Dive Review of Dewi Nusantara in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat

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Dewi Nusantara: "Raja Ampat on Dewi Nusantara: Second Time a Charm", Dec, 2018, by Michael Wood, WA, US ( Sr. Contributor 21 reports with 14 Helpful votes). Report 10824.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was my second Raja Ampat trip on the Dewi, third trip overall (one to Komodo, which they’ve discontinued because of crowded dive sites) and it was even better than my Raja trip 4 years ago, in several ways. Recently rated the best live aboard by the readers of Dive Magazine, this spacious and comfortable American Schooner designed & built in Indonesia of ironwood, lived up to its reputation once again. Led by expert cruise director Wendy, the trip was near perfect in every way. I organized a group and chartered the whole boat nearly 2 years in advance. Half of us had been on the boat together on our sailing in 2015, so it was a nice reunion of dive buddies. Getting to Sorong, Indonesia is a loooong trip, from nearly anywhere except SE Asia. Build in an extra day going to take a break. Coming back, it’s probably ok to have 4 hours connecting time in Jakarta or Bali. The crew made it easy and convenient to transfer from our 3 day land pre-trip at Papua Paradise (separate review). You do have to kill several hours in a Sorong hotel after landing from Bali or Jakarta, and on the way back as well. The service was superb. Food very good, varied and customized for specific diets like vegetarian & low carb. Cabins & bathrooms large, plenty of storage space. The diving, of course, is like nowhere else on the planet—huge swirling schools of a variety of species; eye-popping soft & hard coral; macro subjects; the best manta dive that the Dewi had in 5 years we had at Blue Magic—the flurry lasted 40 minutes, with the giant mantas nearly rubbing up against our masks. Plentiful sharks, eagle rays, mobulas & sting rays were on many dives. The only real criticism I have was that one of the long-time guides was burned out and his guiding showed it. He went too fast, pointed out little and didn’t go out of his way to give divers what they asked for. The Dewi is expensive—more than any other dive boat in Raja Ampat—but worth it, if you can spare the extra cash. Large camera room, spacious common areas, flexible dive schedule, great food, expert dive site selection. $30 massages available, a glass of wine per dinner (more available for a charge), unlimited beer, soft drinks & custom espresso drinks. They help older, partially disabled divers very safely & competently. I’ll be back on the Dewi again someday, in Raja for sure and probably one of their other itineraries.
Websites	Dewi Nusantara
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Caribbean, Indonesia, Maldives, PNG, GBR, Philippines, Hawai'i
Closest Airport	Sorong	Getting There	It's a long trip, stop in Jakarta or Bali needed; overnight into Sorong from either gateway.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	83-85°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Dives were about 60 minutes, pretty rigidly, to allow for 4 dives per day.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Crew handled cameras carefully. Spacious camera room. Cameras kept in back of dive boats under towels for short boat rides to dive sites. Spectacular photo ops for wide angle and macro, but know there is quite a bit of plankton in the water, which draws the fish & pelagics. It's a trade-off, of course.

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Dive Review of Dewi Nusantara in Indonesia/Raja Ampat

Dewi Nusantara: "Raja Ampat on Dewi Nusantara: Second Time a Charm", Dec, 2018,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Dewi Nusantara in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat