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Raja Ampat: A Travel Guide To Indonesia’s Secret Paradise

This Raja Ampat travel guide will help you plan your trip, showing you how to get there, the best activities on offer and plenty more tips to make your adventure stress free!

Raja Ampat in Indonesia is home to some of the most beautiful islands on the planet. There’s spectacular snorkelling and diving, and some of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet. Isn’t it time you explored this secret corner of paradise?

Raja Ampat isn’t like anywhere else on the planet. Well, not that I’ve been to yet anyway. It’s raw, rugged and the closest thing to paradise that I’ve found.

Above the ground exotic birds call to each other, gigantic colourful butterflies flutter by, and hermit crabs dance along the sand.

Below sea level majestic lion fish prowl through the waters past tropical fish, purple pufferfish, turtles, dolphins and sharks.

These Indonesian waters are the most biodiverse in the world, and if you pop your head under for a moment you’ll be amazed at what you find.

Along with stunning landscapes, incredible snorkelling, diving and endless sunshine, there’s a heart and soul to this region of Indonesia. The people. The people with smiles on their faces. People who have no doubt been through some serious hardships given the tricky political situation in West Papua.

But they were open, welcoming, and made our experience extra special.

So forget Bali and the Gili Islands, let’s go on an adventure to Indonesia’s secret paradise… Raja Ampat. 

Planning your trip to Raja Ampat? Here are a few quick highlights:

Where Is Raja Ampat?

Raja Ampat is an archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands located off the coast of West Papua, north-east of Java and Bali. Click around this Raja Ampat map to get your bearings!

How To Travel To Raja Ampat? 

The journey isn’t simple, so you do have to work for your paradise adventure! While I can’t guarantee this Raja Ampat travel blog will be 100% up to date with information for the area in the archipelago that you’re trying to reach, hopefully it will give you some pointers.

• From Jakarta, fly to Sorong (4 hour 5 mins). Some flights will go via Makassar.
• From Sorong, take a taxi to the harbour (15 mins).
• Once at the harbour take the Bahari Express ferry to Waisai, which is located on the island of Waigeo. The express ferry takes 2 hours.
• From there you’ll need to arrange a taxi boat with your Raja Ampat accommodation. Most home stays and hotels will organise your transfers.

Things To Do In Raja Ampat

Diving and snorkelling in raja ampat.

The diving and snorkelling in Raja Ampat is said to be among the best in the world with over 1,400 species of fish enjoying its reef. It’s often top of peoples scuba bucket lists ! 

While staying at Raja Ampat Dive Lodge  I snorkelled from the end of the pier and saw a plethora of tropical fish including angelfish, needlefish, several lionfish, batfish, and even a purple pufferfish. In the evenings we spotted walking sharks close to the shore. The coral was beautiful too.

Also in the incredibly diverse waters are bluefin jacks, manta rays, grey reef sharks, blacktips and whitetips along with the elusive wobbegong – a type of shark that’s only found in this region. The Raja Ampat diving is truly off the scale!

After a long day in the water, there’s no better way to unwind than by watching one of Raja Ampat’s incredible sunsets.

Visiting Islands In Raja Ampat

A visit to Arborek really is a must! The island is open to tourism with kids greeting visitors with traditional dances and a tour of the village. It’s a tiny place with around 200 residents, a school, church, a few home stays and basic stores.

It’s a picture-perfect paradise island with no cars, a few colourful boats, and bright yellow and blue fencing. I fell a little bit in love! People have asked me “is Raja Ampat safe?” While I would never say anywhere in the world is 100% safe, people live a quiet life on these islands and there’s very little to stress about. I definitely felt safe during my trip. It’s hard to know how I would have felt if I’d been a solo female traveller in Raja Ampat. 

Visit Piaynemo – Stunning Small Islands In Raja Ampat

When you’re planning your Raja Ampat itinerary, you just have to visit Piaynemo. This is the most famous view of the archiplago. I’d seen photos before visiting and assumed they must have been photoshopped… but no. It really was as magical as I’d hoped! From our hotel it was around 30 minutes by boat, then a hot and sweaty trek up to the viewpoint.

We couldn’t wait to dive into the greeny-turquoise water after to cool down!

This really was a highlight of my time in Raja Ampat.

Kayaking In Raja Ampat

Many hotels have kayaks you can rent out. It’s a great wait to cruise along the coastline of the islands, but be wary of strong currents.

Where To Stay In Raja Ampat

I stayed at Raja Ampat Dive Lodge which was wonderful! The small wooden bungalows on the beachfront were cute, cosy and located seconds from the sand. The restaurant served a decent buffet breakfast and even cooked up a BBQ one evening! There was AC, wifi (although slow, come on, you’re in paradise!) and snorkel gear and kayaks for rent.

When To Visit Raja Ampat

The best time to visit Raja Ampat is between October and April, with the best conditions towards the end of the year. It’s pretty much bang on the equator with average highs of 31 Celsius and lows of 25. June and July are the wettest months, but in tropical paradise you get used to seeing storm clouds most days. Thankfully they pass pretty quickly!

How Much Does It Cost To Visit Raja Ampat?  

Prices will vary, but here’s a rough guide:

• Return flights from Jakarta to Sorong: £200. Taxi from Sorong Airport to Sorong Harbour: IDR 100,000 (£6.20)
• Raja Ampat visitor permit fee for international visitors: IDR 1,000,000 (£62.64).
• Express ferry tickets: IDR 130,000 (£8.14) for economy class or IDR 220,000 (£13.78) for a VIP ticket.
• Total travel costs (excluding food & extra activities): £282.62 ($353 USD or IDR 4,622,228)

F.Y.I. One night at Raja Ampat Dive Lodge on Mansuar Island costs £239 for a double room. They offer plenty of packages which include dives. Find out more here .

Useful Information For Visiting Raja Ampat

As the islands are pretty cut off, it’s important to organise currency before you take the trip. Some hotels will accept credit cards but it’s not something to rely on.

Cover up. It’s important to show respect when visiting villages and you’ll see signs reminding you not to wander around in bikinis.

I read that Sunday is considered family day for a lot of people (for religious reasons) so avoid this for travelling or taking part in activities.  

Remember, Raja Ampat isn’t a tourist destination like Bali, so expect the experience to be a little more rough and ready! It’s all part of the adventure…

I hope this Raja Ampat blog helps you plan your trip. Huge thanks to the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism for inviting me on the #TripOfWonders as part of their #WonderfulIndonesia campaign. As always, opinions are my own! 

Looking for other places to visit in Indonesia? Check out my Bali travel blogs , which are packed full of information, hotel recommendations, tips for things to do and plenty more advice for your trip.. 

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Chloe Gunning

With a passion for food, fun and adventure, Chloe is the content creator behind one of the UK's top travel blogs Wanderlust Chloe. From volcano boarding in Nicaragua, to sailing around Sicily and eating her way around Japan, her travels have taken her to some of the coolest spots on the planet. Named Travel Influencer of the Year in 2022, Chloe regularly works with a number of tourism boards, producing inspirational travel content across multiple platforms. Find out more about Chloe here.

18 thoughts on “Raja Ampat: A Travel Guide To Indonesia’s Secret Paradise”

Chloe! Love your story! Thanks for sharing. I really love this area of the world.

Thanks Victor – it really was a magical part of the world to visit 🙂

Oh my god, it really does look like paradise! I wish I had known about it before my Indonesia trip earlier in the year! Looks like you had a blast x

It looks like you had an amazing trip too but yes, Raja Ampat really was incredible! I’d love to see how it develops over time. Fingers crossed it’ll stay reasonably untouched. So stunning!

you should visit spot called balbulol and dafalen when in raja ampat. also there is jellyfish lake, on some of the island there is human bone up there.. and also there is weird unique small rock formation idk the name of the spot tho.

Thanks for the tips! I’d love to return but sadly I think it’s many years off! Such a magical part of the world.

any idea where we can rent sea kayaks to explore on our own. thanks

Hi Shaun, most hotels will have them available for rent. They had them at our hotel – Raja Ampat Dive Lodge. Thanks

Hello! We are hoping to make this trip later this year, any must-see’s? Did you need any vaccinations? Also do we need to know any of the language or do the locals mostly speak English?

Hi Millie! Lovely to hear from you! I got my rabies boosters done as I wasn’t up to date on those but I’d already had quite a few vaccines before. Some people didn’t bother so I don’t know how high the risk is right now – definitely worth checking the World Health Org site to make sure you’re happy. Some people working in the hotels and tourism industry speak bits of English but on the islands there were local dialects. It’s always good to get a few words in the local lingo I find – hello / goodbye / thanks will get you far! Have an amazing time – Piaynemo is my must-see. But it’s so beautiful and untouched generally, you’ll love it!

This look so beautiful! I am going to put this on my bucket list for Indonesia next time I go! Beautiful photos and great tips!

Thanks for your comment Aaren – I loved it there!

So I’m going by myself in December and I was wondering as a female what is covering up actually mean? Are shorts and a tank top considered not covering up?

Hi Kim, you should be fine dressed like that. It’s more about not wearing swimwear around the islands with the locals.

wow, this is absolutely amazing, it really makes me put Raja Ampat as my top destination for next year! I have a friend who recently went diving there, she absolutely loved Cape Kri, said it was the experience of a lifetime. I so want to get there myself and explore everything!!!!

It’s SUCH an incredible place Serena! Hope you make it there soon!

Hi what time of the year did you go to get all those beautiful days of sunshine? Me and my boyfriend are going in 3 weeks until June 7 and I’m wondering if we risk getting rain/wind every day! :/ Beautiful blog

Hi Sarah, Hope you’re well! Raja Ampat is SOOO amazing! You’re going to love it. It’s one of the top places I’ve ever travelled to. We were there in October time, but I think they get a lot of sunshine all year around. Also, when it rains, it’s often only one big downpour and then it brightens up again. Fingers crossed it’s nice for you!

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Scientist Turned Storyteller: Rajat Kapoor's Journey to WhosNext 2023 Win

Scientist Rajat Kapoor traded lab coats for travel films and captured WhosNext 2023! This is his inspiring story of science, creativity, and winning big.

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My Trip to Raja Ampat (16 Things To Do, Tips & How To Get There)

Travelling is not only about the destination; the journey is sometimes just as incredible! This famous quote was definitely applicable to my trip to Raja Ampat. If you have read my blog Sailing through the Raja Ampat Islands with Mutiara Laut you know how I ended up on this amazing luxury sailing ship and that I had the time of my life.

Like anyone else I have always been dreaming to go to Raja Ampat and in 2016 I finally got the chance to visit. This island group is any scuba divers dream but there is more than that. This place on earth is so peaceful it could be like in heaven. So blue, so green, no pollution, hardly any human traces just raw nature at its best.

Off the beaten track Indonesia

When you mention this amazing place to someone who is interested in exploring remote areas of the world I am sure they will start getting excited. Raja Ampat is a very deserted island group in West Papau and the number one off the beaten track Indonesia destination. Its isolated location makes it a paradise for explorers, but the reality will tell you that to travel to Raja Ampat is not that easy.

Organize your own trip to Raja Ampat, a Raja Ampat Tour or a liveaboard?

An organized Raja Ampat tour is pretty exclusive and the reason is simple: there are hardly any facilities on the islands, most islands are inhabited, have no electricity, no natural resources, and no phone signal. If you decide to organize a trip to Raja Ampat by yourself be prepared to go back to basic. If you have unlimited time and are up for a big adventure go for it.

Where is Raja Ampat located?

Raja Ampat may be a paradise to visit, but it is a pain in the ass to get there. Raja Ampat is located of the coast of West Papua in northeast Indonesia.

Raja Ampat is off the beaten path in Indonesia, but there is still a phone connection possible. Have a look at my best sim card in Indonesia article to know which mobile internet provider is best for traveling in Indonesia. 

How to get to Raja Ampat

As I said getting to Raja Ampat is not easy, but first you will have to get to Sorong on the mainland of West Papua. Sorong has the closest airport to Raja Ampat and is the hub for all those travelers willing to explore, dive and amaze the beauty of this off the beaten path destination in Indonesia.

How to get to Sorong, West Papua

From Jakarta there are direct flights nowadays:

• PT. Nam Air flies directly from Jakarta to Sorong in 4h 5min and is the budget option for around $80 one-way.
• Garuda Indonesia flies also directly from Jakarta to Sorong in 4h 15min but will cost 3 times as much: $250 one-way.

From Bali there are no direct flights to Sorong. Plan for a long journey!

• Sriwijaya Air is the budget option for around $80 one-way. The journey takes about 12 hours with a 8 hour layover in Makassar, Sulawesi.
• Garuda Indonesia has about the same journey. The stopover is an hours horter, but you will pay the double: $170 for one-way.

By boat to Sorong?

It is fairly impossible to get to Sorong by boat, unless you have a couple weeks and want to go island hopping along the way. There are for example boats from Manado in North Sulawesi to Ternate in North Maluku. From here there also is a boat to Sorong. I have not taken this journey myself but I have asked the help of some locals to explain me this route. Boats are slow, and can take forever. Schedules are weather depended and very irregular.

From Sorong to Raja Ampat

Once you made it to the airport in Sorong you have to get to the harbor to make your way to the islands. Best way to get from the airport to the harbor is to take a taxi. It will take about 10 minutes and should never cost more than $10.

Raja Ampat actually means 4 kingdoms and therefore consists of 4 bigger islands. All the 4 bigger islands are inhabited but have countless uninhabited little islands around them. From the harbor of Sorong you will have to choose where you want to go. Waisai is the most popular island to visit in Raja Ampat. It also serves as the capital for Raja Ampat and is the easiest to get to from Sorong. But there is also Misool, which is further away and even harder to get to, but much more of an adventure when you travel to Raja Ampat.

From Sorong to Waisai

From the public pier in Sorong there are express ferries to Waisai twice daily at 9.00am and 2.00pm. The other way around the same schedule applies. The boat is called Bahari Express and is a modern big white ferry with red letters. Tickets cost 100,000 ($6,5) for economy and 150,000 ($10) for VIP/AC.

Tickets can be bought on board and there is no need/possibility to reserve a seat online.

From Sorong to Misool

Taking a boat from Sorong to Misool is a little harder and ferries run infrequent. The boat from Sorong take 5 hours. Look in Sorong harbor for a boat to Yellu Village.

There are two different ferry companies:

Kapal Fajar Baru 8

• From Sorong there is a nightboat leaving every Monday at midnight 00.00.
• The boat back from Misool to Sorong goes on Thursday at 09.00 am.

Km Fajar Indah II 

• Boat from Sorong to Misool: every Friday 00.00 (midnight).
• Boat from Misool to Sorong: every Saturday at 15.00 pm.

If you travel to Raja Ampat take in mind that boat schedules are just an estimate and change without prior notice. Changes in weather conditions will often result in changes. Ask your Raja Ampat accommodation to verify ferry times the day before your departure.

When to visit Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat obviously has a tropical climate with great temperatures all year round. But there is a wet periode with most rainfall between May to August. The dry season lasts from October to April and is the best time to visit Raja Ampat.

Liveaboard Raja Ampat

If you want to avoid the hassle then save up a little bit more money and join an organized liveaboard. From what I have seen I am afraid that this is the only way to get the most of your Raja Ampat tour. If you have read more of my blog then you know I am not a fan of organized tours, but if you want to see the real beauty of this fantastic natural wonder then travel to Raja Ampat with someone who knows where to go in Raja Ampat. I was among the lucky ones to enjoy this paradise in style on the majestic luxury schooner of the Mutiara Laut , click to see their website!

Of course is scuba diving one of the best things to do in Raja Ampat and therefore I named it as one of the best scuba dive destinations in the world .

16 Things to do Raja Ampat

In total I sailed around for 7 days and although I was constantly at sea, time was flying! You might think staying on a 46-meter long boat for a week there will be moments that you are finding yourself lost at sea, but there was never a dull moment. With hardly any phone reception and therefore no Internet, it was a bit of a rehab for me I can tell you, but I totally loved being disconnected from the world and may be that was one of the best things about my sailing trip to Raja Ampat. Every day I enjoyed doing all the amazing activities, then it was time to watch the sunset, catch up with great stories of that day, eating catch of the day and watching stars while sailing in the middle of the night!

1. Scuba Diving

Of course scuba diving is one of the best things to do in Raja Ampat, This is what draws people from all over the world to this underwater paradise. All my dive friends on Facebook were sending me messages like: ‘stop posting pictures, we are jealous!’ Diving in Raja Ampat is every divers dream because of the incredible underwater world and marine life. Diving with Manta Rays, whalesharks, seahorses, and dolphins all in one dive is possible!

2. Snorkelling

Don’t worry if you are not a scuba diver, snorkelling is just as great. The shallow reefs around the islands are untouched. Sometimes there is even no need to gear up and get your self in your scuba gear, just a snorkel and fins are enough to see amazing things. While snorkelling I also saw big tunas, barracuda’s, and yes also sharks! We even tried to snorkel with dolphins, but ended up seeing the reef sharks in the middle of the ocean hunting for sardines!

3. Island hopping in Raja Ampat

It means a lot when an avid scuba diver like me says that the true beauty of Raja Ampat not only lies underwater! I have been to places like El Nido and Halong Bay that are in essence very similar, but my trip to Raja Ampat totally stands out. In 7 days sailing I saw may be a 1,000 islands but only 3 other boats and a handful local sea gypsies. This area is so remote that building a sustainable village is almost impossible. There are a couple islands that are inhabited but don’t expect more than a couple stilt houses and some hidden wooden sheds between the palm trees. More than 99% of the islands are uninhabited and a pristine paradise. Some have beaches, some only coral gardens, some are accessible, some not. Exploring the Raja Ampat islands for sure is my coolest island hopping tour ever and together with diving the best things to do in Raja Ampat.

4. Wake boarding

One of the most amazing things about the Mutiara Laut is that it has two tenders available for anything the guests are up to. When I heard that there was the possibility to go wakeboarding I got really excited! I only did it once in a cable park, which was big fun! If you ask me now where I really learned how to wake board I can say: Raja Ampat! :)

5. Watching the most amazing sunsets

Who is not a fan of sunsets? Out on the ocean they get even better, the horizon is endless and there are always some clouds around. Here in this paradise the only thing that could spoils your unobstructed view were the karst shaped Raja Ampat islands! Sunrises were equally stunning but I am not a big fan of them! ;)

6. Sailing in Raja Ampat

I have done a sailing trip before from Panama to Colombia and it was amazing, but it was in a small catamaran and because there was hardly any wind we only sailed once for a couple hours. Now I found myself on a two mast Schooner, build to perfection by a renowned shipper from Holland. Putting up all the sails up was a long process and all the 18 crew members were involved. I think it took a little under an hour but wow what was it impressive to see the Mutiara Laut with all the sails up. The motor was turned off and the only thing you could hear was the wind in the sails and the ship breaking through the waves. Such an amazing experience lying in the nets on the bow of the ship. I am in doubt now, may be sailing is the best thing to do in Raja Ampat! I don’t know anymore, my trip to Raja Ampat was so phenomenal, everything was cool!

7. Deserted islands

For the ultimate Robinson Crusoe experience you have to explore a little island that has some cliffs for a lookout, a little beach for a fire, some trees for shelter and a house reef to fish. The ultimate survivor islands are easy to find here and from what I heard is that they filmed a couple seasons of the French survivor here. I know exactly why they chose this location!

8. Heavenly beaches

On a Raja Ampat tour you gotta find yourself that picture-perfect tiny little island with a white sand beach and some palm trees. There are plenty around so I chose my own to get dropped off. I brought some drinks, sat in the sand, looked around, sipped my beer, felt the crystal clear sea water coming in at my feet, smiled, sipped again on my beer and thought: wow this is fucking amazing!

9. Eating fresh seafood

On the ocean every journey is a food journey. I love catch of the day and whatever it is it has never been disappointed. Of course the amazing crew on board the Mutiara Laut prepared some fantastic dishes but the best thing still is the fresh seafood caught just before dinnertime!

10. Wayag Viewpoint Raja Ampat

Probably the most famous spot in Raja Ampat is the Wayag Viewpoint. It was the only place where there were some kind of touristy activities going on and we saw a couple other boats that were doing day trips from Sorong. Local tourists, no foreigners by the way. There is a staircase that leads you to a magnificent viewpoint on top of one of the islands overlooking the absolutely stunning bay.

I would have loved to go Live at this viewpoint and show my social media followers this absolutely breathtaking spot while I was exploring it, but I can tell you there is absolutely no phone reception in Raja Ampat. Once you get phone reception you might want an indonesia prepaid sim card with data.

11. Watching marine life

Watching the giant gentles of the ocean will never get boring, staring the horizon on the lookout for fins popping out of the water. According to the captain we were not really lucky on this trip to Raja Ampat, but we still saw a pod of dolphins and some whales a little bit further away.

12. Bird watching

It was not really my favourite thing but apparently there are many bird species around. I saw a ton during the trip and tried to catch some rare ones that only exist in West Papua with a binocular. If you are a bird watching fan inquire about the Bird of Paradise to add to your Raja Ampat tour.

13. SUP boarding

With so many islands around there are many calm places to jump on a stand up paddleboard and paddle around. In and between the islands where the water is so crystal clear that you don’t need a snorkel to see clearly what is going on under the surface. I mostly tried to paddle out just before sunset, at least those times when I was not shooting sunset pictures.

14. Exploring caves

Most Raja Ampat islands are uninhabited and therefore unexplored as well. Though there are a couple tourist spots that a handful tourists every month! LOL. We went to a place that was hardly accessible as the waters were super shallow, but zigzagging through a maze of islands we found a old wooden ladder that lead us over a rock and into a cave filled with water. Swimming in a cave in Papua is a must do on your trip to Raja Ampat. It was an amazing adventure and the further we got inside the dark it became. Without our torches it would be pitch black. To make it even more excited we weren’t there alone: spiders, bats and hell knows what lives there. After swimming for 15 minutes there was light at the end of the tunnel and a little climb lead us to a hidden lagoon surrounded by 50m high limestone cliffs. There are no words how to describe this, but I swam to the middle of this small lagoon floated on my back and looked around. This is how I imagined Raja Ampat to be, something I had never seen before: a magical place so far away from civilisation! My mind was zooming out like Google Maps floating here in this lagoon. I wish I had a 360 camera! This is the real off the beaten track Indonesia destination.

