Raja Ampat North and Central

No cruise on MV Samambaia is like the other. Every single trip is tailor-made to create a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The decision on the itinerary is made by the cruise director as we cruise along and is based on factors such as weather conditions, dive conditions, requests of guests and schedules of other liveaboards, which we are trying to stay away from.

There are however certain constants on every cruise which are:

• Three day dives of minimum 1 hour duration

• One sunset/night dive (unless we have to cover a serious amount of miles over night)

• Activities during the surface intervals such as:

• scenic rides through lagoons and coves in our tenders

• trekking to breathtaking view points

• visits of secluded perfect beaches

• excursions to traditional villages

• whale watching

• water action such as wake boarding and kayak

Based upon that, here is a potential itinerary for an 11 nights /12 days cruise from 

Sorong (West Papua) back to Sorong (West Papua). This is just to give you a general idea and is subject to change due to weather and other conditions. Popular dive sites are named. We do however have our secret spots as well, which you will learn about during the cruise.

For a cruise in Raja Ampat there is three potential scenarios:

- North only

- South only

- North and South combined

In any of these Itineraries we visited what is considered Central Raja Ampat whre famous areas like Penemu and Dampier Strait are located:

Day 1: Embarkation

Arrival with plane to Sorong. You will be picked up by crew members at the airport.

Embarkation in the port of Sorong. This day we don´t dive due to the long way to the diving areas. Instead we use it to relax and rest, set up the dive equipment and talk with the Cruise Director so he could arrange the diving groups. 

Day 2: Yanggefo

After an initial general dive briefing, we will do our check dive with you at an easy and protected dive site. Check dive in the sense of you checking your gear and weights, making sure the camera housings are proper sealed and our guides checking your buoyancy. No skill demonstrations are required. 

‘Mayhem’ is an action packed dive which we will hit when there is enough current to keep the fish life going without being to challenging for the divers. Citrus ridge is another colorful reef with soft coral and hard coral that can be pack of fishes in certain currents. 

But the highlight of Yanggefo are the mangroves. Here we have the oportunity of dive in a blue water mangrove. We will be able to swim between the roots of the mangrove enjoy this unique landscape at the same time that thedive guides spot the archer fish, the pijama cardinal fish or diferent juveniles of reef fishes that use the mangroves as protection.

Day 3: Yeben and Wofoh

The shallows of the reefs that surround Yeben are some of the richest hard coral gardens in Raja Ampat. On the slopes the the fusiliers congregate and if the current is running the soft coral will be open to give a note of color within the hard coral. 

In the afternoon we will lead to Wofoh where we know a dive site with schools of anchovies and silver sides and a black coral forest, Wofoh has also one of the best night dives of all Raja Ampa, Taman Wofoh, where we will dive after an stunning sunset behind the island

Day 4: Alyui

The bay of Alyui is home to some of the most spectacular macro diving in all of Raja Ampat. Be prepared for a magical experience. At some point during the day we will visit the pearl farm of Atlas South Sea Pearls, who produce some of the world’s best pearls and get a tour.

Day 5: Kawe

Eagle Rocks is known for being a Manta Ray cleaning station. We head north afterwards. Right before crossing the equator we do one more dive at another secret spot of ours. Again good potential for Manta Ray encounters but also beautiful coral and great fish life. After crossing the equator we enter the island group of Wayag. In the afternoon we will climb Mt. Pindito as the view down from Mt. Pindito is probably the signature photo of Raja Ampat. We will spend the sunset sailing on the tender boats inside this unique lagoon.

Day 6: Equator Islands

When we wake up we will still be in Wayag ready to dive in a cleanning station not far from the anchor place. Aferwards we will be to the group of islands known as Equator Islands where we will dive right over the equator in a characteristic North Raja Ampat dive sites, with less coral due his exposure to open ocean but with with swim throughs, crevaces, and canyons of the dimensions of a Cathedral.

Day 7: Penemu

In the morning you will find yourself in the north of Raja Ampat. The main difference to Misool are the pristine hard coral, whilst the south is famous for the soft variation.

Penemu is a breathtaking diving site located in  Central Raja Ampat, renowned for its vibrant coral reefs and diverse marine life. Divers are enchanted by the kaleidoscope of colors as they explore the crystal-clear waters, encountering an array of marine species including colorful reef fish, reef sharks, and majestic manta rays. Penemu's underwater topography features stunning coral formations, swim-throughs, and drop-offs, offering an exhilarating diving experience. Dive sites like Melissa´s Garden, My Reef, Keruo Channel and Batu Rufus are a must in a Raja Ampat trip. 

In the afternoon after the third dive we will vivit the Penemu viewpoint to admire the lagoon as you probably have seen in so many pictures.

Day 8: Mansuar / Arborek

It’s time for more close encounters with the majestic Manta Rays of Raja Ampat. ‘Manta Sandy’ is one of the most popular dive sites out here and therefore we avoid. Just because we know about even better spots where we will take you.

In the afternoon we will dive the jetty of the small island of Arborek. The pillars are covered in soft coral and all around we find very attractive macro life. Afterwards we will go and visit the little village here on the island.

Day 9 : North Batanta

The northern coast of the island of Batanta gives us several opportunities for excellent dive sites to pick from. Beautiful coral reefs, more Manta opportunities or rather some critter diving?

For sunset we will pull into a bay where Hornbills come in to sleep.

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Day 10: Dampier Strait

The dive- and snorkel sites in the Dampier Strait stand for action packed dives in our favourite kind of fish soup - the one that is still alive and surrounds us in the water. Encounters with Manta Rays are very common here. The reef of the island of Kri is the current world record holder with the highest number of fish species ever counted by a scientist in a single dive - Dr. Gerry Allen came up with 374 different fish species counted. Again: in one single dive.

Dive sites here are exposed to current so it’s all about the right timing to get the most out of it. And we know how to time it here. Popular dive sites here: ‘Kap Kri’, ‘Chicken’, ‘Sardine’, ‘Mike’s Point’ and ‘Blu Majik’.

Day 11: Dampier

The last day we will have one or two dives depending what time is your flight next day. In this two dives we will cover some of the dive site we didn´t do the previous day as Dampier has plenty of dive sites. For the last one usually we look for one easy and shallow although sometimes guests a re moreadventurous and ask for have a more challenging Dampier style dive site looking for splint points and current to ensure a fish soup around us.

On our way back our crew will keep an eye out onto the ocean for you and alert you in time for whale and dolphin encounters. Which are quite common here. As long as you are on the watch out. 

And we are…

Day 12: Disembarkation in Sorong

Depending on your flight schedule, our crew will check your luggage in for you in advance so you can rest on board and let us shuttle you to the airport when your plane is ready to leave.