- Circular trip visiting the must-see sites in south and central Raja Ampat
- Encounter both reef and oceanic manta rays at renowned dive sites
- Search for Pontoh's pygmy seahorse at Mioskon
- Explore the macro-laden black sands of Batanta Island
- Discover dramatic underwater landscapes and stunning reefs in Misool
- Dive the remote Daram Island group
- Spot a Santa Claus pygmy seahorse
- Land visit to view a heart-shaped bay at sunset
- Cruise Piaynemo’s lagoons and capture that classic Raja Ampat photo
- Multiple night dives offered thought the itinerary
Day 1: Mioskon Island (1 dive)
We will first meet you at 08:00 am in the Darefan Hotel lobby in Sorong, West Papua. Leaving there at 8.00am we will take you to the small harbour to catch the 9am ferry to the island of Waigeo, arriving in the small town of Waisai, the capital of Raja Ampat around 11am. Here you will join our boat the Ratu Laut (Queen of the Sea) and get settled into your cabins while we cruise to the island of Mioskon. Your first dive will be a check dive, at a dive site off Mioskon Island. This is a stunning dive site and is very easy to dive. You can see everything from wobbegongs to pygmy seahorses on this dive. After this dive we will cross to the island of Batanta where we will dive for the second day.
Day 2: Pulau Batanta - Seabat Ridge (3 dives)
Waking up surrounded by the tall peaks of Pulau Batanta we will prepare for our first dive on the eastern side of Dayang island. Here there is a cleaning station for reef manta rays. The dive site name is Seabat Ridge and we will do the first two dives here. The third dive of the day will take place on the Northern side of Pulau Dayang where we will explore some of the fringing reefs off Dayang. Here we can see a hard coral based reef filled in with sea fans and soft corals. Mixed species of snappers from small schooling yellow snappers, to Midnight snappers all hangout close to the reef. In front of the split, white tip reef sharks can be sighted along with large humphead wrasses. When all dive groups are back to the boat, we will then start the overnight crossing, south to Misool. Between 12-15 hours.
Day 3: Vibrant Colours - The Candy Store (3 dives)
We will wake up in the island group of Daram after crossing the Ceram Sea. Here our Misool adventure will begin, with the first dive on a dive site called Vibrant Colours. Here we will descend down a wall, with the soft corals and sea-fans bringing all of the colour to the dive-site. The second dive will be Andiamo, located between two small islands, connected together underwater with pinnacles and ridges to be explored. This site in the right season can be visited by curious manta rays coming into clean. Many schools of fish can be found through the dive site, from schooling barracudas, to your small plankton feeders. The third dive will be at The Candy Store, where we will drop close to some sharp black rocks breaking the surface and descend down into an underwater jungle. Each section of reef is lined with sea-fans, soft corals and hard corals closer to the top of the reef. The dive site is especially special because of its topography, with sheer walls and a valley that falls between the two pinnacles. This is a sweet spot for snappers, breams and sweetlips hanging out in the current. After the third dive we will then travel further south-west into the Misool marine reserve.
Day 4: Barracuda Rock - Four Kings (4 dives)
Waking up in the protected anchorage of Wayil, we will start our day diving at the fabulous Barracuda Rock. Here we will descend down in front of the small mushroom island, working our way to the southern ridge in the hope to find grey reef sharks patrolling the ridge, plus barracudas and jack fish schooling. The unique Santa-clause pygmy seahorse can be sighted at this dive site, along with Bargibanti and Denise seahorses. For the second dive, we will travel the short distance to a spectacular dive site called Four Kings. This dive site has pinnacles that shoot up out of the deep blue, the most shallow pinnacle reaching the surface at around 6-metres. Each side of the pinnacles are coated in soft corals, sea-fans, tunicates and then swarmed by fish life on every side. The third dive we will come back to the small passage at Wayilbatan and dive at a site called Neptunes Sea Fan. Here, this small passage is a wide angle photographer's dream, with large sea fans spanning almost 3 metres being found in various colours. As a relatively shallow dive site, this is the perfect third dive. The shallow hard coral reef on the top is also perfect for half and half shots off the close by islands. We will then take some time on land and trek to the top of the hill to look over the heart shaped lagoon, then prepare for a night dive at Whale Rock.
