Day 1: After boarding Tiaré, you’ll embark on the journey of a lifetime about 12 o’clock from Sorong into the waters of Raja Ampat. Raja Ampat means ‘Four Kings’, referring to the 4 main islands of Waigeo, Salawati, Batanta, Misool (there are actually over 1,500 small islands). Most of Raja Ampat is protected by the Indonesian government, so you can expect pristine corals and an abundance of sea life. Of course, visibility can vary depending on the weather conditions, but water temperatures stay around 27-30°c (81- 86°f).
Days 2-5: Misool, Raja Ampat Misool Island, one of the ‘Four Kings’ is in the south of Raja Ampat and is surrounded by a multitude of smaller islands to the southeast. The sites in this area are famous for their colorful soft corals and sea fans swaying in the warm waters of the reef. You’ll dive for 3 days in the Misool area, including Boo Windows, Yuliet and Romeo, Fiabecet, Wayilbatan, Daram Area, Pele, and Sagof/Wagmab/Farondi Areas. You’ll encounter an incredible range of sea life during these dives, from turtles, reef sharks, pygmy seahorses, mantas, barracudas and everything in between!
Day 6: On day 6, you’ll move on to Penemu, an island west of Waigeo with a selection of dives sites, the most famous being Melissa’s Garden. Shallow hard coral reefs here are home to hundreds of anthias dance and also sea snakes. The long, submerged seamount at Takat Penemu has a beautiful coral garden sloping to where schools of fish hang out in the currents. Have a peek inside the large cup corals where Wobbegong sharks like to sleep, and visit Penemu Wall, My Reef and Harto’s Reef for more incredible sights. At Penemu Island, you will also have the chance to stop and climb to the highest point of the island to admire the entire lagoon from above.
Day 7: Expect 4 incredible dives today in Wofoh and Aljui Bay. Your first 2 dives are at Wofoh Black Forest, which is named after the deep ridge covered in large bushes of black corals and is quite a unique sight. This shallow reef is covered in large purple soft corals, leather corals, and healthy staghorn hard corals. Search the site’s wall for nudibranchs and even Wobbegong sharks resting on the many ledges.
Your 3rd and 4th dives will be in Aljui Bay on the west of Waigeo Island in an area also known as Sel Pele. This area has a pearl farm, which we can organize tours to, but also has two jetties at the pearl farm that have created great artificial reefs for amazing diving. Underneath the pearl farm, you can find wobbegong sharks, stonefish, hundreds of schooling scads, ghost pipefish, juvenile batfish and plenty more. At Channel Island and White Arrow, the walls and slopes full of soft corals and sea fans make the perfect home for pygmy seahorses and a huge variety of nudibranchs. To end the day on a high, your night dive at Cendana Fuel Jetty is probably the best of the whole cruise. Search for velvet fish, ghost pipefish, wasp fish, coconut octopus, Helmut flying gurnards and even the incredible walking shark.
Day 8: Gam Area
Today, you will either visit the Gam Island area. Some of the possibilities for dive sites are Citrus Ridge offering gorgeous white sand contrasting the yellow and orange corals that teem with glassfish, sweetlips, and batfish. Moving on to Takat Yanggelo (north & south) you’ll see similar species as well as huge schools of snappers, barracuda and fusiliers. Dive with black and white tip sharks at Wobbegong and also have a search for the tricky blue-ringed octopus.
Still, between the 2 islands, Mangrove Ridge is a ridge extending out from Yanggelo covered in black corals and huge sea fans. Explore the shallows of the mangroves where many species of juvenile fish, cardinalfish, and archerfish hide in the roots of the trees.
Day 9: The first two dives of the day are at Manta Sandy, well-known to divers as it is one of the most consistent spots for finding congregating mantas. It is easy to spend a whole dive observing these majestic animals as they somersault through the water while being cleaned by several species of wrasse and even butterflyfish. They also come to feed on plankton carried along by the currents, so can be seen on the surface as well. With a bit of luck, you’ll witness the unforgettable sight of a ”manta train”, where half a dozen or more mantas glide around feeding. Your afternoon and night dives are at Arborek Jetty. In the shallows, the jetty posts are covered in soft corals and further down you’re likely to see pipefish and cuttlefish.
Watch local children jumping off the jetty and smiling for your cameras and even join in the fun! On the reef, giant clams nestle in the pulsing soft corals and at the search for blue ringed octopus, hermit crabs, skeleton shrimp, and flatworms. At night, you might even be able to hear toadfish croaking.
Between dives, you will have the chance to visit the village on Arborek Island to discover the very traditional way of life these island people live. Bring along some little presents like writing or coloring supplies or hair accessories for the kids of the village and you’ll see the light with smiles like you’ve never seen before.
Days 10-11: Dampier Strait
The Dampier Strait, located between Waigeo and Batanta Islands is known to have some of the most nutrient-rich and spectacular diving in Raja Ampat. The currents passing through the strait make for the perfect diving situation and you can expect to see incredible corals housing just about every species of fish as well as prized macro subjects like the recently discovered Pontohi pygmy seahorse.
Sardine Reef is a popular dive spot, which ironically isn’t home to any sardines. However, you will see a stunning reef covered in huge sea fans, soft corals, enormous orange elephant ear sponges and schools of fusiliers, surgeonfish, trevallies, rainbow runners, sweetlips and bannerfish. In fact, at this site, the fish are so abundant. You may hear the unique sound of “fish thunder” – the surprisingly loud sound of a large quantity of fish moving in synchronicity. Other dives in Dampier Strait include Chicken Reef, Kerupiar Island, and Friwin Bonda.
Dives over these 2 days will also include Cape Kri, which holds the impressive record of 374 fish species identified during one 90-minute dive, Otdima Reef, and Blue Magic. This is a submerged seamount where you may encounter giant manta rays. Saonek Jetty or Jembeser Jetty are ideal for night dives; you’ll have the chance to see bobtail squid, octopus, stargazers, ghost pipefish, toadfish and lots of nudibranchs at these sites. If you’d also like to see some of the incredible animal life above water, take a hike in the jungle to see Papua’s famous Birds of Paradise. There will be an extra charge for this tour and it is dependent on the weather and all of the guest’s preferences.
Depending on the weather conditions and flight times the next day, the last full day of the cruise will include 1 or 2 dives at one of the above sites. After the dives, you’ll cruise back to Sorong.
Day 12: Say goodbye to your crew over one last Tiaré breakfast and then head on to the airport in Sorong for your outbound flight.
Note: This itinerary may vary depending on weather conditions, flight timetables, and other unforeseen circumstances.
Marine Life: At least 75 percent of all coral species can be found in Raja Ampat, divers can expect a range of topography from soft corals and sea fans, to hard corals, seagrass beds, mangroves, shallow reefs, deep drop offs, caves, black sand and white sand. Giant manta rays, sea turtles, sharks, cuttlefish, pipefish, various seahorse species and massive schools of reef fish are the norm, plus the delightful wobbegong sharks and epaulette sharks inhabit these waters too
