Snorkeling the Reefs of Misool, Raja Ampat!

The Bird's head Peninsula Seascape, Raja Ampat, resides in the heart of the Coral Triangle

Misool is the second largest island in the Raja Ampat archipelago, and easily possesses some of the most stunning tropical scenery, both above and below the waterline, in the world. Hundreds of rugged, jungle-clad limestone islands string from the southeastern region of Misool, remnants of an ancient reef that has since been uplifted, to create a network of shallow bays, intimate island passes, and secluded lagoons.
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As part of the Raja Ampat Bird’s Head Seascape, the turquoise-blue waters around Misool teem with life. Nearly 500 species of corals and over 1500 species of tropical marine fishes can be found in Misool and multiple habitats around each of the picturesque island groups promote the growth of shallow, vibrant, and diverse coral reef communities.
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Our itinerary takes us to the best reefs and scenery that we have found in our nearly 20 years of combined experience snorkeling in the Raja Ampat. Whether we float idyllically above colorful coral gardens or along steep island drop-offs, each day our snorkeling adventures will be set amongst the magnificent backdrop of limestone islands that makes Misool such a special destination to snorkel.

ITINERARY

Our snorkeling tour begins and ends in Jakarta, Indonesia. One round trip, internal flight (Jakarta-Sorong-Jakarta). Upon our arrival in Sorong, we will board our boat and cruise towards Misool. Please note that although we visit many of the islands and island groups in the sample itinerary below, each of our departures is unique and that weather, tides, and opportunities to explore all play a role in the decisions about our daily schedule as well as the overall itinerary.

Day 1: Jakarta / Sheraton Jakarta Soekarno Hatta Airport
Meals provided: D
Meet in Jakarta, Indonesia at our group hotel, Anara Airport Hotel, for the tour orientation and welcome dinner. As is often the case with our internal flight, we will depart for Sorong in the late evening, thus our ‘overnight’ will be in transit to Sorong. Overnight: Sheraton Jakarta.

Day 2: Sorong / Gaia Love
Meals provided: B,L,D
Fly to Sorong and transfer to our live-aboard boat, the Gaia Love. Boat orientation and lunch before we depart for our snorkeling adventure into the islands. While we do not plan to have the chance to snorkel today, if time and weather permits, we will give it our best. Overnight: Gaia Love

Day 3 – 5: Pelee / Wayil / Olobie groups
Meals provided: B,L,D
The rugged limestone island groups to the southwest offer us the chance for big wall snorkeling as the reefs around many of these islands plunge hundreds of feet just a few fin kicks from shore. Colorful sea fans and soft corals adorn the walls while lush, healthy hard coral gardens pack the shallows. In the Olbie groups, snorkeling through huge schools of silversides that hide in the afternoon shade can be a surreal and thrilling experience! Overnight: Gaia Love

Day 6: Boo / Yilliet
Meals provided: B,L,D
Yilliet and Boo give us the chance for some drift snorkeling where we get to see large schools of snapper, barracuda, and trevally as well as schooling planktivores such as fusiliers and pyramid butterflyfishes. Turtles and sharks are common and the healthy reef near shore is a virtual aquarium of tropical marine fishes. Overnight Gaia Love

Day 7 – 10: Wagmab / Lenkafal
Meals provided: B,L,D
The northernmost string of limestone islands create network of quiet bay and narrow island passes that make perfect settings for our snorkeling activities. We’ll spend one day snorkeling a narrow channel where on one side we find a colorful wall of soft corals, tunicates, and variety of nudibranchs, and hard coral garden with mangroves on the other side. This area also boasts extensive shallow reefs, a marine lake, incredible fringing reefs systems around remote islets and the chance to explore a huge cave system by dinghy. Overnight Gaia Love

Day 11: Balbulol
Meals provided: B,L,D
Our last day couldn’t be spent in a more scenic area. Limestone islands erupt from the water with angles twisted by several uplifting events that happened over time. Our snorkeling sites are located nearby in a series of protected bays connected by a shallow channel or a tunnel through the island. The protected bay promote the growth of delicate table corals that grow so large they hang over the sheer vertical walls that define the bay. In the late afternoon, we depart for Sorong. Overnight Gaia Love

Day 12: Sorong / Jakarta / Sheraton Jakarta Soekarno Hatta Airport
Meals provided: B, D
Disembark for our connection to Jakarta. Check in to our group hotel. Farewell dinner at the hotel. Overnight Sheraton Jakarta.

Day 13: International flights or extensions
Meals provided: B

DEPARTURES

Mar 05 – Feb 17, 2024 ←Click to request a booking
Accommodations: Gaia Love
Guides: Lee Goldman
Length: 13 days

Prices and Payment schedule:
$8600 USD per person, double occupancy
$11,600 USD per person, single occupancy

Reservation deposit: $500 USD
September 5, 2023: $4600 USD / $6600 USD (single occ.)
December 5, 2023: $3500 USD / $4500 USD (single occ.)

