Mermaid I 12D11N

Check-in on board Mermaid I. Start cruising towards the Dampier Strait (South Waigeo), 5 to 6 hours. 40 nautical miles.

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. Cruise overnight to Misool, 90 nautical miles.

Misool is the southernmost 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 Pulau Pisang, 92 nautical miles

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 the Goraici Islands, 50 nautical miles.

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 to Tifore Island, 80 nautical miles.

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. Cruise overnight to Lembeh, 77 nautical miles.

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.

Disembark in the morning for your transfer to the airport or a local resort if staying to continue diving Lembeh.

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