RAJA AMPAT DIVE SITES
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Our diving packages include dive sites within 15K radius from  Biodiversity Resort. For more distant dive sites we charge a  supplement.

We offer individual  raja ampat diving  experiences in small groups (a maximum of 6 or less, normally 4, per guide) and we aim to give you the best quality, safety and fun! We are sure you will enjoy diving in Raja Ampat!

Just as we prefer for our own dives, we offer long bottom times! Maximum of 75 minutes (if your air permits)! We organize the dive planning in collaboration with all our guests, to ensure that your  Raja Ampat experience is complete and is everything you expected.

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At Biodiversity Nature Resort we take great pride in our diving operation. We focus on giving all our guests the best of the best dive sites through professional, personalized diving experiences where your safety, diving level and comfort are all taken into consideration. The best diving resort in Raja Ampat that will make sure you have an amazing diving holiday in Indonesia.

Our diving is all about shallow diving, wide angle type of photography, admiring seascapes and showing you the amazing biomass and diversity the Raja Ampat has to offer.

We make sure that every visitor gets to see all the best dive sites in our diving area! So, don´t worry and leave it up to us!

To get familiar with our daily dive operation and centre CLICK HERE

Raja Ampat Biodiversity is located in the Dampier Strait, with most of the famous dive sites just 5 to 15 minutes away.

RAJA AMPAT DIVE SITES

Diving is a passion for us and we wish to show our guests the best of the best. Being situated in the Dampier Straight allows us to do this. The Dampier strait separates the Raja Ampat islands of Gam and Mansuar. It also passes by the islands of Mansuar, Kri, Koh and Arborek. It was named after Englishmen Captain and ex-pirate William Dampier after the first european to sail it in 1700.

The variety in topography that the Dampier strait dive sites offers, varies from: pinnacles, shore dives, underwater reefs, “wall” dives, muck & macro dives, sloping reefs and many island dives.

We always make sure our guests get the full Raja Ampat experience so you can make the most of your vacation with us. Guest satisfaction is important to us and we never wish you to leave here not having seen everything! We have some of the best dive sites and excursions to fulfil your desires!

DIVE SITES WITHIN OUR RANGE

Biodiversity House reef

Diving & Snorkelling

Level : All Levels

Depth : 3m-35m

Current : None – Mild

Photography : Macro – Wide

Travel Time : 2min

We are very privileged to have such a wonderful house reef. It is unfortunately not the best Raja Ampat dive site, but we are sure you are going to love the diversity it offers. It’s a gentle sloping fringe reef system and provides wonderful snorkelling and great dives. There is a wide diversity of soft and hard corals and some wonderful table corals in the shallows. Night dives are very popular on the house reef with good chances of seeing the Epilate, walking shark, bobtail squid, ornate ghost pipe fish. Under the jetty there are a large number of fish including a large school of juvenile and adult bat fish. This is the perfect reef for first time divers, as well as divers who wish to have a refresher, after many years out the water.

Batu Lima

Diving & Snorkelling
Level : All Levels
Depth : 3m-35m

Current : None – Mild
Photography : Macro –Wide                                                                         Travel Time : 2min

With its Indonesian name meaning “Five Rocks,” this is a perennial favourite, with many of our guests requesting one or more returns to this site. Descending on the north-eastern side takes you down to the maximum depth of around 24m. While following this slope you will be amazed at the scores of Fusiliers, Triggerfish, Unicorn Fish and Black Tip Reef Sharks frequenting this astonishing site. As you ascend at the end of your dive, you may encounter countless hunting Trevallies in the shallows, as we take you through the canyons that separate these rocks, always keeping an eye open for the multitude of Nudibranches and Flatworms that make their home among the vast array of colourful coral, on the sides of these rocks. An ever-changing dive, where nothing can be predicted. It should be at the top of your list.

