Dive Resort in Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat is a very popular destination for diving. Every year thousands of visitors go there to enjoy swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving and even freediving. They can stay in homestays, and beach resorts that provide diving excursions to various dive sites in Waigeo, Gam, Kri, Mansuar, Batanta, or even in Misool islands. Dive Resorts in Raja Ampat often have recreational dive packages which tourists can buy while enjoying their holiday in the archipelago. There are tens of dive resorts which tourists can choose if they want to stay in comfortable accommodations while exploring the wealth of Raja Ampat's marine biodiversity.

Karst in Kabui bay

Coral Reef in Raja Ampat Archipelago

From late September to early October, I had an opportunity to visit important islands in Raja Ampat regency from Misool, and Kepulauan Sembian to Kofiau islands and north-east coast of Waigeo.
In general coral reef of this archipelago is still in very good condition. Raja Ampat has not suffered from massive bleaching on its corals like what happened in Okinawa and Great Barrier Reef. The regency is very far from big industrial cities of Indonesia such as Jakarta, Surabaya or Makassar. So, coral reef is still healthy and the density of marine life is very high.

Coral Reef and Fish in Warduwer beach of Waigeo island

That's why a lot of scuba divers and snorkelers as well as freedivers continue to come to visit Raja Ampat. Coral reef with big fish can be seen in north-east region of Waigeo. It is the one that directly faces the open sea or the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately because of its remoteness, very few people go there.
The best months to explore the north-east reef of Waigeo island is from June to November. The sea is relatively calm.

Traveling to North East Coast of Waigeo Island

A Beach in North-east Coast of Waigeo island

There was a village in north eastern region of Waigeo island. I visited it 3 weeks ago. I accompanied Wally and Coby in our efforts to help local people build sanitation facilities at a black sand beach. There was a turtle conservation project at the beach. The villagers had built a small wooden house as their shelter while doing monitoring works on turtles that were landing and laying eggs. Unfortunately, the house did not have toilet and clean water facilities to support tourists who want to see turtles landing and laying eggs at the beach.