Raja Ampat - looking for advice and information

[beaner]

Hi everyone,
I would like to take a trip to Raja Ampat by the end of the year and am looking for advice/information on how to go about planning it.
I don't know too much about the destination other than that it is a diving mecca and not to be missed if you can help it.
I live in Phuket, Thailand so it isn't too far and I want to make sure that I get there before I move away from Southeast Asia.
I am PADI AOW with 50+ dives.
Can anyone offer good advice and information on ALL aspects?
-Who to dive with
-How far in advance I need to book
-Where to stay (suspect liveaboard is really the only option?)
-Best time to go
-How to get there from Bangkok, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur (all direct flights from Phuket, this is why I mention these cities)
-Stop-over stay sugguestions
-Other things to do while there
-Things to watch out for (warnings)
-And any other important information?
I don't want to spend a fortune, but this is also a once-in-a-lifetime trip, so something in between, cost-wise, would be good. (I'm not even sure what costs are, so this is why I say in between low- and high-end).
Thanks ever so much.
And, of course (!), if anyone is interested in joining me!
Jenni

 

[ScubaduoAdventures]

Raja Ampat is one of the great dive areas of the world and you should go if you can.
Mostly done by live-a-board but ther is a landbased option which is great also and they a a Eco style and a first class style of accomodation to choose from Google Papuan Divers or Irian Divers for there info. we went in July and it was fine but most of the live-a-boards travel there Nov. thru Jan. and there is a wide choice of options.
One of the newer boats to look at is the Tambora, it not only goes to Raja but will also take you down farther east into trident bay which is also a must see in that area if you can do it, go to www.tamboradive.com.
In general you fly into Sorong to get to the resort and catch most of the boats and you can best connect thru either Manado which is a easy connect from Singapore, Jakarta or Bali Indonesia who ever you decide to dive with will help you best choose your connection, just watch your weight on that flight as you can be charged for to much over weight on gear.
you may want to consider Malaria protection for that area though there is a lot of debate as to whether or not you really need to take it, so you should confer with your doctor on that and make a choice.
Raja is a bit of a advanced dive area because of its currents but with 50 plus dives and the fact that you will be guided we suspect you should be OK, we are sure you can do some tune up dives in Thailand if you need to real easy before you go?
Another resource to compare live-a-boards is world of diving website. We have a group trip going in Dec. 2011 on the Tambora for 12 nights but that may be to long for you to wait, if you are interested click on our website below and go to our travel page and click on 2011 trips.
Who ever you choose you will have a awesome time not sure where you are originally from, but you are lucky to live in Thailand. We livede ther for awhile and loved it./COLOR]

 

[mjh]

We felt that a live-aboard is the best way to do Raja, but I believe there are very good shore ops there. Trip report, Gallery, MultiMedia show at our site for the Peter Hughes Paradise Dancer.

Quick Video from our trip.
Raja Ampat's Underwater Diversity on Vimeo

 

[broadreach]

There are lots of trip reports on this board for Raja Ampat - you should start by searching and reading those.

I can comment based on my own experience doing a similar trip from Thailand in December '08.
For air transport I found the cheapest way at the time was Air Asia to KL and then again Air Asia to Makassar (UPG airport in South Sulawesi), overnight in Makassar (I found a clean and affordable hotel for less than US$50). Then Merpati from Makassar to Sorong where I was picked up by liveaboard crew.
On the way back I was able to fly Merpati to Makassar and continue on the same day to KL with Air Asia. I had to spend one night in KL and then took the Air Asia flight to Bangkok the next morning.

I went with
Shakti Raja Ampat Liveaboard - Raja Ampat West Papua (Irian Jaya) Indonesia Sailboat Liveaboard Diving
and I highly recommend it.

A liveaboard is not your only option but it is probably your best option. The resorts are pricey and the area to cover is huge.

The Shakti is not as luxurious as some of the other liveaboards in the region but Dave who owns and operates it has been operating solely in Raja Ampat since 2002. He knows the area better than most and can place you in the right dive site at the right time including locations that others don't know about.

