Ratu Laut, Indonesia

Suberb

Great weather. Great conditions. Excellent diversity of dive sites. The huge, dense schools of fish were the highlight for me. I’ve never seen so many fish in one dive

Suggerito a:

Diving. Food. People.

Excellent service and top rate diving with friendly staff.

Macro life was excellent and dive guides had great eye for finding and pointing them out.

Suggerito a:

Everyone on boat was so helpful. Food very good. Dive masters exceptional.

Great "budget" option

Diving in Raja Ampat is spectacular and although I debated liveaboard or homestay, I'm glad I chose liveaboard because of the territory and breadth of dive sites we were able to cover. Every day was like living a Planet Earth movie. The crew and dive leaders were fantastic -- super knowledgeable and with a beaming positivity. For one of the budget options, Ratu Laut offers the essentials to provide a positive dive experience and the expertise to take you to the best spots. For vegetarians and vegans and like myself, the prepared meals were exceptional, healthy, and delicious (hope you like tempeh!). The snacks were pretty low quality, however. When you come back from a dive you are always in the mood for a nosh, and the offerings weren't good if you are health conscious at all (think white bread, peanut butter with additives and palm oil, etc). But easy remedy is just to bring your own snacks if you care about that sort of thing. I would do that next time. Also, don't get too excited about the research aspect of the mission. That's kind of run separately so consider this a regular liveaboard. I was thinking there would be field guides and a small naturalist library of sorts to learn as you go, but it was really up to the individuals to bring that. The island stops we made were enjoyable, and it was nice to see the Barefoot Conservation camp in action one afternoon. Overall, totally recommend as a "budget" option for sure. Not luxurious, but great value for the money if what you care about is diving Raja Ampat with other passionate divers.

Suggerito a:

dive sites, crew, meals

great diving with fun people

The dive locations timing were fantastic. The crew started by getting everyone comfortable in the Indonesian dive environment and with currents, then planned the dives so that each dive got a bit better as the cruise when on. Fantastic experience, friendly staff, and the price couldn't be beat. During our dives, the dive masters were great at pointing out micro flora and fauna that might otherwise be missed, and we regularly ran into sharks, mantas, barracudas, and school upon school of fish at our various dive locations.

Suggerito a:

locations, friendliness, fun

Paradise found: Ratu Laut, the dream making crew

Experiencing Raja Ampat with dive masters who truly love the place is a major highlight. It was apparent that the crew knew what they were doing and the knowledge they passed to us enriched the entire experience. The entire focus of the trip was dive dive dive and we never missed a beat.

Suggerito a:

I would say the location was the best thing and dive sites, but never have I had the pleasure to sail with such an amazing crew who created the experience of a lifetime. Wendy, our leader, put together an action packed week and still managed to keep it chill. The entire time felt like an itinerary tailor made for the small amount of guests onboard. And knowing our money is going towards conservation efforts is a major bonus as well.

Amazing!

beautiful diving, relaxing on the boat

Suggerito a:

marine life, climate, staff