Raja Central 7days/6nights

Day 1

Our meeting point will be at the Misool Filling Station at 7:30am, just opposite the airport, where we’ll have a coffee or tea and wait for our last guests to arrive.

Shortly after, the ferry will depart from Sorong to Waisai, which takes us around 2 hours.

Once we’ve arrived in Waisai, the Cruise Director will purchase the Raja Ampat Marine Park tickets and we’ll be ready to be welcomed aboard Jelajahi Laut by the Captain and Crew.

While enjoying a fresh juice or coconut, we’ll hold a welcome briefing, followed by a general safety briefing and explanation of the boat, and all crew and guest will introduce themselves, so everyone gets to start to know each other.

You’ll then settle into your cabin, and we’ll set up the diving area, followed by a light lunch and soon after, at around 3pm we’ll head for our check dive outside the harbour, on the slopes of Mioskon Island.

The rest of the afternoon will be spent on the boat and we have lots of time to really get to know our fellow travellers and enjoy a beautiful sunset, while the captain navigates to the northern parts of Batanta Island.

Day 2

Today it’s an early wake up, fresh brewed coffee, and a dive briefing for the first dive of the day while the crew is busy in the diving area making sure everything is ready before we gear up.

The plane wreck lying at 30m depth below the surface is somehow a part of history of Raja Ampat, as Max Ammer was looking for its remains when he realized how beautiful this area was for diving.

For our next 2 dives, we’ll be on the lookout for Manta Rays and sharks, in places called Dayan, Karang Bata or Bibis – it all depends on tides and conditions, no 2 trips are ever the same.  It’s really important for us to tailor our trips to the expectations of our guests, so we try our best to find what you are looking for.

Day 3 and 4

Behind us lays 3 hours of travelling, and we now find ourselves between the Fam island group.

Surely you have heard of My Reef, Melissa’s Garden, Batu Rufus, Barracuda Rock and the viewpoint of Piaynemo.

Here you can see hunting Giant Trevallies, Rainbow Runners, Pygmy Seahorses, Hairy Squat Lobsters, never ending Staghorn Coral fields and a wall that seems to go on forever.

The climb to the viewpoint seems harder than it is, once we reached the top, you’ll be speechless and can soak in one of the most beautiful views you can imagine, over this little paradise.

We’ll be in this area for 2 days, jumping the sites perfectly timed according to the tides flowing, to make sure we get the best out of it and plenty of fish action.

Day 5

A few hours north-east of Fam lies a small Island with some well-hidden reefs.

Using the GPS tracker, the speedboat drivers will drop us right where we need to go in search of the Carpet Shark, also called the Wobbegong Shark.

They especially love this area, but they are not alone – with plenty of fish and stunning corals surrounding us, we’ll also look for Barracudas and Oriental Sweetlips.

In a small channel lays a special drift dive site where previous sightings of crocodiles make it a bit more spooky – but we can always take a ride with the speedboats to cruise around to see if they are around on the surface!

In the afternoon we make our way over to the island of Arborek, where we’ll go on land to stroll around a bit and relax on the jetty while the local kids show us their swimming and jumping skills.

On the night dive here, we look for the most famous fish in Raja Ampat – the Walking Shark which is often found hiding around the jetty.  This shark is only around 50cm long and as it’s name mentions, can walk if he gets trapped out of the water because of the tides or bigger sharks hunting him.

Day 6

We go back to the Dampier strait, getting ready to dive some astonishing reefs once again.

The abundance in Raja Ampat makes it easy to choose from a big variety of spots, depending what you like.

On the plan we have Cape Kri, Sardine Reef and Mike’s Point, but we can also jump on Chicken Reef, Blue Magic or LauLau which are all a short distance from each other.

After our third dive, we’ll hop over to land, on to the Island where it all started, to enjoy some beers and a beach barbeque set up by our amazing Chef.

Day 7

4.30 am wakeup seems hard, but it’s worth it.

After coffee and a small breakfast, our speedboats will take us to land and we go for a little hike up a hill in the jungle.