Francisco Reef

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : All Levels
Depth : 3m-25m
Current : None – Mild
Photography : Macro – Wide

Travel Time : 3min

Named after a houseguest at Biodiversity Resort who explored this area, this dive site is a tremendous site, offering a wide range of species. Descending onto a shallow rock, your dive starts immediately with the welcoming site of colourful Anthias and Fusiliers. While swimming around this rock, keep an eye peeled for the exquisite Ghost Pipefish. After taking your time looking around, you can follow the natural slope down to your maximum depth, where you might encounter Blue Spotted Stingrays and even the elusive Pygmy Seahorse. On your way back to shallower depths, make sure to poke your head under some of the overhangs, to spot some Wobbegong Sharks. This site it less common but offers you the opportunity to dive in one of the most stunning Raja Ampat dive sites, no visit would be complete without; it is a photographer’s dream spot!

Mioskun

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : All Levels
Depth : 2m-25m
Current : None-Strong
Photography : Macro – Wide

Travel Time : 5min

Starting this relaxing dive should be done on the current side of the island, leaving a good distance between entry point and the best point of dive site on the south-eastern side. After you have marvelled at the sheer number of Yellowtail and Blue Lined Snappers, you can lazily drift around the eastern side of the island, until you reach the lee side. This site is well known as a likely opportunity to see Wobbegong Sharks. Make sure to peer under the coral ledges for these strange creatures, while also looking for tiny Pontohi Pygmy Seahorses on the coral rocks. The blue ring octopus can be spotted here on the rare occasion. An extremely popular site for the peacock mantis shrimp.

Lao Lao

Level : All Levels
Depth : 8m-25m
Current : None-Mild
Photography :

Travel Time : 5min

It is a perfect multi-level dive sight with a maximum depth of 25m. You will encounter Wobbegong sharks, schooling surgeons and snappers and giant moray ells are all known to be spotted here. You will slowly move to 18m , where you will find the Barracudas and oriental sweet lips swimming in schools after which the last stage of the dive will be at 9m. Here you will look amongst the coral for the Nudi Branches and keeping in mind, in season, that this is a great location for the Mantas to be spotted.
The whole time throughout the dive keep an eye out into the blue for grey reef sharks and eagle rays, they love visiting this dive site

Mikes Point

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : intermediate – Advanced
Depth : 2m-35m
Current : None-Strong
Photography : Macro-Wide

Travel Time : 10min

Since it looks like a Japanese warship from the air, the US Air Force repeatedly bombed the island during WWII. In the intervening years the reef has recovered remarkably, with the chunks of rocks being blown off, creating magnificent crevices and overhangs, for an array of macro subjects. Ascending on a great wall, there is usually a group of sweetlips smiling at the cameras. Since it sits almost smack in the middle of the Dampier Strait, one regularly spots hunting Spanish Mackerel, or cruising White Tip Reef and Black Tip Reef Sharks. As you spend the latter half of the dive in the shallows, be on the lookout for Wobbegong and Epaulette Sharks, Turtles, and even sea snakes. An obligatory dive site when visiting Raja Ampat.

Sardines Reef

Level : intermediate – Advanced
Depth : 3m-30m
Current : Mild-Strong
Photography : Macro-Wide

Travel Time : 15min

This is another premium dive site, not to be missed! An oval shaped reef patch, it sits right in the middle of some open ocean. Around the reef, you will be astounded by the sheer number of Fusiliers, Surgeonfish, Snappers, Damselfish and butterflyfish. All this living food attracts predators, such as Barracuda, Spanish Mackerel, Giant Trevallies and several types of Jacks. On occasion you might even find some Grey Reef Sharks cruising around. This is also a great site to spot some less common species, like Oceanic Triggerfish, Bump head Parrotfish, and Napoleon Wrasse. For the top of your list when visiting.

