Located off the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea, in the province of West Papua, Raja Ampat, or the Four Kings, is an archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands, caves, and shoals surrounding the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta, Waigeo and the smaller island of Kofiau.
Raja Ampat is a new regency which separated from Sorong Regency in 2004. It encompasses more than 40,000 km² of land and sea, which also contains Cenderawasih Bay, the largest national marine park in Indonesia. It is a part of West Papua, which was formerly known as Irian Jaya. Some of the islands are the northernmost pieces of land in the Australian continent.
Raja Ampat or ‘Four Kings’ is a true diver’s paradise, a wonderland lost in time, incredible natural beauty dominates above and below the blue waters; steep jungle covered limestone islands, stunning white sand beaches, hidden lagoons, and dense mangrove forests combine to create over 9.8 million acres of National Park. Underwater more than 1000 types of reef fish, 540 types of corals, sharks, rays, turtles, dolphins and even whales call the park their home. This is the holy grail of dive destinations, truly one of the most beautiful places in the world. We invite you to discover a diver’s heaven on earth.
Raja Ampat will immerse you in a diving paradise: rich & varied topography, with the world’s richest underwater bio-diversity and sheer abundance or marine life to keep you coming back for more. The huge variety of coral and fish life is reflected in the diversity of dive sites you will visit; Walls, slopes, caves, canyons, seamounts, muck diving and more can be found in Raja Ampat. There are so many divesites to choose from in Raja Ampat that no two trips are ever the same, with such a large area to explore new sites are found all the time, adding to the already extensive list of world renowned sites.
In the North / Central region of the park, distinctive dive sites include Cape Kri, for amazing pelagic action in swift currents, Mellissa’s Garden, for stunning hard coral gardens, Blue Magic; an underwater pinnacle that attracts hunting pelagics & doubles as a Manta cleaning station, & Mangrove Ridge; a stunning coral reef where shallow, clear waters of the mangrove forest lead to an explosion of soft corals.
In the Southern region of the park around Misool a true diver’s paradise can be discovered. Explore the caves & swim thrus of Farondi Goa, come face to face with giant Manta’s at Magic Mountain and explore the current swept ridges of Boo Windows & Nudi Rock, where sharks, Napolean wrasse & jacks gather & smaller macro delights such as pygmy seahorses & nudi’s reward those with sharp eyes.
The stunning beauty of Raja Ampat's exotic & enchanting islands both above and below the water will leave you in no doubt that this is a true natural wonderland.
See Raja Ampat divesites for more details of some of our favourite divesites in both the north & south of this magnificent national park.
Raja Ampat is all about diversity - not only diversity of species, but also of dive sites. There are some areas where soft corals and sea fans dominate, others with hard corals, seagrass beds, mangroves, shallow reefs, drop offs, caves, black sand and white sand…and there are more species of fish life here anywhere else in the world. Here, all the levels of the food chain are well represented – from pygmy seahorses to top predators, from manta ray to nudibranch, Raja Ampat has it all!
Raja Ampat will immerse you in a diving paradise, 50,000 square Kilometers of islands & reefs, 580 kinds of coral, 1,397 species of fish including 23 endemics, this truly is the epicenter of marine biodiversity with the world’s richest collection of underwater flora & fauna. The sheer abundance of marine life, healthy colourful reefs, and diverse dive sites will leave even the most experienced divers wanting more! The stunning beauty of Raja Ampat's exotic & enchanting islands both above and below the water will leave you in no doubt that this truly is one of the worlds premier diving destinations.
Note; all schedules are subjected to changes according to weather, sea, diving, & local conditions.
Day 1. (0-1 dives) 3pm Trip Departure day. Our staff will meet you upon your arrival to Sorong Airport or local hotel and transfer you to the awaiting Raja Manta. Arrivals before midday are best so we can make check dive at Red Light District (Lampu Merah) just outside Sorong before we get underway by 3pm for overnight sail.
Day 2.(4 dives) Misool; Wayil area with its beautiful lagoon for boat tour and super dives.
Day 3.(3 dives) Misool; Fiabacet & Boo area. Sail to overnight to Central & North Raja Ampat.
Day 4.(4 dives) Pianemu area; including famous Melissa’s Garden and stunning View Point hike.
Day 5.(4 dives) Manta ridge & Dampier Strait
Day 6.(4 dives) Kri area; including Big Fish, Cape Kri, Sardine Run, & excellent night dive.
Day 7.(2 dives) Misokon island; including Blue Magic & Yellow Fever. Sail back to Usahamina pier, Sorong where you spend last night on board. Plenty of time to wash & dry equipment, have lunch, rest & relaxation, and if need be, an early flight on Trip Departure day.
