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Dive Review of Misool Eco Resort in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat

Misool Eco Resort: "Phenomenal Diving", Mar, 2018,

by Henry Zenzie, MA, US (Reviewer Reviewer 3 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 10772 has 4 Helpful votes.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 5 stars
Snorkeling 5 stars
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments My wife and I visited Misool in March 2018 and stayed in a water cottage on the lagoon for 12 nights. The resort is located in the private 300,000 acre Misool Marine Reserve, and there are 60+ dive sites within the Reserve. The Reserve is patrolled by 15 local rangers; strict enforcement of the Reserve rules is clearly working, as evidenced by the 250% increase in biomass over the last 6 years.

The resort is very well run and the staff is extremely friendly and helpful. They have excellent plumbing and plenty of hot water for showers. Electricity is consistent: it would only go off for a few seconds twice a day as they swapped generators. Food was excellent, varied, and plentiful. The water cottage was nicely appointed and the bed was very comfortable. As they disclose on their website, they have slow and intermittent internet, but, with patience, you will be able to send and receive e-mail. They have a good handle on mosquito management. It’s not an issue during the day. While you are at dinner, the staff closes up your room and arranges the netting around your bed, so the only potential issue is dinner time. I didn't use bug spray at all, but my wife did.

You get a ton of personal attention from the dive staff. There were 8 divers and two dive guides assigned to each boat. On our boat, two couples were assigned to one dive guide and two couples assigned to the other. On occasion, there were only the two of us on the boat! Maximum dive time was 60 minutes with depths in the 30-90 foot range. They offer 3 guided boat dives per day as well as either a dusk or a night dive.

The snorkeling and diving was amazing- the reef colors are psychedelic! We saw numerous species of both hard and soft corals in a plethora of different colors. We saw lots of big fish: humphead parrotfish, giant sweetlips, giant grouper, large schools of jacks, napoleon wrasse, leopard shark (uncommon here: we were lucky to see one on a night dive), blacktip sharks, and grey reef sharks. We saw mantas, turtles, 2 banded coral shrimp performing dental work on a moray eel, epaulette sharks (3!), and a pair of courting octopuses. There were lots of remarkable macro critters as well: mantis shrimp, pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs, and orangutan crabs. I went snorkeling in the lagoon right off our water cottage and saw an amazing array of animals: sea anemones with clownfish, blacktip sharks, turtles, napoleon wrasse, grouper, clams, humphead parrotfish, and numerous smaller tropical fish. The only place I have been with comparable near-shore reefs was Sipadan back in 1991!

On most days, they have a trip or event you can participate in to keep things varied. We didn’t do much of this, since the diving and snorkeling were so extraordinary, but people who did seemed to enjoy them. They have interesting talks scheduled every few nights, so you can better understand their mission and history. These were interesting and informative.

If you decide to go, here are a few tips:
1) Get your nitrox certification: almost all the divers used nitrox 32.
2) Bring a magnifying glass to see the pygmy seahorses and other small critters.
3) The ocean currents can be tricky, but stick close to your guide and you will be fine.
4) Stay as long as you can- we still weren’t ready to leave after 12 nights.
5) Bring mostly scuba, snorkeling, and underwater photography gear- most of the day, we wore a rash guard and swimsuit except during meals when we wore casual beach wear.
6) Make sure to do at least 1 night dive.

We are planning to go back to Misool in 2020!
Websites Misool Eco Resort   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Palau, Yap, Bali, Sipadan, Florida, Little Cayman, Bimini, Jamaica, Bonaire, New England, Roatan
Closest Airport Sorong Getting There Boston to Hong Kong to Jakarta to Makassar to Sorong. Boat ride from Sorong to Misool.

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas calm, currents
Water Temp 82-86°F / 28-30°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 40-80 Ft/ 12-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 60 minute bottom time
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas 1 or 2
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 5 stars
Large Pelagics 5 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 5 stars Shore Facilities 5 stars
UW Photo Comments Camera storage area in the dive center was well-lit and spacious. No dedicated camera storage on the boat. Buy the best underwater camera you can afford before you go!
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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