Route Description - Raja Ampat Full Park
Embark on a breathtaking 12-day voyage aboard Calico Jack, exploring the stunning dive sites of Raja Ampat. From the vibrant reefs of Misool to the pristine waters of Penemu and the rich marine life of Dampier Strait, this journey promises unparalleled underwater experiences. Enjoy a mix of exhilarating dives, serene landscapes, and local culture as you discover some of the most spectacular dive locations in the world.
Day 1: Embarkation in Sorong
We will pick you up 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 set sail at approximately 11 am (or when the last guest has boarded) and cruise through Sele Strait to reach the East of Misool, a navigation of roughly 12 hours. This will allow time for you to get acquainted with the ship, set up your dive gear & cameras and meet and socialise with the other guests and friendly crew.
Days 2-6: Southern Raja Ampat/Misool)
Misool is located South of Raja Ampat and is famous for its steep rocks with vertical walls, a profusion of soft, colourful corals, sea fans draped brilliantly over the reefs and plenty of fish. Areas group the islands around East Misool.
1) Balbulol (No Contest, Dangerous Kayak, Love Potion, Number 9, Pet Rock)
Schools of platax, snapper and bump head parrotfish can be found at these dive sites, including barracudas and jacks surrounding the pinnacles. You will spend the night in the hidden lagoon, a very special anchorage inside a narrow bay enclosed by towering rocks.
2) Daram (Candy Store, Warna Berwana, Andiamo)
Andiamo is a large, stunning reef with a submerged pinnacle covered in sea fans and surrounded by schools of fusiliers and batfish. Black tip reef sharks and napoleon wrasse can also be found here. Candy Store, named so as the first divers to explore this reef felt like kids in a candy store, is covered in giant sponges, beautiful soft corals and sea fans. In the valleys, schools of fusiliers, butterfly fish and barracuda gather.
3) Warokaraket/Boo Island (Shadow Reef, Jamur Boo, Yellit Kecil or Besar) + Night Dive
Shadow Reef, also known as Magic Mountain, is one of the top-rated diving sites in Raja Ampat. An offshore pinnacle with a long and narrow ridge, shoals of bannerfish, pyramid butterfly and yellow snappers can be seen cavorting on top of the ridge, persistently stalked by giant trevallies, orange-spotted jacks & longnose emperors.
Boo Rock or Jamur Boo is known for the "windows" or rounded openings on the end of the largest rock that completely pierce the reef from the surface down to five meters deep. Although the two rocks appear separate from the surface. Reef sharks, parrotfish, surgeonfish, schooling batfish, fusiliers, snappers and moray eels are all found here, as well as a wide variety of nudibranchs, unicornfish, octopus and green turtles. Yellit Kecil's (whilst sharing all of the attributes of its neighbouring sites) main characteristic is the large number of nembrotha nudibranchs that can be observed on the ridge.
4) Wayilbatan (Dunia Kecil, Barracuda Rock, Four Kings, Wedding Cake) + Night Dive
The Wayilbatan area offers impressive dive sites with a remarkable range of marine diversity and topography. At Wedding Cake, schools of batfish, trevallies, barracuda and pygmy seahorses congregate. In the afternoon, you will have the opportunity to take in scenic landscapes with some kayaking and paddle boarding amongst the most spectacular hidden lagoons in the region. Four Kings dive site comprises four underwater pinnacles covered in soft coral and colourful tunicates. You can swim from one rock to the next, enjoying the soft corals, psychedelic colours and abundant fish life. Be sure to look out for turtles here.
5) Yilliet (No Contest, Dangerous Kayak, Love Potion, Number 9, Pet Rock)
In the early morning, we will take short navigation to dive the Fiabacet area where colourful soft corals and beautiful sea fans smother the reefs. A deep underwater ridge connects the islands of Boo in the East, to Kalig in the West. These include Batu Kecil (also known as Tank Rock), Nudi Rock and Whale Rock.
6) Wagmab (3 Rocks, Goa Farondi)
Located 20 km from Misool Island, this islet of Farondi is a favoured dive site in Raja Ampat due to its unique and distinctive landscape, which consists of tunnels, caverns, boulders and colourful walls.
Goa Besar, situated south of Farondi, consists of superficial shelved gardens of yellow-coloured soft corals, wall tops blanketed with plate corals, leather corals, yellow and purple sea squirts, and rounded hollows filled with coral shrubberies, sponges and red ornamental ghost pipefish. Tunnels in the caves collide with green soft coral trees and sponges and house night-time snapper and sweetlips. Late in the afternoon, after your third dive, we will depart North and set sail for an overnight cruise to Penemu Island, navigation of approximately 12 hours.
Day 7: Penemu
Early in the morning, we will arrive at Penemu's My Reef dive site, where you will enjoy one of the largest populations of fish in the area. In the afternoon, after your third dive, you will take a short boat tour to Penemu and walk up to the famous viewpoint above Penemu's star-shaped lagoons. Here, you will have time to kayak and paddleboard amongst the incredible karst limestone landscape before sunset and dinner onboard.
Day 8: Wofo
We start the day with early navigation to the Wofo Island area, the most northern point of our cruise. Here, in the morning, you will dive at Wofo's Black Forest. The second dive is at Wofo Tembok(a wall dive) and finally Teman Wofo. The evening will be passed on the beach, experiencing one of Calico Jack's famous beach BBQ parties, where the crew will entertain and socialise with you as you relax on our giant bean bags under a pagoda, explore the beach and meet the local hermit crabs.
Day 9: Gam
An early morning's 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: Citrus Ridge, Mayhem and Way Pretty Shallow. In the right conditions, you can expect some of the highest voltage diving in Raja Ampat, with currents bringing massive schools of barracudas, three species of fusiliers, trevallies, batfish, bump head parrotfish, wobbegongs, as well as black and white tip reef sharks.
Day 10: Arborek
After awakening within the mangroves, we will make the short journey to dive at Lalosi. From here, we dive at one of the most reliable Manta ray congregation spots in all of Raja Ampat, the famous cleaning station, Manta Sandy. In the afternoon, we'll make our way to Arborek in Dampier Strait, where 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.
Day 11: Dampier Straight
The final dive will be in the morning at Cape Kri, where you will discover some of the largest concentrations of big fish in Raja Ampat. In the afternoon, we have time to relax on one of Kri's stunning secluded beaches before sailing back to Sorong, where you will arrive later in the evening.
Day 12: Disembarkation in Sorong
After breakfast and the last exchange of photos and memories, the crew and Calico Jack will say our fondest farewells and transport you either to your hotel or airport