Cape Kri

Snorkelling Friendly at certain times
Level : intermediate – Advanced
Depth : 3m-40m
Current : Mild-Strong
Photography : Macro-Wide

Travel Time : 20Min

Yet another great dive site! Perhaps the most famous of all the dive sites in Raja Ampat, due to the record-breaking 283 species (and growing) recorded in a single 90min dive! The steep slope has absolutely everything on display – from vast gardens of colourful hard and soft corals, to the scintillating prospect of a Manta Ray flying by. The coral fields play host to an accent of colour, provided by swarms of Fusiliers, Damsels, Surgeons and Anthias. Dogtooth Tuna, Barracuda, Mackerel, Trevallies, as well as Grey Reef, Blacktip Reef and White Tip Reef Sharks are frequently seen patrolling the area. You might also be surprised by Bump head Parrots, Napoleon Wrasse and some very big groupers. This site is every bit the sensory overload, that will continue to mesmerize you, even after multiple dives, no visit would be complete without visiting here!

Blue Magic

Level : intermediate – Advanced
Depth : 9m-30m
Current : Mild-Strong
Photography : Macro-Wide

Travel Time : 15Min

Sitting in the middle of the “blue” ocean, the ever present anticipation of what is just beyond sight makes this site truly “magical”. Great schools of fish swarm around the mostly hard corals, relentlessly pursued by swarms of Spanish Mackerel, Giant Trevally, Barracuda, Dogtooth Tuna, Rainbow Runners, and countless Jacks. More often than not, divers are surprised by Blacktip Reef and Grey Reef Sharks, Bump head Parrots and even huge oceanic Mantas. This is the one site where anything can happen….and it usually does! Be ready for an amazing dive here!

Chicken Reef

Level : intermediate – Advanced
Depth : 3m-30m
Current : Mild-Strong
Photography : Macro-Wide

Travel Time : 20Min

Another shallow reef dive, however even with its similar topography to other sites, it delivers a vastly different set of species. Ever-present is large numbers of fusiliers and other colourful fish inhabiting the coral, but keep a look out for pipefish, pigmy seahorses, nudibranches, flatworms and some very interesting crabs and shrimps. You might also be rewarded with the sighting of Crocodile fish or Wobbegong Sharks

Kakatua

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : All Levels
Depth : 5m-18m
Current : None-Mild
Photography : Macro

Travel Time : 15min

One of our dive sites we discovered while finding new and exciting places for visitors. A shallow bank reef in the marine lake between Waigo and Gam, this reef is dotted with many different anemones and many different anemone fish species, more false clown fish (Nemo’s) than can be counted reside on this reef, many naudibranch species make for great Macro shots more often than not we can find the solar powered nudi branch. This location is a phenomenal location for Macro life. An extremely popular location for Wobbegong sharks.

Urai

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : All Levels
Depth : 3m-25m
Current : None-Strong
Photography : Macro

Travel Time : 15Min

Another beautiful reef discovered by us, on one of our exploratory trips. Sitting just inside the entrance of what is known as the lake between Waigo and Gam Islands, the small island of Urai has a wonderful reef system surrounding it.  With dense hard corals in the shallows and a gentle slope it provides a chance to see Frog Fish and several different pipe fish species and a wide verity of macro life

Kabui

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : All Levels
Depth : 5m-15m
Current : None-Mild
Photography : Macro-Wide

Travel Time : 5Min

Kabui is a delightful secluded beach with a sandy bottom and reef patches scattered about.  It provides calm and current free training conditions for courses or refreshers, or a gentle dive around its hard and soft coral bombies. You can sometimes get the chance of spotting Turtles and blue spotted rays in between the abundance of healthy marine life.

Otdima

Level : intermediate – Advanced
Depth : 5m-25m
Current : Mild-Strong
Photography : Macro-Wide

Travel Time : 25Min

This is a dynamic and fun dive site aptly named because of the different, unexpected currents that you get here. It is more of an atoll so the currents can be multiple; coming from different directions as a result there is lots of schooling fish, turtles and sharks the corals are diverse and pristine ecosystem. Currents are dependent on tidal movements so are unpredictable and can change; due to this we recommend you hold advanced or a minimum of 15-20 dives to dive this site.

