Raja Ampat is famous for it's stunning reefs, macro life and close up Manta rays encounters.
Situated at the end of the earth it is considered one of the best dive spots in the world due to it's remoteness, incredible marine life and untouched reefs.
Why choose Damai I: All core staff have been with the company between 8-12 years, 4 to 1 guide to diver ratio, no bottom time limit, free beer or wine at dinner, Treks, village visits, deserted beaches and wildlife exploration visits, 45 min welcome massage, only 12 guests and 18 staff.
Damai liveaboard is a luxury Pinisi that has been designed to offer a personal service that only a vessel of this size that is dedicated to small groups can provide. The vessel has 7 beautiful large staterooms for 12 divers with a choice of single cabins, twins, doubles or two spacious master cabins, all are furnished with either queen or king sized beds, ensuite toilets and showers.
Why choose Damai I: All core staff have been with the company between 8-12 years, 4 to 1 guide to diver ratio, no bottom time limit, free beer or wine at dinner, Treks, village
... visits, deserted beaches and wildlife exploration visits, 45 min welcome massage, only 12 guests and 18 staff.
Damai liveaboard is a luxury Pinisi that has been designed to offer a personal service that only a vessel of this size that is dedicated to small groups can provide. The vessel has 7 beautiful large staterooms for 12 divers with a choice of single cabins, twins, doubles or two spacious master cabins, all are furnished with either queen or king sized beds, ensuite toilets and showers.
Why choose Damai II: All core staff have been with the company between 8-12 years, 4 to 1 guide to diver ratio, no bottom time limit, free beer or wine at dinner, Treks, village visits, deserted beaches and wildlife exploration visits, 45 min welcome massage, only 12 guests and 18 staff.
Luxurious Damai II has been built to an uncompromising standard and fitted out with all the latest diving, navigation and safety equipment and the below deck accommodation has been designed to accommodate 12 guests in single or twin or double occupants in a level of luxury not seen on another vessel in Indonesia. Each cabin boasts a private shower and head with a queen-size bed and a separate day bed.
Why choose Damai II: All core staff have been with the company between 8-12 years, 4 to 1 guide to diver ratio, no bottom time limit, free beer or wine at dinner, Treks, village
... visits, deserted beaches and wildlife exploration visits, 45 min welcome massage, only 12 guests and 18 staff.
Luxurious Damai II has been built to an uncompromising standard and fitted out with all the latest diving, navigation and safety equipment and the below deck accommodation has been designed to accommodate 12 guests in single or twin or double occupants in a level of luxury not seen on another vessel in Indonesia. Each cabin boasts a private shower and head with a queen-size bed and a separate day bed.
Why choose Gaya Baru Indah: Small Liveaboard catering to only 8 persons at a reasonable rate. Perfect for a family or small group of friends.
Gaya Baru Indah is a traditional Indonesian Phinisi with a total capacity of 8 guests in 2 double and 2 twin cabins making for a cozy atmosphere perfect for a group of friends / family or people that like to avoid the crowds. There is plenty of room on deck to find your personal favorite lounging spot.
Why choose Gaya Baru Indah: Small Liveaboard catering to only 8 persons at a reasonable rate. Perfect for a family or small group of friends.
Gaya Baru Indah is a
... traditional Indonesian Phinisi with a total capacity of 8 guests in 2 double and 2 twin cabins making for a cozy atmosphere perfect for a group of friends / family or people that like to avoid the crowds. There is plenty of room on deck to find your personal favorite lounging spot.
Why choose Pearl of Papua: Great mid range boat, only 14/15 divers, good value for money, experienced crew, covers large areas of Raja Ampat and North Papua, offers visit villages, play with sharks on shallow beaches, barbecue on secluded island, climb hills and trek to see rare birds, Free use of paddle boards, kayaks and snorkelling equipment.
Pearl of Papua liveaboard is a mid-range boat that aims to be your sanctuary at sea with its cosy cabins and en-suite bathrooms, on board massage, delicious and hearty meals. She caters up to 15 guests in 1 suite, 2 deluxe main deck cabins and 4 standard bunk bed cabins on the lower deck all with air conditioning and en-suite bathroom.
