- Superb circular itinerary around Raja Ampat’s central region
- Explore the macro-laden black sands of Batanta Island
- Search for Pontoh’s pygmy seahorse at Mioskon
- Look-out for mantas and sharks at Dayan, Karang Bata and Bibis
- Search for a walking shark on a night dive
- Dive the well known and action-packed Dampier Strait
- Cruise Piaynemo’s lagoons and capture that classic Raja Ampat photo
Day 1:
Our meeting point is at the Marina Star Café in Sorong Harbour at 7:30am, where we’ll have a coffee or tea and wait for all our guests to arrive. Once everyone is ready we’ll then get on our speedboats and board Jelajahi Laut.
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 guests will introduce themselves, so everyone starts to get to know each other.
You’ll then put your belongings in 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 Waisai harbour, on the slopes of Mioskon Island.
The rest of the afternoon will be spent on the boat, and 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 northern parts of Batanta Island.
Day 2:
Today it’s an early wake up, with fresh brewed coffee or a cup of tea for the first dive briefing of the day while the crew is busy in the diving area making sure everything is ready before we gear up.
For today's 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 two 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 3-4:
Behind us lies 3 hours of travelling, and we now find ourselves between the Fam island group – we’re sure you’ve heard of My Reef, Melissa’s Garden, Batu Rufus, Barracuda Rock and the viewpoint of Piaynemo. At these sites 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 reach 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, making perfectly timed jumps at these sites according to the tides, 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 aren’t alone – with plenty of fish and stunning corals surrounding us, we’ll also look for barracudas and oriental sweetlips.
In the afternoon we’ll make our way over to the island of Arborek, where we’ll go on land to wander 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’re going to look for the most famous fish in Raja Ampat - the walking shark (Epaulette Shark) which is often found hiding around the jetty. This shark is only around 50cm long and as its name states, can “walk” if he gets trapped out of the water because of the tides or bigger sharks hunting him.
Day 6:
Only a short speedboat ride away from Arborek Island we have a couple of dive sites that also function as Manta Ray cleaning stations. One of them is Manta Ridge, the other one Manta Sandy, so depending on the tides and conditions, we’ll choose where we are going to jump in and get close up with these majestic creatures.
Heading a bit north-east we plan our second dive at Otdima reef, which translates to “Otto di mana”, “Where is Otto?”. Well, we don’t know where he is, but we can assure you plenty of fish and corals! Mike’s Point or Batu Lima are our options for our third dive before mooring up in the Dampier Strait, which will give us one of the most stunning sunsets you’ll experience in your life.
Day 7:
The abundance in Raja Ampat makes it easy to choose from a big variety of sites, depending on 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 the Island where it all started, Mioskon, to enjoy some beers and a beach barbeque set up by our amazing Chef.
Day 8:
The 04.30 wake-up seems hard, but it’s worth it. After tea and coffee and a small breakfast, our speedboats will take us over land, where we’ll 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.
We’ll then get back on the boat for a 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 more 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 a tasty lunch, and take some group pictures with all our crew before heading back to Sorong where we can meet up for dinner and go for some pool and karaoke afterwards.
Sample itineraries are for guidance only. Actual itineraries may differ slightly due to factors such as weather, wildlife, logistics and local regulations.
Single bed2 peopleShareable
Twin or double bed2 peopleShareable
Double bed2 peopleNon shareable