15. Mangrove tours

We all know mangroves are a vital breeding ground for marine life and around the Raja Ampat islands there are a lot of mangroves to explore. Best to be done on a paddleboard, but we were warned there are salt water crocodiles that live in this part of the world. Unfortunately I did not see any! :)

16. Watching shooting stars

Another magical phenomenon is to watch the stars at night. There is no better place to look for shooting stars than in the middle of the ocean. Did you know that it is really easy to see shooting stars on a clear day? You just gotta be a little patience and you will always see some!

If you have any specific questions I am happy to answer them personally!     

6 Tips for traveling to Raja Ampat

These are vital things to know when you travel to Raja Ampat.

1. No alcohol

West-Papua is a dry province in Indonesia, that means alcohol is forbidden. This is in contrary with the rest of Indonesia where alcohol is legal. According to the stories that I heard is that in West Papua alcoholism became such a huge problem that they declared it a dry state to solve the problem!

2. Religion in Raja Ampat

What is the religion in Raja Ampat? Christian! Another remarkable fact is that the people of Raja Ampat are not Muslim like everywhere else in Indonesia. There are some mosques in Waisai and Sorong, but because of the colonized history most of the people are Christians.

3. Very few ATMs

The only place in Raja Ampat where you can find an ATM is in Waisai. Here you have four different bank companies that let you withdraw money. My tip for traveling to Raja Ampat is not to rely on these machines. Often they don’t accept foreign cards or are out of service. Bring enough cash in advance. You can bring dollars there is always somewhere to exchange them, but it is better to bring Indonesian Rupiah.

4. Bring warm clothes

Although there is a tropical climate in Raja Ampat, during and after rain showers it can feel a bit chilled. Especially when there is some wind it feel much better wearing some warm clothes. Rain comes unexpectedly at times, so always bring a rain coat.

5. Meet the people of Raja Ampat

Locals are extremely friendly and love to see foreigners visit Raja Ampat. Of course they also understand that tourists bring money and these people most probably live a very simple island life. They may not have much, but they are super friendly and welcoming. Try to give something back, leave some stuff you can miss or buy some before your trip. Pencils and books for kids are always a good idea to bring to Raja Ampat.

6. Dive and snorkel with whale sharks in Cenderawasih Bay

If you travel to Raja Ampat you might want to combine your visit with another divers dream destination: Cenderawasih Bay. If you want to snorkel with these amazing creatures you have to head here. This bay is partially declared a marine national park and with 8 square kilometers the largest in Southeast Asia. Cenderawasih Bay is located on the east coast of West Papua. Whale sharks are around all year long.

Trip to Raja Ampat too expensive?

Is a trip to Raja Ampat a bridge too far? Travelling in Indonesia is captivating, so you might want to start with a trip Bali. I have been to Bali numerous times and totally loving it now. I can easily give you 12 reasons to visit Bali , or what about an adventure on the stunning Nusa Penida Island . Want to try magic mushrooms in Gili Trawangan ? I can tell you were to get them! More off the beaten path destinations in Indonesia? Go to the burial caves of Tana Toraja and see dead people! ;)

If you like my article would you please pin it on Pinterest or share it on Google+ or Facebook? It would help me a lot... thank you so much!

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Home » The Ultimate Raja Ampat Guide » Vital information » How to get to Raja Ampat

How to get to Raja Ampat

What are the choices?

• Fly to Sorong in Indonesia’s West Papua province (you can also get there by ship )

From Sorong:

• Take a taxi from the airport to Sorong ferry harbour
• Then one of the ferries to Waisai  (or you can fly if you prefer)

From Waisai:

• Meet your pickup (or see if you can hitch a ride) at the homestay boat harbour.
• Getting to Sorong
• Sorong airport to harbour transfers
• How to get from Sorong to the Raja Ampat islands
• How to get from Waisai to the islands
• Inter-island transfers

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1: Getting to Sorong

Flight info presented here is aimed at international travellers seeking the quickest route to Raja Ampat from outside Indonesia and so ignores flights to Sorong from airports not serviced by international flights (Ambon, Jayapura etc).

Domine Eduard Osok Airport – SOQ

Sorong’s airport is Domine Eduard Osok (IATA code: SOQ).

• There are no international flights into Sorong

From outside Indonesia:

Garuda offers non-stop flights from Bali. In October 2023, the flights departed Denpasar at 0215, arriving in Sorong at 0620

Via Jakarta or Surabaya:

• Lots of airlines fly from Southeast Asian hubs to Jakarta and Surabaya.

Via Makassar:

• Silk Air  flies from Singapore to Makassar (flights codeshared with Singapore Airlines and Garuda Indonesia )
• Air Asia offers direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Makassar

Via Manado:

• Silk Air flies Singapore to Manado (flights codeshared with Singapore Airlines )

Note that these are merely the most convenient entry points for international travellers bound for Sorong. There are other international airports in Indonesia, but to the best of our knowledge, none of those offer non-stop flights to Sorong. (Correct us if we’re wrong about that!)

From inside Indonesia:

• Use Traveloka ,  Tiket.com ,  Tiket2Indonesia or  Skyscanner  to check availability of flights from your departure point
• Many international credit cards do not work on Indonesian websites. Most guests report they have no trouble paying by card on the Traveloka and Garuda websites. Nusatrip.com sells Indonesian domestic flights and is worth a try if you have problems.
• If you want to experience sea travel in the archipelago, here’s Indonesia’s Pelni ship schedules .

Direct flights to Sorong

As Raja Ampat tourism grows, so do the number of flights available to Sorong. We used to publish a table of airlines and their flight times here, but the last few years’ growth in the available options has made it impractical for us to keep those up to date.

Many airlines fly direct (no stops) to Sorong from Indonesia’s international airports. International airports offering direct flights to Sorong include Jakarta, Denpasar, Makassar, Surabaya and Manado. We recommend searching one of the flight aggregators linked above to quickly find available flight dates and times from the Indonesian airport that best that suits you.

2: Sorong airport to harbour transfers

The taxi ride from Sorong airport to the ferry harbour takes around 10-20 minutes, depending on traffic, and the asking price is around 100,000 Rupiah

Online transport provider Grab is also available, but you must leave the airport grounds to be picked up. In October 2023, a Grab fare from outside the airport to the harbour was IDR 42,000

If you don’t have a lot of luggage you can get a lift on the back of a motorbike (ojek) for about 30,000 Rupiah

If you’re trying to keep costs as low as possible you can get there for 6000 Rupiah if you’re happy to walk a few hundred metres to the main road and catch the yellow public bimos (minibuses) to the city terminal, then transfer to the bimos heading for the harbour. Each leg of the trip is 3000 Rupiah.

3: How to get from Sorong to the Raja Ampat islands

All of the accommodation options on this website provide pickup from Waisai, which is the capital city of the Raja Ampat Regency. ( See this page if you are looking for information about how to get to Misool from Sorong.)

3.1: Public Ferries

Sorong to Waisai: Twice daily at 0900 (9am) and 1400 (2pm).

Waisai to Sorong:  Twice daily at 0900 (9am) and 1400 (2pm).

Public Holidays: Usually, only the 1400 departures operate on Indonesian Public Holidays.

Except for holiday or other unplanned interruptions, the standard schedule above is stable now. We update schedules here as soon as we receive notification of changes, but if you need up-to-the-minute information about ferries, please contact Wiwin at the Homestay Association’s Raja Ampat Homestay Information Center .

Raja Ampat ferries depart from Sorong’s Pelabuhan Rakyat (public harbour) .  Journey time to Waisai is about 2 hours for the Bahari Express boats, or three hours for the “slow boat”.

Bahari Express tickets are IDR 125,000 for economy class, or IDR 250,000 for a VIP ticket. A VIP seat will give you an adjustable-back chair in an airconditioned room.

Ferry tickets can be purchased on your day of travel at the ticket offices in the Waisai and Sorong port office buildings. Just ask at the port if you can’t spot those. Cash, cards and digital wallet payments via QRIS are accepted. Online booking of ferry tickets is not available.

October 2023 : The Sorong City Government has begun charging a “boarding pass” fee of IDR 12,000 to all passengers. You must purchase this pass at the port, at the counter next to the ferry company’s ticket counter.

At Sorong harbour, the express ferries can be found by going to the very end of the L-shaped pier. The express ferry sometimes ties up alongside another ship at the end of dock and you have to cross that ship’s deck to board the ferry.

Schedules can change without notice. Individual departures can also be changed at random. 

The Raja Ampat Homestay Information Center at Waisai and your accommodation provider should also be able to provide up to date ferry information. Ferry departures can be delayed, brought forward, and even cancelled without notice. The only way to absolutely guarantee that you will be back in Sorong in time for your flight is to return to Sorong the day before your flight leaves.

3.2: Sorong to Waisai (SOQ-RJM) flights

Susi Air operates a service between Sorong and Waisai’s Marinda Airport. These are the only flights available into Marinda, and are on light planes with a 15kg baggage allowance.

Contact Susi for current schedule and prices > Call Center (24 Hours) +628112113080 or +628112113090 Email : [email protected] Susi Air Sorong +628112123934 Email : [email protected]

Note: Homestays pick up guests from the harbour at Waisai, so if you make a booking using the website and request a Waisai pickup, you’ll need to get a taxi from the airport to the harbour to meet your pickup.

3.3: Speedboats

If you’re in a real hurry, you can charter speedboats to take you directly to your accommodation. The speedboat harbour is about 200m west of the ferry wharf. Speedboats are far more expensive (hundreds of dollars) and a lot less comfortable than the public ferries or flying – you’d need a really compelling reason to charter one!

3.4 Misool Ferries

The Fajar Mulia departs weekly. It’s about a 9 hour trip, leaving Sorong on Monday nights and returning from Misool on Thursday afternoon. See “How to get to Misool” on this page for more information.

4: How to get from Waisai to the islands

The simplest way to get to your accommodation from Waisai is to select the Check this box if you need Waisai pickup checkbox provided on the booking form when you book your accommodation . Note that you only need to request a Waisai pickup from the first place you will be staying at. (See inter-island transfers below.) Your homestay will be advised that you need a pickup at Waisai, and our system will send them a pickup reminder by SMS 48 hours before you are due to arrive. It’s a good idea to also SMS them yourself when boarding the ferry in Sorong, to let them know which ferry to meet.

Transfer prices vary according to distance between Waisai and the homestay. Each homestay’s transfer price is published on its Stay Raja Ampat page.

If you arrive in Waisai without a pickup arranged, or you cannot find your host, the Homestay Information Center can  help. Homestay boat pickups are from the floating dock next to the ferry wharf. (See the map below and the photos on the Raja Ampat Homestay Information Center page .)

The cost of transfer from Waisai to the islands is a sore point with many travellers. Boat transfer prices are in some cases more expensive than they should be and bargaining rarely yields a substantial discount on the asking prices. Be sure to let your host know if you think his transfer prices are too high. See this page for more information about boat prices.

Going to Kri?

Because it’s the most popular island, there are almost always homestay boats picking up guests bound for Kri . If seats are available, you can save transfer costs by sharing with existing passengers. You may be in for a bit of a walk to your homestay though. Don’t do this if you requested a Waisai pickup when you made your booking:  If your homestay sends a boat at your request, you are not there, and they have no other passengers to pick up, then they will (quite fairly) expect you to pay for the transfer anyway!

A note about Sundays

If your intention is to always be culturally sensitive on your travels, you should try to avoid a homestay arrival or departure on a Sunday . Read more about that and other important cultural considerations on our Raja Ampat local culture page .

5: Inter-island transfers

There is no inter-island public transport available in most of Raja Ampat, but transfers from one homestay to another can easily be organised.

It’s always best to organise transfers a day or two ahead of when needed. You can either ask your current host to transfer you to your next accommodation, or call your your destination to arrange a pickup.

So, if you book multiple homestays using our  website booking forms , only request a Waisai pickup from the first place you will be staying at .

Waisai homestay boat harbour location map

Is there any ferry from Indonesia to Papua new guinea ?

We’ve never heard of any ferry services between Indonesia and PNG. There are at least 2 land border crossing points though.

Hallo, apakah wisatawan lokal boleh menyebrang dari Waisai menuju Sorong? Dan saya lihat di info kapal Ferry terbaru, dari Waisai ke Sorong kapal tersedia di hari senin. Apakah tidak ada kapal penyebrangan lain?

It is true Niki: At this time, the only regular ferry service from Waisai to Sorong is once per week, on Monday at 2pm.

Kalau untuk Sorong-Waisai, saya dapat info untuk kapal yang ada

Kamis: Kapal Fajar Sabtu: Kapal Lema Minggu: Kapal Express

Apakah benar? atau ada perubahan jadwal terbaru?

Terimakasih

The Express is a reliable service, leaving Sorong every Sunday at 2pm, and taking about 2 hours to reach Waisai. Not sure of Fajar and Lema schedules now. They change often, and they are much slower boats than the Express. Hope this helps! :)

Is there any way From Australia or PNG to Sorong eg by cargo ship?

Short answer is that we don’t know, sorry Rosslyn.

We do know that there are a couple of land border crossings between PNG and Indonesian Papua, but we don’t know if those can be used by travellers from third countries.

Indonesia’s PELNI service would probably connect Jayapura and Sorong, but we don’t have any idea about cargo ships that might make a PNG/AU-Sorong journey possible.

Hi! i would like to know how much is the ferry Sorong-wasai/ Wasai-Sorong?

And How much Is the Boat that pick me up at Wasai to go to Kri from the Homestay?

Thanks a lot!

Price of the ferry between Sorong and Waisai is quoted just above the schedule table in 3.1 above, Sebastian. You will find Waisai to homestay prices quoted under the Transport/Getting there section on each individual homestay page.

Please do have a read of our step by step guide . It provides links to the answers to all the most common questions we get asked by visitors.

It’s possible to get the flight at 16:00 to Jakarta, when the ferry comes at 14:00 ?

No. The table above shows ferry departure times. The trip takes about two hours. You would need to take the 0900 ferry to be back in Sorong in time to make a 1600 flight.

yes , that is what I mean. When I arrive Sorong pier at 14:00 , in this case i can reach the flight at 16:00

The afternoon ferry from Waisai leaves Waisai at 2pm. It does not arrive in Sorong until about 4pm. You would not have time to make a flight departing at 4pm if you took the afternoon ferry from Waisai.

The 9am ferry from Waisai arrives in Sorong at about 11am. If you take the morning ferry from Waisai then yes, you will have plenty of time to make a 1600 flight.

Hello! Can someone tell, me how long it takes to get from waisai to sorong airport by ferry and taxi? I’d like to book a flight that leaves at 2pm (cheaper) but I’m afraid I won’t make it on time if I catch the 9am ferry

I’m guessing the ferry could take up to 3 hours with delays? Plus 15 minutes taxi, I should be there on time for the flight. Also, does anyone know if I can check in online and use smartphone boarding passes with batik and if they are accepted in the sorong airport?

The answers to your questions are provided at 2. and 3. above Marta.

You should have no problem making that flight.

Don’t know if it holds true for Batik, but we’ve found that there’s no advantage at all to online checkin when flying with other airlines from Sorong. You still have to go to the counter for a boarding pass.

My country’s (Sweden) Ministry of Foreign Affairs have recently posted a warning about travelling to Sorong and Raja Ampat. It says that eu-citizens have been denied to board their flights to Sorong because of the recent violence and disorder in West Papua. Do travelers have to apply for a permit at the local police Surat Jalan to travel to Sorong and Raja Ampat?

Kind regards

There is no requirement for a Surat Jalan for travel to Sorong and Raja Ampat, and we have never heard tell of anybody being refused boarding on a flight to Sorong. The only circumstances under which we imagine that could happen is if the travellers concerned were carrying professional recording equipment or drones etc that might have given authorities reason to believe they were working journalists travelling on a tourist visa.

There was never any civil unrest in Raja Ampat, and only a few days of disturbances in Sorong in late August/early September. Sorong has been calm since then and international tourists are passing through enroute to Raja Ampat with no trouble at all.

Hi! I’d like to know how much time does it take the boat from waisai to gram and from gram to kri and from kri to waisai.

Very much depends on where in Gam, and in what kind of boat Yaiza. Allow about an hour from Waisai to Gam, 40 mins from Gam to Kri and and an hour from Kri to Waisai.

Hello. I’m thinking of taking the public ferry from Arefi to Sorong on saturday 30 nov. Is it still leaving Arefi around 12.30? Is it reliable enough (my flight leaves the next day from Sorong). Thank you

As advised on every page that mentions that boat, it is essential to check locally before relying on it for onward travel.

It’s not a public ferry service – it’s an island supply vessel that the public can buy transport on. The ‘normal’ service can be changed or interrupted without notice.

Check with your host or John Urbon when you arrive, and be prepared to have to change plans and exit via Waisai. Good luck!

Update on the Susi Air flight.

I have just contacted Susi Air 24 hour call center and they inform me that the flight is now every Monday and Friday. Leaving from Sorong at 09:40, it takes about 25 minutes flight from Sorong to Waisai. The cost is IDR 431,000, you have 10 kg luggage allowance. Overweight fee is IDR 20,000 per kg.

Hope this helps.

Thanks so much for the update Nita CJ – it helps a lot!

No worries! I work for a liveaboard that goes to RA as well. I have been recommending your website to my guests who intend to stay longer on some RA islands. You’ve got an amazing content about Raja Ampat here. Thank YOU for getting all these info put together.

Just wanted to add a comment about a scam that I got caught with taking a taxi from the airport to the ferry. As the taxi entered the port area my driver asked for 50,000 IDR on top of the 100K fare. I queried what for when a guy approached the taxi and handed over what looked like a ticket to which the taxi paid. It appeared to be some kind of port entry fee. I told the taxi driver he should pay for it but he insisted it was my responsibility. I treid to deduct it from the 100K fare but he was very persistent. After 23 hrs travel time and exhausted I eventually paid it but I am certain it was a scam he set up with this ticket fee guy. No other tourists I asked paid this fee.

It’s 5000, not 50.000.

my boyfriend and me, will arrive to Sorong on 9th November at 06:35 a.m. As 1st November is a national bank holiday, will the ferry work or do we need to stay until the next day? I hope it works…. ;-)

Thank you for your help!

Impossible to say with any certainty Petra.

We usually only find out a week beforehand if services will be suspended for particular public holidays. Service suspensions are becoming less common, so hopefully the ferries will be running on the 9th. We post on our fb page and in the travellers’ forum group as soon as we hear of service suspensions.

Hi we are arriving in Sorong Saturday 12 October and we should get the ferry to Waisai on Sunday 13 . are operating the ferry in Sunday ? thanks Luigi

Yes Luigi – as shown in the table above, the ferries run 7 days a week.

If you arrive in Sorong no later than about 1300, then you could catch the 1400 ferry on Saturday.

What about the public ferry this year on December, 24th and 25th? Is there a service on Christmas Holidays from Sorong to Waisai?

Ferries were running on Dec 24th and 25th last year, so our guess is that they will be this year too. It’s impossible to be certain though!

Hi Raja Ampat, Will we know this around one week earlier or should we expect to know the same day? I am arriving to Sorong and planning to catch the ferry on the 24th December too. Thanks Raja Ampat Maria

We have never heard of the ferry not running on the 24th Maria.

As above, we won’t know about the service on the 25th until a week or so beforehand at earliest.

The ferry company has advised us before that service would be suspended on 25th, but it was running on the day.

All we can say with any certainty is that, while generally reliable, ferry schedules can be changed on a whim!

Will the recent riots in West Papua affect Sorong? And more specifically, will it affect Sorong Airport/ferry?

All the best

Short answer is no (or perhaps “they haven’t yet”).

There has been no trouble of any kind at all in Raja Ampat.

There were 3 days of disturbances in Sorong in late August, but that city has seen no trouble likely to affect travellers since then.

Apart from some delays during the 3 days mentioned above, no travellers have reported any issues travelling through Sorong on the way to Raja Ampat, and – despite the media coverage – there is no sign of the government imposing any kind of restrictions on foreigners travelling to Raja Ampat. No Surat Jalan or any other kind of special permit is required to visit the islands.

It is different for other destinations in Papua and West Papua, but in Raja Ampat it is business as usual.

If the situation changes, we will be sure to post about it on the website, and on our facebook page and in our facebook travellers’ forum group .

We will of course also personally email all guests who have made bookings using the Stay Raja Ampat website.

Hi, Am planning on flying into Sorong next month, flight lands at 1pm on Saturday, and I can see Ferry departs at 2pm, which I think might be too tight. Can you give me any indication of how much a speed boat might cost to Waisai? Hoping to get to my homestay on Saturday, as I understand Sunday is the day that hosts spend with their families. Thanks

Hello Heather

As mentioned at 3.3 above, chartering a speedboat will cost you hundreds of dollars.

Although it’s considerate not to arrive or depart on a Sunday, your hosts understand that sometimes it’s necessary, and transport between homestays and Waisai will always be provided if needed on a Sunday.

Takes approximately 10min to get Fromm the airport to the ferry and the ferry tend sound to be always 15min late. You should be fine!

Do you happen to know why Air Asia have delayed the start of their service from Sorong to Jakarta from September 1st to October. I booked my flight back thinking that since they would be up and running for a good month that any kinks in their service would be worked out. Now I find out that my flight on Oct 3rd is their 1st day of service. I’m not too confident that they won’t push it back even further. I contacted them and all I got was airline jargon bs. I have an international connection that day out of Jakarta.

No idea John. Thanks for letting us know too – that’s the first we’ve heard of it. A quick search turned up an Indonesian news article from Sept 1 that states that they were to add 5 aircraft to their fleet to service the new routes, but so far only one has been added. Perhaps that’s the issue…

Hi I want to know .. if can I take from sorong to misool . . Slow ferry at night and which are the times .. days from sorong I have been 2 years ago and have take slow ferry Thanks

Hello Miguel

Everything we know about the Misool ferries can be found on the Misool page . (The page also provides links to Sorong-based guides who can give you the latest information about ferries and everything else to do with Misool .)

Hi STAY RAJA AMPAT,

There is now direct fly from Jakarta to Sorong with Air Asia.

Thanks :) The info we have is that they don’t start until September 1 though, so we will add them then. (Otherwise we have to spend a lot of time answering all the “where can we we book this?” enquiries!)

Hi, I want to visit Raja Ampat spontanously, arriving the next few days but I haven‘t booked any accommodation yet. Can I just go there and try to find accommodation through your Homestay Office in Waisai ?

Thanks in advance for your prompt reply. Monika

Yes you can Monika.

Unless you only want to stay at one of the more popular homestays, you will always be able to find a room without booking ahead.

What are the “more popular homestays” u mentioned (example on Kri or Gram please) :)? Just to get a feeling for it.

