The richest reefs on the planet, jungle topped karst rising from glass clear water, and barely a soul to share it with, Raja Ampat, the far edge of Indonesia and the holy grail of the sea.
To the western tip of New Guinea and Sorong, the rough little port that guards the way to Raja Ampat. An overnight here before the morning boat, you are about as far from anywhere as Indonesia gets, and that is the whole point.
A boat across the Dampier Strait into the 'Four Kings', an archipelago of 1,500 jungle clad islands and the most biodiverse marine area on earth. Settle into an over water eco resort, and a first snorkel on a house reef already busier than most dives anywhere else.
The Piaynemo viewpoint, a boardwalk climb to the picture every Raja Ampat photo is trying to be: a maze of mushroom shaped islets in turquoise lagoons. Snorkel the channels between them, swim in a hidden saltwater pool, drift over staghorn gardens.
Out to the cleaning stations of the Dampier Strait, where reef and giant oceanic manta rays hang in the current to be tended by little fish, gliding past close enough to feel the water move. Coral walls in colours that look invented, turtles, reef sharks below.
Arborek, a tiny stilt village where the jetty itself is one of the best dives in the region, a cathedral of soft coral and schooling fish beneath your feet. A Papuan welcome, woven crafts, and the gentle rhythm of island life above the water.
A longer run to the karst lagoons of the Fam islands (or fabled Wayag, conditions allowing), a kayak between the limestone mushrooms, a climb for the great aerial view, blacktip sharks circling in the shallows below. The day everyone keeps the photos from.
Yours to choose, a dawn jungle trek to watch a red bird of paradise display in the canopy, a dive course, or simply the over water deck and the reef beneath it. One last sunset at the end of the world.
The boat back to Sorong and the long journey home. Raja Ampat is the hardest place in Asia to reach and, once you have seen what is under the surface, the hardest to leave.
Three ways to do the same route: Comfort, Premium or Luxe. Breakfasts in. Mix tiers city by city if you like, it is your trip.
Priced to your dates, your hotel tier and how the two of you like to travel. Ask, the first answer usually lands within minutes.
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