Raja Ampat or Palau Liveaboard

[jjjason1]

Hi all,

My wife and I are planning a last minute liveaboard trip in December 2016 and we are looking at availability and found a liveaboard option both for Palau (Aggressor) and Raja Ampat (Panunee). Would like to seek some views from well-traveled diving guru regarding below - many thanks in advance! And just a little about my wife and I, we live in Hong Kong and have done around 100 dives in Anilao, Lembeh, Sipadan, Similan, Turks & Caicos, Haiwaii, Palau. Of the list, Palau really stood out for the crystal clear water, healthy corals and pelagics action, and Lembeh is a close second favorite for its really unusual critters (although we have already been to Lembeh twice and as much as we love it, felt like there are still a lot of places to explore).

1) Palau vs. Raja Ampat: I have read numerous debate on Palau vs Raja Ampat. We have been to Palau, albeit it was a land-based dive last time we came and it was very unsatisfactory to do only 2 dives in the outer reef where diving was really excellent and rest in the inner reef where visibility is low and significantly less fish action, so we had wanted to come back on a liveaboard. Having said that, we have talked about Raja Ampat and Komodo for the longest time, especially all the rave reviews on Raja Ampat. We are slightly skewed towards Raja Ampat since it'd be a new place for us and my wife would love to see some beautiful coral and shoals of fish, plus you also get the manta as well, so it felts like a relatively all-rounded dive location.

2). Liveaboard: Have heard great things about Aggressor, but given we are leaning towards Raja, have people tried Panunee and any particularly negative reviews? I know there are options with good reviews but unfortunately we are bound by dates and availability at this stage, so any view on Panunee is appreciated!

3) Just to throw in another option for discussion: We also found a liveaboard at Socorro in Mexico. Not much corals there I heard, but quite a bit of manta action and dolphins and sharks. Just want to see how people compare this to Palau and Raja Ampat.

Thanks!!

 

[jcclink]

Bio diversity is among the greatest in the world in Raja Ampat. I would definitely recommend RA over Palau. Lots of loveaboards but they try to give each other space. Sorong has a new terminal & a few new higher end hotels for overnight stays.
Suggest Garuda Airlines as much as possible for domestic flights. They currently offer an additional 23 kg of scuba diving equipment at no cost. Tell them at check-in you have it. 43 kg total, each.

 

[chris kippax]

+1 for RA! Excellent diving and a great mix of wide Angle & macro.

 

[scorpiofish]

Been to all three. No comparison. Raja is without a doubt better than Palau. Palau isn't bad, but definitely not in the same class. Socorro is very different. Yes, Manta action is a guarantee. Yes, we saw sharks, dolphin and even tuna. I have no interest in going back.

 

[Magrone]

You most likely will not get the dramatic blue/clear visibility in RA as you would in Palau. Both places are favorites of mine. I think RA has to be hit at the right time of year with an experienced crew to get the most out of it. Visibility can be poor at times. Palau has more sharks and just as much or more big schools of fish if timed right. Raja is far away, though not bad from HK, I guess. Raja has more pristine corals throughout. Raja has a better manta dive as well. Though Palau is excellent for corals as well in certain sites. I like both, but if you haven't been to Raja, I'd say go there.

 

[Dive Explore Indonesia]

hi , looking at the PANUNEE web site i found 22 divers ( 4 guides ) , first this is 26 divers on the same dive site, second the standard in Indonesia is more around 4 divers/guide. May be you get lucky and they will not be full
The good ( maximun ) size liveaboard for indonesia in my opinion is 16 divers/ guests + 4 guides.

 

[jjjason1]

Thanks all for the advice. My wife and I eventually found a spot on La Gagligo for the northern circuit of Raja Ampat which seems to offer a smaller number of divers on the boat and have decided to go with it! And we are excited!

 

[Dan]

Say hi to Tom (owner), Erens (captain), Nick (CD), Fendy (DM) & the rest of the crews from me. I went on their ultimate Raja Ampat trip last December. That was a blast.

I'm chartering the boat for next November crossing trip from Ambon to Sorong. One space on La Galigo Liveaboard to Banda & Raja Ampat in Nov 2017 with 15% discount