Thanks a lot

Any homestay mentioned in a guide book is likely to be popular. On the website, numbers of comments is a fairly good indicator: The higher the number of reviews (the number in brackets to the right of the star ratings on the accommodation page ), the more popular the place is likely to be.

Hi, we made a booking a few months ago to stay at Besar Bay homestay and booking is confirmed. But….i read a lot of comments on internet from people who also have a confirmed booking at the same resort and they get a few days or even hours before arrival a message that the hoemstay is full and overbooked. Is there any solution for this problem? We don’t want to stay at Wasai without anyone to pick us up.

We understand your concern! But please don’t worry too much. Our booking system will send your homestay a reminder 48 hours before you are due to arrive, and the Homestay Information Center will help you in the (hopefully unlikely) event that there is nobody waiting to meet you in Waisai.

The problem is really not as common as reviews suggest either: It’s an unfortunate fact that guests who encounter a problem are about ten times as likely to write about it than guests who have a good time.

Hi, we’re trying to arrange our flight timings, are flights out of Sorong usually delayed, and what is the transit times like for an international traveller departing Sorong – Jakarta – International?

Flights out of Sorong are not usually delayed, but if you are planning on making a flight out of Jakarta within a few hours of landing there, then we’d strongly advise against flying with anyone except Garuda or Batik.

I an trying to get to Misool from Sorong on 9th August. I have yet to find accommodation or home stay. Do you have any recommendations? I have also been told that will have to stay in Misool till 13th August when I prefer to return on 12th August. What are the chances of arranging private boat back from Misool to Sorong?

You’ll find everything we can tell you about Misool on this page .

You could probably arrange a private boat back to Sorong, but it would be a lot more expensive. It would also probably be slower and definitely be much less safe and comfortable.

Hello Sir Your website is very precious and the many information provided are priceless ! I’d like to know how long the “homestay” speedboat rides takes from Kri island to Wasai harbour and Mansuar to Wasai? I am planning to take the 9AM ferry from Wasai to Sorong and want to make sure I arrive at the harbour on time. Thanks a lot Baptiste

Thank you Baptiste :)

You’ll find average travel times between Waisai and each island on the island guide pages .

We recommend arranging onward transfers with your host when you arrive, so they have as much time as possible to organise boats. Just tell them you need to catch the morning ferry and they’ll get you there in time.

Dear, how does it work if lest say you stay at a homestay at GAM and need to go to the next home stay lets say KRI? Also is there a direct connection from KRI – Sorong to catch a flight back? Thanks love this webpage.

As mentioned at 5: Inter-island transfers above, transfers are easily arranged with your hosts when you are there.

If a homestay offers Sorong pickup/dropoff, it will say so in the Transport section of the homestay’s page. Note though, that it’s much cheaper, safer and more comfortable to return to Waisai and get the public ferry back to Sorong than it is to travel to Sorong in a small boat.

Tanks a lot for your great Website! It has been very helpful to pan our three trips to R4 (the next is going to come!).

One question: would it be too risky to take the 9.00 a.m. ferry to Sorong from Waisai, when you are booked on a flight from Sorong to DPS at 2 p.m. the same day? Or better take the afternoon ferry an stay overnight in Sorong?

Cheers Christophe :)

We do that all the time and haven’t had a problem yet. As mentioned above though, the only way to completely eliminate any chance of missing a flight is to spend the night beforehand in Sorong.

If missing your flight would cause major problems for you, then it would probably be best to be in Sorong the night beforehand.

Hi, firstly thank you for your website, the amount of information that you provide is amazing.

We have booked Yenaduak Homestay with you in early August, we can’t wait to come. We are a family of four and I was thinking does it really make sense to go to Waisai first and then get a boat transfer to Birie? It almost seems as though we double our journey length by doing that. Kindest regards

Thanks Aimi :)

Yenaduak advertises Sorong pickups, so you do have the option of contacting them and arranging that if you want. The trip between Waisai and Batanta is quite a bit shorter, more comfortable and safer than going Sorong to Batanta in a small boat though.

Thank you, I think we will go via Waisai on the way there but on the way back go straight from Yenauduak to Sorong (make sure we don’t miss the flight!!).

Coming back to Waisai from the islands of either Kri or Gam is there a boat transfer in the morning that would be able to meet the 9am ferry back to Sorong in time?

Yes John. All homestays provide transfers in time for ferry departures. Just be sure to confirm with your hosts on the day before your departure.

What would the best routing be from the UK to Raja. The least number of connections possible would be ideal. Not bothered about airlines or where the connection is just want least connections possible.

Garuda flies London-Jakarta and Jakarta-Sorong Cliff.

Cliff, when you planning to go to RA?

Anyone going from Waisai to Pam tomorrow 5th of April and wanna share boat?

I will publish it on facebook as well once I’m accepted in the group :)

I hope to see you there! :)

Hi, I just came back from a trip to Raja Ampat. The ferry times are still the same but the prices for the VIP tickets are much higher now: 250.000 IDR now if I remember correctly. The seats are wider, the aircon much colder and I don’t see an advantage in it at all. The guys at the tickets desks book the tourists in the seats with lots of leg room – usually in the front of a department. Plenty of room for luggage. There is a TV and the aircon works, too. Price is still 100.000 for the normal seats.

Thanks for the update Isabel :)

Do you know if the new VIP seat price is the same on for both ferry companies?

Is sorong airport and batik airline a reliable mix? How often do the flights from sorong to bali get delayed or cancelled? I have an international connection at 21h in Bali, is it a real risk to book a flight from Sorong to Bali the same day landing in Bali at 15:15?

Regardless of which airline we were using, we would build in a spare day in Bali, just to be safe. We’ve never heard any bad reports about Batik, though, so hopefully you will be fine.

Just in case you’re unaware of it: We’re fairly certain that nobody flies direct (non-stop) between Sorong & Bali, so we assume that there will be a layover somewhere else during your flight.

Hi! Thanks!

Yes, stop over is in Makassar.

I didn’t book yet,and I wanted to avoid an overnight in Bali. But probably you are and better to be safe… :)

I’m searching for flights from Jakarta to Sorong. Last year (November 2018) I had a direct flight from Jakarta to Sorong for 80 euros (Batik Air) and a return flight via Makassar for 100 euros (Sriwijaya). When searching right now flights are around 200 euros (with stopover) or more (direct). Have flights become more expensive? Or is this not the right time to book tickets?

Flights have indeed become more expensive over the past year Mark. This being an election year In Indonesia, there is currently a lot of political pressure to bring those prices down again, so there’s a chance that they will fall again in the short term.

Could you provide us with the Sorong-Waisai and Waisai-Sorong ferry schedule for 2019? We will be visiting in April.

The schedule above is the current schedule Mansour. We update this page as soon as we are aware of any changes.

And one more question (tried to post this earlier but lost somewhere I guess), I noticed that in the homestay booking form there is no option to indicate which time we will arrive at Waisai and therefore will need to be picked by the homestay. How can we solve this issue?

As above, there are only two ferry arrival times per day. In your booking confirmation email, you will find a recommendation that you send an SMS message to your homestay when you board the ferry In Sorong, so that they know which one to meet.

If you can not do that, or if you can not find your host when you arrive at Waisai, then go to the Homestay Information Center and they will help you.

Is there a regular boat from Sorong to Kofiau Island please? Thanks you. Dominic

There probably would be Dominic. If it’s like the Batanta/Pam route , it would be weekly. Contact one of the guides linked from this page for more info.

We are in November on the island of Seram (near Wasai), is it possible to travel from Seram to Misool if yes, where can I find information?

Pelni ships run between Seram and Misool. There is some information in the “How to get to Misool” section of this page . Visit Pelni’s site for full details and latest schedules.

I’m currently planning a trip to Batang Pele (Nemo homestay) and I will be coming from either Kota Kinabalu or Jakarta and I’m really struggling to find information about how to get to the Batang Pele island from either of these places!

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Also, as I can’t find how to get there, I can’t find trip costs – any ideas?

Fly to Sorong, then get the public ferry to Waisai. Full information here .

If you book using the form on Nemo Homestay’s page , check the Waisai pickup checkbox and Nemo will send a boat to meet you in Waisai.

hello.. im planning to visit raja ampat on january 25th to 30th 2019 can i have a suggestion to be more low budget ? or anyone have plan on that date to ? so we can make an open trip together.. we are six of us.. please contact +62-87899313000.. thank you so much

See this page for how to plan as cheap a trip as possible. You will probably have more success finding travelling companions by joining our Travellers’ Forum and posting this question there.

I am from 16.-23.jänner in kri. than I’m free.

Hello we are staying at Dayan Homestay off Misool. Is is better to take ferry from Sarong to wasae and then take speedboat to misool or be picked up in sarong? Sarong on the map looks much closer to misool then from wasae? Thank you Our second visit to Raja Ampat using Homestay’s Jean

We’re a bit confused, because Dayan Homestay is nowhere near Misool. If it is actually Dayan at Batanta that you are staying at, then it is closer to Waisai than Sorong. (Maps are deceptive!)

For all the Batanta homestays, it’s a lot cheaper, safer and more comfortable to take the ferry to Waisai, then be picked up from there.

All the best for your stay :)

We are traveling to Raja Ampat for diving on November 2018. We would like to know about the Marine Park entrance tag. Can we buy it in Waisai harbor? How much is it cost? Can we pay in USD dolar?

Thank you in advance for your reply.

Hello Nuria

You can buy it at Waisai. Fairly certain you need to pay in IDR or with a card. Full information is here .

From March 30th till May 6th, 2019 my wife Ilona and I are going to stay in Raja Ampat and we would like to find at least a couple of people interested in sharing local boat trip costs. We plan to travel by homestay boats: 1) from Waisai to Friwen Wall/Bonda on March 30th, after arrival from Sorong (1st ferry) by approx. 11 AM, 2) from Friwen Wall/Bonda to Yenbuba jetty (Kri/Mansuar) on April 6th or 1-2 days earlier, 3) from Yenbuba jetty (Kri/Mansuar) to Pulau Biriei (Batanta) on April 13th or 1-2 days earlier, 4) from Pulau Biriei (Batanta) to Warahnus/Yenbuba jetty (Kri/Mansuar) on April 25th or 1-2 days earlier and 5) from Warahnus/Yenbuba jetty (Kri/Mansuar) to Waisai on May 6th (departure at 7 AM or earlier to catch the 1st ferry to Sorong).

Please let us know at [email protected] if you are going to travel there during same period and interested to share some transfer (and/or snorkeling/hiking trip) costs. Thank you.

Hi Stanislav

You’re welcome to join and post this request over at our facebook Travellers’ Forum to increase your chances of finding travelling companions.

Makes sense. Will do. Thank you very much.

Stanislav, I did not booked any homestay yet but planning 2 of them: on Kri 4 nights and on Gam 4 nights . we will have only 7 full days in Raja Ampat for snorkeling trips from April 5 till April 12, we have flight from Sorong to Bali on April 13. we are 3 people. see if our company would be ok for you. we are mad snorkelrs and want to take snorkeling trips everyday.

Hi!! I would like to come on the first two weeks of September … the weather is quite good or it rains all the day? Terima kasih :)

See this page Anna.

Hye..im thinking to go to waisai/misool on february 2020..i just want to know whats the season for feb?

Click the link we provided above for Anna, Rafeah. You can find the answer to this question (and all the other info you need to plan and book a visit) by reading our step by step guide .

Just wondering, how about the tide in Rajaampat this august… is it a little bit high like the rest of Indonesia’s ocean…?

August is usually the windy/rainy season in Raja Ampat Titaku, so the ocean can sometimes be high then, but there have been no reports from Papua of wave damage like in Bali and Java. Full weather information is here .

Hi, I hope someone here can help. We have the choice of to connecting flights from CGK. The first choice would give us 2 hours, in which we need to go through immigration, change terminals and check in (no luggage). We’d be in SOQ at 06:30 and could take the morning ferry. Second option gives us more time in CGK, however we won’t arrive in SOQ until 13:05, meaning we might miss the 14:00 public ferry. Are there any homestays that offer direct collection from Sorong in case we miss the public ferry? Or do you think 2 hours to transfer in CGK is enough and we should just be quick and dash through?

We think that taking the extra time in CGK would be wise, at it would be a lot more trouble to miss your SOQ flight than to miss the afternoon ferry.

If you are travelling with carry-on luggage only (and your flight is on time) then you shouldn’t have a problem catching the 1400 ferry.

Very few homestays pick up from Sorong, and the cost is much higher than catching the ferry. The levels of comfort and safety on a small boat are also substantially lower than on the ferry.

A night in Sorong is not such a bad thing if it proves unavoidable!

Just wondering what time the flights are from Sorong to Waisai and how much the flight is?

Schedule and prices can change, so it’s best to contact Susi Air via one of the methods provided above. They are usually quick to answer email enquiries.

What is the status of the flights going into Waisai? I can’t find them anymore online.

Thanks for the headsup! We’ve made some enquiries and discovered that the daily flights have been scrapped without notice. Again. Marinda is now only serviced by Susi Air , with flights from Sorong every Tuesday and Thursday. We’ll update this page with the relevant details shortly.

Ok, thanks! That explains :) Arriving at 13:05 at Sorong is too late for the 2pm ferry I assume?

Probably. You’d need to be on your way from the airport by 1340 at latest to make it if it leaves on time. Worth asking someone to call regardless, though – sometimes delays can work in your favour! ;)

hallo are flights from Sorong to Jakarta usually on time? we got to catch our flight for back in Italy at 7 pm in Jakarta, do you think it’s a good idea to take a flight from Sorong at 11.50 or is it better back in Jakarta the day before? about going to kri is it easy to find a boat for share the trip in waisei? Thanks

It very much depends on which airline you are flying with. Garuda is the most reliable, Lion/Wings by far the least reliable. If you want to be absolutely certain of making your international flight, it would probably be best to arrive back in Jakarta the day before.

There are almost always homestay boats going to Kri at ferry arrival times, so you can usually jump on one of those. Depending on where the boat you catch is headed, you may have a bit of a walk to your homestay.

hi, the boat also work on August 17th?

To the best of our knowledge it does Fabrizio, but the advice above still applies!

I’ ll go from Waisai ti Mansuar on 24 july. Is there anyone nteresting ti share the boat? We are two people and we’ll ho to Yenmakrak Homestay

You might get more and faster responses by posting this in our Travellers’ Forum fb group . You’re welcome to join.

Hello, I will be staying at Kri island from the 27th of June. Anyone interested in sharing trip costs contact me :) My insta is azorean_ju. Happy travels!

Hi, we (2 of us) are going to Manseur (next to Kri) tomorrow too. We would love to share. Sent you a message on instagram

Cheers for all the great info, i’ll be heading to Raja Ampat around the 10th of June. I was wondering if you could recommend a website to advertise when i’m going to see if other people will be there around the same time. To share the cost of boat travel between the islands. Thanks.

You’re welcome Joe.

We’d suggest trying your luck in our fb Raja Ampat Travellers’ Forum .

I will be arriving into Sorong on the 9th of June if you are interested in sharing costs. Will be leaving from Sorong heading to Jakarta on the 15th of June. I’m a kiwi travelling on my own =)

Myself and one other will be arriving on the ninth into sorong to. Would be great to share the boat costs. Do you know where you will be staying in sarong?

Saya dan teman-teman mau ke raja ampat bulan Agustus 2018. Kami berencana naik wings air. Kalau boleh tahu, dari bandara waisai ke pelabuhan waisai apakah ada angkot atau ojek? Dan berapa biayanya?

Yes, as above, there are taxis available at Marinda airport. Ojeks more than likely are as well. Don’t know what the current prices are for those though, sorry.

Saya juga ke Raja Ampat bulan Agustus (awal). Tapi hampir semua travel tidak ada open trip di tanggal saya kesana. Hal ini disebabkan oleh cuaca yang buruk (katanya). Apakah pergi ke Raja Ampat di bulan Agustus itu pilihan yang salah? Lalu sebaiknya apa yang saya lakukan? karena saya sudah beli tiket pesawat. Trims

Hi, I need to get to Raja Ampat Dive Lodge and I arrive in Sorong at 0645. Is there a boat to Waigeo on Saturday, what time does it leave, how much does it cost and at what time will it arrive?

I’m not a diver but will consider snorkelling, Kayaking, Island hopping and hiking. Any recommendations please?

The Sorong-Waisai ferry schedule published above shows there are 2 ferries to Waisai on Saturdays Lyn. Prices and trip length are provided above too.

There’s plenty to do in Raja Ampat for non-deivers. See this page .

We have booked a Live aboard trip with Demi in July, but will require accommodation for one night in Sarong? can you provide any suggestions?

Thanks Brent

There’s a lot of choice. The only places we’ve ever stayed in Sorong are the JE Meridien for its proximity to the airport, the City View (there isn’t one! :P ) for its price/features balance and the Swiss-Belhotel for extra comfort

We want to go to Raja Ampit for ur Honeymoon we are coming from Bali and want to know the easiest way to get there & Back to Bali. And not crazy expensive either. Are there any direct flights from Bali ?

As it says above, there are no direct flights from Bali to Raja Ampat.

You need to fly from Bali via Makassar to Sorong, then go to Waisai as described at 3 above.

I am from Malaysia and our group would like to plan to Raja Ampat island / Makassar. Would like to have contact tour guide with reasonable price while we are in island. How long it takes to explore the island. thank you

Hello Mariam

If you are looking for a guided tour of Raja Ampat, you will need to contact one of the guides on this page and tell them what you would like to see. Note that Raja Ampat is not one island, but hundreds that are spread across a large area. It would take months to see them all!

question – looking to dive in the raja ampat islands for cheap – not with a super expensive liveaboard. also hope to go to cendrawasih bay to see the whalesharks. coming in from Batam (Indonesia) does any one have any suggestions?

Homestay dive centers are the cheapest way to dive Raja Ampat Marla.

Hello Marla

Did you go to Cenderwasih Bay to see the wale sharks? I wanted to go too but read that the dive center is closed because of an oil company. Any information about that would be highly appreciated!

The schedule of fast ferries to Misool is not true. We returned from Misool to Sorong on Saturday (not on Sunday, as in your schedule). And there is simply no ferry between Waisai and Misool, they did not go and do not go. There is a “direct transfer” – when the ferry from Misool docks side-by-side to the ferry, following to Waisai at 14.00 – you go to the next ferry, buy a new ticket and get to Waisai. No other way.

Thanks for the update Larysa. We certainly should have made it clearer that the Misool-Sorong route that Marina Express advertises does indeed require a change of boat at Sorong. (Sometimes we wonder why we bother publishing ferry schedules at all – they change so frequently that it’s almost impossible to keep up! :P )

Hello Larysa, I’m planing go to Misool next month. Can you tell me how long does it takes the ferry boat from Misool to Sorong? Thank you

Hi, Carol! We left Misool at 08:00 and arrived to Sorong at 13:00, en route –   about 5 hours, RP.350.000. If desired, you can go to Waisai by ferry at 14:00.

Hi Larysa, how did you reach Misool from Sorong as we are looking to go ?

As above Angie: Marina Express from Sorong harbour. (See the pelabuhan rakyat link for a map.)

Angie, in November 2017, when we went to Misool, there were 2 slow ferries (departure at 23:00 from Sorong on Mondays and Fridays, back on Thursdays (09:00) and Saturdays (1:00 pm), on the way for 9 hours. MARINA EXPRESS from Sorong – Monday, Wednesday, Friday 12:00, on the way 5 hours; from Misool – Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday (08:00). But the schedule needs to be specified.

Thanks for valuable information. Do you know if there is any ferry on the 31st of december or 1st of january? Have a flight from Sorong the 1st of january. Thanks

You’re welcome Stephanie. :) To the best of our knowledge, ferries will be running on those dates. But as above – anything’s possible! Follow our facebook page to receive updates as we hear of them.

Just to let everyone know: We just arrived at the harbor, there will be two boats going today, 25th of December.

Thanks for the update Martin – It seems that the only reliable way to know what the ferries are doing is to have someone making daily reports from the harbour! Merry Christmas :)

NO CHRISTMAS DAY FERRIES!

Just letting you all know that we’ve been told there will be no ferries running between Sorong and Waisai on December 25, 2017. This more than likely applies to the Sorong-Misool route too.

UPDATE 25/12: As per Martin’s news from the harbour above, there ARE ferries running today. Thanks Martin :)

Do you know if there is also a boat on Christmas to waisai? Thnx

There have been in years past Wim, so we assume there will be this year. But anything’s possible. Contact the Waisai Information Center closer to the date to confirm.

Update as above Wim! No ferries on Christmas Day this year apparently.

Thanks very much for such a helpful page (and website). My girlfriend and I also booked our homestay through you.

I don’t know if you can help with this, but any advice would be gratefully received, please. We’re due to arrive at Sorong Airport at 13:05 tomorrow and because the currently available Sorong accommodation options are horrible (overpriced and not good) we are thinking of trying our luck to catch the Bahari Express 14:00 ferry that day. I reckon it’s worth a go, especially as ferries seem to leave late reasonably often. We’re mentally prepared to miss the ferry and walk up to a place to stay in Sorong that night. Do you have any recommendations on where we can stay in Sorong if that happens? Ideally with local people in a homestay rather than a hotel, if possible.

All the best, Mark

You’re welcome Mark :)

It’s definitely worth trying! We don’t know of any homestays in Sorong, but John Urbon can almost always be found at the port, so if you miss the ferry, ask around for him or give him a call. He’ll know what’s available.

Thanks very much :) We’ll give it a try and see what happens. After 4 weeks in Indonesia we’re getting better at accepting what fate provides for us ;) Great tip about John Urbon – he seems like a really good guy. All the best, Mark

I was wondering: did you catch the ferry? We are trying to do the same this Wednesday. Garuda flight from jayapura…

Thanks! Cheers, Jeanine

Hi Jeanine,

I’m sorry, I haven’t had Internet access for a few days and only just saw your message. Did you get the boat okay in the end? I think it’s pure luck. Ours left 30 minutes late but our flight was 1.5 hours late so we couldn’t make it in time.

Have a great trip,

Hello! Do you know the timetable of the Fajar Baru ferry from Seram to Misool? And is it correct that it departs Seram from Bula? Many thanks for any help you can provide!

Sorry! We don’t know about that. If the Fajar Baru is a Pelni ship, then you should be able to find the answer via the “Pelni ship schedules” link in the “Getting to Sorong” section above.

Hi, May I know for the express boat to leave from Misool to Sorong does it operates on Saturday or Sunday? From your timetable above it shows from Misool-Sorong leaves on Sunday 8am. But according to my Indonesian friend who just came back from Misool, he said the express boat leaves everyday Tues, Thurs and Saturday and not Sunday. Can you clarify on this cause I have a liveaboard to board on Sunday morning.

