Misool Eco Resort October 2017 trip report

[Erwin Poliakoff]

Thank you for posting this, Erwin. My wife and I have Misool on our bucket list, and this confirms that we need to go there! Great pictures.

Good for you. Thanks for the kinds words on the pics. - Erwin

 

[CJS]

I know this is old, but I got excited because we're going to Misool in November. I booked our flights today! We're also actually flying in a day early to have some 'recovery time' in a Sorong hotel room before we get on the boat. Garuda now flys direct from Jakarta to Sorong, but it is a red eye, leaving at 20 past midnight. For us this will be after a 10hr layover in Jakarta!

 

[billt4sf]

I know this is old, but I got excited because we're going to Misool in November. I booked our flights today! We're also actually flying in a day early to have some 'recovery time' in a Sorong hotel room before we get on the boat. Garuda now flys direct from Jakarta to Sorong, but it is a red eye, leaving at 20 past midnight. For us this will be after a 10hr layover in Jakarta!

Perfect. You can get a hotel room and arrived more or less fresh.

- Bill

 

[Dan]

Here are some pics of the resort.

View attachment 432232DSC01299 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

View attachment 432233DSC01285 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

View attachment 432234DSC01257 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

View attachment 432235DSC01261 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

That looks like bungalow #4 where I stayed in April 2014.

 

[CJS]

That looks like bungalow #4 where I stayed in April 2014.

Love those pics. We're booked into bungalow #5.

 

[Dan]

Love those pics. We're booked into bungalow #5.

Nice! You got the end bungalow. Enjoy the beautiful sunset on the deck every evening!

 

[Karen Sun]

Erwin, thank you for the report. I am considering Misool in either April or Oct. Did you go in the early part of Oct? How bad is the visibility? Did it cause you to miss out on stuff? Would you say the increased action is worth it? Thanks!

My wife and I recently returned from a great trip to the Misool Eco Resort in southern Raja Ampat. We have been on liveaboards in Raja Ampat previously, and some of our favorite dives were in the area around this resort, so we thought we would give it a try. I highly recommend it. It takes a couple of days to get to the resort. You have to time the trip so it coincides with the dates of the transfer boat from Sorong (3-4 hour ride). We went for a 12 night trip at the resort, and they arrange for a night in Sorong hotel on the way out. We got into Sorong the day before our boat transfer, which allowed us to recuperate a little bit before the ride to the resort. The resort recommends taking the red-eye flight from Jakarta to Sorong, which many of the guests did. For us, at least, I think that this is bad advice. I was glad to have overnighted in Sorong on the way to the resort.

The resort itself is wonderful. I think that they can have as many as ~45 guests. There were probably about 30 guests while we were there. The service, setting, and diving are all fantastic. My wife has MS, and needs a little extra help getting around, and while on the boat. The staff were fantastic in assisting her when required. The dive boats had only a maximum of 8 divers plus staff, and there were no more than 4 guests per guide. I thought that this was fantastic service. The dive sites were as good as I remembered, maybe better. The only downside is that the visibility is not very good in October because there is still a lot of plankton in the water. It was okay, but definitely not as good as one might find in January through March (we are going back in February, so we will test this assertion directly). On the other hand, the plankton brought in huge schools of anchovies, which were very cool in their own right, and also brought in other stuff, including schools of mobula rays. The resort offered at least 3 dives per day, and also had dusk or night dives on many of the days of our trip. I typically did 3 dives per day, while my wife would go on two per day. I did not do any of the dusk or night dives, but the guests who did loved them. There was little in the way of muck diving, so we are going to add an Ambon component to our next trip to Misool in February 2018. On the other hand, the gorgeous reefs were what we wanted to see, and we were delighted at the quality of the reefs. Just for completeness, I want to reiterate that the resort facilities were excellent, as was the food.

Below are some pictures to give an idea of what the diving was like.

View attachment 431688002_adj_DSC_5899 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

View attachment 431689006_adj_DSC_5152 longnose hawkfish by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

View attachment 431690015_adj_DSC_6130 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

View attachment 431691053_adj_DSC_6301 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

View attachment 431692013_adj_DSC_5901 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

View attachment 431693062_adj_DSC_5101 juvenile boxfish by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

View attachment 43169420_adj_DSC_6269 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

The whole Flickr album is located here: 2017 Misool Flickr album

-Erwin

 

[Erwin Poliakoff]

Erwin, thank you for the report. I am considering Misool in either April or Oct. Did you go in the early part of Oct? How bad is the visibility? Did it cause you to miss out on stuff? Would you say the increased action is worth it? Thanks!

If I were to go in October, I would go as late as possible. It is still an excellent trip, but the visibility will be better the later you go. I cannot really comment on April, but I suspect that the earlier in April, the better. I am sure that either time will still be excellent. I would contact the resort for their opinions. Have fun! - Erwin

 

[Karen Sun]

thank you!

If I were to go in October, I would go as late as possible. It is still an excellent trip, but the visibility will be better the later you go. I cannot really comment on April, but I suspect that the earlier in April, the better. I am sure that either time will still be excellent. I would contact the resort for their opinions. Have fun! - Erwin

 

[Dan]

That looks like bungalow #4 where I stayed in April 2014.

I had great dives when I was there in April 2013 (not 2014 as I posted earlier). Seeing huge (>4m) Oceanic Manta in Magic Mountain, tiniest (2mm) Raja Ampat Pontohi (unfortunately my camera was not good enough to capture it, but I did get Bargibanti ), schooling fish every where, walking shark in Epaullete City #6, world-class colorful soft-corals, limestone labyrinth and petroglypth near Tomolol cave, were an experience that I never forget.

You can see from the pictures, below, the visibility was pretty good, ranging from 20m (60') in Nudi Rock, to 30m (100') in Magic Mountain.