenty of storage. Air conditioned and the cabin stayed at a comfortable temp. Private bathroom, shower was over the toilet but we didn’t find that to be at all bothersome.
The common areas on the boat were spacious and comfortable, never felt crowded. Plenty of space for lounging, napping, etc. The dive deck was impeccably organized and spacious. Divers are spread into 4 groups of 3 to 4 divers and each group rotates the order in which you go out. This helped to keep crowding while gearing up to somewhat of a minimum. Plenty of table space for camera equipment. Overall a very efficient and effective setup!
The Diving –
All dive masters were excellent, I heard no complaints from anyone on the trip. Very knowledgeable and safety conscious. All of them knew the sites and currents very well. Currents make me a little nervous, but I told our guide and he did an excellent job of making sure I was okay on all the dives.
Now, what to say about the diving itself… overwhelming? Mind-altering? I don’t really have the words to describe it. It was our first time diving outside the Caribbean, so I may not have the most objective perspective. Fish, coral, and color everywhere, as far as the eye can see (which I admit is not as far as in the Caribbean) on almost every single dive. There is so much to see I don’t think I could handle diving those sites in 80ft visibility… but I sure would like to try! Man, what I wouldn’t give for that experience!
We were incredibly lucky and had several close encounters with Oceanic Mantas. On our very last dive of the trip 2 massive mantas spent 20 min repeatedly circling over our heads within touching distance. They looked me directly in the eye… it was a truly magical experience.
In conclusion, IMHO the long trek and expensive price of diving in Raja Ampat is well worth every minute on a plane and every penny. Truly Incredible and we’ll be back… soon.
For anyone interested this video does far more justice than I can with words.