With a bit of luck, the red Bird of Paradise can be spotted on top of the trees looking for a mating partner while “singing” above the trees.

Back on the boat and for healthy breakfast, after which it’s time to gear up one last time and go for our last dive of the trip.  It can be either Blue Magic to look for some Oceanic Manta Rays and Grey Reef Sharks, or the reef of LauLau with its pinnacle.

After the dive it’s time to wash all the gear, pack up, have some tasty lunch and take some group pictures with all crew involved.

We then take the ferry back to Sorong where we can meet up for dinner and go for some pool and karaoke afterwards.

The Itinerary of the trip and dive sites can change due to certain circumstances.

Weather and tides play a big role in safety and planning, which is why the Cruise Director and Captain plan every day accordingly.

For any special requests, please don’t hesitate to contact us beforehand or chat with the Cruise Director on the boat.

Raja Ampat 8day/7nights

Day 1

We meet up at 7 – 7.30 am at Misool Filling Station before leaving around 8.00 am to go to the boat

Check dive at an appropriate dive site in central (Mioskon, Friwen or Yenbuba).  These are all stunning dive sites, easy to dive and its possible to see everything from mantas to pygmy seahorses

Overnight stay in the bay between Mansuar and Kri Island

Day 2

Head over to Kri island to dive the amazing Chicken Reef (Karang Ayam).  This site is excellent for pelagics such as tuna, Spanish mackerel, grey reefs sharks, white/black tip reef sharks, wobbegong sharks, and big schools of fish

For the second dive, we’ll move closer to the world famous Cape Kri, where schools of barracuda, jackfish, batfish, snapper, small reef fish, rays, sharks, turtles, and groupers, as well as the coral itself, are out of this world

For the third dive, we move west of Mansuar to dive Sawandarek village jetty, a protected dive site with a stunning reef and good for pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs, common octopus, wobbegong sharks and schools of jacks under the jetty

After that you’ll either do a night dive around Arborek Island, in the Dampier strait between Gam and Mansuar or visit Barefoot Conservation to get information about mantas and where they’ve been spotted so we know where to go the next day

Day 3

There’s a 15 minute ride out to either the Manta Sandy or Manta Ridge cleaning stations where we can usually see 4-5 mantas being cleaned at the same time

We then head west to Penemu and Fam Island to dive Melissa’s Garden, named after the diving pioneer Max Ammer’s daughter.  Thousands of tiny reef fish, black tips, wobbegong sharks, pygmy seahorses, and much more can be found here

For the third dive, we’ll move to the Kerou Chanel which can be a great drift dive if we get some current.  Featuring a beautiful reef, huge sea fans, and wonderful soft corals (excellent for macro), there’s often some larger fish out in the blue too

You can then visit the Bintan Lagoon viewpoint, before we start the 6-7 hour night crossing north up to Kawe Island, one of UNESCO’s world heritage sites

Day 4

We start off diving around Kawe Island and Eagle Rock with their stunning reefs and big fish action.  The highlight here is seeing the mantas coming in to be cleaned

On the second dive, we move over to Black Rock, one of the best reefs in the north, with a beautiful soft coral reef and insane amounts of different schooling fish.  Black Rock is also great for pygmy seahorses, turtles, black tip reef sharks and marble rays in the deep

After the second dive, we’ll move back to Eagle Rock again, where normally the current will have changed  and we can dive on a different part of this fantastic site

We then moor up inside the stunning Alyui Bay for a night dive at the famous pearl farm, but make sure you prepare your camera and macro lens for muck diving!

Day 5

We start off with another wonderful dive in Alyui Bay at Chanel #5, a dive site featuring swim throughs, big schools of sweetlips, and fusiliers and white tip sharks sleeping under the rocks. Here, we can also encounter dolphins, so keep looking for them on the safety stop.

