Raja Ampat means ‘Four Kings’. In an archipelago of over 1,500 small islands there are four main islands or ‘kings’– Waigeo, Salawati, Batanta, Misool. While the area looks quite small on the map, it’s indeed quite a large area with a huge variety and options for diving. This trip is heading to Dampier Strait & Batanta.
Date
21-28 August 2024
Duration:
07 nights/8 days
Package Cost:
$3995 pp. USD per person: Lower Deck Twin (2 twin beds)
$4195 pp. USD per person: Lower Deck Double and Twin
$4695 pp. USD per person: Main Deck Master Suites
$4895 pp. USD per person: Upper Deck Master Suites
Note: All costs are in American Dollars (USD) for this trip
Price Includes:
- 7 nights/8 days onboard the beautiful vessel Coralia
– refer to https://www.coralia-liveaboard.com/ - 3-4 dives a day (includes tanks and weights. Other equipment not included) Note: some days may be two dives depending on land excursion.
- 3 meals a day plus snacks, water, tea, coffee and soft drinks
- Presentations on marine wildlife – manta rays, whales, sharks or coral.
- Travel and explore with a marine biologist and educational expert
- Photography and editing advice provided.
- Friendly and fun atmosphere
- Certified dive guides and amazing cruise directors.
- Vessel for just our group, limited to 16 including trip organsiers.
- Experience local culture
Exclusions:
- Dive gear rental
- Massages
- Alcoholic beverages
- Park Fees: $315 per person (paid on-board)
- Airfares: International & Domestic
- Travel Insurance / DAN dive Insurance
- Crew tips
- Hotel in Sorong or Jakarta trip if required.
- Onboard purchases
.
How to secure your spot:
Please note that this trip has limited spots, so you will need to get in quick to secure your booking. $800 USD is required.
The following payments will be required:
- $800 USD deposit to secure your spot
- First payment due Feb 1, 2024
- Second payment due May 1, 2024
We will be in touch via email for your payment and trip details. We would recommend purchasing your flights into Jakarta (CGK) and then onto Sorong (SOQ), as soon as possible to secure reasonably priced flights. To book and check for available spaces, email us at: amanda@amandadelaforce.com
How To Get There
To/From North America:
Travel to Indonesia is typically flown via Tokyo or Hong Kong or other Asian gateway cities (depending on the airline) and connecting onward to Jakarta (CGK). Sometimes you’ll find routings from the east coast through the Middle East (Doha/Abu Dhabi, etc)
Arrival into Jakarta by August 20, 2024 (late afternoon at the latest). It is recommended to arrive in Jakarta a day prior to your flight to Sorong.
To/From Australia:
Travel to Indonesia is typically flown nonstop (from SYD) or with connecting flights via Singapore or Malaysia and connecting onward to Jakarta (CGK).
It is recommended to arrive in Jakarta a day prior to your flight to Sorong. Arrival into Jakarta by August 20, 2024 (late afternoon at the latest)
Flights to Sorong:
Connect onward to Sorong (SOQ). Most of the flights to Sorong are typically red-eyes from Jakarta. To avoid an overnight stay in Sorong the current suggested flights are:
TBD The flight schedule is not published yet for August 2024. We will let you know when it is.
You will be met by Coralia staff who will bring you directly to the boat. If you’d like to arrive in Sorong a day before, you are more than welcome to and the suggested hotel is the Aston Sorong Hotel. The Coralia staff will pick you up from the hotel and bring you to the boat on August 21, 2024.
Departure on August 28, 2024 can be at anytime. The Coralia staff will bring you back to the airport for your departing flight. If you are continuing onto another resort or elsewhere in Raja Ampat, just let us know so we can coordinate with the Coralia team.
Flights on Garuda still offer 23kg extra per person for dive gear. Be ready to show Scuba certification cards at check in and that your extra baggage is made up of dive equipment.
Please keep in mind, flying on early morning flights departing from Sorong will restrict the number of dives you will be able to do on the last full day on board. Generally there will be two morning dives on the last day commencing around 12pm.
We had THE BEST TIME on the Coralia in 2023, we’re doing it again in 2024!
Hop on board the beautiful Coralia liveaboard. The Coralia is a classic Phinisi. It was built in Bira, Sulawesi by the Konjo tribe, who have been building cargo ships for centuries. Blending ancient techniques and wisdom with modern design and safety features, Coralia is one of the few Phinisi equipped with two engines.
Coralia’s name comes from the word ‘coral‘ and the Latin ending of ‘-ia’, so ‘Coral-ia‘ means ‘Nation of Corals’.
The Coralia has won the Dive Travel Awards “Best Liveaboard” in 2019 and 2021. (We now know WHY she & the crew won best liveaboard, because they ARE THE BEST)! We are venturing into Raja Ampat during what some would consider off season. What most don’t know, Raja IS diveable all year round, in certain areas.
Our itinerary will take us to dive sites in the Batanta area and Dampier Strait. If the weather allows we will try to head north towards Aljui Bay and Wayag, however we cannot guarantee we’ll be able to. To read more about our itinerary, click here.
Tentative Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival into Sorong, board the Coralia, settle into cabins, unpack dive gear/camera gear, boat briefing and dive briefing. Relax and enjoy the views as we head towards Dampier Strait.