Hello Chong PL

Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the ferry companies change their schedules without notice. Your Indonesian friend is more than likely correct, as the timetables above were provided to us 4 months ago.

We will make enquiries and update the schedules if we can get reliable information about them, but in the meantime it would probably be best to try to confirm with the Raja Ampat Tourism office in Sorong. (Link to their contact information is provided above.)

Okay thank you

Just received a confirmation that our NAM Air flight on 03Nov (00.05h from Jakarta) was cancelled. Is anybody aware of this as well? is there are reason why they cancelled their flights?

I’m now considering booking the Batik Air flight, arriving 08.00h in Sorong. Will I make it to the 09.00h ferry with this flight?

We haven’t heard any reports about NAM rudy, but our experience is that all the smaller airlines like NAM, Lion, Wings, Sriwijaya etc regularly cancel or delay flights without notice. Garuda is the only Indonesian airline that we know of that has a good on-time record.

We’ve never flown with Batik and haven’t heard any negative reports about it, but you would be lucky to make the 0900 ferry from a flight landing at 0800. Not impossible, but (assuming the ferry departs on time) you would need to leave the airport no later than 0830.

We were booked on the 0:05 Nam Air flight to Sorong on 18 November. I saw this post last week and had a bad feeling about our flight. Sure enough, this morning we got notified our flight was cancelled.

Anyone flying Nam to Sorong in the near future might want to check out alternative flights!

How did they inform you? By email? Did you get your money back at least?

We booked with tiket.com. They sent me an automated email notification with no reference to a refund. I emailed customer service to request a refund, and they said they will issue a refund. We’ll see!

We get into same issue last week. But we booked flight via nusatrip and didnt get any cancellation email. As we arrived to jakartas airport they said that they tried to call me :D we were coming from singapore so i dont know if they really did try to call. They changed flights to next morning to batik air flight and paid our night in hotel.

How to get the Bahari Express ferry tickets? Do we need to buy directly in Sorong or any other way we can book in advance?

As above Lokesh: “…at the ticket offices in the Waisai and Sorong port office buildings.” is the easiest way to buy them.

There are plenty of local agents who sell them as well, but to the best of our knowledge, they cannot be purchased online or before the day of travel.

We are thinking of taking the boat from Sorong to Wasai at 2pm. Would there be a problem for picking up people from the resort at that time? our first stop is going to be Baser Bay.

Sorry for the late reply on this one carlos. Hope it’s not too late!

No problem for Beser Bay to pick up up from that ferry. Just SMS them from Sorong on the day so they know which boat you will arrive on.

We have booked the Batik Air flight from Sorong to Jakarta on Friday 17Nov, departure time 16.45h. We are considering taking a flight from Waisai to Sorong, leaving at 14.40h. Do you recommend this, or better take the ferry in the morning? thanks.

Whichever you think best rudy. We prefer the ferry, and there have been some recent problems with the airline operating the Marinda flights.

ok in that case we won’t run the risk, as the other morning we need to fly back home to Europe.

I hope Batik Air (from SOQ to CGK) is more reliable?

We’ve never heard any negative reports about Batik, so should be good :)

I’m now considering booking the Batik Air flight, arriving 08.00h in Sorong. Will I make it to the 09.00h ferry with this flight?

Can you confirm that for all week days (including Tuesday) the Express ferry will leave at 9 am from Sorong to Waisai?

The schedule provided is current JT. Subject to the above proviso.

Hello I will go next year to Misool Eco Resort and I would like to know if is there a boat to go from Wasai ( marinda airport) to Misool. Thanks

Well, there’s a boat from Waisai harbour to Misool, Jerusa. As described in the above information.

Hello, I’m considering taking the Batik air flight arriving in Sorong from Jakarta at 8am. Is it possible to make it to the 9am ferry? Else I will arrange the earlier Sriwijaya air.

Kind regards, Ida

Well – like it says above – it takes 10 to 20 minutes to get from the airport to the harbour, so as long as you arrived on time and it didn’t take longer than about 30 minutes to disembark, claim your baggage and get a taxi then yes – you should be able to make the 0900 ferry.

Hi, I’m thinking about this too. Say that something goes wrong with the flight etc and one misses the 9am express ferry, what alternatives are there (except speedboats) ? One is to wait for the 2pm boar. Others? What time the slow boats depart? Thanks

The only options for getting from Sorong to Waisai are the ones mentioned above. The slow boat used to depart at about 2pm, but that may have changed.

I am trying to book a flight ticket from Ambon to Wasai. I can see the flight on Traveloka but when I try to confirm the booking, it says it is impossible. Do you if there is a phone number to buy it ? Thank you !

To the best of our knowledge there are no direct flights from Ambon to Waisai, so any flight showing would most likely include a transfer at Sorong. Suggest you try contacting the airline/s that Traveloka shows as operating the flight you want.

I’m just checking Xpress air flights from Jakarta to Sorong for December and there is absolutely no availability Do you think it’s all already booked out or is it too far ahead to book ?? And what is an average cost of return flight ??

Many Thanks in advance

We don’t know why that would be Patryk, but both Batik and NAM Air also offer direct Jakarta-Sorong flights now. Prices vary, but a quick look shows them available and priced at between 2 and 3 million rupiah in December.

Hi I just found availabilty on Jakarta – Sorong on DEC01 and return on DEC14. You maybe can check again. :)

X’press Air for route of Jakarta – Sorong isn’t available anymore. They closed the route without any reason. You can book Batik Air for the same route (with transit in Makassar, South Sulawesi for 40 minutes) or if you want a direct flight you can choose NAM Air. Price around IDR 2,5 Mio – 3,1 Mio for return flight

Good to know! Thanks for the update Rudi. You can also find CGK-SOQ direct flights on Batik’s website.

We somehow (?!) managed to get booked on the 4.15 flight with Sriwijaya instead of the 3.15 we had tickets for, and will thus arrive at Sorong 7.25. Is this enough time to get to get our stuff, get to the Harbour and purchase ferry tickets before the 9am ferry take off?

Yes – as long as the flight actually leaves at the scheduled time, you should still be able to make the ferry. Good luck!

Can you recommend a travel agency or someone that can help us book our flight from Jakarta to Sorong, once we arrive in Jakarta? Thank you!

Hi Dylan –

We always book online using one of the booking websites linked above, so can’t help with travel agents, sorry.

Depending on your arrival time in Jakarta, buying the tickets at the airline’s airport office might also be an option.

The ferry leaving from Sorong and arrives at Misool also makes a stop at Batanta Island?

We don’t think so Mirka. There is a slow public boat that makes weekly trips to the villages on the north coast of Batanta. Pak John at Sorong harbour would be able to help you find that.

We arrive in Sorong at 06:30. We had the same flight 2 years ago, and had a long wait at the harbour until the 2pm ferry. I see on the schedule that there is a 9am express boat, which was not an option a couple of years ago. Can you please confirm that this express boat does run every day? Just trying to save another long wait at the harbour, as if the ferry is at 2pm we may wait in a hotel for a while.

Thanks. Ruth

Yes – we can confirm that the timetables published above are current and that the ferries run as shown.

Hello! Please tell if there is still SLOW ferry (Fajar Baru 8/Fajar Indah II) to/FROM Misool, that been listed here before – from Misool to Sorong on Thursday and Saturday? Or, as I understand, the only one option to leave Misool (to Sorong) by public ferry now is on Tue, Thu, Sun 8.00 am?

Hi Sergei –

As far as we know, the slow ferry is still running, but the times have changed a few times a year in the past. John Urbon or the Raja Ampat Tourism Information Office in Sorong would be the best sources of up to date information about that.

Hi, does speedy ferry to misool leave sorong and wasai the same time? are they two different ferry?

They do Marialuisa. (Same company, two different boats,)

I see that they is now a fast ferry to Misool, do you know the price? Also i do not seem to be able to find any accommodation on Misool?

Hi Thomas –

Answered your first question in section 3./Marina Express above.

We’d very much like to list Misool homestays, but unfortunately it seems that they see no value in being members of the Raja Ampat Homestay Association or in being represented on the website.

We’ll keep trying though!

How likely is it that sea snakes will be encountered while in the waters of RA? We are going to on a liveaboard in January/February. Thanks

It’s quite likely Chrissy. More info here.

Thank you! Is there any particular area or region that is more populated and do they get onboard the boats as well?

We don’t know what their population distribution is, but we’ve seen the occasional one at most places we’ve been in Raja Ampat. We’ve never heard of them getting onto boats though! They’re not something you need to be too concerned about really.

You seem worried about sea snakes Chrissy. Don’t be. They are really not a problem. I’ve been diving all around Indonesia for more than 20 years and encountered them very many times. The type you will come across (banded krait) are not aggressive and quite timid. They have small mouths and are unlikely to bite even when handled (which I don’t recommend doing even though an Indonesian friend has been handling them for 40 years without any incident). I’ve never known them to climb onto a boat.

Thanks for the reply!

We plan to go to RA in late Oct/Nov to dive and surface snorkel (ear issues mean stuff has to be in shallow water because can’t free dive). I wonder how important it is to have reservations or if it is possible to island hop depending on conditions.

Hi elzbet –

It’s not important to have reservations unless you want to stay at the most popular homestays, and islnd hopping is no problem at all: All homestays can arrange transport to homestays on other islands.

Booking via the website booking form for first place you want to stay at isn’t a bad idea though, as it’ll let you easily arrange a Waisai pickup at the start of your trip.

We are planning to travel to Raja Ampat for two weeks (arriving at the beginning of August). We do not absolutely know this incredible place ! What are according to you the best spot to “visit” ? Is it easy to travel from island to island ? Are there good excursions organized ? Many thanks ;) Gregory

Hi citerneschi

You’ll find all the answers to those questions and lots of other important information linked from our step by step guide .

Thanks for this great website!

I am thinking to go to Kri between the 12th and 19th of August. I want to return Jakarta on the 20th, when do you think that I should left Kri to arrive that day? Which is your advise to book a flight from Waisai or to fly from Sorong? (Because I cannot know how much time can take by car from waisai harbour to the airport)

Thanks very much for your work

Cheers Argo :)

The quickest way to get from Raja Ampat to Jakarta would be by the Xpress Air direct flight from Sorong. You need to allow at least one hour from ferry arrival in Sorong to checkin time at Sorong airport.

Thanks this site is really useful. How much can a transfer from Sorong to Birie cost ?

Always nice to hear! Thanks Elisabetta :)

By far the cheapest way to get to the Birie homestays is to take the ferry to Waisai and be picked up from there. One or two of them can arrange a Sorong pickup if you want. Prices are shown in the Transport/getting there section of each homestay’s page .

Hello. Are the prices of the ferries and taxi from the harbour up to date? This website is really good btw ;) Thx

They are Pericles. Some guests have recently reported success in negotiating a lower taxi fare from from the Sorong airport to the harbour though. Happy to hear the site’s been useful to you – thanks! :)

I was wondering about the ferry times. I do arrive with Garuda Flight at 9:30 in the morning. I won’t make the ferry at 9am, correct? How much would be a speedboat directly ?

Yes – you won’t be able to make the 0900 ferry if you land at 0930. As we said at 3.3 above: Chartered speedboats cost hundreds of dollars. Much better to just wait for the afternoon ferry!

Thank you! I couldnt find any afternoon ferry! When is it? Another question: how reliable is BatikAir? do they often cancel flights?

Many thanks in advance!

Hi Thomas, We flew Batik Air (Lion Air brand) last year to Ambon, the experience was fine. Our travel agency doesn’t have any doubts regarding Batik/Lion. But most reliable is Garuda, of course.

Ferry times are here Thomas.

Thank you so much for running this site! It is making a lot easier to make my dream true :) Me and my girlfriend have already booked flights and homestays and we are looking for more people to share the expenses of boat transfers. Our shedule is: Sorong–> Waisai 24th of December 17. We will stay in Yenkangkanes Homestay for 3 nights. Yenkangkanes–>Manta Homestay (Arborek): 27 Dec – 31 Dec. Manta–> Nudibranch Homestay: 31 Dec – 5 January 18.

It will be nice if we could share transfers from Yenkangkanes to Arborek and others. In Arborek we plan to take the Piainemo Trip.

Contact me through email or facebook: [email protected] Francisco Sedano. See you there!

Thank you Francisco :)

You are welcome to also post your plan over on our facebook page to increase your chances of meeting travelling companions. All the best for your stay!

Hello! Is it really recommended to go back to sorong one day before my flight? I have a flight back to Jakarta on 14:45, so i was wondering if ferry get cancelled frequently or not.

Hi Rafael –

The ferry doesn’t get cancelled very often at all, but departure delays can happen. If there’s a 0900 ferry on the day of your flight, you’ll more than likely be fine.

Hi! I’m curious if you know approximately how much it will cost to fly from Jakarta to Sorong. I’ve looked at the airline websites and it quotes around 3M IDR each way. This seems expensive. Is it accurate? Thank you!

That sounds reasonable to us. (Bear in mind that Jakarta to Sorong is a distance three quarters of that from LA to NYC.)

Thank you! It does seem reasonable by U.S. standards. When I was in Indonesia in 2010, domestic air travel was subsidized and was wildly cheaper than much of the world. I’ve heard the government has decreased the subsidies since then.

Regardless, do you know if there is a layover between Jakarta and Sorong or are most flights direct? Thanks again

Depends which airline you fly with. Most go via Makassar. The airlines that fly direct (non-stop) are listed above.

Hi guys, thanks for maintaining this great site!

I have a day to spend in Sorong (arriving at about 9am) before my LOB sails the next day. Any recommendations / suggestions on how we could spend a day in Sorong? Would be happy to consider any day tours or engage a local guide for the day if possible.

You’re welcome JT :)

Hard to know what to recommend without knowing what you like! The Vihara Buddha Jayanti is worth a visit. There’s also some excellent bird watching at the nearby protected forest, if that appeals. Probably best to contact a guide like John Urbon – he’ll be able to organise whatever you want.

Hi. I’m a woman in my mid 50s and would love to visit this part of the world. Is solo travel ok? Any suggestions? Thanks Deb

Solo travel is fine in the islands, but probably wise to avoid going out alone in Sorong at night. If you want a place where other travellers are sure to be around, choose one of the Kri homestays .

Effective March 5, 2017, the ferry schedules had changed as follow:

Sorong – Waisai: Sunday to Saturday at 9 am and 2 pm

Waisai – Sorong: Sunday to Friday at 9 am and 2 pm, Saturday at 9 am and 12 am.

I happened to be there on the day of the change.

Thanks for the update Gaby!

It’s crazy how often that schedule is changed and (only being able to visit a few times a year) we rely on guest updates like yours to keep it current, so – thanks again :)

Hello, I should have enough time to catch the morning ferry from Sorong (1,5 hours), but what if I miss it? Will homestay transfers normally wait in Waisai if you miss the first ferry? Also, do Sorong-Waisai ferries have enough space or is a reservation needed?

I also know I should confirm my arrival but the homestay page says there is no phone signal, is SMS still the best way to make contact (or is there an alternative way via booking system?)

Hi Katriina

As long as your flight lands on time you shouldn’t have any problem making the ferry. If you’re not on the first ferry, then yes – homestays will check the second one too if they are expecting you. You can’t make reservations for the ferries – you can only buy tickets on the day.

Recommend you send an SMS to the homestay when boarding the ferry. (They will more than likely be in a reception area by then.) The website booking system uses SMS to communicate with homestays anyway, so it can’t provide an alternative method.

Hello We are currently staying in Sorong for the night and hope to get the ferry to Waisai tomorrow. I believe there is a ferry at 14:00 (the locals we have asked have confirmed this one), but are there always two departures from Sorong to Waisai daily? The schedule you have listed seems to indicate that there will be a ferry at midday as it is a Thursday… Imagine it is a bit late in the day for the information centre to be open so your guidance would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi Gemma –

As far as we know, the ferry timetable shown above is still current so yes – there should be one leaving Sorong at midday on Thursdays. The best thing to do would be go down to the port office around 0830 to see. (In case it’s changed and there’s one earlier than 1200.)

Hi , thank you very much for the very detailed information on your website. Itwas the “opener” for this wonderful part of indonesia. A short question: Is there a change of departing time for the express ferry on Thursday,16/3/2017 at 9 AM from Waisai to Sorong?

Thanks Joachim :)

As far as we know, the ferry schedule remains as shown above. We update that table and post on our facebook page as soon as we are aware of changes.

Hi ! I would like know ferry’s departures time for Misool ? Thanks !

Hi Eve –

All we know about Misool ferry timetables is on Harfat Jaya Homestay’s page and in the reader comments there.

Thanks so much for creating such a detailed site – it has been super helpful! My husband and I are super confused on 1 point – We plan to take Garuda flight on Sun, 03/26 at 2:30 pm. From the schedule posted here, we see that there is a ferry departing on Sundays at 9:00 am from Waisai. According to our resort contact, he feels that no one has every missed a 2:30 pm flight because there is sufficient buffer after taking the 9 am ferry. We would absolutely love to spend Sat on the island as well, and take Sun morning ferry. Couple of Qns:

1) Is there any website where they post the schedule, so we can confirm that there is a 9 am ferry on 03/26? 2) If ferry is cancelled on a particular day, how early would we get to know? 3) Worse case scenario, if ferry gets cancelled – how much does the speed boat option cost approximately for 2 persons? 4) Is the buffer time in above schedule truly enough?

Thanks in advance for your help!

You’re welcome Aditi – it’s always nice to hear it’s helpful :)

1 – There’s no website we know of. Check at the Sorong port ticket office when you head over. 2 – Ask your host to call to check on Saturday 3 – Hundreds of dollars at last report! 4 – As long as a ferry departs Waisai by 1100 you’ll have time to make your flight.

I’m thinking of taking the new Wings Air flight from Wasai to Manado.

How would you get transport from Wasai port to Wasai airport ? Is there taxis available ? How long is the journey and how much will it cost ?

Hi Anderson

The cheapest method – if you don’t have too much baggage – would be by ojek (motorcycle taxi). The alternative is to hire a local driver and car. It takes about 15 minutes to travel by car between the harbour and airport. Not really sure what it would cost, but we do know it costs IDR 300,000 to go from the harbour to Warimpurem Homestay . The airport is about half that distance, so…

Buenas noches, me gustaría saber si a parte de la empresa Pelni, hay otras compañías que ofrezcan trayectos de una isla a otra. He visto que Pelni ofrece trayectos desde Sorong a Waisai, otro desde Sorong a Piaynemo, a Wayag, a islas Arborek y dos destinos más. Mi pregunta es si hace falta siempre volver a Sorong para ir a otra isla, porque por ejemplo, mi pareja y yo queremos ir a Waisai, Piaynemo y a Wayag pero sin tener que volver a Sorong. Dentro de la página web de Pelni, no conseguimos encontrar las rutas exactas que he mencionado. Tampoco estamos encontrando mucha información sobre cómo moverse por las islas. En vuestra página web y en algún blog, hemos visto que el dueño del “homestay” organiza excursiones como salidas de pesca o buceo; nosotros queremos ir más por libre pero no podemos contactar con nadie porque todavía no hemos realizado ninguna reserva. Muchas gracias.

You don’t need to go back to Sorong (or Waisai). All homestays offer transport between the islands. You don’t need to book transfers – just ask your host when you are there. Use the advanced search on the accommodation or home page to find homestays offering Wayag trips.

Just returned from RA, ferries from Waisai to Sorong sail daily at 09:00 and 14:00. That is what locally published schedule on the jetty as well as local people are saying. I was there to catch a Saturday 08:00 ferry but it sailed after 09:00. Of course one needs to check and recheck.

Good advice indeed Def. Those schedules have changed again since we were there in January! Thanks for the update :)

What is the new shedule? We will arrive on march 2nd at 6:30AM and we were told that there is no morning ferry. It is truth?

To the best of our knowledge the schedule is as published on the page above. We are trying to confirm if Def’s advice about the ferries from Waisai is a permanent change or only a temporary one. Unless there have been recent changes we’re yet to hear about, there are ferries every morning from Sorong to Waisai.

Update Feb 19: Current ferry schedule has been confirmed and updated on the page above.

Hi everyone,

I am based in Bali and I am planning to do a backpack trip to Raja Ampat between 25 March to 5 April. I would like to join any group or perhaps we can travel together if your dates fall on the same dates as as mine.

You’re welcome to post this over on our facebook page to increase your chances of finding travel companions.

1. Are there Backpackers’ Hostels in Waisai if I need to stay there for a night?

2. I am planning to go there by myself, are there Backpackers’ Hotel near the islnds?

3. How do I go to the islands in RA where I can snorkel?

1. There are, but the homestays near Waisai can be reached by road and are much nicer!

2. No, but there are homestays.

3. See 4 above: By requesting a Waisai pickup when you book the first homestay you want to stay at. All homestays can organise transport to other islands if you want to stay at more than one place.

How would you advise to reach Raja Ampat if I was in Bali ? I am planning to go there around March-April and would like to go for a week to Raja Ampat.

Denpasar-Makassar-Sorong Henryk

I am based in Bali and I am also planning a trip to RA between March 25 and April 6, just wondering if you would like to have a travel buddy in case you plan to go there on the same target date. My email is [email protected] .

At the moment I do not have any definitive dates but if I am in Bali (most likely in Ubud) I will shoot you an email.

I’m planning on using the Lion/Wings air flight from Sorong to Manado (via Waisai) but have trouble finding information on excess baggage charges.

Personnal checked luggage is limited to 10 kg per person on Wings air operated flights and we’ll have 10 kg extra (ie 20 kg) each…

Lion air charges vary from destination to the next (basically between 5000 to 60 000 Rp per excess kg), and I’ve been trying to reach them but it’s hell.

I figure someone must have ended up in the same situation, so maybe someone remembers what the extra charge per kg was to and from Sorong? thanks

We can’t help you with that one sorry Fred. We never fly with Lion because they have the worst on-time record in the country. (Being caught 3 times and missing connecting flights is more than enough!) Anybody else know?

Garuda’s more expensive, but we’ve never experienced a problem with them and economy class seats include 20kg checked baggage PLUS 23kg sports equipment per person!

NEWS might be worth checking!

I called lionair call center (+62) 02163798000. And they said they have a daily DIRECT flight between MANADO AND WAISAI, at 7am from Manado with wings air. It does not show yet on website but, can book trough call center.

I just came back from raja ampat. Thanks for providing all information on this page!

