Adelaar Liveaboard

After the airport or hotel pick-up and transfer to Adelaar, the first day is dedicated to getting to know the crew, settling in, and enjoying the first day on the boat while we are sailing toward Raja Ampat. Depending on onboarding time, we may already do a check dive.

This strait between Batanta and Waigeo is the heart of Raja’s central section. During the dives on its seamounts, headlands, and village piers you are likely to meet dense schools of fish, turtles, and various kinds of sharks, including the iconic Wobbegongs - and maybe already cross paths with the first manta ray of your cruise. With a bit of luck, you may even spot one of the many whale species that inhabit this area. Before the night dive, there is a chance to visit one of central Raja Ampat’s friendly villages (3-day dives, 1-night dive).

Still part of the central section, Batanta offers superb diving with a wide diversity of options from macro heavens and mandarin fish sites over drift dives along pristine reefs to manta aggregation spots. It is also a spectacular destination for land-based activities such as treks to waterfalls, birds of paradise, or hornbill nesting areas (3-day dives, 1-night dive)

Daram, one of the many miniature archipelagos off Raja’s southernmost region Misool, keeps divers impressed with coral-studded underwater limestone formations that are bathed in fish. Schooling barracudas, Spanish mackerels, batfish, and trevallies are common. Daram’s sea fan forests are also home to Raja Ampat’s endemic ‘Santa Claus’ pygmy seahorse (3-day dives, 1-night dive).

The ridges, overhangs, and swim-throughs underneath the waves around Pele’s islets are some of the best places to swim in clouds of baitfish and silversides. These huge bait balls of small fish attract predatory fish such as trevallies, tuna, sharks, and squadrons of mobula rays. Pele is also home to some of the largest groupers (4-day dives).

The overwhelming kaleidoscope of colors created by the dense soft and black coral growth around Wagmab makes it hard to notice the equally colorful critters hiding within, such as nudibranchs, frogfish, boxer crabs, blue-ringed octopi, and others. They are also amongst the best sites to find Raja’s endemic walking sharks on night dives. There are several lagoon and cavern systems waiting to be explored by speedboat, and snorkellers can immerse themselves in marine lakes inhabited by stingless jellyfish (2-day dives).

After breakfast, it is time to say goodbye disembark, and – until the next time.