Day 8.(0 dives) 5am-12pm. Check out after light breakfast, farewells, and transfer to local hotel or airport. Departure from Sorong to Manado/ Makassar/ Jakarta/ Denpasar.
Diving days6 days (22 dives)
Sorong (SOQ), West Papua
Water Temp: 27-30 degrees Celsius
Air Temp: 27-32 degrees Celsius
Visibility:15-30 meters
Current:mild to strong
Level:Intermediate to Advanced
Best Time to Dive:October to April (less rain & much less wind; perfect for diving)
Departure; 3pm, 1st Day, Sorong, West Papua.Or earlier if everyone arrives before and all Trip Preparations have been completed. Free transfer from local hotel or Domine Edward Osok Airport, Sorong to Raja Manta on Trip Departure day (transfer time 20-30 mins).
Return; 5am, Last Day, Sorong, West Papua.After a light breakfast and fond farewells, we take you to the Airport in time for Check-in & flight or local hotel. Note; latest RM Check-out, midday.
Last dive ends; 12pm (midday), Penultimate Day. Plenty of time for R&R while we sail back to Sorong where we spend last night on Raja Manta. This also allows for your minimum 18 hours surface interval/ No Fly Time (as recommended by PADI) before flying next day.
For more information, kindly visit https://goo.gl/4r2uNP
Written by Jessica
I am a PADI Rescue Diver and have been working in the travel industry for 14 years that specialised in organizing overseas diving tours. I had guided the overseas tours in person to Anilao, Bohol, Coron, Dumaguete,
Moalboal, Puerto Galera and Tubbataha in the Philippines; Bali, Komodo, Lembeh, Manado, Raja Ampat and Sangalaki in Indonesia; Layang Layang and Sipadan in Malaysia, stayed on the islands and lived in the boats in Palau and Maldives, and also visited the southernmost point of the Maldives near the equator, Koh Tao in Thailand and Fiji as well.
From the past diving experience, my favourite and most impressive dive site should be Raja Ampat in Indonesia. The different fish species and coral species under the water should be the world class. I have been to Raja Ampat three times in the last five years.
This topic mainly introduces this dive site, if you are interested in knowing more overseas diving information, please feel free to email me at Jessica.tse@jebsenholidays.com
Special thanks to White Manta Diving Pte Ltd. For the photos and information.
I am a PADI Rescue Diver and have been working in the travel industry for 14 years that specialised in organizing overseas diving tours. I had guided the overseas tours in person to Anilao, Bohol, Coron, Dumaguete,
Moalboal, Puerto Galera and Tubbataha in the Philippines; Bali, Komodo, Lembeh, Manado, Raja Ampat and Sangalaki in Indonesia; Layang Layang and Sipadan in Malaysia, stayed on the islands and lived in the boats in Palau and Maldives, and also visited the southernmost point of the Maldives near the equator, Koh Tao in Thailand and Fiji as well.
From the past diving experience, my favourite and most impressive dive site should be Raja Ampat in Indonesia. The different fish species and coral species under the water should be the world class. I have been to Raja Ampat three times in the last five years.
This topic mainly introduces this dive site, if you are interested in knowing more overseas diving information, please feel free to email me at Jessica.tse@jebsenholidays.com
Special thanks to White Manta Diving Pte Ltd. For the photos and information.
Tailor-made travel with Graham Elsom
Experienced travellers are always on the lookout for something different.
Keep an eye on these columns!
Graham has been travelling all his life and is always seeking something special and unusual.
Tailor-made travel with Graham Elsom
Experienced travellers are always on the lookout for something different.
Keep an eye on these columns!
Graham has been travelling all his life and is always seeking something special and unusual.
Presented by Graham Elsom
We have taken the liberty of including you in our mailing list because you were someone with an interest in our itineraries from our Concorde Travel days. Both Belinda and myself now work with one of Hong Kong’s leading and oldest travel companies, Jebsen Holidays, and we would like to maintain contact with you.
Essentially The Discerning Traveller is all about travel, something most of us enjoy doing more than anything else. Our aim is to inform you in a concise manner, about unusual/unique destinations, some further away, others closer to home.
“Crash! Bang! Shatter!” the sound of quite a lot of crockery crashing to the floor emanates from the kitchen. Or should I say galley? For I find myself on a ship, a car ferry in fact, on my way to the fabled Mediterranean island of Menorca. I look out the window and the horizon keeps going in and out of view in a rather alarming way while big waves wash against the windowpane. But the sun shines blithely from a cobalt blue sky. It’s the Mediterranean!