Day 2: Diving begins! Today we’ll start off with an easy check out dive first thing in the morning. Return after diving for big breakfast. Mid- morning head out for dive 2, lunch, followed by an afternoon dive, and depending on our transit schedule a possible night dive.
Day 3-7: Diving continues as we head to the areas of Batanata, Dayang, and Gam. We will also visit the famous viewpoint, Penemu when we head towards Gam from Dayang. Our last day of diving will offer 2 dives in the morning (pending flight schedules) and then begin our transit back to Sorong.
Day 8: We’ll say our “Good Byes” and disembark the Coralia for the Sorong Airport. You’ll be ready to book your next trip on Coralia after an amazing trip!
About Raja Ampat
- 600+ species of coral are found in Raja Ampat – the entire Caribbean Sea has only 58 species
- 1,669 species of fish have been recorded to date (December 2019)
- 374 fish species were identified during one 90-minute dive at Cape Kri in Dampier Strait.
- 42 fish species are native to the region.
- 17 °C temperature range – the corals in Raja Ampat are regularly subjected to variations in temperatures from 19 (66oF) to 36 (97oF) degrees Celsius. The coral seems to be naturally adapted to massive fluctuations in temperature than are far higher than the ones predicted by climatologists over the next 50 years.
- The official language is Bahasa Indonesia. Although there are over 300 different native languages spoken in Indonesia.
Bookings, Payment, Cancellation Policy and Force Majeure in relation to the Tour
- Amanda Delaforce Photography and Travel Pty Ltd highly recommends you purchase travel and dive insurance as soon as possible after confirming your travel plans. We recommend Dive Assure or DAN for diving insurance. Dive Assure offers a Dive and Travel Insurance annual and short-term (per trip). You can purchase it here: https://app.diveassure.com/#/registration/main/process/0/int/0/18669/en-intl
- Evidence of adequate travel and dive insurance must be provided prior to departure.
- Bookings made more than 100 days out from the start of a trip require a deposit of $800.00 USD per passenger.
- All deposits are non-refundable.
- Bookings made less than 100 days out from tour commencement require payment in full to secure your booking.
- Payment in full is required 100 days out from the start of the trip. We will email you a final payment reminders. No refunds will be given within 100 days of the start of any trip, under any circumstances.
- If you cancel your spot more than 100 days before the start of a trip, and we/you are able to resell/fill the spot, a trip credit for your remaining balance (minus a $300 USD service fee deducted) will be issued for use on another Amanda Delaforce Photography and Travel Pty Ltd trip within 2 years of the cancellation.
- If you cancel your spot less than 99 days prior to the start of a trip, no refund or credit will be issued for deposits that have been paid.
- If our In-Country Providers cancel or if aForce Majeure Event occurs, meaning any act of God, war, terrorism, fire, flood or any other extreme weather conditions, loss of power, epidemics or pandemics, industrial disputes, slow-downs or other strike activities, riots or civil disturbances, acts of government, semi government or other authorities, inability to obtain any necessary license or consent and delays caused by sub-contractors, suppliers or other third parties (including telecommunications carriers), material shortages or other disruption to the trip beyond our control, Amanda Delaforce Photography and Travel Pty Ltd shall not be held responsible for matters outside of our control or any failure to deliver the trip.
- The affiliated and established company such as the Coralia, holds the relevant insurances and maintains responsibility for the dive and snorkel insurance policies and procedures. As such when in the water diving, snorkeling or swimming you are diving under the affiliated company’s policies and procedures and must adhere to either the Captain, Dive Instructor or Divemaster’s instructions.
- Amanda Delaforce Photography and Travel Pty Ltd takes no responsibility for loss, damage or injury arising from any shortfall, error or omission in the information passed to the customer during the course of the sale or subsequent delivery of the product. The company takes no responsibility nor can be held liable for loss, damage, or injury that occurs on a supplier’s or service provider’s premises or transport, or between two such premises.
- Participation in any of the Activities involves certain risks which may result in injury or death. This warning does not purport to describe or disclose all risks associated with participation of the Activities. There are a wide range of inherent risks when engaging in sports and particularly underwater sports; for example, with diving there is the risk of decompression sickness, embolism or other hyperbaric injury can occur that requires treatment in a recompression chamber. Open water scuba diving trips may be conducted at sites that are remote, either by time or distance, from emergency services or recompression facilities. Scuba diving, snorkeling and tours will involve uncontrolled encounters with wild animals which bears the risk of stings, bites, and at the extreme end, more serious injury and death. Participants should be responsible and aware of animal behaviors and their own interactions and engage in these activities entirely at their own risk.
- We will not be liable to you in respect of any personal injury (including without limitation serious injury or death) that you may suffer or sustain directly or indirectly as a result of attending the trip or participation in the Activities. Nor will we be liable to you in respect of any other losses arising as a result of any such personal injury (including without limitation loss of profit or earnings or other consequential losses). We will not be liable to you in respect of any of your personal property that is lost, stolen or damaged before, during or after a trip.
- Please ensure you understand our cancellation policy prior to providing any deposits and agree to the booking and trip. By placing a booking with Amanda Delaforce Photography and Travel Pty Ltd, this implies that you accept these booking terms and conditions and cancellation policy.
Trading as “Amanda Delaforce Travel and Photography Pty Ltd”
