Raja Ampat Dive Lodge

There are more than a few home stays, liveabords, and resorts in Raja Ampat, but we have been so impressed by RADL. They personally meet you in Sorong, get you to and on board the ferry to Wasai, meet you there, and take you on a boat directly to the Lodge. Everyone, from escorts, to the manager, to the head cook, to the dive instructors and masters (ours was long time instructor Frankie) were friendly, professional, and went out of the way to make sure we were taken care of. That is not easy to do consistently, or at all in this part of the world, but if you read the other reviews, RADL is consistent in the level of care. The rooms have A/C and their own decks feet from the water, the reef off your front door is excellent (and the pier a home for hundreds of fish). Well worth traveling across the world and coming back. Which we will do.

This is a great choice for divers and snorkelers. The staff is warm and friendly, and the service is excellent. The rooms are simple but clean. The facilities are very good for a diving or snorkeling trip. There is a dive center with qualified and cautious instructor and leaders. They know all the spots to take you in the vicinity and the underwater sea life and corals is beyond compare. The lodge also has a bar in the evening. A lovely massage hut with a wonderful masseuse. The food is plentiful and varied. There are often buffets with many options for meat, fish and veggie eaters. The cooking staff does a very nice job. There is also ala crate. And meals are prepared for day trips. Snorkeling at the end of the main pier is excellent and can be done at any time.

Everyone was wonderful and the vibe was great. The food was perfect, the staff very friendly and the diving crew exceptional. Carved out of the jungle I’d say the amenities were very comfortable. I got a hold of them on WhatsApp with a number off their facebook page and they answered all my questions perfectly. My husband and I hadn’t dove for about 20 years and they gave us a check dive to where they watched me intensely. We did further dives with one dive master. Ebbie was great.

I can't speak highly enough and describe how surreal & satisfying this experience was at the Raja Ampat Dive Lodge. The staff is extraordinarily accommodating. Its a long process to reach the Dive Lodge destination, but they will meet you at the airport and escort you from Sorong Airport to the lodge on Mansuar Island. They kindly carried all my luggage and provided me with all the boat transportation. The travel itinerary seems intimidating, but the Dive Lodge staff makes it easy and less complicated as they escort you and they deal with all the logistics. I commend Joseph and Tobias for making the whole orientation extremely thorough and welcoming. My cabin at the lodge was pleasant, comfy and temperature controlled. One of the biggest highlights was the FOOD! All the meals are buffets filled with quality food. This was truly restaurant quality meals. Kudos to the chefs for their brilliant proficiency in the kitchen. The scuba diving was my best dive experience ever. I have dived in 5 other regions around the world, but this underwater scenery tops all the charts. Plus, I had an exceptional dive master and boat crew. Diego helped me enjoy nearly 20 hours of diving. He ensured that I got the best underwater experience. It was surreal when he instructed me on feeding a banana to a bat fish deep underwater. The boat crew of Nando and Nadus were extremely friendly and accommodating. They always did the heavy lifting of my equipment. This was SO MUCH appreciated because I struggle with chronic back injuries. Peres is a very talented underwater video cameraman. He will use his GoPro and capture amazing video clips of you diving. This was the best decision I ever made for a vacation! THANK YOU!!!! - Ben Arlander

Excellent location for diving in the center of Raja Ampat, not far from Manta Sandy and Playnemo On the plus side - very nice bungalow, with AC (humidity probably at 95%, so it you want to have dry equipment or clothes, it's mandatory !) - great staff, nice and friendly -great spa -gorgeous dives (I have personnally ＞1600 dives worldwide) -excellent dive guide. thanks a lot Asrul for the time spend with us, you really love what you're doing. and we were also lucky !!! -good indonesian cooking -very quiet (unless near the dive center) -resort nicely done -the Sorong staff took us at the airport, and brought us to the airport, even if we spent the last night in a hotel -AC noise is ok. On the minus side : - the way meat, fish or chicken were cooked was sometimes a crime against humanity! - It seems that the speed boat is only available if the number of passagers is high enough (probably 4 to 6 ?). Other wise it's the ferry -from other guests, it seems that the buffet is significantly more expensve than à la carte -additional dives seem way more expensive than flat rate -small, few but aggressive mosquitos! -if you don't dive, probably borring place -some services or benefits are very expensive -room service only on demand -I asked for a bedside lamp to be fixed on the day I arrived : 2 weeks later, still broken. Credit Card payment took a while, but worked finally. No ATM, so if you're short on cash, the resort don't sell IDR. Would I go back ? Definitly

One of the most idyllic tropical settings I’ve ever seen. Comfortable but not luxurious rooms equipped with air conditioning and bar fridge. Commanding ocean views. Magnificent sandy beach bordering a coral lagoon with abundant marine life ie reef sharks, walking sharks, barracuda, lion fish etc. Friendly helpful staff. Excellent food at all meals. The snorkelling trips to other dive spots were breathtaking particularly Piaynemo. Highly recommend this accommodation.