Calico Jack Itinerary
Raja Ampat North (Wayag)9 days / 8 nights
About Calico Jack
- Enjoy personal service with just ten guests onboard
- Explore healthy reefs with macro critters and manta-packed drifts
- Watersports, tours and inland activities on every itinerary
- Spacious, customised dive deck with excellent camera facilities
Calico Jack liveaboard combines the ancient traditions of Sulawesi’s Bugis shipbuilders with the modernity and comfort of a luxury yacht. This traditional wooden Indonesian sailing boat was custom made specifically for diving, with a superb dive deck and camera facilities. The vessel provides effortless first-class liveaboard experiences throughout Komodo, Raja Ampat, Alor and the Banda Sea, with exciting non-diving activities and inland tours as well. Guests enjoy an intimate, personal service with only ten divers on board and an expert crew handpicked for their local experience and unparalleled expertise.
Itinerary details
Length of trip 9 days / 8 nights
Number of dives 20
Experience Open Water - Minimum 25 dives
Insurance Required
Highlights
- Circular itinerary hitting all the very best spots in Raja Ampat
- Encounter both reef and oceanic manta rays at renowned dive sites
- Visit unspoiled hard and soft coral gardens
- Search for Pontoh’s pygmy seahorse at Mioskon
- Circular trip around the best of the well known Dampier Strait
- Chance to dive at Chanel No.5, White Arrow, and Channel Island
- Night dives included
Day 1: Embarkation in Sorong | 1 dive
We will pick you up either at your hotel or Sorong airport and take you to the harbour where our crew will welcome you onboard Calico Jack. Following refreshments and a short tour of the ship, you will be briefed on safety, diving operations, and life onboard. We will aim to depart by 12.00 and head 5 hours north to Waisai.
It will allow time for you to get acquainted with the ship, set up your dive gear & cameras, and to meet and socialise with the other guests and friendly crew, before an afternoon check dive close by Mioskon island.
You will spend the night close to Waisai at a safe anchorage. We will visit Mioscon island with the friendly cat colony living on it and witness the swarms of flying foxes departing on the night adventure.
Day 2: Dampier Strait | 3 dives and a night dive
After short, early morning navigation, we begin the day with dives at Mioskon & Sardine Reef. Ironically, sardines are the only reef fish not found on the Sardine reef, but you’ll hardly notice as “fish thunder” (the loud booming sound made when large numbers of fish move rapidly through open water) engulfs you, and swarms of fish block out the sky. Both are incredible dive sites full of schooling fish, including fusiliers, surgeonfish, trevallies, rainbow runners, sweetlips, and bannerfish. The reefs are adorned with sea fans, soft corals and orange elephant ear sponges.
In the afternoon, you will dive into Cape Kri. One of the most famous sites in the region, it boasts some of the largest concentrations of big fish in Raja Ampat and holds the impressive record of 374 fish species identified during one 90-minute dive.
For sunset, we head west to our anchorage outside the village of Yenbuba, where you will experience your first-night dive at Yenbuba Jetty.
Day 3: Arborek Island | 3 dives, village visit, dive with manta rays, night dive
Starting the day close to our anchorage, you will begin the morning with a dive at Cape Yenbuba, a beautiful drift wall dive. While having breakfast, we relocate 1.5 hours to one of the most reliable Manta ray congregation spots in all of Raja Ampat, the famous cleaning station, Manta Sandy.
It is easy to spend a whole day observing these majestic creatures as they somersault through the water, feeding on plankton and being cleaned by several species of wrasse and butterflyfish.
For lunch, we’ll make our way to Arborek, and after a third dive at Lalosi, a seemingly never-ending pristine submerged reef, you will visit the local village and see the traditional way of life for these island people, before enjoying a night dive at the Arborek Pier.
In the shallows, the posts at Arborek Pier are covered in soft corals, with pipefish and cuttlefish dwelling more in-depth below. On the reef, giant clams nestle among soft corals, which also provide shelter for hermit crabs, flatworms, and skeleton shrimp.
Day 4: Penemu Archipelago | 3 dives, Penemu trek, lagoon exploration
Early in the morning, we will arrive at Penemu’s My Reef dive site, where you will enjoy one of the largest concentrations of fish in the area. This site is very impressive, mainly when the current is strong.
Before lunch we’ll squeeze in a second dive at Melissa’s Garden, a beautiful coral garden teeming with schooling fish and sharks.
You will take a short boat tour to Penem Islands and walk up to the famous viewpoint above Piaynemo star- shaped lagoons.
Day 5: Aljui | 3 dives and a night dive
Heading further north, we will enter a large natural bay around Aljui.
Here, you will have the chance to dive at Chanel No.5, White Arrow, and Channel Island, a mix of wall and reef dives, close to the village, and where pearl farming is conducted. The sites are brimming with soft, colourful corals, sea fans, pygmy seahorses, and a wide variety of nudibranchs.
Cendana Pier is also teeming with life and one of the best night dives in Raja Ampat.
Day 6: Wofoh | 3 dives, beach BBQ
We start the day with early navigation to the Wofoh Island area. Here, in the morning, you will dive at Who's the Black Forest, a stunning dive traversing the deep black fan landscape rising to a beautiful and pristine shallow reef. The second dive is at Wofoh Tembok (a wall dive) and finally, Teman Wofoh.
The evening will be spent on a secluded beach experiencing one of Calico Jack’s famous beach BBQ parties, where you relax on our giant bean bags under a pagoda, whilst being served up our chef’s delicious BBQ dinner. Explore the beach, meet the local hermit crabs, and indulge in a glass of wine as music is played and fireworks light the night sky.
Day 7: Yanggefo | 3 dives and a night dive
An early morning navigation brings us to the stunning Mangrove Anchorage in the passage of Gam and Yangeffo. Here you will find some of the most stunning dive sites in West Waigeo: Mayhem and Citrus Ridge.
In the right conditions you can expect some of the highest voltage diving in Raja Ampat, with currents bringing in massive schools of barracudas, three species of fusiliers, trevallies, batfish, bump head parrotfish, wobbegongs, as well as black and white tip reef sharks.
Lalosi (“Fusilier '' in Papuan) is a hard coral seamount located west of Arborek Island, which has extremely good fish life when the current is running. The reef extends for up to half a kilometre, making it one of the better drift dives in Raja Ampat. We will make our final night dive at Batu lima. Magnificent little dive site where walking sharks are often encountered.
Day 8: Dampier Strait | 2 dives, beach time
We save the very best for last. During our final diving day, we discovered two fabulous dive sites: Blue Magic and Sardine Reef. Both of these sites offer some of the largest concentrations of big fish in Raja Ampat.
Large schools of trevallies, barracudas, sweetlips, tuna, and snappers congregate on these sites. Oceanic Manta can also be seen at Blue Magic.
In the afternoon, we have time to relax on one of Kris's secluded beaches before sailing back to Sorong, where we arrive later in the evening.
Day 9: Disembarkation in Sorong
After breakfast, and the last exchange of photos and memories, the crew and Calico Jack will say our fondest farewell and transport you either to your hotel or airport.
Sample itineraries are for guidance only. Actual itineraries may differ slightly due to factors such as weather, wildlife, logistics, and local regulations.
Transfer details
Departure
10:00am
Sorong
Sorong Airport: SOQ
Return
10:00am
Sorong
Sorong Airport: SOQ
Current availability and prices: https://www.zubludiving.com/itineraries/calico-jack/itn-2402070343291-raja-ampat-north-wayag-