Why choose Pearl of Papua: Great mid range boat, only 14/15 divers, good value for money, experienced crew, covers large areas of Raja Ampat and North Papua, offers visit
... villages, play with sharks on shallow beaches, barbecue on secluded island, climb hills and trek to see rare birds, Free use of paddle boards, kayaks and snorkelling equipment.
Pearl of Papua liveaboard is a mid-range boat that aims to be your sanctuary at sea with its cosy cabins and en-suite bathrooms, on board massage, delicious and hearty meals. She caters up to 15 guests in 1 suite, 2 deluxe main deck cabins and 4 standard bunk bed cabins on the lower deck all with air conditioning and en-suite bathroom.
Why choose Raja Ampat Aggressor: The mission of Aggressor Liveaboards is to provide their guests with the highest quality, most innovative and safest experiences possible. They offer unparalleled customer service on their comfortable small group adventures, accessing the most exciting destinations around the world to offer the best experience possible.
Raja Ampat Aggressor stands out from other Liveaboards with its exceptional service, experienced crew and top-notch amenities. The yacht is spacious and comfortable accommodating up to 16 guests and the crew provides personalized attention and that goes above and beyond to create an unforgettable diving experience. With Raja Ampat Aggressor you can explore the best diving spots in Raja Ampat in style and comfort.
Why choose Raja Ampat Aggressor: The mission of Aggressor Liveaboards is to provide their guests with the highest quality, most innovative and safest experiences possible. They
... offer unparalleled customer service on their comfortable small group adventures, accessing the most exciting destinations around the world to offer the best experience possible.
Raja Ampat Aggressor stands out from other Liveaboards with its exceptional service, experienced crew and top-notch amenities. The yacht is spacious and comfortable accommodating up to 16 guests and the crew provides personalized attention and that goes above and beyond to create an unforgettable diving experience. With Raja Ampat Aggressor you can explore the best diving spots in Raja Ampat in style and comfort.
All our boats run fantastic Raja Ampat liveaboards of varying length visiting all the best places each with their own unique itinerary and features.
They are all different prices dependant on the length of the trip and standard of the liveaboard.
All our liveaboards are for people enthusiastic or serious about their diving but also welcome snorkellers and non-divers who will have their own separate itinerary.
Raja Ampat (or the Four Kings) is an archipelago consisting of the islands of Misoool, Salawati, Batanta, and Wiageo which are surrounded by over 1,500 small islands and cays. Formerly known as Irian Jaya, this area is now part of the newly named West Papua province of Indonesia and is located on the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula, on the island of New Guinea.
Put simply, Raja Ampat could quite possibly be the best diving in the world. It certainly is the world's most bio diverse marine region with more recorded fish, coral and mollusc species than anywhere else on Earth. The variety of marine life can be staggering. Some areas boast enormous schools of fish and regular sightings of sharks, such as wobbegongs. In Mansuar, you may encounter large groups of manta rays and turtles. From the boat and often close to shore you may get the chance to don your snorkelling gear for some unforgettable interaction with resident pods of dolphins or even some passing whales. Other highlights include the innumerable war wrecks, both ships and planes (with new wrecks being discovered constantly).
The reefs of Raja Ampat are just as varied as the marine life. There are vertical walls, reef flats, slopes, sea mounts, mucky mangroves, lagoons and pinnacles. The reefs are in pristine condition with miles of perfect hard corals and many varied colourful species of soft corals. The diving is predominantly drift dives due to the moderate prevalent currents in the area which provide nutrients for the myriad fish and coral. Currents are average to moderate and vary from none to very strong. Visibility is normally very good but can vary and is normally at its best earlier in the day so your pre-breakfast dives are not to be slept through!
