Small Group Dive Trip, Indonesia
Raja Ampat Dive Trips

Why Are These VALUE ADDED Small Group Dive Trips to Indonesia Special?

1. First is the extraordinary diving available in Raja Ampat.

There is such variety this trip can be repeated every year and it is still exciting. There is always something new to see. Now when I dive other places I ask myself "Why am I here when I could be in Raja Ampat?". Read more about Raja Ampat's diving.

2. Perhaps second is the way I run these trips.

Tired of being given arbitrary time or depth limits on my dive trips and being so crowded on the dive boat that the diver next to me spit in MY mask (really), I first began organizing trips for friends so we could book an entire resort or ship and set the rules ourselves. This worked so well, that I began to advertise my trips and invite "strangers" many of whom became friends I see every year, who visit our home when they are passing through Texas and keep in contact with by email regularly.

» *See more on this below

3. Our guest divers

A typical guest on my trips is between 40 and 70 (although some are older and some younger) and an experienced diver with many years and dive certifications to his/her credit. Many are instructors or divemasters. This experience and ability to handle themselves underwater frees up our dive guides to spot critters, model, help photographers and videographers set up shots, etc.

We sometimes do have less experienced divers aboard. They learn a lot quickly by picking up tips and good habits just from being exposed to the more experienced divers and photographers. There is lots of conversation about diving in other areas of the world and Indonesia.

*How I run the trips

Sorong - Sorong Itinerary of 11 to 14 nights. I choose a round trip for the best chance of seeing Raja Ampat dive sites under best conditions. By having a round trip itinerary instead of one way, we have the option to move around Raja Ampat based on conditions of weather, currents and visibility. For example, if the visibility is bad in the north, we can go to the south to dive and then return north later when visibility may have improved. Or, if the direction of the current isn't the best for a site we want to dive, we can skip it now and return to dive it on another day.

With no far away destination to reach by the end of the trip, our options are wide open for moving around to get best conditions, but also for spending extra time at a dive site that is really hot! Quite often our guests are having an extraordinariliy great time on a dive site and want to stay for more dives, or to return. We often can do it on a round trip.

The diving works best if we have only a few divers with each guide. I hire and bring in team of extra Raja Ampat experienced dive guides and a local Papuan guide who has lived and worked in Raja Ampat all his life for each trip.

We have 1 dive guide for every 3 or 4 divers. That's if everyone is diving. Given that some of the divers skip dives and some prefer to "do their own thing" it sometimes happens that there are more guides than are wanted!

... where you will find a pygmy seahorse this wide. Raja Ampat Dive Briefing

For the best trip we always need a Raja Ampat experienced cruise director in charge.

The cruise director I normallly bring in for my trips worked on the ship for several years and is now committed to running his own business in Indonesia.

Being a great CD or dive guide is not something that can be taught to everyone, it is something an individual learns themselves from observing their clients and caring enough to do the things to make them happy. I have been lucky to work with some of the best guides who return year after year to help my guests and I with these trips. So on these trips you will have experienced committed people to assist you, not someone who is in Raja Ampat to check out this diving this season and moves on to Thailand or the Caribbean the next!

I choose the season for my dive trips that is the most likely to have good weather. Every year I can book any dates I want, so I choose based on the dates I believe will give us the best conditions. Read more about the best time to dive Raja Ampat.

Organizing travel to/from Sorong for small groups and individuals multiple times per year since 1999, I've learned the best routes and travel plans so that guests arrive rested and travel with their baggage.

The agents I use in Indonesia are the best! If there are any problems (this is Indonesia, so things do go wrong) they get right in and help sort it out. I'm always checking with them to learn about problems encountered by other travelers so that my guests (and I) can avoid them. While we are out diving they are monitoring for potential problems on our return and taking action when required so that there are no surprises on the return journey.

These trips are not my main business. I organize trips only to the fabulous places I believe are the best in the world where I would dive myself. If I can't find a suitable dive operator to host the trips, I have no need to run them in spite of that fact. I am there with you, in person, often underwater on the trip with you. I don't want bad weather, travel problems, delayed baggage, grouchy people or bad guides to ruin your trip. If they do, I'm there to help solve those problems. However knowing that I will be there gives me a great incentive to prevent problems and insure that nothing goes wrong!

So basically, great diving, people in charge who care that you have a great time, people who care that you get to and from Raja Ampat with the least risk and hassle, and wonderful fellow divers are the reasons these trips are special.

Each year I organize only a few trips and try to base them on comments of the guest divers in the previous years.

If you have any questions about the trip, the travel or the diving be sure to send an email. I'll reply personally and quickly, unless I'm underwater in Raja Ampat!