Then, we move to the Yangeffo Islands for our second dive on a site discovered by our Cruise Director a couple of years ago. This offers a great mix of macro and bigger stuff too, keeping everyone happy. There’s a sloping reef down to 15 metres, then a sandy bottom where it’s possible to see flamboyant cuttlefish, robust ghost pipefish, ornate ghost pipe fish, decorator crabs, nudibranchs, shrimps, and frogfishes if you are lucky. After a while, you’ll hit the reef again where we have seen eagle rays and manta rays cruising by.

After a stop around Yangeffo, we’ll continue the trip for our last dive of the day in Gam. The famous Citrus Ridge, is a very fishy dive site to see stunning coral garden, yellow soft corals, schooling barracudas, sweetlips, tunas, Spanish mackerel, nudibranchs, pygmy seahorses, frogfishes, and others.

Next, we take a trip back to the east part of Dampier Straight, directly to Waisai to load up with fresh food and water

Day 6

An early start, but definitely worth it, we will wake you up at 04:45 for a small breakfast before heading onshore to watch the birds of paradise.

Back to the boat for a proper breakfast while we make our way over to Blue Magic close to the island of Mioskon. On good days, this submerged reef has 5 meters visibility because the whole dive site is covered with schools of fish. We can also encounter the oceanic manta rays here.

For the second dive we move to Sardine reef with a submerged sloping coral reef which should be dived in current to ensure plenty of fish life. It’s very good for big stuff as you’ll see school of fusiliers, rainbow runners, barracudas, sweetlips, giant trevallies, Spanish mackerel, grey reef sharks and much more. If there is current, you can get loads of hunting action and hear underwater thunder when the small fish move fast as the tunas strike the bait ball.

Then, we move down to Kri Island again to visit the homestay and trek to the amazing viewpoint over Mansuar Island. You can just bring snorkel gear if you don’t want to do the trekking and later we do our third dive of the day, a night dive on the Yenkoranu Jetty. It’s a coral sloping reef with sand and bommies in the beginning and more reefs later which is very good for macro. There are pygmy seahorses, bobtail squids, pipefish, walking shark, mandarin fish, octopuses, cuttlefish, and even sleeping turtles on the reef to see there.

Day 7

We’re flexible on this day and discuss with all the guests what they would like to see and plan the day diving around that.

Day 8

There’s an opportunity for one dive in the morning before we head off leaving plenty of time to dry your equipment on the way back to Waisai. Our guests usually want to visit Blue Magic again or other sites around Kri Island.

On our way back, we’ll have lunch around 1pm and we will do a final briefing, exchange emails and photos, and say our farewells and the crew will organise transportation for the ferry back to Sorong.

The Itinerary of the trip and dive sites can change due to certain circumstances.

Weather and tides play a big role in safety and planning, which is why the Cruise Director and Captain plan every day accordingly.

For any special requests, please don’t hesitate to contact us beforehand or chat with the Cruise Director on the boat.

Raja Ampat 10day/9nights

Day 1

Our meeting point will be at the Misool Filling Station at 7:30am, just opposite the airport, where we’ll have a coffee or tea and wait for our last guests to arrive.

Shortly after, the ferry will depart from Sorong to Waisai, which takes us around 2 hours.

Once we’ve arrived in Waisai, the Cruise Director will purchase the Raja Ampat Marine Park tickets and we’ll be ready to be welcomed aboard Jelajahi Laut by the Captain and Crew.

While enjoying a fresh juice or coconut, we will hold a welcome briefing, followed by a general safety briefing and explanation of the boat, and all crew and guest will introduce themselves, so everyone gets to know each other for a little.

You’ll then settle into your cabin, and we’ll set up the diving area, followed by a light lunch and soon after, at around 3pm we’ll head for our check dive outside the harbour, on the slopes of Mioskon Island.

The rest of the afternoon will be spent on the boat where we’ll have plenty of time to really get to know our fellow travellers and enjoy a beautiful sunset, while the captain navigates to the south of the Raja Ampat Marine Park, to Misool area.

