Day 1: Check-in on board MV Mermaid. If guests arrive early in the morning or the day prior, then we can do 2 dives the first day. Otherwise, we start cruising towards the Dampier Strait (South Waigeo).
Days 2 & 3: The Strait Of Dampier is the Strait between Waigeo and the Bird’s Head Peninsula. Together with Misool, it is known for being the best diving in Raja Ampat. All the dive sites around the Dampier Strait are known for the huge amount of schooling fish; schooling barracudas, schools of bigeye trevallies, oceanic triggerfish, spadefish, surgeonfish, and snappers. Besides the schooling fish, it is also an area where we get to see blacktips, whitetips, and wobbegongs sharks. Some of the best manta dives are also located in the Dampier Strait. These are Manta Sandy (or Manta Mantra), and Blue Magic.
Manta Sandy is a sandy slope with several bommies that the mantas use as a cleaning station. And Blue Magic, a small pinnacle where the giant mantas congregate and also get cleaned. Some of the best mangrove dives are also located in the Dampier Strait, around the island of Yanggefo and the island of Gam. The Dampier Strait is not only known for the amount of schooling fish, the mantas, or the mangroves, but also for the bommies that can be found in the shallow areas of the reefs. Some of these bommies are covered with beautiful soft corals, as well as with glassfish. And of course, we cannot forget the dive sites in some of the jetties from the local villages, where the pillars of the jetties are covered in soft corals and small critters. Best-known dive sites in the Dampier Strait: Cape Kri, Sardine Reef, Chicken Reef, Mioskon, Blue Magic, Mike’s Point, Manta Sandy, Arborek Jetty, Mangrove Ridge, Citrus Ridge. Cruise overnight to Misool.
Days 4-6:Misool is the most southern island in Raja Ampat, and it is surrounded by several hundred small islands and rocks. Some of the nicest soft coral reefs in the world are located in Misool. It is impossible to describe only several dive sites since there are literally hundreds of them. Every year new dive sites are discovered around Misool. Many of the dive sites around Misool are just as fishy as the ones from the Dampier Strait, with some schools of barracudas, spadefish, pinjalo snappers, and zillions of Fusiliers.
But Misool is also a great macro place. It is known as the kingdom of the pygmy seahorses, as well as having small allied cowries in the gorgonian sea fans, and nudibranchs. Best-known diving areas around Misool: Within each of the following areas, there are always several dive sites. Wagma, Farondi, Balbulol, Sagof, Daram, Yellit, Boo, Warakaraket, Fiabacet, Kalig, Wayilbatan, Wayil, Pele and Nampele (Blue Water Mangroves). Cruise overnight to Pulau Pisang.
Day 7:Pulau Pisang
These are a set of 2 islands and 2 small rocks between Misool and Halmahera. We spend the whole day here. The diving is pretty nice, with sloping reefs with healthy soft on the deeper areas and hard corals bommies in the shallows. When the currents are strong, the dive sites can be very fishy, schooling bump head parrotfish, zillions of blue triggerfish, and dogtooth tunas passing by. Cruise overnight to the Strait of Pantini (Halmahera).
Day 8:Strait on Pantini
A whole day in the south of Halmahera. 2 great pinnacles break the surface – excellent dive sites due to the amount of schooling fish as well as the healthy state of the soft corals. Blacktips, Whitetips, turtles, and napoleons are some of the highlights. Strong currents here will dictate when we dive. Other sites offer great opportunities as well. Proco Channel between 2 islands – starts with a sandy slope with several large bommies then we enter the channel and hook on to see what is passing by! Wow! After this exhilarating day, we cruise overnight to Pulau Tifore.
Day 9:Pulau Tifore
A small island between Halmahera and Lembeh with a great submerged reef about a ½ mile from the island. The main attraction here is definitely the barracudas – hundreds and hundreds have made this their home for years. Really amazing especially if you can get inside the swirling vortex of the barracudas. Cruise overnight to Sulawesi.
Day 10: Lembeh Strait
Some of the best muck diving in Indonesia! A black sand environment full of critters. Frogfish, all kinds of octopi, spiny devilfish, nude heaven, etc. Everybody more or less knows what diving in Lembeh is like.
Day 11: More of the wonders of Lembeh – Travelling tomorrow then only 2 dives, sorry – not traveling? Then enjoy more what this world-renown area is famous for!
Day 12: Disembark in for a transfer to your resort or on to Manado for the next leg of your adventure. Lembeh is home to some wonderful dive resorts with the opportunity of hours of fabulous diving.
Contact Mermaid Liveaboards or your agent to book you in – while in Lembeh it would be a shame not to maximize your opportunity to stay here or perhaps head north for the walls of Bunaken National Park – also brilliant diving.
Marine Life: Soft corals, gorgonians, pygmy seahorses, Bluewater mangroves, Manta Rays, amazing muck diving, Epaulette Shark, wobbegongs, crocodile-fish, toadfish, frogfish and so much more!
