Raja Ampat Airport

Raja Ampat Airport

Raja Ampat Airport

With the development of transport services to the there is now an airport that is serviceable by commercial planes direct to Raja Ampat Airport in Waisai onthe Island of Wiago.  Making the journey to Raja Ampat faster and easier.

Being fairly new and still a small airport there is an ever changing schedule for the flights in and out of the airport.  As the area develops with increasing numbers of visitors the schedule is sure to improve.  They now do operate a flight from Waisai to Sorong and Sorong to Waisai in the afternoon meaning that you can take a 15min flight compared to a 2hr ferry, the flights are not much more than the ferries VIP tickets.

Traveling to Raja Ampat by plane

The closest major airport to Raja Ampat is Domine Edward Osok Airport (SOQ) which is on the mainland of Papua in the city of Sorong.  It is one of the largest and busiest airports in the Birds’s Head Peninsula.  It’s serviced by direct flights daily from a number of different airports in Indonesia with the major connection airports being Jakarta, Makassar and Manado.  There are 8 different airline carriers flying into Sorong; Batik Air, Garuda, Lion Air, Nam Air, Sriwijaya Air, Susi Air, Wings Air and Xpress Air. There are several flights a day from these three major airports.  There are also flights daily from many airports in Indonesia such as Ambon, Jayapura, and Manokwari.

Travelling to Raja Ampat from Sorong by plane

Wings air part of the Lion group operates a daily flight from Sorong to Raja Ampat Waisai airport daily.  This option very reasonably priced and can save the time taken on the ferry.  Please note that the taxi service from Waisai Airport to the ferry terminal where most collections by boat would be from has no fixed price, Taxi drivers determine the price, which could be anything from 100,000IDR to 250,000IDR

Travelling to Raja Ampat from Sorong by sea

There are now two daily express ferries from Sorong to Waisai and Waisai to Sorong.  The Express Ferry takes around 2hrs and departs daily at 9am and 2pm, from either port.  There is no online or even booking system yet in place for buying the ferry tickets, it’s a matter of turning up and buying them directly from the counter.  Each locations ticket office can be found in the buildings before the docks.  They offer both Economy and VIP tickets; the VIP room has a private toilet and air-conditioning.  It’s not uncommon for the ferries to depart late, so it’s always best to allow extra time when taking a flight on the same day as the ferry.  For ferries departing at 9am its possible to catch a flight after 2pm on the same day.

It is also possible to rent a private speedboat which can either be arranged for your arrival or found in the wharf about 200 meters west of the ferry terminal.  Typical rental charges are between $600 to $1000 USD per way depending on the size of the speed boat.  While it’s expensive to rent a private boat and less comfortable than the ferry, it can take you directly to your destination in Raja Ampat faster than the ferry or flights.

Travelling to Raja Ampat from Waisai by Boat

If you fly into or take the ferry to Waisai the resort will then collect you from the ferry terminal with their own speedboat to transfer you to the resort.

Share this post

Raja Ampat Biodiversity Eco Resort is a place to connect with nature in one of the best diving and snorkeling destinations in the world!

Apart from the marine life that you can enjoy diving or snorkeling , Raja Ampat offers many other activities that will allow you to explore this spectacular part of the planet; kayaks, cultural visits to the villages, excursions in the jungle, visits to the small islands, enjoy the fauna and birds of the area (many of them endemic) …

In this blog we will share some of our adventures with you.

Underwater
Related articles