As far as the time of year - Dave told me that he doesn't operate in January to mid March because that's when the weather turns bad. Otherwise its fairly consistent year round. Raja Ampat straddle the equator and covers a huge area so they can always move to a different area if conditions are less than optimal in a certain spot. I was there in late December and it was great, except one day when we had bigger waves. Dave just responded to the weather and made a small change in the plan. This flexibility is another advantage of going on a liveaboard.

 

[Tapas bali]

Dear Jenni,

Would love to be your assistance for your once in a lifetime trip. And will try to answer your questions below
-Who to dive with
Recently, there are more & more liveaboards & dive center operate in Raja Ampat. Last year at least 2 liveaboards & 1 resort sign up. Even some operators consider new, they hire experience dive masters for the area so you can choose based on your budget. There is nothing we really can consider "budget" there but there are some liveaboards/resorts provide not luxury accommodation but great service for diving.

-How far in advance I need to book
To give you safe time to choose the accommodation and dates book the resorts/liveaboard 3 months in advance the latest. FYI, if you check liveaboards availability, some liveaboards could be fully booked/chartered one year in advance.

-Where to stay (suspect liveaboard is really the only option?)
Not really. There are some resorts with vary rates/accommodation types operates there. The reason why most people dive Raja Ampat with Liveaboard is because the location of the dive sites are spread out. So to have the biggest chance to visit all sites, people take liveaboard.

-Best time to go
Nov-Apr

-How to get there from Bangkok, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur (all direct flights from Phuket, this is why I mention these cities)
To safe travelling time. Fly to Raja Ampat from Manado that way you do not need to overnight between two cities. At the moment there is only one international flight which fly directly to Manado which is from Singapore.
But please check with the operator that you will book with, because e.g. there is a resort that arrange its pick up time only suit with one airline from Makassar.

-Stop-over stay sugguestions
Manado or Makassar

-Other things to do while there
Depend on the operator that you will book with but some operators will take you to do Bird Watching, take you to pearl factory, hiking, village visits, etc.

-Things to watch out for (warnings)
Take medicine for Malaria prevention before you go there,
Make sure you have diving insurance
Mostly airlines that fly to Sorong only have 20kg luggage allowance/person so pack carefully

Hopefully you find this information helpful.

 

[broadreach]

Fly to Raja Ampat from Manado that way you do not need to overnight between two cities. At the moment there is only one international flight which fly directly to Manado which is from Singapore.

Unfortunately Air Asia suspeneded their KL > Manado route on Feb 25th 2010. Major bummer is it makes visiting Lembeh more expensive from Thailand.
Welcome to AirAsia.com...now everyone can fly...

Air Asia to Makassar is still your best bet coming from Phuket and you only need to overnight once in Makassar. (and once in KL on the way back).

Just for comparison sake round trip Phuket > KL > Makassar on Air Asia will cost you ~10,000 THB or ~US$300

S'pore > Manado alone on Silk Air will cost you SGD$480 or ~US$300 if you book enough in advance. You still need to get to S'pore from Phuket and will likely have to spend a night in S'pore as the Manado flights depart at 9:30 AM

I think that Silk Air makes economic sense for people flying with S'pore Airlines from the US or Europe when sometimes they can get a good fare all the way to Manado. From Thailand however it makes little sense in my opinion.

Of course you should budget another ~US$200 for a round trip flight from either Manado or Makassar to Sorong

 

[az_kc]

If you haven't yet been, join our trip Dec 1 - 10. There is room on the boat. I went this same time years ago and it was fantastic.

 

[Travelnsj]

I've stayed at the Sorido resort 3 times in the last two years About Sorido and headed there again in November. They also have the Kri resort which is somewhat basic but met plenty of people who enjoyed it.

 

[beaner]

Thanks for the heads-up az_kc, I've moved from Phuket - 7 weeks ago actually - so unfortunately I didn't make it to RA, and probably won't anytime soon. This info is all really great though, and I hope it helps others who are interested in going there. It's definitely still on my list of "must do's", will just take a lot longer to get there now. sniff.