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Koh Island

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : All Levels
Depth : 5m-30m
Current : Mild-Strong
Photography : Macro-Wide

Travel Time : 20Min

Koh island is a beautiful dive site with a sloping reef. It has a lot of interesting critters from the peacock mantis shrimp, lobsters and of course many hard corals of every species. As it sits just off cape kri there is a good possibility of seeing big schools of fish without all the current associated with kri , very enjoyable dive for all levels.

Cross Over

Level : intermediate – Advanced
Depth : 5m-30m
Current : Mild-Strong
Photography : Wide

Travel Time : 30min

This is a fantastic dive for the more experienced diver. The reef slopes down to 30 M, however majority of the dive will be around 25-18m, make sure to monitor your computers. The currents are unpredictable and have a habit of changing direction during the dive (medium to strong currents expected), but with the currents come the big marine life. You can spot sharks, schooling Jacks, barracudas, and into the blue the chance of tuna. Due to the difficulty of this dive we recommend divers have advanced open water and at least 30 dives with experience in currents.

Firwen – Wall

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : All Levels
Depth : 2m-25m
Current : None-Strong
Photography : Wide

Travel Time : 5min

This dive site is unique in that it is one of the very few wall dives that the Dampier Straight has to offer. The start of the wall has two small caves where you can spot fish swimming upside down, a strange thing to see for the first time. The wall is covered in gorgonian fan corals, sponge corals and whip tail coral right from the bottom of the wall to the surface. It is the perfect wall for keen photographers who love marco. If you are lucky you are able to see Mantas and Eagle rays swimming past the wall

Firwen – Garden

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : All Levels
Depth : 2m-35m
Current : Mild-Strong

Photography : Macro-Wide

Travel Time : 5Min
This site is connected to Friwen Wall and Friwen Laut. The main attraction is the point of Friwen Garden where it is common to find hundreds of Fusiliers swimming in the split current. You will find big trevallies hunting the Fusiliers, white tip and black tip reef sharks are often found hanging out here as well. The blue fin king fish is often found hunting with large Napoleon wrasses at around 15m-20m. At 20m you will find a Muricella gorgonian coral with around 5-12 Pygmy seahorses living on it. Once you have had your fill of all the fish in this area, you will following the reef to the right all the way into 2m of water. The different coral speieces and their bright colours will make for a great end to your dive.

Friwen – Laut

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : All Levels
Depth : 3m-25m
Current : None-Mild
Photography : Macro-Wide

Travel Time : 8Min

This is a slopping reef on the same island as Friwen Wall and Friwen Gardens dive sites. Here you can encounter ribbon eels and the endemic garden eels found only in Raja Ampat, blue spotted sting rays and as you make your way up the reef you will discover the diverse amount of corals which hide some of the most amazing macro life. Keep your eyes open!

Saporkren

Level : All Levels
Depth : 3m-18m
Current : None-Mild
Photography : Macro

Travel Time : 10min

This is one for the best muck dives in the area. Here you will find the common sea horse, 3 different types of clown fish, pipe fish, Octopus and the flamboyant cuttlefish. You start the dive by descending to 18m and snake your way up towards the Saporkren jetty. You will come across lots of rubble and sandy areas where it takes a little time to get used to. Keep a look out for the smaller things the ocean has to offer. For photographers it is a “must do dive” if you have a macro lens.

Mandarin

Level : All Levels
Depth : 5m-15m
Current : None-Mild
Photography : Macro

Travel Time : 10min

This is a late afternoon dive as the Mandarin start to come out as the sun is setting. We often see 5 Mandarin fish on the odd occasion we have seen up to 12 Mandarin fish. The entire dive is spent 8m or less. Once you have had your fill of the Mandarin fish you will explore the shallow reef and come across Nudi Branches, pipe fish and the orangutan crab. This site holds many different species of macro life and with the shallow it is easy to do a 60min dive.

