Imagine the feeling of excitement and anticipation when you catch a glimpse of Malaillo for the first time. This beautiful wooden vessel rising out of the water that you are about to board is to be your home for the next 13 days. Starting from your departure point in Sorong you will have the rare opportunity to explore the wild beauty of Raja Ampat, Halmahera, and Morotai all in one trip.

There is so much to explore, from untouched reefs, remote islands, and incredible night dives, you are in for a treat as you journey across some of the world’s richest waters.

The Trip at a Glance

Sorong is the gateway to the Raja Ampat archipelago, where you will spend the first 7 days of your journey. This area is a bucket list destination for divers and marine scientists from around the world. On day 7 Malaillo heads north towards Halmahera in North Maluku, exploring Morotai and finally, finishing up in Ternate.

Malaillo is a pleasure to spend time on for those who love life on the sea. The cabins are spacious and offer full-sized bathrooms, and communal areas are designed to enjoy peace or socialise as you choose. The dive deck is organised for the most efficient diving, and you will have the opportunity to dive between 1-4 times a day throughout the trip.

Sorong to the Dampier Straight – The Adventure Begins

Once you have boarded, staff will help you fill out your paperwork and get settled in your cabin. The excitement will build as you cruise out of Sorong towards the Dampier Strait where you will dive Friwin, Cape Kri, and Sawandarek.

On all of these dives you can expect beautiful corals, good numbers of reef fish, and the chance to see sea turtles, black and white tipped reef sharks, and even wobbegong sharks.

Heading East – Mansuar & Gam

Heading to the east to Mansuar and Gam Islands it’s time to look for manta rays. Manta Ridge is a shallow dive where you will hook into the reef at around 10-12 metres and watch the mantas gracefully pass through. Mayhem and Pretty Shallow are next with hard corals and huge bommies. Big eye trevally, schools of bat fish, and wobbegong sharks are common here. Your night dive will also be at Pretty Shallow where you might also see prowling black tip reef sharks, nudibranchs, and pygmy seahorses.

Coral Gardens Galore

Days 4 & 5 are all about the coral. Melissa’s Garden will take your breath away with the best coral gardens on earth just 5-10 metres below the surface. It’s so good you will dive it in the morning and then go back again in the afternoon for more. In between check out Keruo Channel’s black coral bushes and afterwards, there’s a gentle night dive at Galaxy where you’ll need to keep an eye out for the famous Raja Ampat walking shark.

Kawa is your next stop with dives at Eagle Rock, Black Rock, and Eight Figure Rock. Eagle Rock features huge boulders and a beautiful soft coral reef. Look out for fusiliers, surgeon fish, sweet lips, and wobbegongs at Black Rock and then glass fish, and great macro life at Eight Figure Rock. Your night dive is at Wayag Bay where you will be diving the next day as well.

Trekking and Underwater Drama

Day 7 starts with a trek to one of the best viewpoints in Raja Ampat. Back at the boat and geared up, there are still 3 dives starting with Wayag Rock. This can be a challenging dive with strong currents but the Napolean wrasse, bump head parrotfish and macro life make it worth the effort.

Next is Far Out Rock with a dramatic wall, and big boulders creating swim throughs. There is great fish life here including grey reef sharks, black tip reef sharks, and large schools of sweetlips. You will finish the day with another calm dive in Wayag Bay where there are loads of crustaceans to spot.

As Far as You Can Go in Raja Ampat

Sayang Island is on the very north-easternmost side of Raja Ampat. Only visited by liveaboards, Bumphead Reef and Sayan Channel will be your last 2 dives in Raja Ampat. Expect healthy sloping reefs and plenty of bump head parrotfish, turtles, and macro critters on these dives.

It’s a long stretch to Morotai so the afternoon and evening will allow you to relax on the boat, catch up with organizing your photographs, and socialize with your boatmates.

Wake up in Morotai

You have been magically transported in the night to one of the least explored areas of Indonesia. More and more dive sites are being discovered all the time in this area, but it is still barely touched. Starting with Rainbow Ridge, a shallow reed drops down to steep rock and coral reef to sand at around 22 metres. There is amazing fish life here with many schools of fusilier, surgeon fish, black tip reef sharks and rainbow runners. Rainbow Ridge will also be your night dive.

Pulau Kecil, or little island, will be dives 1 and 3 of the day. Hard coral covers the whole reef here supporting large amounts of fusilier, surgeon fish, reef sharks and turtles.

Continuing to dive around beautiful Morotai Island, Womow Reef 1, Womow Reef 2, and Black Tip Point will be the 3 daylight dives of Day 9. These thrilling dives offer loads of reef sharks, tuna, great trevally as well as plenty of smaller reef fish. Finish the day with a gentle night dive with lots of crustaceans at Metita’s House Reef.

Canyons and Wrecks

North of Metita Island is Kolorai Island where there are plenty of dramatic dive sites to explore. Start Day 10 with The Canyon, and continue on to Susi Wreck. This is the wreck of a Japanese WWII ship at between 18-32 metres. There are loads of lionfish here and some unique species like guitar sharks and mobula rays have been spotted around the wreck. Dive 3 and 4 are Kolorai Reef where a sloping reef is teeming with marine life.

Last 2 Jam-Packed Days

Rounding the northern peninsula of North Maluku, Doi Island offers some breathtaking ridges, hard coral gardens, sloping reefs, and underwater caverns. Jackpot is known for its wall of fusilier and surgeon fish, and Wonderwall has an amazing wall covered with soft corals. Dives 3 & 4 are at The Boulder, named after the huge boulder buzzing with marine life you will be diving around. Look out for nurse sharks that sometimes rest here.

Your last day of diving is off the coast of Loloda in the Kahatola Channel and Sidanga Passage. These are both drift dives with lots of interesting topography and loads of marine life.

There is also a waterfall excursion on day 12 so you can stretch your legs and see a bit of the scenery above the water as well. Enjoy your last evening on Malaillo because in the morning you will disembark at Ternate.

Why Choose Malaillo?

Although marine life is the focus of this liveaboard journey with Malaillo, the time with like-minded people, relaxation, and adventure are all part of the package. Diving in Indonesia is always a joy, but this rare opportunity to do so much in one trip takes it to another level.

Malaillo is set up for your every need. Beautiful cabins, excellent dive facilities, professional staff, and the best safety and navigation equipment ensure you can make the best of this very special experience.

For more details about this once-in-a-lifetime adventure on Malaillo Liveaboard, contact our reservations team at info@malailloliveaboard.com.