You’re welcome Annika :)

We posted about the new Waisai flights on our facebook page back on December 19, but haven’t had a chance to update this page yet – sorry!

I have gone to Waisai by direct flight from Manado by WIngs last month. You have to go to their office to buy ticket. The office in Manado locates opposite to Quality hotel. The cost is around 850k indo rupih for two hours and half flying with ATR72 propeller, departing at 7h20and arriving Waisai around 10h40 (Waisai is 1 hour a head Manado). There are also flight back from Waisai to Manado around 15 pm.

The taxi from airport to habour cost 150k rapid for 3-4 km, but can be negotiable (They finally agreed I paid 100k because I went solo). Mostly, no English. Except for two men that can communicate and arrange boats from Waisai to Island, one is Wawan +6282259112072 or Anton +6282198325785. You can call a boat man, Paul Brothers + 6282198892428 to go to Kri island, but they do not understand where you want to go. You need translation from Wawan or Anton.

Or you need to call your home stay and let’s your translator or your boat man talk to each other. Mostly boat man and even translator do not know the name of the home stay. They only know the owner name. ( I booked Nyunpun Amber and told them the name, they did not know where, until I gave them the owner names, Laurent). Many of the owner do not speak English, that is why you need to send booking by SMS 1 day in advance ( they will run somewhere to ask someone who can reply you).

Hello there!

We’ve used your website to book our whole trip – so thank you!

We have a flight booked home from Jakarta at 12.15am on March 8.

Do you think we would be OK to get the 8am ferry from Waisai to Sorong on March 7, then catch the 2.05pm flight from Sorong (via Makassar) landing in Jakarta at 7.20pm? Leaving us around 5 hours before our flight.

Or do you think it is worth getting a flight to Jakarta the day before? The only issue then is that the Monday ferry will not make the 2.05pm flight, so we’d probably have to leave the islands the previous day!

Just not sure if it’s a bit risky to do it all in one day? Are the internal flights reliable and on time usually?

Any help would be appreciated! Thank you, Anya

You’re welcome! Glad to hear the site was helpful :)

If you’re flying with Garuda you’ll be fine. If with Lion, then… good luck! (They have a shocking on-time record.) As long as you’re not booked on Lion you shouldn’t need to change your scheduled arrival in Jakarta.

Be sure to check the ferry departure time on the 7th to confirm it’s still 8am. Schedules – and individual departures – can change without notice. As long as there’s a ferry departing no later than 11am you’ll be able to make your 2pm flight. The only way to completely eliminate the risk of missing your flight from Sorong is to return there the day before your departure.

I’m planning to visit Raja Ampat in May and have the same question. We fly out of Sorong with Garuda at 2.35pm on Saturday 13th of May. Can we take a morning ferry and make the flight, or is this too risky in May?

Otherwise would it help to sleep the last night in Waisai instead of the homestay, to be closer to the ferry?

Thanks for the advice!

You’ll have no problem making your flight as long as the ferry timetable above remains unchanged. Be sure to check that there is a ferry departing before 11am. There’s nothing to be gained by staying in Waisai the night before ferry departure: The only way to absolutely guarantee you make your flight is to return to Sorong the night before you fly.

Thank you so much for the reply. Eventually we had to change our schedule a bit and we booked now the Garuda flight at 12.25pm on Sunday 14th May. I think this means we should head to Sorong the night before, also because traveling on Sundays isn’t advised?

Thanks! Femke

It’s OK to arrive on a Sunday if your schedule demands it Femke, but more considerate to avoid it if possible :)

we´re planing our trip to RA. We have to stay one night in Sorong. Any recommendation for a nice hotel/accommodation for Sorong?

Thanks and regards Sebastian

Hi Sebastian

For convenience’ sake, we’ve always stayed at the old JE Meridien opposite the airport, but there are probably better choices. We’ve heard that the new Swiss-Belhotel near the harbour is quite good.

Hello! I wanted to ask you a question. Our return flight sorong jakarta leaves the day 26 of February at 12:30. Do you know how we can get from wasai to sorong in time?

Hi Paula –

The latest ferry schedule (posted above) shows that there’s supposed to be a 0800 ferry from Waisai on Sundays. IF that schedule is followed, that would get you there in time for a 1230 departure.

Unfortunately, ferry departure timetables are notoriously unreliable and subject to sudden change. The only way to be absolutely certain of making a flight out of Sorong is to spend the night before your departure in Sorong.

Could you confirm if both ferries run on the 1st of January. I have heard two conflicting reports that they will not run on either the 31st December or the 1st of January from home stays on the island?

Hi Andy –

They ran on the christmas and new year’s day holidays last year and as far as we know they will be this year too, but we’re not based in Raja Ampat. If homestays are telling you they will not be then it’s probably wise to plan as if they are not! We’ll see if we can confirm one way or the other.

UPDATE: Our sources in Waisai (which are usually reliable) tell us that the ferry company says ferries will be running on Dec 31 and Jan 1.

Do you know at what time?

?? The times are published in the table above clara!

Hellooo! Do you know if 1 of January is going to be ferries from Waisai to Sorong?

Yep. As it says above Clara – they run every day.

Thanks. Can you confirm the boat on Sunday, 1 January at 8.00am leaving from Waisai to Sorong even this is a public holiday? Thanks so much!

I arrive in Sorong on Dec 25 at 1:35pm. Do you know if the ferries are running that day? It seems unlikely that I could make it to the 2pm ferry but not impossible.

Otherwise I have to wait until 11 the next day it appears.

They’ll be running as far as we know, but yes – it’s unlikely you’ll make the 2pm one if it leaves on time.

Unfortunately not. The next boat leaves 26 Dec at 9am

We are planning to get arrive in Sorong on Dec 24 morning. Is the ferry running that day? Thanks!

Best, Angela

Yes – they run according to the schedule shown above Angela.

Thank you for All the information, it has been really helpful. We are in sorong at the moment, we are going to raja ampat tomorrow. We are flying to Ambon next tuesday, 14.05. Do you have any News about the morning Ferry? We would rather stay another night on one of the islands instead of sorong ;). And the yellow public bus doesnt take Long to the Harbor! Half an hout Max for us, Just now. You indeed have to change busses, but the driver dus help us sort out the next one. Definately a good option if you are alone :) Thanks!

Hi Iris –

The current express ferry schedule is as noted above. Tuesday morning addition still not running as far as we know.

UPDATE 8.31pm: The schedule shown above is now in operation.

Absolutely wonderful website. I will be arriving during Chinese New Year and I am worried that accommodation may be an issue. Should I book in advance or just arrive and wing it. Also I would like to stay near waisai but still dive at the major dive sites everyday for 6 days and visit the dive sites in kri island. Should I rather stay in Kri.

Thanks Ahmed :)

You won’t have a problem with accommodation. Booking ahead using the website booking forms makes organising transport from Waisai to your accommodation easy, but you can just wing it if you prefer. One of the Kri homestays with a dive center would be your best choice. Booking ahead at those is probably wise if you want to stay at one.

Hi, I am planning to go to Raja ampat in January 2017. My flight back from Sorong to Jakarta is on Saturday 07.01.17 at 14h05. I wonder if I have enough time to get that flight leaving my homestay in Kri at the same day in the morning. I understood that I first have to go to waisai and take the ferry from Waisai to Sorong. Is it feasible to leave to homestay on Saturday morning? Thanks and best regards Christoph

Hi christoph –

Well – assuming that the promised new services (the ones in red in the table above) start before then, and that they depart as scheduled, then yes – you’ll be able to make that flight.

If the new services haven’t started, then you’ll need to spend Friday night in Sorong.

Hi! According with the latest information I have got from Susiair, they will not operate anymore from sorong to waisai after dec 9th 2016. That is because the contract between susiair and the goverment has expired.

Hi Juan Carlos and thanks for the update! :)

That’s good news actually: Hopefully the government has decided it’s better to invest that subsidy in providing much needed health, education and support services for island communities.

Hey! Thanks for these amazing info on that website. However, little is said on Misool and I am struggling to find info about the boat from Sorong to Misool. I read contradictory info about the schedule. I have read departures from Sorong twice a week: mondays and Thursdays 23h00 but I also read mondays and Fridays 23h00…. Do you know which, from the thursdays or fridays is the real one? Thanks! NIco

Hi Nico –

Yes – the ferry service from Misool seems to change times a lot and it’s unfortunately an area of Raja Ampat that we have yet to visit.

The most recent info we have is in the comments on this page , but suggest that calling the Sorong Tourism Office would be the most reliable way to get up to date info.

Hi!!! I’m going to Indonesia on March and I want to do one quick visit to Raja Ampat islands. We had think to take a flight to sorong from Bali, it takes 5 hours more or less. Then, I don’t know how to take a one day excursion to see raja ampat islands and come back to bali another time as soon as possible because we have short time to travel around Indonesia. I had seen is better take the ferry to Waisai and then sleep there and in the morning take a excursion froma waisai to see the islands and return as soon as possible. It can be possible??? How much time is the minimun time to do what we are thinking to see raja ampat? Thank you so much!!!

Hi Jonathan

We think you should leave visiting Raja Ampat until you have more time available. Although flight time from Bali to Sorong is only about 4 hours, you can’t fly direct. The quickest route (via Jakarta) takes around 10 hours. It’s possible to do a day trip out of Sorong, but most of what you will see will be the view from a boat. Hardly worth it in our opinion!

Well… we have think if the time from bali – Raja Ampat – Bali is less than 2 days… 2,5 days we can think about it…but if it is imposible, how you say… we have to left see Raja Ampat to when we have enough time.

I am looking for options that won’t require staying overnight in Sorong. The flight I am looking at leaves Sorong on December 16 at 11:55am. This is a Tuesday. Is there any way to get from Wasai to Sorong in time for that flight on a Tuesday?

Hi Hobbas –

The only Tuesday alternative to the public ferries is to charter a private speedboat. Doing so is expensive (hundreds of dollars), and is a lot less safe and comfortable than the ferry. The best solution is to time your Sorong flights to be able to use the ferry.

I am going to be heading back to Sorong on the Sunday 13th of November 2016 to catch the 10am flight to JKT. We will likely depart from Waisai at around 6:30-7am. Does anyone want to share a speed boat?

Hello, we get to Sorong a Wednesday morning at 6:10 AM If I do not have enough Rupia I have to take money from the ATM and the pass for raja ampat. I can take the ferry from 9 h00 or 2 p.m.? If I take the ferry from 14:00, Eastern Gam stations (Mankiyus, yenros, efenli ..) have-she time to do a pickup at wasai at 16h00? We do not want to stay one night in Sorong or Waisai. Any station on meilure visibility, less current for snorkeling on Eastern Gam Sorry for my broken English Thank you

Hi Philippe

As noted on our Money, Banks and ATMs page , it’s best to arrange your Indonesian Rupiah before arriving in Sorong.

Yes, there are 2 ferries on Wednesdays and there will be no problem being picked up from the later one. Just SMS your homestay to let them know which ferry you will be on.

Snorkelling conditions were excellent in late September, but change according to current. We can safely say you won’t be disappointed though, even if visibiliyty is not at its best.

Hi! Unfortunately we´ll arrive in Waisai on Sunday, 16th, Oct. The homestay we booked is Yenkoranu on Kri. Because they won´t answer SMS until now: has anybody experience whether they´ll pick up guests on sundays? Or can anybody give us a tip where to stay a night in Waisai? Thanks!

If you booked using the website booking system and checked the “Waisai pickup” box, then they should be there to meet you Christine.

Thanks for all this useful information! I’m planning to take the 14.35 flight from Sorong to Makassar on a Friday. The schedule you posted says on Fridays there is a 9am express boat from Waisai to Sorong. I did read some comments which say that sometimes this boat leaves later. Is the 9am Friday boat fairly reliable? It isn’t ideal to stay one night earlier in Sorong so I would rather avoid it if I have to. Thanks in advance.

Hi Phil –

Departure times are usually fairly reliable and delays are rarely longer than half an hour or so, which still leaves plenty of time to make your flight. You should be fine.

Hi, we are a group of 8 people and we’ll arrive to Sorong on 19th of August at 6.00 am. We don’t know now if ferry boat on that day runs at 9.00, so we ask if and where Is possible to hire a speed boat for getting to Waisai. If possible, how can we book it ? Thank you so much in advance !

Hi Giuseppe. The ferry timetable is provided above. It plainly shows that there is a 9am ferry to Waisai on Friday August 19.

Stay Raja Ampat, how much is the ferry from Sorong to Wasai in IDR? I hope to hear it from you soon. Thanks!

Um – didn’t you read the page text either Angelica? See 3.1 above.

Hi there, A friend and I are flying to Sorong from the 17th to the 22nd of August to stay in Raja Ampat for a few days. We have noticed that the ferry from Sorong to Waisai is only once per day. It means you need to wait for hours till you get to Waigeo and other ways are just charter which are pretty expensive.

Is there anyone to share a charter from Sorong to Waisai the morning of the 18th of August or/and the return from Waisai to Sorong the evening of the 21st of August?

Thanks in advance!!

The dive resort I planned to stay in only does Friday transfers to Waisai. On their website they state that if they come get you on a day other than Friday it is $680/person! Thus, I would like to try for the ferry myself, as I’m a pretty seasoned traveler and would like to not rearrange my trip around Friday travel restrictions. Here are my questions:

1) Do you know how I would get from Waisai port to Raja Ampat Dive lodge? Would it have to be another boat or can a taxi take me? I’m not sure how transportation on the actual island is. 2) Is it seriously under $20 USD to take the ferry one way? It just seems like such an extreme difference between the $680 the hotel is charging.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

1) You’d need to hire a local boat. Best approach might be to enquire at the tourism office in Sorong. Or at Transwisata in Waisai. 2) Yes it is and (unless basic accommodation is out of the question) it beats us why anyone would pay resort prices when homestays offer accommodation and diving at the same sites at a fraction of the cost! As an example of the price difference, the homestays on the island your resort is on will pick up from Waisai at any time that suits their guests. They charge between $45 and $91 depending on the boat used – and that’s per trip – not per person!

Hi, Which month is the best time to go there? What about July and December? Thanks

All that information is on the site Loan. Weather here . Everything else linked from here .

Hi, thank you this site..awsome!! My 3 week trip to RA starts next december. Due to peace of mind i’d like to ask the following .. Can i buy roundtrip ferry ticket from sorong? Is there even the possibility that the ferry is full and i can’t get in ? My flight departs 14:35 so I MUST to get 9:00 ferry.

You’re welcome jari :)

As far as we know you need to buy your ferry ticket on the day of travel. Either from the agents on the wharf or on board the ferry. It’s extremely unlikely that you ever wouldn’t be able to get on. Be sure to check that there is a 0900 ferry from Waisai on the day you want. (Sometimes the scheduled 0900 departure gets shifted to 1100.)

Thank you for the quick reply. After all, maybe It is better to leave island’s one day before the fligth.

You’re welcome :)

That’s definitely the safest option!

hi to all at stay raja ampat, do you need your passport to get on the ferry from sorong to WAIGEO? ive lost my passport and have come too far to turn back now! thanks

Hi Mick – ouch!

You don’t need it to get on the ferry, but you do need to provide ID when you buy an entry permit . You’re also supposed to provide a passport when checking in to accommodation in Indonesia, but a digital or printed copy will do. Hope you have some photo ID for the flights!

Had a rather negative experience dealing with a man working at the tourism office who goes by “Marten.” He strong armed me into taking this tour led by his “sister”, Julie; he showed up at my hotel during the evening and told me that he’d pick me up in the morning for the boat tour to Fam islands. The tour was fine, cost me 1M rupia. Then a few days later he calls my homestay and demands more money, claiming that I didn’t pay for the tour. This was not only an insult, but flat out swindling. Be careful dealing with people even if they work for the tourism office. This was awful and hope it gets dealt with in the future. Always ask for a receipt for payment of boat rides and tours…!

Thanks for the headsup Colleen – we’ll make sure it gets passed on!

Hubby and I visited Raja last year and used Ranny to book our homestays, excursions, and pick ups from airport to ferry and vice versa. She did an outstanding job and the price she quoted us for excursions was the actual price paid at each homestay and for each outing. I cannot stress enough how much easier she made our trip and how delightful a person she was. You can find her here , and you can be sure we’ll be using her again for our return trip next fall.

It is a disgrace, and I had similair experience in another part of Indonesia. Luckily, I had some friends that took care of the rip off. The person involved was taken straight to the police office. Always try to have a local with you when people are trying to rip you off.

no more schedule at 11am Sorong/Wasai ?

Not according to the latest schedule published above Catherine.

Hello admin,

Can you suggest homestay that serve halal food? Than you ;)

Hi Vintage Sunset

All homestays will do their best to provide halal food on request, but none are certified as providing halal food.

Nak dapat 100% halal agak payah. Walaupun majority served seafood.tapi peralatan memasaknya bercampur.the best, dapatkan local operator yg Muslim.

If it helps, we also have a Bahasa Indonesia version of the website! > http://www.stayrajaampat.id/

Hello, I’m Marco from Italy. Congratulations for the web site. I have a question? I arrive in Sorong August 17 at 06.30 am. I wanted to know if there are ferry for that date … because August 17 is Independence Day. Thank you

Thanks Marco :)

To the best of our knowledge ferries will be running according to the above schedule on August 17.

I’m asking because Yudas Sauyai, owner of Mambetron Homestay says there are no boats by then ….. because it is Independence Day….

Thanks for the update marco – that’s the first we’ve heard of that. We’re not based in Raja Ampat and Yudas would know better than us! If you want to double check, you could ask the folks at the Raja Ampat Conservation & Tourism Information Center in Sorong .

Hello. Thanks for the information. I asked them and they replied saying that there are boats. Thanks for everything . Very kind

Thanks for the information, we Will landing with the same flight I think the 17th August !

Hi. Our resort has quoted us 95 euro per person for a first class ferry ticket from Sorong to Waisai, and then a transfer by resort boat to resort. The price for a ticket quoted on your page converts to just over 14 euro at today’s rate. That means that the transfer from Waisai to the resort is costing us 81 euro per person in the resort’s own boat. Does that sound right/normal?

We don’t have any idea what normal is for resorts Carmen, but that doesn’t compare favourably to the average cost of 40 Euros per boat (shared among total passengers) for transfers from Waisai to the popular homestays on Kri and Gam.

Can you give an example of a homestay on Southern Gam that does transfers for 40E/boat? I checked two of them…one is 1M Rp, other is 1.5M Rp…that is much more than 40E.

Hi Manny –

The popular homestays on Gam that we were referring to (Yenros and Kordiris) are in eastern Gam and charge IDR 500,000 (~36 Euros) each way.

You can also check the availability of flight to rajaampat from here and get the promo

For those who have been in Raja Ampat, could you please kindly share if it is a good time to visit Raja Ampat in the month of July? Together with a friend, we are planning to visit Raja Ampat on July, 1st till 10th. Both of us have not been to Raja Ampat and according to the sources that we gathered so far, it is still a good time to visit Raja Ampat though during this period, it could be quite windy. Can everyone confirms this? It would also be good to receive some recommendations on the accommodation choices there. One of our objectives there is for diving. Thank you and we look forward to hearing from anyone of you. Best regards, Tim Wayne

Hi Tim –

Raja Ampat’s good all year round really, but it can indeed be quite windy (and rainy) in July. See our weather page for more detailed info. Homestays with dive centres are listed on our diving page – see the guest comments on individual pages for reviews.

I am looking for people to share the transport from Waisai to a north shore Kri homestay on 19 March. I am open to other locations, too. I will leave Waisai on 29 March. I am a snorkeler.

To increase your chances of finding some travelling companions, you might want to consider posting this over on our facebook page as well.

Hi Kurt, bisch du scho zrugg vo Raja? Faus ja – chönnte mir äch mau zäme maile – bi o grad am Plane u ha no es paar offnigi Frage – wo du mir vilicht grad us em FF beantworte;) Merci dir, lg bu

Is it possible to take a form of public transport from the Waisai Ferry Terminal to Yenkangkanes Homestay? There should be even a road?

Yes, as stated on Yenkangkanes’ page , there’s a road. You can get there by hiring a car or ojek.

Going with a ojek or taxi (is that meant by “hiring a car”?) would probably much cheaper as the transport of the homestay (IDR 250,000 o/w)? Or would it be good idea to use the homstays service anyway, not to upset them?

Sorry! There’s no formal taxi service in Waisai. All transport there is by private car and driver or by motorcycle taxi (ojek). Yenkangkanes use a local private car and driver and hiring your own would probably cost around the same. An ojek is far cheaper, but whether that’s practical or not depends on how much luggage you have.

Hi Is anyone going to a homestay on the 3rd or 4th of February? I would like to share boat transfer costs from Waisai.

To increase your chances of finding a travel companion, you might want to also post this over on our facebook page .

going to be there on around the 8th so if your still looking for someone to share the costs maybe to some outer isles ill be around then.

Tgl 2-4 Feb 2016 ada trip ke raja Ampat ? Kebetulan sdg di Sorong… Tks

Ya – ada feri ke Raja Ampat 2-4 Februari. Lihat jadwal pada halaman ini .

Hello Aping Do you speak English? What is the name of your homestay? Maybe we could share a boat transfer?

A group of us will be travelling around Raja Ampat group of islands mid this year. I noticed that the Australian Smart Travellers site, have advised to ‘reconsider travel plans.’ Is this something we should be concerned about in the Raja Ampat area?

Definitely not Susie – and rest assured we’d post about it on our facebook page the instant we heard anything suggesting it should be!

Hello there, could you please suggest to me where is the best place to stay in Raja Ampat Island?

Hello Att –

Raja Ampat is not a single island – it’s an archipelago of hundreds of islands and there are over 50 accommodation places to choose from. We’d suggest you first read this to make sure that homestay accommodation will suit you, then read all the information in our step by step guide . The advanced search on the accommodation page lets you quickly find all homestays having the features that are important to you.

FYI the Susi Air flight times are different in 2016 now. I forget the exact times, but I’m pretty certain that the flight from wasai to sorong was at 11am. Price is around 300k now as well. We spoke to Susi Air at the sorong airport about a week ago.

Thanks for the update Ryan :)

We’re not sure we should promote the flights actually, because (in our opinion) the Raja Ampat government subsidies spent to provide the service would be better directed to providing community services currently lacking in the islands.

We’ll do our best to confirm the new schedule and post it so the time poor have an alternative to the ferry though!

Hi, My name is jignesh and i am from india. I want to visit birds of paradise and planning the same in end of August 2016. We are 2 people and are ok with homestay. Can you guide me with prodecure. Like flights, stay, any permits or visa required & guide who can help in visiting birds of paradise.

