Dive in Raja Ampat

“As I looked up, an Oceanic Manta (Manta Birostis) was silhouetted with fish surrounding it. I thought that was the highlight, wow! That is until we saw the Manta slowly circling a coral pinnacle cleaning station. Around and around it glided effortlessly getting closer and closer to us. We watched in awe for around 30 minutes, we saw its eyes looking at us and its unique underbelly pattern. Even at our safety stop it continued to circle beneath us and we were able to see the markings on its back. At the end of the dive, I was literally exhausted from permanent excitement. This site blew my mind, possibly the best dive ever and I will say, this (for me) was the most perfect dive site in Raja Ampat.”

“This dive site is a strong contender for the world’s best dive site (in my opinion) rivalling that of Sipadan, Komodo or Sangalaki. Every type of coral imaginable was to be seen, hard, soft, huge gorgonian fans, tables carpeted vast areas of the ocean floor and pristine coral structures rose up high. If you want to see an underwater botanical garden, then come to Melissa’s Garden and yes, the coral structures here were actually better than Mike’s Point which I didn’t think was possible!”

“Raja Ampat has, for me, is the best diving liveaboard itinerary you can do anywhere. Other places are definitely worth seeing for how they are different, but Raja is the king. The diving is diverse, so rich in both biodiversity and biomass and blends beautiful reefs with plentiful big animal encounters and excellent macro. You can never do it all, so every trip there is different – brilliant in different ways – and always leaves you wanting to come back.”