Lembeh - Halmahera - Raja Ampat - Mermaid Liveaboards

Lembeh – Halmahera – Raja Ampat with

MV Mermaid I

12 days / 11 nights33 Dives

MV Mermaid II

12 days / 11 nights33 Dives

Day

Itinerary with MV Mermaid I Lembeh – Halmahera – Raja Ampat

Dives

Day 1

Check-in on board Mermaid I. Once all guests are on board a safety briefing will be given. If all the guests are on board by 12.00 hours, you have the chance to do two extra dives at Lembeh Strait in some fabulous muck dives with critters galore.

Dives

Day 2

Lembeh Strait – some of the best muck diving in Indonesia! Black sand environment full of critters. Frogfish, all kinds of octopi, spiny devilfish, nudibranchs galore and so much more. Cruise overnight to Tifore, 77 nautical miles.

Dives

Day 3

Pulau Tifore is a small island between Halmahera and Lembeh with a submerged reef about half a mile from the island. The main attraction here is definitely the barracudas – hundreds and hundreds have made this their home for years. Really amazing especially if you can get inside the swirling vortex of the barracudas.

After this exhilarating day, Mermaid I will cruise overnight to Goraici Islands, 80 nautical miles.

Dives

Day 4

The Goraici Islands are located on the west coast of Halmahera. They have beautiful white sandy beaches with small villages, amazing reefs and pinnacles. Colourful soft coral in the deeper parts and hard coral gardens in the shallows. The local village jetties are a great place for critter filled night dives.Cruise overnight to the Strait of Patintie, 50 nautical miles.

Dives

Day 5-6

You will spend the next two days in the south of Halmahera. Here, two large pinnacles break the surface and are excellent dive sites due to the amount of schooling fish as well as the healthy state of the soft corals. Blacktips, whitetips, turtles and Napoleon wrasse are some of the highlights. Strong currents here will dictate when you will dive.

Other sites offer great opportunities as well. Procco Channel, Procco Island and Procco Pinnacle. After these exhilarating 2 days, Mermaid I will cruise overnight to Pisang Islands, 100 nautical miles.

Dives

Day 7

These are a set of two islands and two small rocks between Misool and Halmahera. You will spend the whole day here. The diving is pretty, with sloping reefs full of soft corals in the deeper areas and hard corals bommies in the shallows. When the currents are running, the dive sites can be very fishy, with schooling bumphead parrotfish, zillions of blue triggerfish and dogtooth tunas passing by. Cruise overnight to Misool, 92 nautical miles.

Dives

Day 8-9

Misool is the most southern island in Raja Ampat and it is surrounded by several hundred small islands and rocks. Some of the most beautiful soft coral reefs in the world are located in Misool. It is impossible to describe only several dive sites since there are literally hundreds of them. Every year new dive sites are discovered around Misool.

Many of the dive sites around Misool are just as fishy as the ones in the Dampier Strait, with some schools of barracudas, batfish, pinjalo snappers and zillions of fusiliers. But Misool is also a great macro destination. Known as the kingdom of the pygmy seahorse, you can also find allied cowries and plenty of nudibranchs here.

Best known diving areas around Misool include Wagma, Farondi, Balbulol, Sagof, Daram, Yellit, Boo, Warakaraket, Fiabacet, Kalig, Wayilbatan, Wayil and Pele. Cruise overnight to the dampier Strait, 90 nautical miles.

Dives

Day 10

Dampier Strait is located between Waigeo and the Bird’s Head Peninsula. Along with Misool, it is the most famous area for diving in Raja Ampat.

All of the dive sites around the Dampier Strait are known for a huge amount of schooling fish - barracudas, schools of bigeye trevallies, oceanic triggerfish, spadefish, surgeonfish and snappers. Besides the schooling fish, it is also an area where you get to see black and whitetip reef sharks and wobbegong sharks.

Some of the best manta dives are also located in the Dampier Strait. Blue Magic is a small pinnacle where the giant mantas congregate and get cleaned as well.

Some of the best mangrove dives are also located in the Dampier Strait, around the islands of Yanggefo and Gam.

And of course, one cannot forget the dive sites at some of the jetties in front of local villages, where the pillars are covered in soft corals and are home to a plethora of small critters.