Hi Jignesh –

You will find all the information you need to plan a trip to Raja Ampat linked from our Step by Step Guide . Warimpurem and Yenkangkanes Homestays are the best located to see both Wilson’s and Red Birds of Paradise.

…my flight from Sorong to Manado will be on May, 2nd at 12:40 pm with Garuda. The Ferry schedule for Monday from Waikai to Sorong is showing a departure time of 11 am. Is there any other – affordable – way of transport on Mondays or do you suggest to stay overnight at the Swiss-Belhotel?

There’s not Eric, so staying overnight in Sorong on May 1st will be necessary. There’s a number of decent hotels in Sorong to choose from. (We always use the JE Meridien as it’s conveniently located almost directly opposite the airport and provides a free airport shuttle service.)

Thanks for the very fast reply. I intentionally booked the Monday flight in order to respect the Sunday rest for my homestay hosts, now, I am sorry to ask them for a Waisai drop off on Sunday…well, that´s why you travel…to experience life and it´s facets :-)

Hello, same questions about a departure from Wasai to Sorong the saturday at 8:00 am, is it possible to have the flight at 11:50 am (garuda) or is it too short ?

and other question, can you say me how many time to do aiport sorong/sorong shops in taxi (to buy some souvenirs at the arrival, our flight land at 6:55 am and the ferry to wasai is at 11:00 am or 14:00 pm the saturday. Thank you very much.

Catherine, in my experience the ferry leaves around that time. For us it was 30 min later. I think it will arrive between 10:30 and 11 in Sorong. Then add 10 mins to get off, 5 mins to get in a car and another 15 mins to the airport. So you can be there between 11 and 11:30, IF ALL GOES OK. You don’t have enough time to catch the plane.

Thank you very much for your answer, so we have to stay one night in Sorong before land off and we can do a little shopping at this time.

Or you can catch a later flight. We had a flight at 2:30 to Makasaar. I didn’t find Sorong that appealing. But if you need to stay overnight I recommend Swiss Belhotel. That’s where we stop for a few hours between the morning flight and the ferry.

We go to Manado after Raja Ampat, and thank you for the information about Swiss Belhotel. Do you do some shopping in Sorong (we want to buy some local souvenirs like Totem, or shield, mask, spices …

OK, then probably is best to stay in Sorong. No, I didn’t buy anything over there. You’ll find souvenirs, even at airport there are some stalls.

Ok, thank you again

Hello! How often is the 2pm express ferry from Waisai to Sorong on time? Is it likely to arrive at Sorong at 4pm or very close to 4pm?

Hi Gina –

The ferries are usually on time, but relying on them to meet a tight schedule is taking a big risk. It’s always prudent to have an hour or two to spare!

Hello, I thought additional ferry times were added to this website on 22 Jan 2016. But now I’m not seeing this and the ferry time chart appears to be the same as prior to 22 Jan 2016? Please clarify.

I remember seeing a 11am express ferry from Sorong to Waisai and an 8am express ferry that departs Waisai to Sorong. Are these ferry times still available? Thank you.

New ferry times were added, but our informant was unaware that those times were for December 2015 only. The times currently showing are the correct schedule – apologies for the confusion!

Are there any changes in the given ferry schedules?

We’ve taken the 9am Sorong-Waisai ferry on previous trips, but are arriving in Sorong on a Saturday morning in February, so will have to take the 2 pm one if there’s no 9 am transfer.

No changes that we’ve heard of ben. We’ll always update the schedule on this page the minute we hear of changes.

Thanks, I just saw the update this morning. Is it confirmed for the Saturday 11 am ferry? And is the new 11am departure for the Express Bahari or the slow ferry? Thanks a bunch.

Yes, confirmed as posted and it’s the express ferry schedule we publish as that’s what most travellers want.

Hello, I’ve bought a plane ticket to Sorong for Wednesday, landing at 07:15 AM with the idea to catch the early ferry at 9 AM. Unfortunately they’ve just changed the flight and now it’s landing at 8:20 AM, which makes impossible catching the morning ferry. I want to ask are there any speedboats between Sorong and Waisai and if so what will be the approximate price? I have also another question regarding my return to Sorong. The flight is again on Wednesday, at 13:50 PM. What is the possibility to miss it if I catch the 09:00 AM ferry from Waisai?

Hi Galia –

As shown above, there’s also a 2pm ferry to Waisai on Wednesdays. Much better to catch that than to pay the huge fees required to charter a speedboat!

The 9am ferry from Waisai arrives in Sorong at about 1100, so if it leaves on time making a 1350 flight is no problem.

…just curious if the Sorong airport is open and reachable or is it still under construction/extension and no plane is landing or taking of there? Will be there in March…

Hi Eric –

The Sorong airport is operational. We’ve heard no advice of any planned closure while the new terminal building is under construction.

Great website! We’re super excited to visit Raja Ampat for our honeymoon. And we could use your help. We’ve tried booking roundtrip flight from Bali to Sorong on Garuda’s site and several other travel agency sites (Skyscanner, Nusatrip, Tiket, etc.). We found tickets we want to purchase, but have been unable to buy them online or over the phone. Garuda and the other sites say they don’t accept any major US credit cards. I’m wondering how other travelers have purchased tickets on Garuda? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks Timothy –

Really? You can’t use a foreign credit card to book with Garuda? (We know it’s impossible with the low fare internal airlines, but had heard that people had successfully paid Garuda online with foreign credit cards.)

Well, if that’s the case, then you only have two options: Either wait until you land in Indonesia and book at an airline office at the airport, or contact Mau ke Mana (see the link in the “From inside Indonesia:” section above) and have them purchase the tickets for you.

Thanks for your reply! I’m nervous to wait until we get to Bali since our diving dates are already paid. Also apparently Mau ke Mana ceased operations at the end of September and is no longer in business. I’m sure that we’re not the only people who have encountered this problem, but at this point I don’t know what else to do except to wait and hope there are still seats available for the flights. Thanks again!

I use my foreign Visa card (in USD) all the time with Garuda website, and never have a problem. However, some credit card companies and payment agencies are suspicious of on-line transactions based in Indonesia, which may be the problem with your credit card. Your only option may be to use an agent.

Garuda also accepts credit card from other countries. 2015 I have used my Visa several times with Garuda.

Yes – that’s what we thought Hella – thanks for the confirmation :)

Hi Hella: Just curious, were you using a US credit card and purchasing tickets from the US? I was explicitly told by Garuda that they do not allow purchases from outside Indonesia with a US credit card. Just interested in how you were able to make it work.

I’ve tried booking with Garuda while in US using a US credit card, the transaction was NOT successful. But, my husband booked while in US using his card issued in France, it was ok. I tried to book some more flights using a Philippine credit card while in the Philippines, everything was fine, too. I think only US has a special ruling…

We have successfully booked our Garuda tickets in advance, debit card was issued in Slovakia,EU,master card.

Hello, we just take yesterday our airplane ticket with Garuda for Manado-Sorong-Manado with a visa card and no problem

Hi Timothy,

we book our internal indonesian flights via Tiket.com. We had the same problem like you from europe, but tiket.com accepted our visa-card. And: no problem with the online-tickets in indonesia then. Good luck!

Best regards Chris

We were able to book with Tiket.com. It’s really interesting how people have had different experiences with Garuda. I spoke with them by phone three times after failing to purchase tickets online and each time they said they absolutely don’t take American credit cards (Australian, yes). Tiket didn’t work twice online, and then the third try worked! Thank goodness. My last resort was going to be Expedia, but that would’ve added $300 USD! Thanks for your help!

Hi, we’re from uk and we used our cards credit.however you can’t do this online, you need to contact the call centre for garuda air based in indonesia, think I googled the flight contact centre for garuda in jakarta or the UK number should be able to give it to you

Thanks för all the Great info on your website. We land tomorrow(Tuesday). I was wondering if there is definitely no ferry at 9am? Where is the last atm? (Kari, waisai or spring?)

Hi Anne –

As far as we know the timetable above is still correct, so no 9.00am ferry on Tuesday. There are ATMs in both Sorong and Waisai, but there’s no guarantee that your bank’s card will be able to be used in them. There’s more choice in Sorong and the machines there are more conveniently located than the ones in Waisai.

Thanks, we found out, that there will be an additional one at 11 because of Christmas.

I HAVE A QUESTION. ON THE FERRY SCHDEULES IT SAYS SOME DAYS IT LEAVES FROM WASAI TO SORONG AT 9 AM, BUT IT ARRIVES AT 2 (SAME TIME IT ARRIVES WHEN IT LEAVES AT 11). IS THAT ACCURATE?

It’s accurate. The table shows DEPARTURE times. Some days there are 2 ferries. One leaving at 9am and a second leaving at 2pm. The crossing takes 2 hours.

Hi, my return flight from Sorong is scheduled on Friday 12/25/2015 at 12:30pm. Should I get back to Sorong on 12/24 and stay overnight in Sorong? Or is it easy/possible for me to book the flight from Waisai to Sorong on Friday 12/25 while I’m at the Homestay? I see there is Express ferry departing Waisai at 9am, but it may be too risky to use this given the short time? Again thanks for all your excellent help!

Overnighting in Sorong is always the safest option Quoc. We recommend an absolute minimum of 3.5 hours between a scheduled Waisai ferry departure time and the time of your flight. You can’t book any travel from a homestay.

Another question, does the tickets for the Express ferry are sold at the Sorong airport? Or it will be at some offices close your to the airport exit?

Suggest you read this Quoc. The linked information from there will answer all your questions.

Hi, How do the Homestay people typically pick us up at the Waisai island? Are they waiting for us right at the ferry landing with signs so we can find them?

They do if you request a Waisai pickup on the booking form. They don’t hold signs, but they will find you if you just wait near the wharf.

Hi, Wonder if I can buy a local SIM card for my phone when I arrive at Sorong next Thursday at 8:45am?

Hi Quoc –

You can certainly buy a local SIM in Sorong, but maybe not at 8.45am. Try the shops out the front of the airport first. They’ll be able to tell you where to go if they don’t have them.

Thank for the info. Would the SIM card has data plan (Internet) also or I have to buy additional plans? I’ll also layover in Jarkata for 3 hours, so if I buy the SIM card in Jkt would it work for raja ampat region also? Thanks in advance for your help

A Telkomsel SIM bought in Jakarta can provide a data plan and will work in Raja Ampat. Don’t expect to have easy access to internet in the islands though. See our electricity, telephone and internet page for more.

I’m going to Sorong this Dec 12/17 to 12/25 and looking for a stay at some of the homestay on the North Skri island. Wonder if anyone else going there during that time and want to share a room? Frankie

I’m about to head to Kri today. Where did you end up staying? How did go? Anything I should know?

Hi Marty, I’ll be arriving Sorong 12/27, and stay at Delvin Homestay (booked thru Agoda) from 12/17 to 12/21. Then I will go to Yendobado to stay there till 12/25. If u arrive on 12/17 and head to Kri island maybe we can share the boat

Hi, does the ferries operate on Dec 24 & 25th? Thanks.

They do Frankie

Leaving from Waisai by expressboat Mon Mar 7 at 11 am, is it sure to get flight to Ujung Pandang(UPG) – Palu (PLW) at 14:00? If not, I see three chances: 1) flight to Sorong bu Susi air (but schedules are not disposable). 2) by speedboat (sure? looks very expensive). 3) Leaving one day in advance (we are guests of Yenros Homestay) and passing one night in Sorong (but “one day in advance” would mean Sunday: ok?)

Hi Erik –

That’s cutting it too fine in our opinion. If the ferry is on time, you’ll only have about 45mins to get to the airport and complete your checkin procedure. Doable, but a big risk. Much less stress to overnight in Sorong. Although activities requiring boat transport are are not available at homestays on Sundays, they will always arrange a ferry drop off for you if needed.

Thank you. Yes, I think I’ll spend one night in Sorong. Just for information, I read it is possible to reach Sorong from Waisai by “speedboat”. Is it a sort of taxi? Would it be possible to have agreement for whatever time even on Sunday? I suppose it would cost much. How much? I have also asked Susi air for a flight, but they haven’t yet the schedule for 2016.

The speedboats are charters and are horrendously expensive. We know they exist and yes, you could organise to go on one on a Sunday. We have been told that they cost hundreds of dollars for the trip though, so we’ve never bothered to research them any further.

Hi, I planned to do a diving/siteseeing trip in North Sulawesi from 12/18 to 12/25. But recently read about great diving in Raja Ampat, so now I’m thinking about staying in sulawesi for 4 days and 3 days in R.A – probably taking a flight from Madano to Surong as your website instructed. My question is do you think a 3 days in R.A is too short taking into account all the transportations.. that may not worth it? Thanks in a advance for your help. And your website is GREAT!!!

Hi Frankie –

Pretty sure you’ll find 3 days is way too short, because even with the best planning you’ll only wind up with 1 full day in the islands. Thanks for the kudos :)

Thanks for the quick reply. I probably plan for a longer stay then. I saw you list a Xperss as one of the airline from MDC to SOQ, but when i checked on their website sorong is not available as a destination?

Also, in term of diving/snorkeling, if I already spend 4-5 days in Sulawesi, would I see much more different corals/fishes in RA? Thanks again

Thanks for the headsup re Xpress from MDC – it’s almost impossible to keep up with the changes Indonesia’s budget airlines make to their routes and schedules. Garuda’s really the only carrier you can count on!

I’ve never dived Sulawesi, but looking at the photos from there I’d say you’re going to see a LOT more. Raja Ampat is one of the world’s highest fish and coral biodiversity regions.

Thanks again. Now I’m hooked to Raja ampat:) we will say couple days in Suwalesi and head to raja for longer stay. Can we make phone call from the house stays there? I’m thinking if we decide to staying longer at the island, we need to be able to make phone call to the airline (Singapore airline) to reschedule our return day Thanks

Depends on the homestay Frankie. Look for ones with the feature “Good phone signal”.

Hi there, I have two questions regarding transport: 1. I checked the Pelni Website and I could not find any ferries departing from either Denpasar or Makassar. Is that correct or is there a way to get to Sorong / Raja Ampat from there by boat? 2. I checked the boat schedule from Sorong to Waisai. I there anything I should be aware of, when I am travelling around new year (30 – 6 January). Do the boats still leave twice (9am &2pm) a day during that time? 3. If I take the Garuda flight (landing at Sorong at 6.30am, I should be able to make the 9am boat to Waisai, right?

1. We know you can get from either of those to Sorong by Pelni. Maybe the problem is the search you enter? Because they don’t run direct from either of those ports to Sorong. Pelni ship routes call at a lot of harbours in between. We can’t really help with using Pelni’s website! 2. To the best of our knowledge Sorong – Waisai ferries now operate every day as shown on the website timetable. 3. Yes – unless there are unusual delays you will be able to make the 9am ferry from that flight.

We would like to have some informations about a trek for a week , 3 persons at the end of january from Manokwari . Please can you recommed to us a guide for the trek and how can we contacted him . We need also an adresss for one home stay on Manokwari , before our trek . Thank you , best regards .

Hi Sylvie –

Manokwari isn’t in Raja Ampat and we don’t know anything about the homestays and guides there – sorry!

Hi! I would like to catch a flight next Friday departing a 12.40pm, after taking the 9am Ferry Waisai-Sorong, do you think I’ll most likely be able to make it or unlikely?

You should be able to make that flight Olivia

Hi, Just need some feedback I’m planning of a trip to Raja Ampat soon.I’m planning to visit the Dive Centers there.How do I go about around raja ampat to all the dive centers???

Thank you, Faizal Ali

Hi Faizal Ali –

The only way to visit all the places with dive shops would be to hire a boat. Suggest you ask at Waisai port about that. See our diving page and maps on the linked pages to get an idea of locations and distances.

Hello – I am looking to visit mid-April to mid-May 2016 and my dates can be a little flexible. Am looking for fellow travellers to join the non-diving liveboards.

Message if interested.

Hi Nicolyn –

You’re welcome to post this over on our facebook page to increase your chances of finding travelling companions.

Hello, Is there any Way to go from Bali of Lombok to Sorong by ship or speed boat ?

Hi Silvia –

In a straight line it’s almost 2,000km from Bali/Lombok to Sorong. It’s much longer by the route a ship must take. It’s certainly not possible by speedboat!

Click the “get there by ship” link at the top of this page to find Pelni ships that operate between Bali/Lombok and Sorong. You would more than likely have to change ships and the journey would take at least a week.

I’ll have to agree with previous travellers’ praisings for your informational site because it’s really helpful and that’s a valuable tool in travellers’ hands! So here is my question, I’m planning to visit RA beginning of February 2016 and so far I’ve bought my ticket to Jakarta. Is it early to book the ticket to Sorong and the accomodation from now? My main concern is the unpredictable change of the ferry schedule.

Thank you!!

Cheers Irene :)

It’s not too early. Even if the ferry timetable was to change, there would still be a ferry every day. If you allow for a night in Sorong at each end of your visit you can’t go wrong!

Thanks once again for the fast reply!!

I’m thinking about visiting toward the mid-January or early February. I’d love to have someone to tag along and adventure with! :)

This website is such a great idea! I wish there were sites like this for many places in the world!

I have a question – I am travelling to Raja Ampat in December 2015. Getting in is fine, it’s the departure I have a question about. I am going from Sorong to Denpasar and would like to leave on Sat 26th December. The only problem is that the only ferry I can see leaves at 11am and the latest flight is 14.35. So I’d get to Sorong at around 1pm I think and could have enough time for that flight… but if the ferry is delayed leaving, then I miss my flight!

Do you think this plan is too risky in your experience? Are there any other boats that leave from Wasai to Sorong earlier than 11am on a Saturday?

Hope you can help!

Thanks Bob :)

There’s no other boats, so if we were you we’d either arrange to fly on a day with a 9.00am ferry or stay a night in Sorong. The 11.00am ferry will give you at best 1 hour from arrival at port to check in closure for a 2.30pm flight. Doable, but one late VIP or traffic jam…

thank you so much for this fantastic website and information. I’m planning to go there tomorrow from Sorong (October 19th). I heard that there’s a Festival Bahari there. During the festival, is there an additional ferry schedule for tomorrow? (tuesday), it is written only at 11am. But who knows they provide earlier boat during the festival.

Great resource of information!! It really connects the travellers with the owners and makes sure our money go to the local people and not to resorts. Question on ferry: we’re making plans to travel out on December 30th and we’re planning to take a Garuda flight at 14:35 from SOQ. Do you think is safe to rely on the 9AM Wednesday ferry out of Waisai? I think, even if it leaves at 10-10:30 we should be able to be at the airport on time for the flight.. So we can spend an extra night at a homestay on Kri, rather than in a hotel in Sorong. Thank you, Radu

Hi Radu –

You won’t have a problem making that flight on the 9.00am ferry. Ferry departures are usually on time. Enjoy!

Firstly what a fantastic website and resource! Thank you so much! My friend and I are travelling to RA on Sunday and arrive on the 8.40am flight from Makassar. The next ferry isn’t until 2pm but we were hoping we could hang out somewhere by the ferry port? Is there a cafe there? If not do you have any recommendations as to where to go to spend the time? Thanks :)

Hi Catherine –

Thanks for the thanks – it’s always nice to hear we’re useful :)

There are some small local warungs at the port, but no cafes. There’s a decent cafe at the western end of the airport (to the right as you emerge from arrivals) but you have a long wait, so once you’ve had enough coffee you might like to take in the nice view and cooling breezes at the Sapta Radna Buddhist pagoda. It’s quite nice there. If you’d like to try some fresh local seafood, the food stalls around the “Berlin Wall” are worth a visit too. (Any taxi driver will know those places and could take you there before heading for the port.)

That’s great. Thank you so much for the advice, what a lovely way to spend our waiting time! Keep up the good work :)

Thanks for the website, great info.

I have a question, I usually take the Garuda flight back from Sorong to Singapore (via. Makassar and Jakarta) at 14:35, arriving in Singapore at around midnight. Unfortunately Garuda seem to have cut their last flight of the day Jakarta- Singapore, which used to leave at 20:40 and now leaves at 19:30. This means I can’t get back all in one day unless I take the 12:20 flight which will also be impossible as my homestay boat only leaves on a Wednesday to catch the 09:00 ferry from Waisai!

Has anyone ever taken the SusiAir plane from Waisai to Sorong? It seems very cheap and a great option as it only takes 20 mins, however I have heard it is terribly unreliable. I have also heard that unless the plane is full it won’t leave, or the people on board have to pay the rest of the remaining seats?

Can anyone confirm this? That would be super helpful. Otherwise I will have to book two separate flights, which is annoying.

Many Thanks!

Hi Elle –

We refuse to use the Susi Air service (because it’s subsidised by Raja Ampat tax money that should be going toward building schools and health facilities instead) so we don’t know if what you’ve heard about it is true.

Perhaps a neighbouring homestay could arrange an earlier transfer for you? Sorry we couldn’t be more help!

May I ask, If I want to go Raja Ampat from Singapore? What is the best way? Any budget way? Thank you.

That question’s answered on the page above Serene. The most direct route is Singapore – Manado – Sorong. You can also go via Makassar (Ujung Pandang). Use the airline links provided to work out the cheapest way.

We arrive in Sorong tomorrow afternoon(23rd of Sept.15). We now are a little bit afraid bcs of your statement that there is no ferry on islamic holidays. The 24th is “idul adha”, do you think we can find a ferry to waisai?

Thanks for all your information, really helpful!

Hi Maria –

Yes! The ferries now run every day. (Your query prompted us to make a few calls to find out if the “not on public holidays” info still applied. We were told they now run every day.) Enjoy your stay :)

Just a question on ferries. For my two previous trips to R4 I’ve always taken the 9am ferry from Sorong to Waisai, but this time in February I am arriving in Sorong on a Saturday, at 6h30 am. Is there any chance there might be a morning ferry (fast or slow) to Waisai on Saturdays in February?

It will be after a long two day trip, we’ll be very tired and jetlagged and carrying all our luggage, so I was wondering what to do from 7am to 2pm…

thanks for the great website and info!

Current timetable above says no ben. If we were you, we’d get a room at JE Meridien opposite the airport and sleep!

Hi! In 2014 we had a fantastic time in Raja and we’re coming back this November. The website has grown so much and it’s wonderful – thank you for all of the info.

Unfortunately we are short for time, if we arrive in to Sorong at 1:30pm on a Wednesday, flying from Ambon. What are the chances of catching the 2pm ferry? Is it too much of a risk? Thanks Doug (if it’s still you running the show!)