This is truly "Frontier Diving". Topside the beautiful islands stretch as far as you can see and are largely uninhabited. At night the lights of local fishing boats twinkle in the dark along the few inhabited shorelines while in more remote areas you may only see a distant spec of light over the entire horizon.
Raja Ampat has a high season from October to May and weirdly enough it is during their rainy season due to the winds in the dry season making parts of the park inaccessable.
The rainy season should not be mis-construed though. It is generally mostly a shower in the late afternoon and evening and most of the time the days are nice, wind is minimal and the skys are generally clear or slightly over cast.
The seas are calmer at this time of the year as the oppposite season has winds that kick up waves and make it very difficult to dive the more exposed sites in the Southern part of Raja Ampat.
The water temperature stays roughly the same around the 27-30 degrees celcius mark all year round.
Recently, due to the popularity of Raja Ampat, a lot of boats have been running trips in the so called low season (May to October) and this is also the dry season and so promotes nicer weather and better visibility but the trade off is that only the northern more sheltered part of the park is accessable due to higher winds and waves but as the area is so vast and there are so many quality dive sites the reports from these northern trips have been glowing so far and there are new dive sites being discovered all the time.
How to get to Raja Ampat
Sorong is the harbour town in West Papua and the normal departure point to dive Raja Ampat.
If you are unsure of how to get to Sorong to start your trip it will depend on where your international flight into Indonesia is landing.
We recommend flying to Jakarta or Bali to make your entry point into Indonesia and each has it's pros and cons as explained below.
From Jakarta to Sorong with Garuda air is an over night flight arriving in the morning perfect for a pick up by your liveaboard crew at the airport.
The downside of this is that you may be awake most of the night before your board the liveaboard depending on if you sleep on flights but most boats cruise only on the first day so you can catch up on your sleep during the day.
Garuda currenlty also offers a 23K sports bag allowance which includes diving equipment on top of the usual 20 Kilos and bearing in mind it is Indonesia's most reliable airline this is the one we recommend as you can also purchase the tickets yourself but there other airlines and options but generally Garuda is the most reliable being the national carrier airline.
(most other Indonesian airlines won't let you purchase tickets without an Indonesia creit card).
Garuda JAKARTA - SORONG GA682 etd 00.30am eta 06.35am direct.
Flights from Bali to Sorong are not quite so simple and can be done in one day but you will need a stop over on the way or to spend a night in Sorong before the trip as the flights arrive too late in the day to join a Liveaboard the same day if you do it in one day from Bali to Sorong.
You will need to fly from DPS (Bali) to UPG (Makassar) the day before your liveaboard and stay over night in Makassar in a hotel or guesthouse and then continue on with the UPG (Makassar) to SOQ (Sorong) flight early the following morning, arriving the day of your liveaboard departure early enough to go straight onto the boat.
This ends up being perfect timing to be picked up on your arrival in Sorong at the airport to then be taken to the boat.
The other option is going through UPG again in the same day and arriving after lunch in Sorong and then spending the night in Sorong before being picked up the next morning for your liveaboard.
This takes longer but you might arrive more refreshed than the Jakarta route and of course you could always factor in a stay in Bali before or after your trip, this flight is also by Garuda airlines.
Please ask us if you need advice on a local flight agent, we only advise but do not book the actual flights for you.
Recently Garuda, our recommended airline, has made it possible to purchase their tickets online and we recommend you take this approach if it is possible.
Other airlines are cheaper but are not so trustworthy or have such good luggage allowances.
Dive insurance is mandatory but as well as the Mandatory Dive Insurance we HIGHLY recommend Trip and Travel Insurance on the off chance of missed or cancelled flights / lost baggage / documents / money / passport or Covid issues or any other unforeseen problems that could possibly occur.
Dive Assure Insurance offers cover for all these eventualities as well as complete Dive Insurance all in one package.
It is also possible to come throught Kuala Lumpur (KUL) in Malaysia to Denpasar (DPS) in Bali or Jakarta (JKT) with Malaysian Airlines and then join one of the above 2 options above to get to Sorong.
Please note: Flight times may vary and should always be double checked.
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