Other fantastic dive sites in this area include Cape Kri, Sardine Reef, Chicken Reef, Mioskon, Mike’s Point, Mangrove Ridge and Citrus Ridge.

Dives

Day 11

The last two dives of your cruise will be done in Dampier Strait area. Where big schools of fish and glorious corals are simply amazing! After the second dive MV Mermaid I must go back to Sorong. The crew will take care of rinsing your equipment and there’s time to pack during this 4-5 hour run, 40 nautical miles.

Dives

Day 12

After breakfast, Mermaid I staff will transfer you to the airport.

This is a sample itinerary and is subject to changes beyond the operator’s control. The exact itinerary, route and amount of dives for your cruise may be adapted to best suit the weather conditions, tides and currents, season and other prevailing events.

Dives

Total Dives: 33

See Itinerary With MV Mermaid II See Reverse Itinerary With MV Mermaid I Download PDF

Day

Itinerary with MV Mermaid II Lembeh – Halmahera – Raja Ampat

Dives

Day 1

Check-in on board Mermaid II. Once all guests are on board a safety briefing will be given. If all the guests are on board by 12.00 hours, you have the chance to do two extra dives at Lembeh Strait in some fabulous muck dives with critters galore.

Dives

Day 2

Dives

Day 3

Pulau Tifore is a small island between Halmahera and Lembeh with a submerged reef about half a mile from the island. The main attraction here is definetely the barracudas - hundreds and hundreds have made this their home for years. Really amazing especially if you can get inside the swirling vortex of the barracudas. After this exhilarating day, Mermaid II will cruise overnight to Goraici Islands, 80 nautical miles.

Dives

Day 4

Dives

Day 5-6

You will spend the next two days in the south of Halmahera. Here, two large pinnacles break the surface and are excellent dive sites due to the amount of schooling fish as well as the healthy state of the soft corals. Blacktips, whitetips, turtles and Napoleon wrasse are some of the highlights. Strong currents here will dictate when you will dive. Other sites offer great opportunities as well. Procco Channel, Procco Island and Procco Pinnacle. After these exhilarating 2 days, Mermaid I will cruise overnight to Pisang Islands, 100 nautical miles.

Dives

Day 7

Dives

Day 8-9

Misool is the most southern island in Raja Ampat and it is surrounded by several hundred small islands and rocks. Some of the most beautiful soft coral reefs in the world are located in Misool. It is impossible to describe only several dive sites since there are literally hundreds of them. Every year new dive sites are discovered around Misool. Many of the dive sites around Misool are just as fishy as the ones in the Dampier Strait, with some schools of barracudas, batfish, pinjalo snappers and zillions of fusiliers. But Misool is also a great macro destination. Known as the kingdom of the pygmy seahorse, you can also find allied cowries and plenty of nudibranchs here. Best known diving areas around Misool include Wagma, Farondi, Balbulol, Sagof, Daram, Yellit, Boo, Warakaraket, Fiabacet, Kalig, Wayilbatan, Wayil and Pele. Cruise overnight to the dampier Strait, 90 nautical miles.

Dives

Day 10

Dampier Strait is located between Waigeo and the Bird’s Head Peninsula. Along with Misool, it is the most famous area for diving in Raja Ampat. All of the dive sites around the Dampier Strait are known for a huge amount of schooling fish - barracudas, schools of bigeye trevallies, oceanic triggerfish, spadefish, surgeonfish and snappers. Besides the schooling fish, it is also an area where you get to see black and whitetip reef sharks and wobbegong sharks. Some of the best manta dives are also located in the Dampier Strait. Blue Magic is a small pinnacle where the giant mantas congregate and get cleaned as well. Some of the best mangrove dives are also located in the Dampier Strait, around the islands of Yanggefo and Gam. And of course, one cannot forget the dive sites at some of the jetties in front of local villages, where the pillars are covered in soft corals and are home to a plethora of small critters. Other fantastic dive sites in this area include Cape Kri, Sardine Reef, Chicken Reef, Mioskon, Mike’s Point, Mangrove Ridge and Citrus Ridge.

Dives

Day 11

Dives

Day 12

After breakfast, Mermaid I staff will transfer you to the airport.

