Trip Reports

Raja Ampat, which translates to The Four Kings in English, is made up four main islands. According to myth, these islands are where four kings ruled after hatching from the eggs of a megapode bird. It is these four islands; Waigeo, Salawate, Batanta, and Misool that make up the worlds largest repository of tropical marine […]

Mermaid1 goes to an extraordinary journey from Raja Ampat all the way to Lembeh Straits with an outstanding Barracuda stopover in Halmahera! Oceanic Manta rays, schools of Jacks and Barracudas showing off right at the first dive! A great start from Dampier Strait. Arrived in Missols with blue skies, no wind and an amazing visibility! […]

It’s that time of the year where amongst all the schooling fishes, it’s quite common to also bump into Santa on one of these dives. This year’s presents are just phenomenal: colorful reefs full of fish down in Misool, several Oceanic Manta Rays are the icing on the “Christmas cake”. Surprised by clear visibility and […]

Light is an important thing as we immerse ourselves in the underwater world. As divers we all know that the deeper we go, the less light we have and the less light we have the less color we see. Even in Raja Ampat, well known for it’s magical coral gardens which beam with an array […]

Diving in Raja Ampat you’ll run into and often surrounded by a number of schooling fish. Fusileers congregate in giant swarms in the blue and can engulf you completely as they uniformly try to escape the jaws of tuna and travelly. Mountains of Sweetlips and rivers of snappers are found in the same spots on […]

Raja Ampat a majestic underwater world where every marine life comes together.The morning lights shining over stunning soft corals, Sea fans moving back and forth with the surge, Out in the blue drifting into big swarms of fish being hunted by large fish. The bliss of Oceanic Manta rays flying over our heads and sharks […]

You never know what you’re going to see in Raja Ampat, either on the surface or below. I’m entering my fourth year year now and still astounded at what I encounter. Certain things are commonplace like schooling fish, mantas, wobbegong sharks, the world’ smallest and cutest seashorses, and of course the most breathtaking underwater scenery. […]

Where to start, where to start, where to start. It’s difficult to write a concise summation of a sixteen day diving trip through the worlds richest oceans where every location holds unbelievable encounters. Do I start with the rich marine life and expansive un touched reefs of the Banda Sea, the close encounters with giant […]