Still me! Usually takes around half an hour after landing time to get your baggage Emma, so I don’t think you’d make it.

I thought we would be pushing our luck, we’ll stay an extra night in Ambon and come for Thursday 2pm ferry. Cheers Doug and keep up the exceptional work!!

Hello, we planning to go to Raja Ampat (Yenkoronu) in march 2016 from Manado (to Sorong) but I can’t find xpress air, is it too early or this line is it finish ?

Too early Catherine.

Thank you very much

Hi, you know if public ferry or flight depart from waisai to Sorong on 25/12?i need to be in Sorong very soon (8:00AM) in 26/12 and private boat are very expensive

Hi Chiara –

Your question is answered in the information above!

HI! Please advise how to get to Kabarai, North of Waigeo. My friend planning to visit Kabarai in October. Is there any public acsess and hotel? Thanks and best regards.

Hi Nao –

Susi Air (linked above) flies to Kabare. We doubt there’s a hotel, but there would almost certainly be some kind of accommodation available, as we know of a tour operator and homestay owner who takes guests there.

Hi! I am planning to go on a fishing/hiking adventure to the islands. So i am wondering about the rules. Is sportfishing alowed everywhere? Can i raise tents? Is there any place where you can rent smaller boats to go out in by myself? Best regards, Nikolas!

Hi Nikolas –

Fishing isn’t allowed in the Marine Park, but is OK outside it. If you want to camp you will need to ask permission from local landowners. Asking the village head in the area you want to stay in would be the best place to start. There are no boat rental businesses in Raja Ampat, but plenty of people willing to take you out in their boats. Given the extreme tidal currents and reef hazards in the islands, going with a local person would be much safer.

Hi, Sorry, I am confused with the ferry timetable. Do the ferries from Sorong to Waisai leave from Sorong every day at 1400 and on Mon, Wed and Fri a second early ferry runs. We arrive at 0840 on a Friday….is there a 1400 Express ferry on Friday please? This website is a sensational service. we visited RA 4 years ago and it’s great to see a lot more options for homestays in this time. Thank you.

Hi Michelle –

Yes, according to the latest information we have, as shown in the table above, there is a 1400 ferry from Sorong on Fridays: 1400 from Sorong to Waisai every day, with extra morning ferries on Mon, Wed & Fri.

Nice to hear the site’s useful for you – thanks :)

Hi If I get the Garuda flight into Sorong that lands at 0715, will I be able to catch the 0900 ferry to Waisai?

Hi guys, We are a family of four with two children (6 and 4), planning to visit Waigeo – not diving, but snorkling, walking, chilling – between end September and beginning of October. Two questions: 1) is the sea going to be very rough during this period? and 2) do you have any recommended child-friendly home-stay or not-too-expensive lodge on the island? Many thanks in advance Enrico

Hi Enrico –

1) No – more detailed info is on our weather page .

2) Any of the Waigeo Homestays on the website would be suitable.

This page is fantastic, thank you!

we’re in a bit of a pickle at the moment deciding where to go and what to see. Being non divers & wanting to experience Raja Ampat has been an interesting read, I mean, we snorkel but it seems we may be turned away or over priced at some accommodations?

We are planning on travelling over December, possibly from Bali. Are we able to get a boat from Sorong to Waigeo during this month with the weather conditions in mind?

Any help is appreciated

Thank you, Nadine

Cheers Nadine :)

You won’t be turned away from any homestay and yes, there’s no problem catching the express ferry from Sorong to Waisai – it runs all year ’round as shown on the above timetable.

Check out our Step by Step Guide – following the links from that page will provide all the information you need to organise a visit.

Hello readers!

I wondering how to get to wajag island from wasai ? and how much does it cost ? we are two people. the boat from our homestay offer 500usd to get there, and i have no idea if this is a fair prices for us to travelling to wajag island. And If any other people interested to go with us to wajag together between 14 of august or 17 of august 2015 – please let us know by send an email to [email protected] . thank you for your information and your responding !

Hi Anita –

Wayag is a long way from Waisai and that price is about average when going by private boat. Note that you might not be able to go there in August due to sea conditions. You can read more about Wayag on our What’s Up at Wayag? page. (Which also suggests a much closer and cheaper alternative that’s every bit as spectacular.)

By the way, there’s no need to publicly display your email address to get replies to comments! Selecting the “Notify me of follow up comments by email” checkbox below the blue “Post Comment” button will do that privately for you.

Hi!! first of all thank you very much for this wonderful website. It was very difficult to find information about Raja Ampat before your job! I have a question about scheduling. We will stay 4 days and Manbreton Home Stay. On wednesday 26th august we have a flight at 14.00 (or 14.35) form sorong to Jakarta. Do you think we can leave the home Stay in early the morning and arrive on time to take the flight. Bye Alvise

Thanks Alvise :)

As long as there’s no change to the ferry schedule shown above and you catch the 9.00am ferry, you’ll have no problem making a 2.00pm flight.

Ok! Thanks for the reply. Are delays so frequent?

Not frequent, only sometimes – departures are usually on time.

We are a family of 4 adults and want to visit Raja Ampat in early August. I am a bit concerned about the weather. How bad is it/can it get? Will we likely have trouble traveling by boat? Are there certain locations that are more protected? What about the North coast of Kri Island? What about eh Lumba Lumba guest house location? Thanks for any suggestions!

Hi Brian – You’ll find the answers to weather questions on our weather/best time to go page and in its comments section.

Hi, Congrats for your website, full of precise infos :). I plan to stay one month in Raja4 in July and have a question: do you think I can plan a flight back from Sorong to Makassar with Garuda leaving at 16H10 the same day that I leave Raja4 (probably pulau Mansuar Kecil, Kri)? Thanks for your answer

Hi Anne – thanks for the kind words – we do our best to keep it all up to date, so it’s nice to hear it’s helpful :)

If you arrange to leave the islands on a day when there’s an early ferry from Waisai (currently Wednesday & Friday), you’ll have no problem making a 4pm flight. You’d be able to make it on days with 11.00am ferry departures (Mon/Sat) too – as long as there were no delays in ferry departure!

Hi Stay Raja Ampat, do Raja Ampat have camp site for camping?

Hi fatasya – There might be a camping area in Waisai, but we don’t know of any in the islands. You could probably arrange to camp by asking the kepala kampung (village head) at the village you wanted to stay near, though.

When are you planing to go? this is my one of options.. i will be there in 1 week..

I will be heading Raja Ampat from Surabaya. What is the best way to get from Surabaya to Sorong? Thanks!

Monika | Poland

Surabaya – Makassar – Sorong would be the most direct route Monika.

Surabaya – Makassar – Sorong with Garuda 5.30 am is the best flight

WE ARE PLANING A DIVING TRIP TO RAJA AMPAT IN MID – OCTOBER (1 WEEK). FLYING FROM JAKARTA. I’M TRYING TO FIND INFORMATION ABOUT HOTELS AND ALSO ALL THE PRE ARRANGED TRIPS I FOUND ARE VERY LONG IS 1 WEEK TO SHORT?

A week is not too short. See the diving page for homestay accommodation with dive centers.

Maria, Nice to hear you will go to raja ampat.. Will Kiko go as well ?

Hello I read all the info to how to get to Raja Ampat but if I want to go by boat (ferry) from lombok to Sorong it doesn’t Tell me wich path I should take. From wich I could leave to get to Sorong from Lombok (or even Bali) Could you inform me better on this matter please? Lets say I love the ocean and not so much plane. Thank you for taking time to awnser me. Gen

Hi Gen –

You need to follow the link provided in the “Getting to Sorong/From inside Indonesia” section to the Pelni website to see ship routes and timetables.

Thank you, but your link does not work anymore…and when I go on Pelni website it doesn’t tell me the names of the harbours I could choose from. Is there a way to go from Labuan Bajo or Maumere to Sorong other than taking the plane?

The link’s working – it’s Pelni’s website that’s having problems :P

The ship schedules are on the right hand side of the linked page. You just select the port you want to go from and the one you want to go to to see the schedule. You can go from either Maumere or Labuan Bajo to Sorong by Pelni.

I only have 5D4N to stay in Rajah Ampat area. Most of the homestays or resorts require 1 week. Are you able to link me to someone who will house me for 5D4N? Thanks.

Have no idea why you think that Alfred. Homestays are quite happy to accept bookings for as short as a single night. Any of the homestays on our accommodation page would be happy to house you for 4 nights if they have the rooms available.

We are two families ( 4 adults and 2 children 10/ 13 years old) planning a holiday in Indonesia in August, starting from Jakarta to Bali to Lombok to Nusa Teggara to Maluku and Togean islands.

We would like to drop off for a day boat tour at Raja Ampat Islands, not for diving though. We follow lonely planet but we would like to ask for some information how to get to these wonderful islands taking the shortest route. Are there any flights from Pulau Halmahera/ Kota Ambon straight to Raja Ampat Islands? any suggested sites,please? If not, are there any ferries connecting Raja Ampat and Kota Ambon / Pulau Ternate?

August is the rainy season, would it be worth sailing around the islands and still enjoy the beauty of the surroundings? Any help is greatly appreciated.

There are no flights from anywhere straight to the Raja Ampat islands. The closest you can get to them by air is Sorong.

There are flights from Ambon and Ternate to Sorong – use one of the flight aggregator sites linked above to find those.

Small boat travel can be disrupted sometimes in August, but there would still be fine days where it was possible. Please see our weather page for more information.

The only sailboat tours of Raja Ampat are those provided by liveaboard dive boats and other visiting luxury vessels. They don’t offer day trips.

Hope that helps Maria.

oohhh thank you for your immediate reply. Is it possible that the locals will take us round the beautiful islands!!!!! if so, how can we get the visa permit to stay at least one night at Raja Ampat? thanks

Yes – all homestays can arrange boat trips for sight seeing.

See this page for how to buy your Raja Ampat permits.

Hi, we are two persons coming to sorong the 21th of march with expess air and will catch the 2pm boat to waisai. From waisai we intend to go to Yenkoranu homestay, anyone else willing to share the cost of the boat ? If so mail me, thanks ! Btw, I called the owner and did book by phone our accommodation, so I really hope he remembers it. Will call him again when I reach Indo this coming week to make sure evthing’s fine.

Hello, We are two travellers that want to go to Pulau Wajag 2 days on July. If anybody is interested in sharing speed boat, please let me know.

Hi! we´ll arrive to sorong the 3th of April, can we take a boat sorong-waisai this day? The 10th of April, can we take a boat waisai-sorong at 9:00 am?

Terima Kasih for all the information and the web! a very good work!!

The answers to your questions (yes) are on the page above Nerea – see the Express ferry schedule section. Thanks :)

hiii guys i am heading to raja ampat on the 3 of february , i am backpacker traveling by myself looking to join a group for eventually share boat cost .

Thank you ;)

Hi Sam –

You might have a better chance of finding some travelling companions by also posting this over on our facebook page .

Hi all… Anybody knows about the public speed boat from Sorong to Misool? It is suposse to leave on Wednesday from Sorongand return next day.Any info about this ?And , the important question what about the price ? Thanks in advance

There 3 ferry schedules ftom Sorong, now. Tuesday Night at 11, Wednesday Night at 11 & Friday Night at 11.

Speedboat from Sorong To Misool is Chatter!

Thanks Mykee!

*There are *Charter Sorry Typo… :-)

Tuesday is Cantika (The nama of the ferry) Wednesday is Fajar Indah Friday is Fajar Mulia II

There you go…

Hi, do you know how much charter speedy boat to misool?and have you contact email?thank you

Hi! i’ll be off to Raja ampat by end of jan..m wondering if anyone will be from 2nd Feb onwards – looking for like-minded ppl (traveling during the same period) to share some transportation cost..i have in mind to stay either at waryawer , nudibranch , yendebabo , or warikaf homestay for 3-4 nights.. cheers..

Hi Sue – Just dropping in to say that you’ll increase your chances of finding some travelling companions by also posting over on our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/gorajaampat All the best for your trip!

thanks for the info..already posted on your facebook page :)

Just an update, the flight between the islands of Waisai and Sorong are Mondays, Wednesdays*** and Fridays, not Tuesday as stated

“Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for contacting us. Herewith i inform flight schedule Sorong – Waisai : SI 9471 Dep. 08:30 Dep. 09:00 (fly on Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

So we don’t fly on Tuesday (Dec, 2nd 2014).”

Also, just a little heads up for anyone looking for JE Meridian, once you come out of the airport grounds, turn RIGHT and it’ll be about 50m on your left, not where Google maps states turning left upon leaving. I have reported this fault but not sure if its updated yet

Thanks for the update Callum – it’s hard to keep up with those schedule changes! (Susi Air only flies to Waisai because the Raja Ampat government subsidises the flights, so I guess their schedules are dependent on government requirements.)

I am trying to find enough people to go to Misool together on Jan 31, 2015 and returning to Sorong on Feb 7, 2015. I was told the public boat leaves on Friday night for Misool and returns to Sorong on Saturday.

I called the Harfat Jaya home stay already and it appears the cost of diving/boat rental is quite reasonable if there are 3-4 people.

Please let me know if you are interested!!

I am also open to going to Misool by speedboat on January 24, 2015 and taking the public boat back to Sorong on January 31, 2015.

Hello, I could be interested by a Misool trip together. I’ll arrive in Kuala Lumpur on January the 30th evening. I can manage to be in Sorong for 13:40 on january the 31th. Is this schedule OK for the boat to Misool ? But you said “public boat leaves on Friday night for Misool ” : so in your suggestion, we take a private boat ? Than how much ? And how much for diving/boat rental in Harfat Jaya home stay ? Let me know quickly, so I can book my flight tickets. see you Muriel

Hi! I am open to hiring a speed boat to Misool on January 31st. I need to call the home stay and ask about the price for speed boat.

Boat rental is 2.5 million rupiah per day for diving or other sightseeing.

Do you use whatsapp? Please add me and we can chat more? +13605108683

Hi Valerie –

It’d be great if you could pass on whatever info you manage to gather about Harfat Jaya and the boats to Misool. It’s a full time job trying to keep up with developments in northern RA – we haven’t had a chance to visit Misool yet! I’m sure lots of other readers would be grateful for the update :)

Anyway – whether you do or not, hope it all comes together and you have the best time.

Cheers Doug SRA Admin

Hello Do you know at what time leave the ferry boat to Misool and which day ( the one to Fanfanlap or Pelabuhan 35 to be able to stop at Harapan Jaya to go to the homestay) ? Because it was said it was friday night, so during the night of Thursday and friday or Friday and satursday ? Actually, I will arrive on friday in Sorong for 2 weeks in Raja Ampat, leaving on a friday morning, so to be able to go to Missol (Harapan Jaya), the only possibility would be to go the first week if the boat leave on friday evening. How long does it takes ? I read somewhere 15 hours, is that right ? Could you answer me quieckly, because I’ll be in Sorong in 10 days ! Thanks a lot Muriel

The information I got when I called the homestay was ~11pm on Friday for the boat to Harapan Jaya. I have read the boat ride takes about 9 hours? So should get there in the morning.

The boat back to Sorong should be on Saturday around 1pm.

You can call the homestay to arrange for someone to pick you up at the ferry terminal!

Please let me know how it goes! I think I will try to go to Misool in March!

I don’t have a smart phone, so no whatsapp. We can contact by email though. Is the number your phone number ? If so I’ll you my e-mail.

My email is: [email protected]

My dog just had surgery so I have to postpone my trip till later (Some time in March).

If anyone is interested in going to Misool together in March, please let me know! We can plan ahead of time to take the public boat to Misool because the price I have been quoted for speed boat to Misool is quite high.

Hi Valerie just read your messages and see you have changed your trip till march are you still going around that time john

Yes. I haven’t worked out the exact dates to change my tickets yet. Need to figure something out soon though. I need to be in Taiwan on 3/28, so probably can only go to Misool 2nd or 3rd week of March. If you are interested in going please send me an email/whatsapp message and we can chat more?

Hi John I booked my flights to Sorong 5th march. Wanna joint me?

Hello Valarie (or anyone else who reads this), I’m arriving in Sorong 10 March and leaving on the 22nd. I would be happy to consider any proposals to share travel costs for RA during that period. I hadn’t considered Misool until I read the above comments. Please feel free – this applies to anyone – to to contact me here or even better on WhatsApp: +77026982184 (I’m a Brit living in Kazakhstan). Email: ameenmuj@ gmail.com Cheers, Ameen

Any day trip from Sorong to Penemu?

Not that we know of Linda. Piaynemo’s probably a bit far from Sorong to make daytrips possible.

Amy at the Raja Ampat Tourism Management Office in Sorong would know for sure. Here’s a link to her contact details .

Hi, we are flying to Sorong using Garuda. Please could you advise as to their baggage policy with regard to sports equipment. Will dive gear be part of our 20kg checked baggage allowance, or do we get an additional free sporting equipment allowance? Their website is not clear on this, and lots of conflicting info on the internet. Would appreciate your response. Thanks!

Hi Kerry –

We’re not travel agents have have never checked sports equipment on a flight in Indonesia, so can’t say for sure. Garuda’s a full service airline though, so I imagine their policy is in line with any other similar airline: As long as your gear isn’t oversize it would be counted as part of your checked baggage allowance. Pretty sure if there was a free anything it would be well promoted! Do let us know if you find out – thanks :)

We are planning a divetrip to Raja Ampat from November 23rd till 30th of November. Is it correct that a two-way ticket for two persons from Jakarta to Sorong costs about 9.500.000 – 11.100.000IDR? (Express Air & Sriwijayar Air) Is there a cheeper way to get from Jakarta to Sorong? We arrive in Jakarta at the 14th of November. Do you recommend to book the ticket to Sorong in advance or at the day we arrive at Jakarta? Or a day before departure?

Thanks so much.

Kind regards,

Fleurence, Holland

Hi Fleurence – that sounds about right. Two people can fly Jakarta-Sorong return for about 8,500,000 by flying Lion/Wings Air via Ambon, but in our experience Lion Air is unreliable. I would book tickets in advance I think.

On january 5, I’m considering to organise a speedboat transfer from Waisai to Gam around noon but I’m flexible about time. The price (operated by Nudibranch Homestay) is 1,500,000 Rph. I’m single so its a bit pricey. Anyone willing to share the boat that date please ? Please drop me a note.

January 8, I’ll be heading back from Gam to Waisai. If anyone wish to share the speedboat, let me know please. Thanks.

Hi Eddy – To increase your chances, you might want to post this over on our facebook page as well – good luck!

Hello, can anyone please let me know if they know the answer! We will be in Raja Ampat and need to catch a flight from Sorong on Sunday, January 4th at 16:05. I saw the ferry leaves Waisai for Sorong at 14:00. Does anyone if two hours is cutting it way too short, should we just go to Sorong the day before not to lose the flight? Thanks for the help!

Hi Lisa – you should definitely go the day before. The ferry takes about 2 hours to make the crossing and doesn’t always leave on time.

Hello, me and my friend will be in Raja Ampat from 30.10. till 2.11., I would like to ask you for help with arrange of trip to Wayag. Can we join to some tour or where we can rent boat? Thank you very much Tomas

Hi Tomas. Stay Raja Ampat is not a booking or travel agent. We can’t help you organise accommodation or tours. You need to contact the service providers. Please use the Show advanced search on our accommodation page to quickly find homestays offering Wayag trips. You’ll also find information about Wayag liveaboard boat tour operators in our things to see and do section . You might also find our step by step guide useful – it answers most of the questions travellers to Raja Ampat have. The links in the guide will direct you to the appropriate website information.

Hi, I’m in Indonesia next week and really keen to make a trip to Raja Ampat, is there a particular good/ bad time of year to go. Also, is there a way to do it not on a liveaboard or on a cheaper budget?

Click the step by step guide right there in the sidebar (or below these comments if you’re on a mobile device) Callum. All your questions will be answered ;)

Hi Callumn,

I just back from Misool, South Raja Ampat. Yes, you can go on budget trip without liveaboard but better to go on a group like 3 or 4 people as transportation there quite expensive. I stayed in Misool for 8 days with 3 of my friends and did dive, snorkling, island hopping etc inc meals and accomodation without tickets cost around 750usd. Hope it will help you.

Cheers, Siscaria

Thanks for the reply (sorry I have only just seen it) is it likely that if I go there by myself I will meet other single travellers looking to do the same thing?

I have been struggling through the logistics of going to Misool by myself as well. I called the Harfat Jaya homestay last week to ask the same question and they told me they don’t get many single travelers. Too bad you aren’t there in January/February when I am there!

From reading the comments on this website, it appears you will have better luck finding other single travelers if you stay at one of the bigger homestays in Northern Raja Ampat.

Suddenly, I come to sorong by myself and I attracted to visit raja ampat. Is it safe for women to go alone to raja ampat? Because some people say it is too dangerous for women to go alone to raja ampat.thanks

Hello welisha –

We get asked that question a lot! Yes – as far as we know it is safe for women to go alone to Raja Ampat. We have never heard of any women having a problem. Enjoy your stay!

We will be in Raja Ampat on a liveabord Jan 2015, we will arrive back into Waisai after it finishes on the 7th Jan around midday.

Do you have any advice on how to get to Cendarwasih bay after that? I gather that Nabire is the best place to go to then Kwatisore village to see the whalesharks. However I believe that there is no longer the Merpati direct flight Sorong to Nabire. Any advice?

Yep – now that Merpati is defunct, we’re pretty sure you can’t fly direct anymore. Wings Air flies from Sorong to Nabire every Tue, Thu and Sat, but the flight is via Ambon and takes around 9 hours. Skyscanner shows seats available on a flight on January 8 for IDR 2,943,000 – ouch!

Hi Tom :), Just wondering how much it cost for the liveabord? Cheers :)

Hi Jack –

If you’re looking for a great value liveaboard experience these ones are hard to beat.

(Sorry about the late approval of your query – your comment was trapped by our spam filters for some reason. )

Hello,I will be in sorong tomorrow morning,could u pls check whether there is the express ferry leave at9:00am?

Hi Rachel – Sorry – we can’t always respond instantly! We’re also not based in Raja Ampat, so have no way to check that kind of information on request. To the best of our knowledge the ferry schedule remains as shown above (no 9am departures on Thursdays).

Hello! I emailed the tourism office several times but didn’t get any reply. If there is a ferry from Waisai to Sorong on monday at 9am, would it be possible to take a flight a 4pm the same day? There should be enough time, even if the ferry is a little late. In case I am late, would I be able to take the next flight (with Garuda) without buying another ticket? Or should I just take the ferry the day before? Thanks!