Dives

Total Dives: 33

See Itinerary With MV Mermaid I See Reverse Itinerary With MV Mermaid I Download PDF

Departure Port

Bitung

Arrival Port

Sorong

Free Transfers

Transfers are included on departure days from Manado Airport (MDC) and city hotels and arrival days to Sorong Airport (SOQ) and city hotels. The free transfers will ensure hassle free transport to and from Mermaid I.

Convenient Departure Location

We depart out of Bitung Harbour – which is conveniently located in the Lembeh Strait, a 30-minute ride from Manado (MDC) airport via highway. Check-in time in Lembeh is between 10.00 a.m. to 16.00. Mermaid Liveaboards will arrange car transfers from Manado Airport and city hotels to Lembeh.

Arrivals

We depart out of Sorong Harbour – conveniently located in Sorong's main town, a quick 15-minute ride from the airport. Sorong Airport (SOQ) can be reached with a direct flight from Jakarta (CGK), Manado (MDC) or Makassar (UPG). Check-in time in Sorong is between 07.00 am - 14.00 to accommodate different flights' arrival times.

First class luxury liveaboard at affordable prices

We offer exceptional value when compared to other boats operating in the region in both price and in comfort.

Park and Port Fees

2024 cruises

EUR 225
2025 and 2026

EUR 275

Airlines Recommendation

Below are the airlines that fly to this destination. Should you wish to have a streamlined travel experience for your trip, we will be happy to arrange your flight, please inform us when making an inquiry through our inquiry form.

Garuda Indonesia is the national airline of Indonesia. Named after the holy bird Garuda of Hinduism from the national emblem of Indonesia. Garuda flies to most of our ports of embarkation and disembarkation. At the time of writing they offer an extra 23kg baggage allowance for sports gear, including scuba diving equipment.
Batik Air is a full-service airline which began operations in May 2013. This airline is part of the Lion Air group. Batik Air flies to many of Mermaid’s destinations. They offer some convenient options such as direct flights from Jakarta to Sorong, for our Raja Ampat cruises, or to Ambon to join some of our most exciting cruises.

Lion Air is an Indonesian low-cost airline and is the second largest low-cost airline in Southeast Asia after AirAsia and the largest airline of Indonesia. The airline operates domestic as well as international routes, which connects different destinations of Indonesia. Wings Air is part of Lion Air and flies to the more remote destinations. Batik Air is also part of the Lion Air group. Between all these airlines, Lion, Wings and Batik can fly you to any of the area where we operate.
Sriwijaya Air is an Indonesian airline based in Jakarta. Garuda Indonesia group recently took over the operation of Sriwijaya Air. This airline is the country’s third largest carrier and offers flights to various Indonesian destinations and a few international destinations. Sriwijaya also offer convenient direct flights from Jakarta to Sorong for our Raja Ampat cruises.

Date	Trip Code	Itinerary	Master	Single	Deluxe	Lower Deck	Status
20 Feb 2025	MMI 05/25LR	Lembeh – Halmahera – Raja Ampat Duration: 12D 11N Return: 03 Mar 2025 Mermaid I Trip Details	€ 6,200	€ 6,700	€ 5,700	€ 5,000	Book Now
08 Mar 2025	MMII 08/25LR	Lembeh – Halmahera – Raja Ampat Duration: 12D 11N Return: 19 Mar 2025 Mermaid II Trip Details	-	-	€ 5,500	€ 4,700	Book Now
28 Feb 2026	MMI 06/26LR	Lembeh – Halmahera – Raja Ampat Duration: 12D 11N Return: 11 Mar 2026 Mermaid I Trip Details	€ 6,200	€ 6,700	€ 5,700	€ 5,000	Book Now
02 Mar 2026	MMII 06/26LR	Lembeh – Halmahera – Raja Ampat Duration: 12D 11N Return: 13 Mar 2026 Mermaid II Trip Details	-	-	€ 5,500	€ 4,700	Book Now
26 Feb 2027	MMII 06/27LR	Lembeh – Halmahera – Raja Ampat Duration: 14D 13N Return: 11 Mar 2027 Mermaid II Trip Details	-	-	€ 5,800	€ 5,000	Book Now