DIVE SITES OUTSIDE OUR RANGE

Melissa Garden

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : All Levels
Depth : 5m-30m
Current : Mild-Strong
Photography : Wide

Travel Time : 1H45min

This has to be one of the top 10 dive sights in the world. This sight is truly amazing with what it has to offer. We start the dive in 20-25m where you will be on the sandy edge of the reef looking for the larger schools of fish (surgeons, parrots) and keeping an eye out for the Grey Reef Sharks. As we move our way up the reef you will start to encounter the amazing diversity of coral and fish life that this reef has to offer. As you get closer to the top of the reef you will find that the corals fight with each other for space, making it one of the most spectacular garden reefs. No visit to Raja Ampat will be complete without visiting this dive site!

Fam Slope

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : All Levels
Depth : 2m-25m
Current : None-Mild
Photography : Wide

Travel Time : 1H45min

This dive site has one of the steepest slops and in some areas a wall dive. The main attraction for this dive site is the gorgonian coral that can be found here. You will be swept along with the current searching for macro life, like the Frogsfish and the many Nudi Branches of different species. This dive has many secrets, you just need to spend the time observing the reef while drifting by. It is a fantastic drift dive.

Arborek Jetty

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : All Levels
Depth : 2m-18m
Current : Strong
Photography : Macro-Wide

Travel Time : 40Min

Extra Charge : 30

This is a challenging dive and not for the faint hearted. This jetty is a photographers dream with thousands of fish found under the jetty such as schooling jacks hunting on the smaller silversides, Soft and hard corals and giant clams, found to the one side of the jetty. It is not an easy dive due to the strong currents you can experience here, but for those with experience it is a spectacular one. Due to the difficulty of this dive we recommend divers have advanced open water and at least 30 dives with experience in currents. Arborek is one of the 3 main Jetties in Raja Ampat

Sawandarek Jetty

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : All levels
Depth : 4m – 20m
Current : None to Mild
Photography : Wide angle
Travel Time : This is part of our Full day Manta Sandy trip

Extra Charge : 30

This is a “on the bucket list “must visit jetty because of the diversity you can find all in one area. You start your dive at the jetty making your way down to 14m. One the way down you will encounter beautiful soft and hard corals surrounding metal Manta ray structures which have been put in place many years ago for coral conservation. For the turtle lovers you will encounter larger than usual green turtles, Giant clams and large schools of fusiliers and barracuda. It also has a wide variety of macro life.

Mangroves / West Gam

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : All Levels
Depth : 2m-18m
Current : None-Mild
Photography : Marco-Wide

Travel Time : 45Min
Extra Charge : 30

This is a fantastic dive site, with many schooling fish of giant barracuda and sharks galore. The top of the reef sits at 5 meters and drops to 25 meters, stretching into the shallow mangrove area. It is a unique site because the mangroves offer protection for juvenile fish of all species, encouraging an abundance of marine life to flourish and contribute to the diversity seen everywhere. The mangroves can be explored on the high tide only, so best option here would be snorkelling, due to the shallow depths, I must do if you want something complete different and exciting to add to your dive logbook!

Mayhem

Level : intermediate – Advanced
Depth : 7m-30m
Current : Mild to Strong
Photography : Macro – Wide

Travel Time : 35min
Extra Charge : 30

This reef is a wonderful dive site that offers a wide range of corals. As you descend the sloping reef you will find a few large bommies surrounded by glassfish, with lots of small over hangs, offering many places for wobbegons and sting rays to hide. It is home to many species of fusiliers, waiting on the North or East side of the reef, where they feed of the nutrients brough in by the currents. In turn this brings the larger pelagic’s (Giant travellys, Dog Tooth Tuna, Grey reef sharks). Along with a wide range of macro, it is not uncommon to encounter 2 different species of pigmi sea horse. As well as many different Nudi Branches.