Definitely possible Meli, but many think it’s too risky – delays and breakdowns are also possible! In my experience Garuda doesn’t charge to make changes to booked flights, but I don’t know what their policy is on missed ones. Most folks just spend the night before their flight in Sorong,

Thanks for your reply! I’ll email Garuda about that and see what they say!

H I am flying to Raja Ampat this October for 2 weeks. Cheapest flights available to Sorong are with Sriwijaya, any thoughts on this airline? Is it as scary as it has been described in one of the previous comments? Do you recommend Express Air or Garuda (currently second alternatives) instead?

Also through which website can I book the Jakarta-Sorong flights without getting lost in translation? And how much time should I allow for check-in at Sorong when flying back to Jakarta?

Thanks for the great website, look forward to your reply.

Hi Loeucc –

We’ve flown Sriwijaya a fair bit and never had a problem except for slight departure delays. Garuda’s great if you can afford it – nice new planes, on time, good service and the ability to reschedule at no extra charge. Haven’t flown Xpress, but hear good things.

All the airline and ticket booking sites linked on this page have English language options, so you should be fine.

Thanks for the thanks and all the best for your stay! :)

Thanks for getting back to me so promptly! Unfortunately Garuda is too expensive so we are now looking at Xpress as it flies direct to Sorong although it is more expensive than Sriwijaya. Will let you know how it goes :)

I am going to use express air for the first time. Does it on time or cancel due to weather? or better to use other LCC? Thanks.

Only heard good things about Xpressair Siscaria. Never heard of any carriers cancelling due to weather – they’re all flying quite large planes.

Wanted to know if most of sriwijaya’s flights are on time e or is prone to delay.. wanted to book a flight that arrives on the same day for an onward trip..anyone has any idea

I took a Sriwijaya’s flight from Sorong to Surabaya via Makassar a few weeks ago. Both flights were in time, but the check-in at Sorong was a real mess to be honest. I also have to admit that it was the most scary flights that I had been offered to take so far :)

Hi Sue –

We’ve only used Sriwijaya a couple of times and our experience has been the same as Manu’s. Sorong check in wasn’t great, but it wasn’t any worse than we’ve experienced there with full-fare airlines like Garuda either!

Dear Manu & Stay Raja Ampat team,

thank you very much for the info, it’s very helpful i’ll most likely fly in to sorong with Sriwijaya’s flight, as the price is cheaper than garuda’s ..now to a bigger headache, choosing the homestay :)

Thanks for the information, it’s so much helpful for me. Anyway, i wanna ask about Misool which i don’t read about how to get there from Sorong or Waisai. I heard about public boat that will run on September or October, any idea? Thanks for the feedback.

Hi siscaria –

According to those that have visited, there are twice weekly public ferries to Misool that run all the time. You’ll find all we know about them in the Transport / Getting there section of Harfat Jaya Homestay’s page . Hope that helps! :)

Hi, After spending 7 weeks in Raja Ampat I would like to head to Bali- is there a way to do this without flying to Jakarta? I have 3 days to do it….

Hi Juliette

Yes – fly to Makassar, then Bali. When you have the time it would be really helpful to your hosts and other travellers if you could leave a review of the homestay/s you stayed at on their respective website pages. Thanks :-)

I looked into it a few days ago for my trip and Garuda has flights from Sorong to Bali !

They do, but they go via Makassar. There are no flights that go non-stop between Sorong and Bali.

Hi, What time is the Express ferry from Wasai to Sorong going every day? I will have a flight on November 5th from Sorong at 4 pm. I rather don’t stay for a night at Sorong, would be great if I could travel from Wasai to Sorong and take my flight from Sorong all at the same day.

Hi Tsirah – The ferry schedule is on the page above.

Sorong to Waisai and Waisai to Sorong : Every day at 2.00pm. On Mondays and Fridays there’s an extra boat at 9.00am. On Saturdays there’s an extra boat at 11.00am

You’ll see from the comments below that most people consider it too risky to leave Waisai on the day of your flight. Delays can sometimes happen!

Ok thanks for the information. And what about a flight?

Full flight information also on the page above Tsirah ;)

Xpress air is only allowing online booking through Dec 31, 2014. Do you know how or when we can book a return flight from Sorong to Jakarta? (Arrive Sorong 21Dec2014, Dept Sorong 04Jan2015?

No idea when Ashley – but if you don’t want to wait until Xpress allows online bookings for January you could email or call them, or a travel agent, or book your return with a different airline.

Do you have an email or phone number for the air service from Sorong to Wasai? I’d like to book for Wednesday August 27th

We don’t Eric. You’d normally have no trouble getting them on the day at the airport, but with Sail Raja Ampat on perhaps booking ahead is a good idea. Suggest you call Amy at the Raja Ampat Tourism Management Team office to see if it’s possible. All the best and please do let everyone know how you get on :)

UPDATE for you Eric: Thanks to reader Brasa Suhonik, here’s the latest info for Susi Air – the company operating the Sorong-Waisai flights..

Sorong to Waisai 8:30-9:00 Waisai to Sorong 9:10-9:40 Monday Thursday Friday IDR 200,000 Phone: +6281385872034 Airport: +628112123934

Hello, Thanks for all the information on your website! I’m looking for flights from JKT to Sorong. Isn’t Xpress Air blacklisted (on European standards)? On the blacklist there’s “TRAVEL EXPRESS AVIATION SERVICE”, but is it the same as “Xpress Air”?

To the best of our knowledge, the only airline that flies to Sorong that isn’t blacklisted in the EU is Garuda. We’ve heard good reports about Xpressair though, and have never heard of an incident involving them. They are also your only choice if you want to fly direct (without stopover in Makassar) from Jakarta to Sorong.

Does anyone know if the ferry from Sorong to Waisai also runs on 25 December 2014? According to Stay Raja Ampat the ferry also runs on non-Islamic holidays like Christmas but I just want to make sure that this is still the case or if the ferry company has changed the schedule.

Thanks a lot.

Hi Katharina –

We know the ferries were running on Christmas Day 2013 and don’t have any reason to believe it will be different this year. It might be worth arranging to leave on the 24th or 26th though, just to be safe. That would also be very much appreciated by your hosts – Christmas is a big family and community day in Raja Ampat. See this article for more info about cultural considerations.

1, Is the airport at Waisai operating and are there flights directly to it from Makassar or only with one stop at Sorong? 2. I have a flight departing Jakarta at 10 minutes past midnight (0010) on Tuesday morning. Is it possible to take ferry from Waisai on Sunday and be able get a 1400 flight? 3. Is it “risky” to fly on Monday with my homebound flight scheduled that night? Terima kasih

Hi Dan – 1. The only flights into Waisai’s Marinda airport are the ones from Sorong mentioned at 3.3 above. 2. No. The Express ferry schedule above shows there’s only one boat from Waisai on Sundays. It leaves at 2.00pm 3. Well, assuming you take the 1045 Xpress Air flight direct to Jakarta and it departs on time you should be fine :)

Hello, I will travel around R4 for about 3 weeks from July 15th (arrival early morning in Sorong) to August 8th. My main concern is obviously transportation, considering the high cost (especially for solo traveler). What would be the best strategy to go from one island to the other ? Better to come back to Waisai in between the different homestays ? Ask the owner of homestays to transport me from one place to the other ? Do you have an idea what would be the more convenient / obvious choice of “region” (Gam or Kri or Arborek etc) for a first stay ?

Hello – The way to go would be to choose the place you want to stay at, then arrange your journey to minimise boat travel. Homestay owners can arrange to transport you directly to your next accommodation – you don’t need to waste time and money by going back to Waisai. If you want to visit all three of the islands you mention it would probably be best to start from either Gam or Kri and visit Arborek between those two. All the best for your stay!

Thanks for your quick answer (and, more generally, for the amazing quality of your website… a very very good job!).

I think I will favor, as a first stop after Waigeo (I’ll probably spend a few nights at Waripurem) a pretty popular homestay in Gam, Kordiris. A more remote and small place would probably be quieter, but I think I’ll have more chances of meeting people to share the transportation toward another destination.

Thanks again.

Thanks for saying so Madeleine :) Sounds like a plan! Have a great trip.

We planned to visit Raja Ampats from July 22 to 27. Unfortunately, our flight back to Makassar is already booked for July 28 (monday). at 7am. It means that we have to come back from Waisai to Sorong on sunday… else we will be wasting a day in Sorong. My question is : is it really unpolite to ask the homestay owners to drop us back to Waisai on a sunday ?

Hi Manu – No, it’s OK. It’s better to arrange your departure so they don’t have to, but they will of course arrange a Waisai transfer for you if it’s necessary.

Thanks for that quick answer and this awesome website @ Stay Raja Ampat ! Ok, shame I did not notice this information before booking. Will do better next time ;)

Hello, Thank you for the good informations on your page! I would like to visit Raja Ampat from the 15 or 16 of August and want to stay till the 29th August. is it possible to do kind of an island hopping and visit more different homestays at my trip. My problem is, i don´t have a cell phone for contact at the moment. I think that could be a problem because just a few homestays have contact per e-mail. Can you give me an advice what i can do. Thanks in advance.

Hi Simon – Yes, it’s certainly possible to stay at more than one homestay. You could ask Amy at the Sorong tourism office to contact homestays that don’t have email for you or you can try just arriving – it’s very unlikely ones without email will be full. Have a great stay!

Hello, very good page. I am planning a trip to Raja Ampat, considered good period be 5 nights? (From 15 to 20 August) My plan is to reach the 15 from Makassar to Sorong (aircraft) and to address the same day to a homestay, then the day 20 back to Sorong and the same day take flight to Jakarta, it will be possible this? I’ve been trying to communicate with the homestay of koranu fyak Robben, which i read good reviews, but only has replied to me once, it is not price, or what it includes.

Hi dani – Your plan is possible, as long as your departing flight from Sorong is not before 1.30pm (so you have time to check in after arriving on 9am ferry from Waisai). All the accommodation, diving and price information for Koranu Fyak is on the Koranu Fyak page .

Hi, I want to go to Batanta for wildlife viewing on a budget. Can you make any recommendations on how to do this? Thanks!

Hi John – The only guide we know of for Batanta is Freddy Sauyai from Koryau Kayem Homestay . Suggest you contact him or Amy Zarta from the Tourism Management Team office in Sorong to find out more. We’ve just visited two new homestays in Batanta and will be adding the information for those to the site this week.

First of all I’d like to say I have found this page to be very useful, thank you so much!

My husband and I would like to visit Raja Ampat in October to do some snorkelling for 4-5 days. Is there a place you can recommend we stay where we can snorkel on the doorstep? All the accommodations we found is a dive resort. We would also like to explore a little, is there a tour where they offer a day snorkelling trip around the island with a group of people?

Most homestays in Raja Ampat have great snorkelling at the door. You can see all the homestays on our accommodation page . Click a homestay name or photo to see all the details (including photo galleries) for that homestay. Cheers :)

Hello, I am considering to come to raja ampat with my husband the last week of May. I have 2 questions: first do you think that the weather will be good? Second one, we are living in Jakarta and therefore will leave from there. Is Express airline safe? Do you recommend it? The I understand that both Garuda and Sriwijaya are making a stop in Makasar right? Thank you Adrianne

Hi Adrianne –

Weather in May should be good, but please read the full weather information available at Raja Ampat weather so you know what to expect.

I’ve never flown on Xpressair, but have heard others speak highly of it. Xpress is the only airline offering non-stop direct flights from Jakarta to Sorong – others fly via Makassar. Hope that helps!

For Javier, in additional to a daily 14.00pm ferry schedule, every monday and friday there is an 09.00 am ,both directions between Sorong and Waisai and also on Saturday at 11.00am schedule. I knew this for a fact from the staff aboard, but they are always late, say at least 30 minutes. it’s good if you are flying Garuda as their departure time at 14.30 on weekend from Sorong to Makasar ,hope this helps. Harris J

That’s a great update Harris – thank you so much! :)

As transport is always difficult in this remote areas, and I am only staying in R4 for 6 nights I want to maximize my time there, is there any information about the rates for speedboat? or any other way to make the transfer? I arrive Sorong at 9:30am on a Saturday, I guess we will take the ferry. We are think of staying in Papua Explorers and our plane departs on Saturday at 12:30pm, we do not want to leave one day earlier to get the ferry and stay one night in Sorong, so any suggestions?

Sometimes there’s a 9.00am ferry from Waisai on Saturdays – ask your host to call to check. It would be cutting it fine, but might be doable. Transwisata operates speedboats from Waisai but chartering one to Sorong would most likely cost hundreds of dollars.

For most folks there’s no way around spending that night in Sorong on the way out. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

I always travelled via Jakarta and booked with http://en.tiket.com which was not mentioned above, but is really good. There was never a problem in the past and I’m looking foward to my trip next year in October as well :)

Hi Henry – good tip for a great site! Thanks – we’ll add it :)

can anyone advise on visiting Raja Ampat / Sorong for 4-5 day trip, while wife is in 6th month of pregnancy? she will not be diving but am wondering about the medical facilities in Sorong mostly…

Hi ewm – Western standard medical care is unavailable in Raja Ampat. More health and medical info is available at Raja Ampat health & medical FAQ

hi there, we are looking for a vacation in raja ampat after our 1,5 years trvel through asia and new zealand in juli of this year.. is it a good time to visit the islands? weve been in indonesia last year juli and we absolutly loved but couldnt come to that side so we wanna make something work out now.. can you give some advice for flights to sorong from bali or jakarta.. thats the part were a bit stuck on, for the rest we will see when we land overthere.. Thanks Tom

Hi Tom. July can be windy – you’ll find detailed weather information at Raja Ampat weather .

Not sure what flight information you’re looking for. As this page shows, if you’re going from Bali you need to go via Makassar. Air Asia’s usually got the best deals on Bali-Makassar flights.

Additionally, the following updates are yet to be made to the above info: Xpress air offers direct flights from Jakarta to Sorong. Garuda is also flying to Sorong from Makassar and Manado.

Hope that helps and all the best for your visit :)

Hi Guys. I’m planing to visit Raja Ampat this december. Is it easy to get Indonesia’s visa if we fly from Kuala Lumpur to Makassar. Airport listed as international and have ”visa on arrival” option. Did someone tried this?? Thanks

Hi Aushhh – See the details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_Indonesia – as long as you’re from one of the listed countries you’ll have no problem getting a 30 day VOA at Makassar airport. The visas can be extended for a further 30 days, but if you’re spending all your time in West Papua, rather than have to arrange an extension there, it would be easier to apply for a 60 day one at an Indonesian embassy before leaving your home country.

Thank you for quick answer. I’m glad to hear about visa on arrival at Makassar airport. I am liable to get a visa. We planning to stay 1 week, so we can get visa for 10USD. Thanks

You’re welcome Aushhh. Not sure where you found information saying you can get a VOA for $10? They’re $25.00 regardless of length of stay as far as I know.

”Tourists from those selected countries will not oblige to apply abroad for a visa but can purchase a visa on arrival at 15 gates of Indonesia’s international airports and seaports. The fee for this visa, payable upon landing, is US$10 for a 7 day visa and US$25 for a 30-day visa.”- shortend sentence from one of websites.

Hey Aushhh – didn’t know about those! Thanks :) Bear in mind that it’ll take you a day to get from Makassar to the islands and two days to get back (because you have to go back to Sorong the day before your departing flight).

Hmmn, I see a problem. UPG-SOQ on Merpati arrives in SOQ at 1:15 PM, this is probably too late to catch the 2:00 PM ferry to Waisai :(

Also, coming back, they leave SOQ-UPG at 1:55 PM, this is also before the Waisai ferry arrives :(

There’s no escaping needing a night in Sorong prior to a departing flight. Ferry times are not set in stone and it’s not impossible to catch one when arriving at 1315. It’s 20K ojek ride to find out.

Well on another page I saw someone say to get to the harbor by 13:00 at the latest, because the ferry can fill up and decide to leave even before 14:00. I cannot afford to miss the ferry.

There’s more than one ferry. You are risking missing them by arriving at that time but it’s possible you might not. If you can’t afford the risk, your only choice is to rearrange your travel plans to arrive in Sorong earlier.

How many ferries? 2?

My problem is that I am making a booking for Feb 9-16. If I miss the ferry I pay for a day/night that I am not there to enjoy :)

Yes – as stated in the article above there are 2 ferries. Obviously, if you can’t book an earlier flight, flying into Sorong on the 8th is the only way to guarantee you make the ferries on the 9th. If you have more questions Riot, rather than fill up the comment threads, please put them all in an email and send it via our contact page – thanks :-)

OK. Thank you for all your help. Sorry to clutter your comments :)

In this post you say “There are no direct flights to Sorong from Bali”.

While I suppose you meant “no non-stop direct flights”, when I look up flights on ITASoftware’s site I see many flights from Denpasar to Sorong with an overnight stay (on the way to Sorong) in Makassar, and then a 3 AM flight from Makassar to Sorong arriving at 6:15 AM.

Is this information correct or do you know otherwise?

Also, the return flights from Sorong are listed as being at 12:50 PM. It sounds like this would be a problem with the ferry schedule, and would require either coming back a day early or via private speedboat if the return ferry does not leave until around 2 PM.

Hi Riot. Yes, by “direct flight” we meant one that goes straight to Sorong without stopping anywhere else. With the exception Xpress Air, all flights from Jakarta go via Makassar. It’s also correct that you need to return to Sorong the day before your departing flight.

Thanks for that. Do you think it would be cheaper to book two sets of flights, Denpasar-Jakarta and Jakarta-Makassar-Sorong? I think Garuda want something like IDR 8,200,000 for DPS-UPG-SOQ

Definitely not! Jakarta is unnecessary when leaving from DPS. Air Asia DPS-UPG then Merpati UPG-SOQ. I booked those flights last night for the end of Feb. Total price IDR 1,300,000.

Holy crap … that is like 1/6th the cost of Garuda flights … glad you told me this :-o

Hi, may I know the rough cost of chartering a speedboat to Waisai? I have a group of 4 friends who will be arriving early on Saturday morning and prefer not to “waste” valuable time to wait for 2pm ferry. How much would the operator charge the 4 of us?

Hi Fairuz – Hopefully someone who has taken one recently will be able to answer this because we don’t know for sure. We’ve heard of people paying $150, but that was quite a while back.

If I reach Makassar from kula lumpur ,how can I reach sorong are Xpress ,Merpati,Sriwijaya only option or are there others as well.

Hi Pranab – In addition to those there’s Sky Aviation (shown on the table above) and Garuda, who we haven’t added the info for yet – they’ve only just started flying the route.

hi, could you share a link once again?

Hi Sofya – didn’t realise that link was broken! Fixed it >> https://www.facebook.com/gorajaampat

I have booked my return flight on the 26th Dec from Sorong for 7.30 am I have to get to Sorong on the 25th Dec and I have just found out it is an Indonesian holiday. So I’m wondering how I can get from Wasai to Sorong. Is there any one else travelling to Sorong that day maybe we can hire a boat together?? Here’s hoping

Hi Avinash – You might want to post this over on our facebook page too. Hope you don’t have to spend Xmas Day in Sorong!

Hello I would like to go from Sorong to Wayag Island, how can I get there? It’s pretty far…

Hi Lisa – Wayag is closed to visitors at the moment. Normally travel there can be arranged from most homestays. For more about this, see our ‘What’s up at Wayag?’ post .

Hi im planning to go to Raja Ampat and looking for a great accomodation! i need charter a speedboats and staying in a beautiful one place there for 2 nights only..Could u pls gimme the website or contact numbers please??Many thanks

All on this page dewi.

hi, i am planning to dive Raja Ampat but im looking for a cheaper alternative than live on boards. is there a cheaper way? how much is a day dive and what resorts would you recommend?

:P Robbie! Come on! It’s all here on the website! Have a look at Diving with Raja Ampat homestays .

Hi! I have a question. How much cost a speedboat from Waisai to Sorong? Is it possible a trip in the morning? We have the flight in the afternoon and the public boat arrive at Sorong only at 16pm. We would like to stay one more day in Raja Ampats. Thanks and have a good day!

Hi Elena – It’s certainly possible. The price would apparently depend on your negotiating skills – we’ve heard of prices ranging between $100 and $300! Suggest you ask either the RA Tourism Office or your accommodation provider about it.

https://booking.xpressair.co.id/EAStart.aspx?New=1&Language=en&Currency=IDR – Express Air has flights to Sorong, but more expensive, than airline combinations to be found, e.g. at http://traveloka.com

Actual Pelni schedule: http://pelni.co.id/?bhs=en

Yay! Express Air finally have a working website! Thanks for the update Mikhail – we’ve amended the page to reflect the new info :)

From Sorong to Makassar, we took a Merpati flight that went on to Surabaya, Yogya and Jakarta. not very directly, but at least no hassle with the luggage, etc. the taxi from the airport to the ferry is very straight-forward, and no more than 10 mins! no need to take a taxi at all. there is a 5-min walk from the main road to the jetty, ojeks hang around and try to tell it is very far to walk, but it’s not…

I am in surabaya, do I have direct flights?

No Mabel. Like the above table shows, direct flights to Sorong are only available from Makassar, Manado and Ambon. You’ll be able to buy a ticket to Sorong via Makassar.

Express Air Flights to Jakarta- Sorong daily but transited to Makasar.

Thanks Edu – any chance you can let people know the times of those flights? Or how to book a ticket?

Boy, that Pelni “schedule’ looks sketchy (“Last update: 2006”) Do you know anybody who’s actually arrived in Sorong by ship?

I do. Hundreds of thousands of people a year use the Pelni liners. They’re the lifeblood of the archipelago – most passenger transport and freight is delivered by their network. The deregulation of air travel is having a serious impact on Pelni’s viability though…

I think it’s quite likely that the schedule hasn’t changed since 2006. A Pelni ticket has to be purchased form one of their offices or from an agent (they can’t be booked online) – either will have up to date information on timetables.

If you’re interested, you can find out more about Pelni travel at http://www.insideindonesia.org/feature-editions/riding-pelni

I had a memorable Pelni cruise from Jakarta to Batam (ie, Singapore) in 1988 – during Ramadan, which made mealtimes “challenging” ;) I particularly recall an eery scene as the ship cruised slowly through an offshore petroleum field, with the gas flares of dozens of tall oil rigs lighting the night sky.

Wow, having tried to assemble this information myself I commend your thorough research! (I also hit the same ominous dead end trying to investigate schedules for “Express Air”.)

Cheers Steve :) Hope it proves useful…

thanks for the update, Raja Ampat is one of my dream place to visit in Indonesia.

Yet not easy to get information to go there. Your post is really helpful

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