Day 2

We’ll have an early wake up, drink some fresh brewed coffee, and have a dive briefing for the first dive of the day while the crew is busy in the diving area making sure everything is ready before we gear up.

Today we’ll spend around the northern islands of Misool, where the dive sites lay in a labyrinth of small islands which are spread out everywhere.

Beautiful walls and slopes await us, where we’ll be looking for Pygmy Seahorses and hunting Mobula Rays trying to snack on some sardines.

Later in the afternoon, while having a snack, we are going to move the boat a bit more south, into the Misool Eco Reserve area where we’ll anchor up and shelter between the islands of Romeo and Yillet.

Day 3 to 7

In the Misool Eco Reserve area, we plan the dives accordingly with the schedules of other boats, to guarantee more protection of the reefs and to be able to have the dive site to ourselves.

The Eco Reserve has some of the most colourful corals on the planet, with vibrating reefs full of life in every direction you look.

You’ll need to check your remaining air supply more often, as you might lose track as your breathing rate raises because of the beautiful sights to be seen!

Boo Window, Magic Mountain, Nudi Rock, 4 Kings, Puri Pinnacle, Tank Rock are just a few that are not to be missed.

We can encounter Oceanic and Reef Manta Rays, Blacktip, Whitetip and Grey Reef Sharks, Wobbegong Sharks, hunting Giant Trevallies, Tunas, Eagle Rays – the list keeps on going.

Make sure to follow your dive guide as he points out the little critter – here we can find up to 5 different types of Pygmy Seahorses, loads of different Nudibranchs, Crabs, Frogfish and Octopus.

Cruising back to the northern parts of Misool, we might explore some underwater caverns and depending on the season, visit a lake full of stingless jellyfish – one of only a few worldwide!!

Day 8

After a 13 hour crossing, we are now between Islands of the Fam group where we can see endless Staghorn Coral fields at Melissa’s Garden, hunting grey reef sharks on My Reef, or diving the pinnacle of Batu Rufus looking for Fusiliers, Rainbow Runners and Barracuda.

In the afternoon we’ll go for a little land adventure and climb the stairs to heaven – well actually to the viewpoint of Piaynemo!  Here there is a breathtaking view over the lagoon where sometimes we can see baby blacktips cruising around.

Some like to enjoy a beer after the climb, some are excited for the night dive to follow later in the evening, where we have the chance to find the famous Walking Shark along with some different types of Pipefish, Decorator Crabs, Bumblebee Shrimp and maybe a Wunderpus.

Day 9

We are back in the Dampier straight today, and it’s all about action-packed dives again, as we jump in at Cape Kri, Sardine Reef and Mike’s Point.

Endless corals, sometimes so full of fish it becomes hard to spot your dive buddies – we’re looking for current and jump the split, right where the current gets divided by the reef and hang in there to watch the fish hunting for prey.

In the afternoon, once we’ve got out of our wetsuits and had a snack, the speedboats are waiting for us to hop over on land where the crew will set up a beach barbeque for everybody and we can feast on Indonesian specialties.

Day 10

4.30 am wakeup seems hard, but it’s worth it.

After coffee and a small breakfast, our speedboats will take us to land and we go for a little hike up a hill in the jungle.

With a bit of luck, the red Bird of Paradise can be spotted on top of the trees looking for a mating partner while “singing” above the trees.

Back on the boat and for healthy breakfast, after which it’s time to gear up one last time and go for our last dive of the trip.  It can be either Blue Magic to look for some Oceanic Manta Rays and Grey Reef Sharks, or the reef of LauLau with its pinnacle.

After the dive it’s time to wash all the gear, pack up, have some tasty lunch and take some group pictures with all crew involved.

We then take the ferry back to Sorong where we can meet up for dinner and go for some pool and karaoke afterwards.

The Itinerary of the trip and dive sites can change due to certain circumstances.

Weather and tides play a big role in safety and planning, which is why the Cruise Director and Captain plan every day accordingly.

For any special requests, please don’t hesitate to contact us beforehand or chat with the Cruise Director on the boat.