West Mansuar

Level : intermediate – Advanced
Depth : 5m-35m
Current : Mild-Strong
Photography : Macro-Wide

Travel Time : 40Min
Extra Charge : 30

Just around the corner from yenbuba is; West Mansuar its a challenging and deeper dive, but the rewards are justified, most of the dive is done between 25 and 18 meters (the deep part) so we must watch our bottom time closely.  The marine life is abundant with larger schools of fish, barracuda, sharks and sweetlips to name a few (the current part).  The corals are also very healthy and range from soft to hard corals with fish cleaning stations along the way.  Due to the difficulty of this dive we recommend divers have advanced open water and at least 30 dives with experience in currents.

Manta Ridge

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : intermediate – Advanced
Depth : 3m-20m
Current : Mild-Strong
Photography : Wide

Travel Time : 40Min
Extra Charge : 30

This is one of the best locations for spending your dive in 6m of water while Oceanic & Reef Mantas swim around you. As the currents can be strong here you use reef hooks to stay in the same spot. You will also encounter several sharks and bump head parrot fish on your way to the hook up area. You can often see yellow pilot fish swimming with the Mantas, as they swim over cleaning stations in a hover like motion. If the Mantas are not around then the dive can be just as breathtaking as you drift along the ridge and up onto the top flats where numerous different species can be seen.
This is a seasonal dive location as Mantas arrive from October-April yearly

Manta Sandy

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : All Levels
Depth : 2m-18m
Current : None-Mild
Photography : Wide

Travel Time : 40Min
Extra Charge : 30

Between the months of October and April, great numbers of Manta Rays congregate in the shallow, plankton rich waters around Biodiversity, to feed. At this dive site you will have the opportunity to see these graceful beauties pause for a while to get groomed and cleaned. On a good day it might seem like the runway of a busy airport, as up to 20 Mantas have been spotted. Be aware that Mantas love current, and the stronger the better! At Biodiversity we strictly adhere to waiting behind a defined line of coral rubble, so as not to disturb these gentle giants. This is, without a doubt, one of the most memorable Raja Ampat dive sites. If you come in high season, please don’t miss it, it has to be added to the house reef!

Yenbuba Jetty

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : All Levels
Depth : 2m-25m
Current : None-Mild
Photography : Macro-Wide

Travel Time : 30Min

Yenbuba is a spectacular dive site with many different species of fish and a great chance for turtle enthusiasts to get up close to these wonderful creatures.  It also has schooling barracuda on the point. It is home to fields of amazing staghorn and cabbage corals as far as the eye can see.  This dive is protected so it is great for beginners and those who have not been diving in a few years. If there are currents, they will go from left to right or vice versa, so it is a gentle drift with the current.

NOTE: Sawandarek, Aborek and Yenbuba Jetty form part of the top three jetty’ s found in the Dampier Straight with the most biodiversity. They form part of the famous circuit called the “three jetty Raja Ampat tour “. We are lucky to have them as dive sites we visit already. They would be obligatory dive sites to visit if you wish to have the best overall experience with a wide variety of choice!

Ransiwor

Snorkelling Friendly
Level : All Levels
Depth : 3m-30m
Current : Mild-Strong
Photography : Macro-Wide

Travel Time : 30Min

Ransiwor is another top dive site to visit. It has a sloping reef with several big cleaning stations, which is always interesting as the marine lifeare found hanging around them. It often has schools of giant bump head parrotfish, oriental sweet lips, cuttlefish and various species of pipefish including the ornate ghost pipefish and the yellow scorpion leaf fish. Similar diving to Yenbuba but expect it to be more of a drift dive.

TOUR

Raja Ampat is a unique paradise with beautiful landscapes, some of the best islands of Indonesia and areas of special interest that lie outside of our area of coverage. We encourage our guests (since you have come so far) to visit these wonders of nature. The remoteness and uniqueness will take your breath away!

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