Raja Ampat recommendations

[johnvila]

Hi all. Looking for some recommendations for land based dive package options in Raja Ampat. Looking at late September early October 2025 to celebrate a couple of 60th birthdays? Looking for some first hand experiences for something that is reasonably priced. Best areas for that time of year? Cheers John

[Chris Ross]

Believe winds are up in September from the south so getting to the resort and the out to the dive spots not as pleasant, but improves by October.  Strong south winds may impact which sites they go to.  I've not been but a friend of mine who has been many times goes to this place:  https://papua-diving.com/ .  He does a lot of dive travel and has been there a number of times, Cape Kri is their house reef.  I'm planning on going next year.

 

 

[bvanant]

We did a couple of weeks at Sorido Bay, diving was excellent and the house reef had some very cool stuff on it. Highly recommended. The other place that is excellent is Misool Eco resort, beautiful place but booking is kind of like a liveaboard, only select dates to come and go.

Bill

 

[Luko]

September may not be the best season for Raja Ampat, Dampier straits can get really cloudy and rainy (think PortVila start of august ... taem ren i foltaon ), moreover with waves that can make the divetrips quite unpleasant and longish.

 

 

Other criterias worth mentionning : 

- Dampier "star" sites are located around Mansuar/Kri or near to Waigeo/Gam, however the western part and the small islands get less rain, it's worth at that time settling closer to west Gam/Yeben, that's a shorter trip to Fam/Piaynemo or the Passage and gives access to great sites as well (Mayhem, Citrus ridge, Rufas, Melissa's garden that I mention even though I think it's not photographically that interesting) but you'll be far away from the classic sites.

- Lots of operations like Cove Eco resort or Papua Explorers make a 15% discount for off season staying until sept30th. Agusta have even more spectacular discounts (NOT in july-august) up to 20-25% but you must ask them first as they're not all published, Biodiversity offers 10% discount in September.

- My take upon some of the "reasonably priced" resorts (that checks Sorido, MIsool and Raja4Divers off the list) :

• Cove Eco resort. Loved it in August, very flexible dive organization, with a party of 3-4 you may get your own boat if you tell them youre a photographer, the only resort that will lead you to their own manta place when other resorts say mantas in Dampier are not seen (last dive with Cove : 70 minutes of mantas dancing over a cleaning station) . Good food with french flair, comfortable accoms. 
• Agusta resort, last I visited in April. Italian enthusiasm, you're sure to have fun on their boats. Great to dive with Marco the owner who's also a photographer. Will take all of your requests seriously. Comfortable de luxe bungalows right on the beach, though no house reef too much current, good italian-indonesian food, sometimes even too much with their 5 course dinner.
• Raja Ampat Dive Lodge, one of the oldest with Kri, used to be good when I dived there (myself and two guides, with my own boat), accom with aircons, a bit of a let down from the most recent feedbacks. Food was the main problem.
• Papua Explorers, spacious accoms bungalows built over water although without aircon, good dive center, good and plenty of food. A powerful speedboat used for further trips.
• Kri Eco was the first resort in Raja Ampat, only the renovated bungalows (4 out of 10) have ensuite bathroom, no boat diving on saturdays for religious reasons (Sem olsem churchy pipol blong Vanuatu, eh?) but does well thanks to its agressive marketing from the start.

 

On 4/14/2024 at 9:55 AM, Chris Ross said:

https://papua-diving.com/ ... Cape Kri is their house reef. 

 

I wouldn't really call it a "house reef" like a dive that you would do by yourself or shore diving.

You need to take a diveboat (and for sure a guide) when diving Cape Kri which is further off the resort, it can be a very currenty dive leading to a washing machine bordering east to the shallower plateau. hence you must consider it like a regular and very popular dive spot that is in front to their Sorido resort, which you certainly dive also using other resorts (usually lots of dive boats and liveaboards on this site).

Edited April 29 by Luko

[OneYellowTang]

12 hours ago, Luko said:

September may not be the best season for Raja Ampat, Dampier straits can get really cloudy and rainy (think PortVila start of august ... taem ren i foltaon ), moreover with waves that can make the divetrips quite unpleasant and longish.

 

 

Other criterias worth mentionning : 

- Dampier "star" sites are located around Mansuar/Kri or near to Waigeo/Gam, however the western part and the small islands get less rain, it's worth at that time settling closer to west Gam/Yeben, that's a shorter trip to Fam/Piaynemo or the Passage and gives access to great sites as well (Mayhem, Citrus ridge, Rufas, Melissa's garden that I mention even though I think it's not photographically that interesting) but you'll be far away from the classic sites.

- Lots of operations like Cove Eco resort or Papua Explorers make a 15% discount for off season staying until sept30th. Agusta have even more spectacular discounts (NOT in july-august) up to 20-25% but you must ask them first as they're not all published, Biodiversity offers 10% discount in September.

- My take upon some of the "reasonably priced" resorts (that checks Sorido, MIsool and Raja4Divers off the list) :

• Cove Eco resort. Loved it in August, very flexible dive organization, with a party of 3-4 you may get your own boat if you tell them youre a photographer, the only resort that will lead you to their own manta place when other resorts say mantas in Dampier are not seen (last dive with Cove : 70 minutes of mantas dancing over a cleaning station) . Good food with french flair, comfortable accoms. 
• Agusta resort, last I visited in April. Italian enthusiasm, you're sure to have fun on their boats. Great to dive with Marco the owner who's also a photographer. Will take all of your requests seriously. Comfortable de luxe bungalows right on the beach, though no house reef too much current, good italian-indonesian food, sometimes even too much with their 5 course dinner.
• Raja Ampat Dive Lodge, one of the oldest with Kri, used to be good when I dived there (myself and two guides, with my own boat), accom with aircons, a bit of a let down from the most recent feedbacks. Food was the main problem.
• Papua Explorers, spacious accoms bungalows built over water although without aircon, good dive center, good and plenty of food. A powerful speedboat used for further trips.
• Kri Eco was the first resort in Raja Ampat, only the renovated bungalows (4 out of 10) have ensuite bathroom, no boat diving on saturdays for religious reasons (Sem olsem churchy pipol blong Vanuatu, eh?) but does well thanks to its agressive marketing from the start.

 

 

I wouldn't really call it a "house reef" like a dive that you would do by yourself or shore diving.

You need to take a diveboat (and for sure a guide) when diving Cape Kri which is further off the resort, it can be a very currenty dive leading to a washing machine bordering east to the shallower plateau. hence you must consider it like a regular and very popular dive spot that is in front to their Sorido resort, which you certainly dive also using other resorts (usually lots of dive boats and liveaboards on this site).

For clarity, Sorido Bay's "house reef" is not Cape Kri. The house reef is the bowl that you can enter right off the dock. It's worth 1-2 dives (convenient for the day the staff takes off, Saturdays) - turtles, large cuttlfish, the occasional reef shark, octopi, schools of fish, etc. After having done this dive a couple of times I enjoyed snorkeling with the reef sharks instead (good way to spend an afternoon).

Cape Kri is only about 5-8 min away by boat (so very close), but you do need a boat, and a guide, and feel comfortable diving in moderate to heavy current (potentially with reef hooks, etc.). Incredibly fishy dive, well worth it, but you can't do it on your own (as a shore dive - although there are stories - that would a hell of surface swim).

[vkalia]

I’ve been to Raja 4 times (twice on a liveaboard, twice on land) and I strongly recommend Papua Explorers (just got back from taking a group there last month).      

 

Lovely cottages overlooking the water,  quite reasonably priced for what they offer, excellent dive guides and a really, really customer-oriented team.