Back-to-back combination with: Raja Ampat, Feb 22 – Mar 05, 2024

Tour cost includes:

Accommodations throughout tour dates
All meals on days 2 through 12 (dinner on day 1 – breakfast on day 13)
All internal transfers including international arrival and departure transfers
Non-alcoholic beverages
All snorkeling and park fees
All gratuities

Tour cost does not include:

Round-trip international airfare
Additional hotel accommodations and meals as a result of travel outside of the program dates
Visa requirements including payments
Alcoholic beverages
International departure taxes
Extra / overweight baggage fees
Trip insurance (recommended; (we recommend Travel Guard, World Nomads, or Travel Insure)
DAN insurance (required unless personal insurance program has worldwide emergency evacuation services)
Additional accommodations while on tour in the event of flight schedule changes or events of force majeure
Fuel surcharges (if applicable)

Cancellation policy:
180 – 91 days prior to departure: 50% of trip cost
90 days or less prior to departure: 100% of tour cost

Please see our Terms and Conditions

ACCOMMODATIONS

We use the finest live-aboard boat in Indonesia to host us on our snorkeling adventures in Misool, Raja Ampat, the M/V Gaia Love. In Jakarta, we stay at the Anara Airport Hotel in Terminal 3 of Soekarno–Hatta International Airport. Please visit our accommodations page for more photos or use the link to visit the live-aboard/resort website.

GAIA LOVE

The Gaia Love is a modern 40-meter steel hull vessel build from the ground up in Batam, Indonesia. Designed with a modern contemporary look and with an emphasis on diving in comfort, she accommodates up to 20 guests in ten spacious ensuite rooms: six on the upper deck and four on the lower deck. Each room is 20 square meters and has individual air-conditioning and ensuite bathrooms with hot water. Upper deck rooms feature an additional private outdoor balcony. Gaia Love has a total of four decks (lower, main, upper and top/sundeck). The lounge, restaurant, and camera room are located on the main deck. Adjacent to the lounge is the seating area for plated meals. At the rear is an over-sized dive deck that can accommodate up to 28 divers. The partially shaded sundeck is perfect for evening gatherings and relaxation under the stars. More photos

WHAT TO EXPECT

Misool sits at about 2 degrees south of the Equator. As an equatorial island archipelago, weather year round is hot and humid, with nearly daily rain showers occurring in the early morning or late afternoon. Daytime temperatures hover around 86º F (30º C) and do not fall much at night. Water temperatures average around 82º F (28º C), though cooler temperatures may occur if persistent rains cause a thin layer of cool freshwater on the surface. Currents around Misool are generally light but may be strong at specific sites. While we plan our snorkel session around the slack tides, we also have several sites where having water movement is an advantage. These drift snorkels allow us to cover large tracks of reef without having to swim too hard. Our snorkel sessions are 100% boat supported and two dinghies will be there at all times to assist anyone for whatever reason.

Most of the islands are steep and rugged with small pocket beaches. While we won't have many opportunities to walk on the islands, there may be chances for a beach walk or two. We will have several scenic dinghy tours scheduled during our time in Misool.

Please read more about our daily schedule.

WHAT TO BRING

The following list is a suggestion of things to bring and applies to almost all our trips. Specific items on a particular departure will be noted on the departure information.

-A good fitting mask, snorkel, and set of fins. If your equipment is brand new, please try it out in the pool. Determining the fit and function of your equipment in the pool includes doing several laps with all your equipment on. Doing several snorkel dives is also very beneficial. It is also important to clean your new equipment, especially your mask. Cleaning procedures for your mask include light scrubbing with toothpaste or dishwasher soap to remove the layer of silicon used to preserve the mask during shipping. Clean both sides of the mask. Doing this greatly reduces the chances of having your mask fog. Not doing this, even when using mask de-fogger, usually results in a fogged mask.

-A wetsuit, rash guard, diveskin, or any type of clothing that can be used for thermal and/or protection from the sun. We suggest bringing a full 3mm wetsuit and some type of core insulation like a vest or shirt made of 1 – 2 mm neoprene (e.g., Lavacore or Sharkskin shirts or vests). These items will not only provide thermal protection but protection from the sun as well. For those who feel that a 3mm suit may be too warm, please consider a full body skin or rash guard to ensure protection from the sun. With regards to thermal protection, remember the saying: It is better to have and not need, than to need and not have. One that note…

-Head protection in the form of a wetsuit hood, a cap, or even a bandana. Anything that can keep the sun off your head is extremely important. It is the most exposed part of our bodies when we are floating on the surface.

-Underwater flashlight on departures with a planned night snorkel

-Biodegradable sunscreen lotion. Sunscreen lotions can be harmful and even kill tiny larvae (baby marine life). It is fine to wear on land, but we highly discourage the use of sunscreen lotions in the water. A full wetsuit or dive skin will protect one from the sun much better than lotions and provide thermal protection. It is truly a win-win for everyone and the marine environment.

-Casual, lightweight, tropical clothing
-Sunglasses (and a spare in case you lose your main pair)
-Comfortable footwear such as active sandals (Teva, Keen, Merrell, etc.)
-Hats. We cannot stress the importance of a hat in the tropics!
-All our boats provide items like shampoo, soap, towels, etc. We bring this up because these items represent added weight or may leak.

Other items to consider:
-Lightweight rainwear to protect from the occasional afternoon shower
-Binoculars

TRIP REPORTS