Day 5: Shadow Reef - Eagles Nest Pinnacle (4 dives)
Continuing our Misool adventure, we start with a dive on the pelagic seamount of Shadow Reef. Here we will be in search of manta rays, with both reef and oceanic manta rays sometimes spotted on this reef! Even without mantas this reef is an exceptional display of the diversity found around Raja Ampat amongst its fish and coral species. Graces Reef and Eagles Nest Pinnacle, will be our second and third dive of the day, located on the eastern part of Pulau Warakaraket. Both of these dive sites boast the potential for pelagic life, and are abundant with schooling fish life and healthy reefs. As the sun starts to go down, we will prepare for a night dive off the small island of Juliet Kecil. Cephalopods of all shapes and sizes can be sighted, from tiny Piglet squid to large reef cuttlefish, octopuses, decorator shrimps, crabs and crocodile fish. For any Macro lovers, many species of nudibranch can be found here also.
Day 6: Boo Islands - Boo Window (3 dives)
Our first drop of the day will be at the island chain of Boo. Boo Windows is found off the far eastern end of the Boo chain and is well loved amongst divers. With a large window swim through breaking the surface on low tide, this site is colourful and full of action, from reef sharks to turtles, mantas to pygmy seahorses, often this site is a favourite of many. Boo East, our site of choice for the second dive, can also be visited by the local reef manta population in season. Here the reef top is very shallow and perfect for watching the mantas being cleaned by small reef fish. Here octopus can also be spotted around the rocky substrate also. The third dive will take place off a seamount found at the eastern side of Tank Rock, Jileo. With large schools of fish life hovering out in front, in the current, grey reef sharks can be sighted, as well as a school of feeding bump head parrotfish. The shallow reef top on this site is a lush garden of soft corals and exceptional care should be taken if using a reef hook at this or any other dive sites across the trip.
Day 7: Balbulol Island - No Contest (2 dives)
On our final day in Misool we will dive in the most northern island group of Balbulol. Here we will dive first on a dive site called No Contest, with its submerged pinnacles. The second and final dive in Misool will take place on the side of Balbulol island where there is a cave called Budi Cave. As you enter inside there is a large chamber with stalactites coming from the tall ceiling. Because of how shallow it is, the water glows a bright blue colour when looking back out to the entrance and you will have shadows of small cardinal fish guarding the entrance. Here you will also find a matrix of nudibranchs, the odd wobbegong, octopus and crocodile fish. The topography of this dive site is very unique, and full of colour from the soft corals smeared on the rock walls. We will then start our overnight crossing back to the central area of Raja Ampat.
Day 8: Melissa's Garden - Piaynemo - Batu Rufus (3 dives)
We will arrive at the western side of the central Raja Ampat area, in the Fam islands. Here there are many dive sites to explore, starting with My Reef. It is one of the more fishy dive sites of Piaynemo, a long submerged seamount full of life from the surface stretching down to 30 metres. Our second dive will be at the famous Melissa’s Garden. Here some of the best displays of hard corals in the central area can be found. Starting in the deep, we will spend half the dive in the deeper section 30-10m and then the second half in the shallows. With the sun shining in, damsels, anthias and chromis, dancing through the hard corals, this site is a delight for the eyes! For the third dive we will travel the short distance to Batu Rufus, where we will dive into the steep walls of the small island, hosting a number of macro subjects as well as beautiful corals. For the afternoon we will take a small trek to the Piaynemo viewpoint to look over the karst limestone islands and lagoon area. Here we can enjoy a beer and watch the sunset. We will then travel back east towards Pulau Kri for tomorrow's last full day of diving.
Day 9: Cape Kri - Sardine Reef - Chicken Reef (4 dives)
For the last full day of diving we will enjoy the best of the Dampier Strait, with the day starting around Cape Kri. In 2001 Cape Kri reef had the official fish count of 283 different species of fish recorded on one dive! Chicken Reef and Sardine Reef are the second and third dives of the day. Prepare your reef hooks, as sometimes in the Dampier Strait we can experience some good currents, with this being the reason for the abundance of life we see around Raja Ampat. For our final night aboard Raut Laut we will drop in for a muck dive over the sandy slope of Tapokrang. This is a favourite of many of our dive guides aboard Ratu Laut, because it is all about the weird and wonderful!
Day 10: Blue Magic (1 dive)
On your final day we have an opportunity for one dive in the morning. Since this is going to be our last cruise day, you’ll have time to dry your equipment on the way back home to Waisai. We will complete one dive in the morning at the famous dive site called Blue Magic. Here at the right time of year, you can see both reef and oceanic manta rays, circling the pinnacle. After the dive we will then enjoy a final breakfast and lunch together on the boat, as well as plenty of time to exchange emails and photos, and say farewells to the crew. At around 1.30pm we will take you to the ferry going back to Sorong. If you would like to stay in Raja Ampat we can help organise pickups for that also.
Sample itineraries are for guidance only. Actual itineraries may differ slightly due to factors such as weather, wildlife, logistics and local regulations.
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