{"days-and-nights":"13D\/12N","approx-dives":"36","start-date":" May 01,2023","display-price-on-request":"false","discount-amount":"","cabin-regular-price":"5209","cabin-sale-price":"","cabin-available-spaces":"2","date_key":"1682899200","event_name":"Raja Ampat - Halmahera - Lembeh","event_terms":["8","11","18","23","63","99","112","135","143","159","197"],"end-date":" May 13,2023","embark":"Sorong","disembark":"Bitung","airport-in":"Sorong (SOQ)","airport-out":"Bitung (MDC)","trip-length":"13D\/12N","cabin-price":"From $5,209"}

Leaving Sorong, we directly go to Dampier strait for two days then to Misool. Cross over to the west coast, a few days of diving west and South of Halmahera, with a mix of sites for macro and some other fishier, stop on some small islands in the middle of Molucca sea Halmahera. The cruise will end in Bitung, after some dives in the Molucca sea.

Day 1
Reception at Sorong airport. Transfer to the boat. Welcome drink, briefing. Departure in the afternoon.

Day 2: Dampier strait
Dampier strait. Check dive ain Mioskon, 2 dives in Dampier (Sardine reef et Manta Sandy). Night dive. Night Navigation to Misool.

Days 3-6: Misool
Balbulol / Farondi, 3 plongées. Love potion, No contest, Farondi caves Iles Daram, Andy’s Ultimate, Andiamo, Candy store. Night dive. Boo, Shadow reef, Yellet. Fiabacet, 4 dives. Tank rock, nudi rock, Dunia kecil. Night dive. Pelee. 4 kings, Kaleidoscope, Pele’s playground. Overnight navigation to Pisang island.

Day 7: Pisang Island
Pisang Island. 3 dives. Such a beautiful and untouched reef. Extraordinary colors especially at the end of the dive close to the pinnacles. A lot of colorful soft coral beautiful morning dive with dream landscape. Nudis, boxer crab, turtle, big Murray eels, solo big barracuda, no current, great viz.

Day 8: South Halmahera
Patinti Strait. Proco island: Blacktips, grey reef sharks, tasars, dogtooth tuna, mini canyons, and overhangs… Saleh Besar, drifting in the channel with a succession of mini-canyons and rock blocks… Very fishy. Kusu: very nice garden coral, millions of glassfish, nice coral, Pygmy, leaf fish, school of sweetlips under a small rock, bamboo shark, and hundreds of reef fish Pulau Nanas: very nice spot beautiful and colorful coral. Glass fish schools, various nudis, blue hairy crab, lobster, scorpionfish, crocodile fish

Days 9-10: West Halmahera
Pulau Goweba, a small group of islands in West of Pulau Siko. In the North, pinnacles, rocks, and splendid walls go straight to the outside of the reef then go down to 50 meters. Some napoleons as well as jackfish and bump head parrots. A tunnel waits for us at 10 meters. Pintu Manis is the best dive in Goriachi. Extended rock from West to East that owns a superb coral. Blacktips, napoleons, tasars, sweetlips, etc… Pulau Laigoma, nice drifting in shallow water, perfect for a first dive of the day. Blacktips, bump head parrots, tasars, and beautiful hard corals in the 5 meters. Batu Tajam: blacktip, napoleon, big sweetlips. Ecuador: blacktip, big red scorpionfishes, nudis, crabs, nice and quiet reef. Lilai jetty: hectic current, black manta passing by near the jetty, bamboo sharks. Pipefish, crabs

Day 11: Tidore
In Tidore, we dive on Failonga Island which takes about 40 minutes from Ternate, which is located between Tidore Island and Halmahera Island. It has diverse large sea fans and snapper fish hordes, fusiliers, sweetlips, and sharks. Dives on Maitara Island and Tanjung Rum, which has a solid and very hard coral cover with colorful reef fish such as butterflies, damsel, anthias, wrasse, and many more. Navigation to Bitung.

Days 12: Lembeh
World-class muck dives and wreck diving Mawali wreck). 6 dives out of the 100's collection of the strait. Hairball, TK3, Air Bajo 3, Bianca (mandarin fish), Nudi falls, Coral garden, etc...

DAY 13: disembarkation in Bitung

Spots : Dampier Strait - Misool - Sulawesi - Halmahera

Some of the species you will encounter
Barracudas, surgeonfishes, Bumphead parrotfish, Trevallies and giant trevallies, spadefish. Napoleon wrasse, wobbegong, tunas, bonitos, waow, manta rays, mobulas

Seahorse, frogfish, leaf fish, scorpionfish

Black corals forests, gorgonian fields, soft corals, gorgonian fields and so much more...

Land-based excursions during your trip
You will discover the incredible landscapes of this area; during our cruise, we will propose you visit at least one village, a short trek, and many short trips with the dinghies to explore the beaches and other lagoons. Another optional trek is also proposed to look for Birds of Paradise.

Misool & Dampier Strait: Excellent wide-angle, amazing biodiversity with mantas and lots of fish. Colorful soft corals and macro. Batanta in this area is known for the macro dives.

Halmahera: beautiful hard coral with some reef fish, leaf fish. The general color is all shades of brown violet and green. A lot of coral sticks.

Lembeh strait: just the very best muck diving in the world

Raja Ampat has often been qualified as the “last frontier” and this is really the feeling you will get in this area: one of the rare untouched places on earth. The topographies of the dive sites are also very diverse and interesting: pinnacles, ridges, walls, caves, rock formations, and lagoons...

The last dive will be on the penultimate day of the trip at around 10 am. Divers are recommended to wait for 24hours before flying after the last dive.

(*) itinerary description provided by the boat operator