The Samata

Luxury Liveaboard

Raja Ampat Odyssey

7 days
Day 3: Hornbills, Fishes, Reefs & Walking Sharks

It is almost impossible to put together a daily itinerary due to the magnificent diving and scenery everywhere we go. No trip is the same with so many different sites to visit and explore. If there is somewhere in particular you really have your heart set on please discuss with the Cruise Director who will do their utmost to get you there.
Day 1: The Adventure commences

Dampier Strait, Papua Barat / Raja Ampat, Indonesia Awake at dawn if you like to grab a cup of steaming coffee and sit on the ships bow to enjoy the sound of bird calls. Hornbills, cockatoos, parrots, sea eagles are very active in the morning.
Day 4: Passage Diving - Reef And Rainforest

Kaboi Bay, Papua Barat / Raja Ampat, Indonesia Be sure to arise early to experience the ships slow entry into the maze of rock islands where we anchor for most of today. Your dive site is a narrow channel between two large islands used as a shortcut for local boats and sea gypsies, entire families who live on a raft. Typical depth for a dive is less than 20 feet. The rain forest hangs over the passage creating unusual conditions where red soft corals, yellow cup corals and peach colored sea fans grow almost out of the water. This is the place to see Archerfish hunt insects shooting them down from the trees with water droplets from their specialized mouths. Sun rays through the trees create eerie lighting as we search for odd

Departure from Sorong, Papua. Flights daily from Jakarta or Bali. Check-in on board The Samata. Overnight to the Misool area.
Day 2: We;come to Divers Paradise

Misool area with literally 100s of dives around this magnificent area, we will be in divers paradise with soft corals, gorgonians some of the prettiest corals in the world and the kingdom of the pygmy seahorse. Pinnacles with masses of fish. Blue water mangroves.

The Samata
Luxury Liveaboard

and beautiful nudibranchs (often with their egg ribbons) and watch the unending work of the shrimp gobies. Long nosed butterflyfishes and billions of colorful sea squirts inhabit the shallows. Return to the Dampier Strait for late afternoon and night dives. Overnight cruise.
Day 5: Vertical Muck Diving

Day 7: Nudibranchs, Corals & Crabs

Misool, Papua Barat / Raja Ampat, Indonesia Arriving in the Northeast of Misool our first dive is a wall covered with short soft corals, large sea fans and cup corals. At night the site is covered in brilliant yellow and orange cup corals and so many crabs it is impossible for you guide to show them all to you. In the sunny hours of the day we dive around a group of rock islands and pinnacles. Schooling fishes surround rugged areas covered with pristine soft corals. We may see swimming Wobbegong sharks, black tip sharks and large schools of batfish, surgeonfish, barracuda, fusiliers and snappers here. Short night cruise south.
Day 8 & 9: Colorful Corals & Fishes Photographers Delight

Waigeo, Papua Barat / Raja Ampat, Indonesia We arrive this AM at our dive site for our first open deck day. Dive today as much as you like, when you like! Our dive site is a long stretch of wall along one side of a very deep bay where you will see many small critters and often clouds of silversides near the surface. Things to see here include: mating pygmy cuttlefish, many different species of nudibranchs often including the large solar powered nudie, pipefishes (ghost, robust, winged, banded and more), lionfish, allied cowries in the soft corals, pygmy seahorses, devil scorpionfish, electric clams. Sometimes the group loves it so much we stay two days. Dive all day including a night dive. Short overnight cruise.
Day 6: Manta Rays & Pier Dives

Misool, Papua Barat / Raja Ampat, Indonesia Our dive guides favorite! This area contains multiple dive sites, some so huge we can spend an entire day without covering the same area twice. The reefs have such a diversity of life and color it would be easy to spend many days on just one reef. Sometimes gigantic schools of silversides flow over the reef in tornado shapes while hunting jacks launch themselves into the school to grab a bite. Corals cover the reefs in shades that outdo the rainbow, pink, red, orange, peach, yellow, white, rust colors in soft corals, fans & black corals. Drop down deeper to find schools of larger fish, Napoleon and Maori wrasse, midnight snappers. One of the highlights is a valley of bright pink/red anemones inhabited by 2 species of anemone fishes. Many species of reef fish chase through the shallows while on the edges of the reef you may see eagle rays, mobula rays and sharks. There are also small critters here like the bright red pygmy seahorse with white spots, sawtooth shrimps in the black corals, nudibranchs, lionfishes and ghost pipefish. Tell your guide what you want to see. This is normally an open deck day although we may move the ship during the day when all divers are aboard. Tonight at anchor, probably near our night dive spot.

Papua Barat / Raja Ampat, Indonesia Another of the favorite spots. 3m Mantas is foremost a manta cleaning station. We kneel in the sand and wait for large mantas to circle the rocks where they are cleaned by small wrasse. Mantas circle overhead, often within touching distance. If we dont touch or chase them they may stay around for hours. This site also has many small creatures. Weve photographed Flamboyant Cuttlefish, Pegasus Sea Moths, Skeleton Shrimp, the Pontoi Pygmy Seahorse here. There are always many Spinecheek Anemonefish, shrimp gobies, garden eels and bommies covered with glassfishes as well. After 2 morning dives, move an hour to a pier where soft coral encrusted pier pilings and schools of juvenile batfish make for great scenes of wide angle photos. Crab-eyed gobies, beautifully colored scorpionfish, gardens of giant clams round out todays dive menu. We often make at least part of this day open deck. Overnight long cruise south.

The Samata
Luxury Liveaboard

Day 10: Pristine Corals, Swim Throughs, Pinnacles

Misool, Papua Barat / Raja Ampat, Indonesia Overnight we headed northwest to a group of islands rarely dived. Both the soft and hard corals here are fantastic and you will see as you explore with your guide around underwater pinnacles, rock islands and sandy slopes. At the end of the day we move to repeat one of our favorite night dives where we know well see many nudibranchs and silly decorator crabs and hope to find the walking shark on the reefs top. Overnight cruise north.
Day 11: Mucks Weird Black Sand Critters

After diving rinse gear and it dries while we have lunch and head back toward Sorong. Tonight enjoy the sunset while underway. Dinner on the ship in Sorong Harbor followed by a show and casual photo contest of our guests photos and video.
Day 13: Departure

Sorong, Papua Barat / Raja Ampat, Indonesia Light breakfast, This morning you are shuttled to the airport in time for your departing flight. The crew will take your bags early and handle check in for you. You do not need to spend much time in the hot, smoky Sorong airport.

Batanta, Papua Barat / Raja Ampat, Indonesia What is muck diving? Diving sandy, silty slopes of black sand that are home to many odd creatures. During this open deck day your guide helps you look for Mimic Octopus and the Wonderpus. Typically we find many ghost pipefish, unusual nudibranchs, anemonefish that live in sandy areas, snake eels, tiny cuttlefish, crinoids that house squat lobsters and shrimps, fire urchins which may have Coleman shrimp living upon them, shrimp gobies, upside down jellyfish.. more! At night you may see the incredible Bobbit worms, many crabs & shrimps, night octopus. We never know what to expect at these sites, but it is always amazing. Overnight move just a few hours north.
Day 12: Final Diving Day - Guests Choice

Dampier Strait, Papua Barat / Raja Ampat, Indonesia For our last day of diving we must head back toward Sorong. Today we can dive 2-3 dives in the morning. Guests can choose whether we go back for more time with the manta rays, or finish up with some of the spectacular fishy reef dives in Dampier Strait.