Raja Ampat South 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: Wayil

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. 

Barracuda Rock, Wedding Cake and Dunia Kecil are the dive sites which we will spend this day at.

In the afternoon we offer a two hour speedboat ride into hidden coves to let you enjoy the stunning topside of the limestone islands. At the end we will get to a pristine white sand beach where you can cool of with a little swim.

Day 3: Fiabatjet

Right in the heart of the No-Take-Zone. ‘Tank Rock’, ‘Nudi Rock’ & ‘Whale Rock’ are the famous and commonly dived sites here. There is five more dive sites in the very proximity which are as good, if not even better. We prefer to go a bit off the beaten track here.

The reefs are covered in soft coral in all colours you can imagine. Surrounded by the most colourful reef fish. More Fusiliers than one could possibly count. Jacks, Trevallies, Barracudas, Sharks. And if you happen to dive here on a day with bad visibility. Just face the reef. It’s packed with macro life. Several species of Pygmy Seahorses, Nudibranchs, tiny Crustaceans - every niche in these reefs is filled with life.

Day 4: Boo / Warakaraket

The swim through at ‘Boo Windows’ is one of the signature dive sites of SE Misool. The surrounding reef is covered in sea fans. Boo east and Boo West are also the picture that every diver is looking for in Misool, the impressive soft coral gradens that almost break the surface. We combine this impressive day of diving with at least one dive at ‘Magic Mountain’. Being a cleaning station for Oceanic Mantas makes this place truly magic.

Day 5: Daram

This island group is one of our favourite area to dive in SE Misool. Since 2010 declared as the second no take zone in the area the marine life here is abundant and the most colourful. Again the reef is totally covered with a Soft Coral garden and the walls are all about Sea Fans.

We will spend the whole day here and offer three world class dives. No night dive today as we will head overnight to the north.

Depending on conditions, visibility, weather or under demand of all the guests we could expend more days in Misool as there are other diving areas as good as these previous ones. Places like Pele, Sagof, Balbulol or Farondi are worth it to expend one more day. 

Also the last day could be combined with a long activitie  around Tomulol area where we would spend all the afternoon visiting the famous cave , the jellyfish lake and, at the sunset we will climbing in a spectacular viewpoint called Tannga Seribu ( 1000 steps stair) , after this we start to sailing to the North.

Day 6: South Batanta

Our first stop in Central Raja Ampat could be a muck dive at the only black sand slope of Raja Ampat, Algae Patch, where the amount of cretures can compite with some dive sites of Lembeh or Ambon. Nudibranchs, shrimps, crabs, seahorses…and always a new encounter. For the second dive we will back to the coral gardens as this is for what most of the divers come to this Paradise. This time would be one of the pristine shallow coral gardens that cover the south west coast of Batanta. The day will finish in Dayang looking for Reef Mantas in his famous cleanning station.

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: Yanggefo

 ‘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 9: 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 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: ‘Cape Kri’, ‘Chicken’, ‘Sardine’, ‘Mike’s Point’ and ‘Blue Majic’.

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.