Indonesia Itineraries:

Raja Ampat to Ambon 10 Nights

Duration: 10 nights
Ports: Sorong to Laha

The region of Raja Ampat, Indonesia is all about diversity - not only diversity of species, but also of dive sites. There are some areas where soft corals and sea fans dominate, others with an amazing range of hard corals, seagrass beds, mangroves, shallow reefs, drop offs, caves, black sand, white sand. Then there are the fish, lots of them, in more shapes and sizes than anywhere else in the world. Not only are there loads of fish, but all the levels of the food chain are well represented - from pygmy seahorses to top predators. In many places brightly coloured soft corals can be found close to the surface which, illuminated by natural sunlight, make these dive sites spectacularly colourful. The reefs in Raja Ampat just buzz with life! Manta Rays, Wobbegong Sharks and Epaulette Sharks can all be found in the waters that make up Raja Ampat.

Raja Ampat is huge, 50,000 sq km, with hundreds of islands and an astounding diversity of habitats, which translates to wildly different diving experiences from pelagic drift dives to magic muck dives and even some habitats that are special to Raja Ampat such as clear water mangroves with corals growing right next to them! There are thousands of potential dive sites. Exploration is still continuing, and on every trip there are chances for new and amazing discoveries.

Sample Itinerary:

**PLEASE NOTE** the itinerary below is just an example of the route taken and the order and dive sites are not guaranteed. All dives sites are subject to weather conditions and the final route taken is at the absolute discretion of the captain and dive guides.

Day 1- Arrive Sorong
Airport meet and greet, transfer to the port and board the SY Indo Siren. After boarding settle into your cabin and assemble your equipment with help from the friendly crew. The boat briefing is followed by dinner and you can enjoy the rest of the evening at your leisure while sailing towards Waigeo.

Day 2- SW Waigeo - 4 dives
Do up to 4 dives around Waigeo. Manta Ridge, is a popular cleaning station and sightings of 5 up to 30 manta rays is common. You can see manta rays at several of the Raja Ampat sites, but this is the premiere place to see them reliably and in large numbers. Strong currents attract groups daily into this cleaning station. Find a suitable spot on the reef to hook up to and watch the games begin. Almost ignored by most visitors to this reef is the school of 30 or so bumphead parrotfish that graze on the reef slopes at around 20 metres. The cleaning station is located only 6 metres deep in the water.

Day 3- Misool and Farondi - 4 dives
You will dive up to 4 times at some of the most popular sites. Farondi has some good macro diving and its many channels support fish schools and healthy reefs. The Three Sisters is one of the top dive sites in Raja Ampat and the marine life is nothing short of exceptional. The very large numbers of reef fish including snapper, sweetlips and bat fish are a truly wonderful addition to the great coral on this site. The number of colourful soft corals is unbelievable. Farondi Arch, Razorback Rock, and Wagmab Wal can also be dived.

Day 4- The Fiabacet Group of Islands - 4 dives
Located in the area between the islands of Kalig and Boo are a number of rocky islets rising out of the water. With open sea down to the island of Ceram some 80 nautical miles away, large animals can be seen here. Trevallies, jacks, mackerel and grey reef sharks are most certainly regular sightings. Tongka and Tugboat offer some seriously awesome diving with excellent hard and soft corals covering the majority of the sites. Bumphead parrot fish, Napoleon wrasse, barracuda and sharks often visit. Fiabacet (also known as Whale Rock), itself has world class corals that will please even the most seasoned of divers. Steep sloping reefs of two islands connected by a saddle with a large bommie in the middle. This is a spectacular place to hang out secured by your reef hook when the currents are strong. Sharks frequent the area and reports of oceanic white tips have been made.

Day 5- Misool - 4 dives
Do up to 4 dives around this well known hot spot. Pulau Pele is the first stop and the reef is a kaleidoscope of colours. The combination of fans, soft corals, fish and dancing anchovies in the shallows will make the morning dive unforgettable. In Wayilbatan, the passage offers another spectacular dive with mild to strong currents feeding the coral and attracting a large number of fish. Palau Boo offers schooling batfish and the topography here is perfect for photographers.

Day 6- Koon - 4 dives
This is a day for the explorer in you, as only a few sites have been recorded and frequently dived. Depending on conditions, you may well do some exploratory diving. The currents can be strong here, but they also attract the large shoals of fish and with any luck pelagic encounters can be had. Up to 4 dives but conditions may force fewer.

Day 7 & 8 - Banda Neira - 7 dives
The Banda Islands in the middle of the Banda Sea offer not only spectacular diving but a chance to make a land excursion to the nutmeg plantations. You will dive at sites including Pulau Run and Pulai Ai; which are both wall dives with abundant fish life including schools of snappers, bumphead parrotfish and many Napoleon wrasses. Banda Kapal has some of the most pristine and largest seafans ever found and an amazing coral garden formed after the last volcanic eruption in 1988. You also make a sunset dive at Banda Neira Pier for its population of large Mandarin fish along with cockatoo wasp fish, flying gurnards, frogfish and juvenile sweetlips. Overnight crossing to Ceram.

Day 9 - Pulau Nusa Laut - 3 dives
Dive 1 - Start off the day with an exhilarating dive at "Ahmed", strong currents bring in the large pelagics and hammerheads can be seen here, until February, along with eagle rays, trevallies and Napoleons.
Dives 2 & 3 at the Pier and Gung Gung Kecil for more big fishes and plenty of smaller creatures before departing westwards to the port of Ambon.

Day 10- Ambon - 2 dives
Dive 1 - Shipwreck. We begin our final diving day at this coral covered wreckage, which lies in a maximum of 30m and is home to many moray eels and odd looking critters can be found as they attempt to blend in.
Dive 2 will be at the muck diving hot spot of Laha, otherwise known as Twilight zone for all its weird and wonderful creatures; it is pure muck diving at its best. Mimic octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, Rhinopias, ribbon eels, Ambon scorpion fish and ghost pipefish are just some of what you can see. Spend the afternoon relaxing onboard or enjoy a spot of kayaking or waterskiing in the bay.

Day 11- Disembark Ambon
After breakfast say your farewells, disembark the SY Indo Siren and transfer to Laha Airport, or continue your stay in Ambon at one of the local resorts.

Diving highlights:

Boo Island
Fantastic colourful corals, schools of snappers, trevallies, spanish mackerel and bumphead parrot fish. Ghost pipefish can be found in the shallow water and the "windows"- two rock formations with holes eroded through- is an awesome site for some dramatic photography.

Manta Sandy at Mansuar Island
At just 18m on a sandy seabed is where we divers rest and wait for the spectacular shows performed by the manta rays. Several mantas are regularly seen at one time cruising in the narrow channel and to two coral bommies to be cleaned or just get an up close look at a curious diver! The mantas' wingspans reach up to 5m, some are totally black whilst others have various white markings making them identifiable. A site not to be missed and we will often dive here more than once.

Sardine at Kri Island
Fish, fish and more fish.... over 970 different species have been recorded here. White tips, black tips and wobbegong sharks, turtles, morays and giant clams, Schools of big eye jacks and the occasional marble ray. This site has so much of interest that one dive here is not enough.