from: Sorong, to: Sorong
Please note: this is a sample itinerary that might change without further notice. The Cruise Directors may adapt the itinerary to guarantee the best possible experience according to weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances.
7 nights: approximately 20-21 dives
9 nights: approximately 28-29 dives
Sorong – Dampier Strait
The crew will welcome you at Sorong airport. You will then proceed to Sorong harbour, where our tenders will take you to Coralia. Once all guests are on board, The crew will make the final arrangements with the port authorities and head out towards Waigeo, Raja Ampat. The guests may spend their first night on board around Mioskon, where they can watch the thousands of bats leaving the island at sunset.Depending on the trip length, the ship will spend the first day or couple of days exploring the famous Dampier Strait. This area offers a vast selection of world-class and adrenaline-packed dive sites, such as Cape Kri, Chicken Reef, Sardine Reef, Mioskon and Blue Magic, of which the crew will select the best options according to the current and weather conditions. The ship's guides can take the guests to places where the current meets the reef head on, where the guests can witness predatory fish like blacktip, whitetip and grey reef sharks, giant trevally, Spanish mackerel and dogtooth tuna hunting huge schools of smaller fish like fusiliers and bigeye jacks. On top of the abundant fish life, Central Raja Ampat offers fantastic macro dives, with chances to spot different species of pygmy seahorses, common seahorses, cuttlefish and octopuses.
Moving east to west in the Dampier Strait, The ship may visit dive sites around the islands of Kri, Mansuar and Arborek, where the guest hope to encounter schools of sweetlips, napoleon wrasse, bumphead parrotfish and the endemic tasselled wobbegong shark. Sawandarek village lies on Mansuar Island and offers a spectacular reef and jetty dive. Here the guests can witness Papua Explorers’ successful coral restoration project and visit the resident turtles. Arborek is a well-known jetty and night dive and boasts impressive marine life such as giant clams, schooling batfish and crocodile fish. The well-known manta aggregation sites of Manta Sandy and Manta Ridge are also in this area. For those interested, there might be an opportunity to walk around the village at Sawandarek or Arborek.
Yeben & Yangeffo
Next, the Ship will head to Yeben area. Expect beautiful coral bommies dotted around a white-sand bottom, which creates a unique scenery. These healthy, shallow reefs attract an enormous amount of reef fish and give shelter to cuttlefish blending in, with blacktip reef sharks patrolling around.
Yangeffo Island is situated on the western tip of Gam Island and creates a sheltered bay. This small area has multiple top-notch dive sites. Famous ones like Citrus Ridge and Mayhem always amaze divers with their vibrancy and biodiversity. The area here is probably so abundant due to the surrounding mangroves. Beautiful hard and soft corals grow under and among the roots of the trees. They create a distinctive environment and are home for species like archer fish, cardinal fish and different types of juvenile reef fish. If the tides are right, the guests may visit this fragile ecosystem, which provides special photo opportunities. The crew will be happy to take you out in the tender to snorkel in the mangroves in between dives.
Fam Islands
The next day will be spent in Penemu area, where we offer three dives. Famous Melissa’s Garden awaits us with its spectacular, healthy, and wide-spread hard coral plateau, completely covered in colourful anthias and damsel fish. At Keruo Wall, The guests can admire large gorgonian sea fans and lovely reef tops. A short hike to Penemu viewpoint offers a spectacular view of the lagoons and its surrounding islands.
To cool off, The guests will do a late afternoon dive at Batu Rufus, followed by a relaxed evening drinking cocktails and watching the sunset on deck.
Batanta – Sorong
Next, The Ship head to Dayang on the northwest of Batanta. Dayang is at the entrance to one of Batanta's many scenic bays, where The Guests might come across more wobbegong sharks and get to see great macro life, including ribbon eels, ghost pipefish and unusual nudibranchs. Dayang Island also offers a great chance to encounter manta rays, the gentle giants, at their cleaning stations.
Moving east along the northern coast of Batanta, there are some fantastic drift and pinnacle dives with schooling fish, lots of fusiliers, napoleon wrasse, turtles and reef sharks. For the night, The Guests may head inside a bay to a very special anchor spot. As the sun drops, the surrounding forested hills become alive, and Blyth’s Hornbills emerge to return to their roosting places. After witnessing this spectacle, The Guests can do a great macro night dive on a sandy slope. The Guests will go on a critter hunt, looking for weird and wonderful creatures such as octopus, ghost pipefish, juvenile batfish and juvenile barramundi cods.
The last diving day will offer two more action-packed dives on Batanta or in the Dampier Strait, before The Ship start travelling back to Sorong harbour, where The Guests will spend the last evening and enjoy a special farewell dinner. The next morning, The Ship's tenders will take The Guests back ashore to catch the flights.