Route Description - Raja Ampat (Sorong - Sorong)
8 Days / 7 Nights
9 Days / 8 Nights
Day 1. Sorong – Black Rock
Pick up at the airport of Sorong, Dominik Osok, by our crew for a short transfer to the peer and embarking. As soon as all guests are on board and are holding their welcome drink You will be introduced to the rest of the crew and you will be shown around in order to start feeling at home on the Mantamae, while the boat will sail to Black Rock for the check dive.
Day 2. Penemu – Fam Island
At early morning we’ll arrive to the beautiful Fam Islands to explore by kayak the hidden bays and sheltered blue lagoons and to dive in one of the most beautiful coral gardens in the region. In late afternoon we will take a sunset hike where you can reach the highest point on one of the islands and admire the panoramic views of this iconic place.
Different dive sites can be chosen, Melisa’s garden, famous for its extensive hard coral reefs as well as Galaxy, a large reef with lot of marine life, or My Reef, very impressive with strong current.
Early morning we’ll set up sails to Wayag Island.
Day 3 – 4 Kawe – Wayag
One of the closest island to the Equator in Raja Ampat, Kawe offers spectacular white sand beaches and beautiful scenery including a lovely waterfall on the western side of the island. Diving and snorkeling here too where you will find impressive coral formations teeming with schools of fish and sometimes with manta rays. Eagle Rock one and two, The Meze Equator, One tree Island and Razor Rock are the most beautiful dive site here.
Upon arrival to Wayag archipelago, the jewel of Raja Ampat, you’ll enjoy a day amongst the region’s most iconic scenery and it’s well worth making the effort to climb one of the many island peaks for breathtaking views of the stunning landscapes. Wayag is completely different to what you have seen so far. White beaches with black coral gardens, sweetlips, catfish and different kinds of rays are part of these dives.
Rising abruptly from the sea, small groups of uninhabited islands form a spectacular panorama of jagged limestone cliffs that tower over tiny dome-shaped rocks topped with a wild profusion of trees and vines. Dive site profiles in the north are diverse, and range from leisurely swims through lovely hard coral gardens to adrenaline-charged drifts past sloping walls arrayed in Raja Ampat’s signature purple soft corals and glass fish. We’ll dive at Ikan Campur and Magic Rock.
Kayaking along the shoreline of the dramatic limestone islands on sunset will give you a kind of emotions you won’t forget for long time. In the evening we can enjoy cocktails and dinner barbecue on the beach.
Day 5. Pulau Wofoh – Gam Island – Arborek
Wofoh island is perfect place for all kind of water sports and bbq on the beach. Multiple dive sites, offer a mix of hard coral, barrel sponges and soft corals teeming with colorful fishes. You will have the opportunity to see the wobbegong and epaulet sharks, which are unique to this region while the reef here, dressed up in red, it’s is breathtaking scenery.
A birdwatching hike on Gam Island might take you through scenic forests, past fragile orchids growing from cracks in the stone, and finally to the unforgettable experience of witnessing male birds of paradise doing their elaborate courtship dances to attract females.
In the morning we’ll dive at Wofo Tembok, a wall dive, and in the afternoon at Citrus Ridge, and Mayhem or Baracuda in Pulau Yangefo. With good conditions you can expect some of the highest voltage diving in Raja Ampat, with currents bringing massive schools of barracudas, three species of fusiliers, trevallies, batfish, bump head parrotfish, wobbegongs, as well as black and white tip reef sharks.
Late afternoon Mantamae will continue the journey to Arborek island where we’ll have a night dive.
Day 6. Arborek – Dampier Strait
We can choose some of the most famous dive site in R4 such as Mioskon where you can see Wobbegong Sharks as well as tiny Pontohi Pygmy Seahorses on the coral rocks, or Cape Kri where the steep slope has absolutely everything on display. The coral fields play host to an accent of color, provided by swarms of Fusiliers, Damsels, Surgeons and Anthias.
Dogtooth Tuna, Barracuda, Mackerel, Trevallies, Bumphead Parrots, Napoleon Wrasse, some very big groupers as well as Grey Reef, Blacktip Reef and White Tip Reef Sharks are frequently seen patrolling the area. Blu Magic is a dive site where anything can happen….and it usually does!
Be ready for an amazing dive here! More often than not, divers are surprised by Blacktip Reef and Grey Reef Sharks, Bumphead Parrots, Giant Trevally, Barracuda, Dogtooth Tuna, Rainbow Runners and even huge oceanic Mantas.
Day 7. Dampier Strait
As you’ll fly the next day we will be able to perform only one dive to be chosen between the Passage or Batu Lima or we can choose to sail to the jelly fish lake for snorkeling before we start to sail back to Sorong late afternoon.
The Passage The narrow gap between Waigeo and Gam Islands offer a true spectacle that has to be seen to be believed! Reaching the narrowest point of only 20m, this is where ocean meets jungle You can fly in the ever present current, looking for Bumphead Parrots, Barracuda, Turtles or you can seek shelter in the many bays, looking for dwarf cuttlefish, stonefish and the ever dancing juvenile Barramundi.
Batu Lima While following the slope you will be amazed at the scores of Fusiliers, Triggerfish, Unicorn Fish and Black Tip Reef Sharks frequenting this astonishing site.
As you ascend at the end of your dive, you may encounter countless hunting Trevallies in the shallows, as we take you through the canyons that separate these rocks. An ever-changing dive, where nothing can be predicted!
Day 8. Sorong – Departure day.