Coralia Itinerary

Raja Ampat - Batanta, Kawe and Dampier Strait (10N)

Our crew will welcome you at Sorong airport. You will then proceed to Sorong Harbor, where our tenders will take you to Coralia. Once all guests are on board, we will make the final arrangements with the port authorities and head out towards Waigeo, Raja Ampat. We may spend our first night on board around Mioskon, where we can watch the thousands of bats leaving the island at sunset.

Depending on the trip length, we will spend the first day or couple of days exploring the famous Dampier Strait. This area offers a vast selection of world-class and adrenaline-packed dive sites, such as Cape Kri, Chicken Reef, Sardine Reef, Mioskon and Blue Magic, of which we will select the best options according to the current and weather conditions. 

The next day will be spent in the Penemu area, where we offer three dives. Famous Melissa’s Garden awaits us with its spectacular, healthy, and widespread hard coral plateau, completely covered in colourful anthias and damselfish. At Keruo Wall, we can admire large gorgonian sea fans and lovely reef tops. A short hike to Penemu viewpoint offers a spectacular view of the lagoons and their surrounding islands. To cool off, we’ll do a late afternoon dive at Batu Rufus, followed by a relaxed evening drinking cocktails and watching the sunset on deck. Wofoh, Aljui Bay & Kawe.

Next, we make our way to Wofoh, an incredibly scenic area with unique dive sites. On one side, we will have the backdrop of Wofoh and Taman Wofoh, two small islands with pristine white-sand beaches, and on the other side, we can take in vistas of the forested mountains and valleys of West Waigeo. The dive sites at Wofoh are famous for stunning black coral forests, where schooling fish are on the constant run from larger predatory fish. The walls are interesting with ledges and shallow caverns, where it is not uncommon to find wobbegong sharks.

We will then head into beautiful Aljui Bay, which is famous for its outstanding macro diving and plentiful purple soft corals. There may also be an opportunity to take a little tour to visit the pearl farm and learn all about how pearls are grown. During the night dive, it is not unusual to find macro favourites like special octopus and cuttlefish species, colourful nudibranchs and epaulette walking sharks.

The next day, we will do two to three dives close to the island of Kawe. Eagle Rock is our first stop and is named after the majestic eagles circling above the small, rocky islands. Underwater, divers can encounter creatures like wobbegong sharks, bamboo sharks, batfish, schooling fusiliers and, if we get lucky, even the occasional manta ray! At Black Rock, soft corals bloom in a variety of colours from the rocky outcrops, amazing us as Raja Ampat’s full abundance comes to life in a most vibrant display. Schooling surgeonfish await us together with sweetlips, whitetip reef sharks and dogtooth tunas on the hunt. After these spectacular dives in Kawe, we head back down to Aljui or Wofoh for a night dive.

Next, we will head to the Yeben area. Expect beautiful coral bommies dotted around a white-sand bottom, which creates a unique scenery. These healthy, shallow reefs attract an enormous amount of reef fish and give shelter to cuttlefish blending in, with blacktip reef sharks patrolling around. Yangeffo Island is situated on the western tip of Gam Island and creates a sheltered bay. This small area has multiple top-notch dive sites. Famous ones like Citrus Ridge and Mayhem always amaze divers with their vibrancy and biodiversity. 

Next, we head to Dayang on the northwest of Batanta. Dayang is at the entrance to one of Batanta's many scenic bays, where we might come across more wobbegong sharks and get to see great macro life, including ribbon eels, ghost pipefish and unusual nudibranchs. Dayang Island also offers a great chance to encounter manta rays, the gentle giants, at their cleaning stations. Moving east along the northern coast of Batanta, there are some fantastic drift and pinnacle dives with schooling fish, lots of fusiliers, napoleon wrasse, turtles and reef sharks. On longer trips, we may head inside a bay to a very special anchor spot for the night. As the sun drops, the surrounding forested hills become alive, and Blyth’s Hornbills emerge to return to their roosting places. After witnessing this spectacle, we will do another great macro night dive on a sandy slope looking for critters. 

Our last diving day will offer two more action-packed dives on Batanta or in the Dampier Strait before we start traveling back to Sorong harbour, where we will spend the last evening and enjoy a special farewell dinner. The next morning, our tenders will take you back ashore to catch your flights.

Disembark the vessel after breakfast and transfer to the airport.

Sample itineraries are for guidance only. Actual itineraries may differ slightly due to factors such as weather, wildlife, logistics and local regulations.