Trip Idea · advancedDraft

Raja Ampat Deep

North + Central + Misool, one liveaboard

Total trip

16 days

Budget range

$8,000–$14,000

Best months

October, November, December, January, February, March, April

Raja Ampat is technically one destination but practically three — the north (Dampier Strait), central (Penemu / Wayag), and south (Misool). A 12-day liveaboard is the only honest way to see all three.

The route

01
12 days
Raja Ampat
81.4
Indonesia · Asia-Pacific
12-day liveaboard minimum. Anything shorter forces you to pick between north and south, and the south (Misool) is what makes this trip worth doing.

Logistics

→Sorong (SOQ) via Jakarta. Budget 2 full travel days each way — this is the longest journey of any dive destination on earth.
→Peak season is Oct-April; May-September is the southeast monsoon and many sites are unreachable.
→Premium liveaboards only. The budget boats here are genuinely unsafe.

Honest verdict

“The most biodiverse reef on earth. Also the longest, most expensive, most logistically punishing trip most divers will ever take. Worth it. Once.”