An Odyssey Through Karsts, Lagoons & Manta-Filled Channels
As you push west, the narrative widens: an eye-opening pearl farm visit in Aljui Bay, languid water sports at Wofoh, and Aqua Blu’s private beach club bringing sunset ease to a day already full of colour. Wayag follows, its limestone islets rising from jade lagoons, where pre-breakfast swims, reef sharks, and kayak forays stitch together hours of gentle adventure. Penemu’s Melissa’s Garden, a swirl of hard corals and teeming fish, contrasts beautifully with Arborek’s village charm and manta encounters.
Your final full day turns inland at Mayalibit Bay and Waigeo, where pre-dawn excursions seek out birds of paradise, followed by Friwinbonda snorkels and a crystalline drift down Kali Biru. Each evening you return to the ship for unhurried dinners beneath the stars, the sea a soft hush against the hull. You’ll disembark in Sorong with salt in your hair, camera full, and a sense that you’ve skimmed the surface of somewhere endlessly alive.
You will love
- Wayag’s limestone labyrinths
- Manta & reef shark encounters
- Melissa’s Garden hard-coral sprawl
- Dawn birding for paradise species
- Kayaks in hidden blue lagoons
- Aqua Blu’s cuisine & comfort
8 Days of Island Exploration
Day 1 | Embark Aqua Blu, Sorong | 7 Nights
Arrive in Sorong to a warm welcome and a private transfer to Aston Sorong Hotel, a welcome pause to refresh after travel.
By noon you embark Aqua Blu, meet the expedition team and settle into your cabin as the crew casts off toward Mioskon. The first afternoon is deliberately unhurried, with time on deck to take in forested islets and the glassy sea, followed by cocktails as the sun folds behind the karst skyline. Dinner introduces the ship’s culinary programme, with dishes by chef Benjamin Cross, and the easy social rhythm of life on board.
As you cruise toward your first anchorage, the expedition leader outlines tomorrow’s options, from gentle snorkelling to relaxed introductory dives, always paced to suit conditions and your comfort. You turn in to the hush of open water, lulled by the notion that a week of coral gardens, lagoons and starlit suppers has only just begun.
DAY 2
Wake to Mioskon’s emerald greens and pale sand crescents, a classic introduction to Raja Ampat’s calm, clear waters. After breakfast, slip into the sea for an easy snorkel or a relaxed dive over bommies where anthias flicker and giant clams dapple the seabed. Guides steward small groups, pointing out curious blennies and broad fans, keeping an eye on current and comfort.
Return to the ship for a lingering lunch while Aqua Blu repositions into the Dampier Strait, a channel renowned for vibrant reefs and life on the move. The afternoon’s splash reveals kaleidoscopic hard and soft corals and schooling fusiliers attending the current, before a gentle tender ride back to the ship.
Sundowners on deck give way to dinner as the sky fades to indigo, the evening breeze carrying hints of salt and frangipani. It is the first full day, and already the Coral Triangle’s abundance feels immediate and generous.
DAY 3
A pre-breakfast tender slips among Kabui Bay’s towering karsts, their limestone walls mirrored in glass-calm water as hornbills call across the canopy. Over a hearty breakfast, Aqua Blu cruises toward Cape Kri, where you’ll snorkel or dive a site that holds the world record for most fish species seen in a single 90-minute dive, a living index of biodiversity. The reef’s contours draw you along ledges festooned with fans, with clouds of damsels and surgeonfish sweeping past.
In the afternoon, move to Yangeffo Island for “Mayhem”, an exhilarating dive when conditions align, or opt for an easygoing sunset cocktail tender tour through mangroves, their roots bristling with juvenile fish.
Back on board, dine under a star-salted sky and trade sightings, the ship gently swinging at anchor as tomorrow’s plan is tailored to the day’s weather and your appetite for more.
DAY 4
An early departure carries you into Aljui Bay where a working pearl farm opens a window into the craft behind South Sea lustre. The visit is both educational and intimate, revealing a patient, precise art set against a backdrop of deep green bays.
Later, Aqua Blu noses out to Wofoh Island for an afternoon dedicated to the water: snorkelling over gardens of branching coral, unhurried dives along gentle slopes, and time to try light water sports in crystalline shallows.
As the sun sinks low, the crew sets up Aqua Blu’s Beach Club on a private stretch of sand. You wander barefoot across warm grains, sip bespoke cocktails, and watch families and friends splash in the last of the light. Twilight settles, the lanterns glow, and you return to the ship content, the day a balance of insight, colour and simple seaside joy.
DAY 5
Dawn reveals Wayag’s otherworldly archipelago, limestone islets thrust from turquoise lagoons and linked by passages the colour of bottle glass.
Take an early swim, the water cool silk over sun-warmed skin, then listen for the calls of rare birds of paradise in the forested heights before a generous breakfast on deck. The morning’s adventure may be a dive at Figure Eight Rock, where contours curl into fish-filled pockets, or a relaxed snorkel at the ranger station, where black tip reef sharks often glide through shallows, thrilling yet perfectly safe with your guides.
After lunch, kayaks are launched at “Castaway” beach, an afternoon of quiet exploration as you nose into hidden coves and drift with lagoon tides. By sunset, Wayag’s silhouettes turn to charcoal against a lavender sky, an image that lingers long after dinner is served.
DAY 6
You wake off Penemu, where Melissa’s Garden unfurls beneath the surface, a celebrated hard-coral amphitheatre alive with juvenile fish and cruising turtles. The morning is unhurried, allowing time to snorkel broad coral terraces or enjoy a relaxed dive with long bottom times and careful guiding.
After lunch the ship moves toward Arborek, a low island with a welcoming village. Conditions permitting, you’ll head out in search of manta rays at a nearby site, eyes peeled for the graceful sweep of wings at a cleaning station.
As evening approaches, step ashore for a stroll through sandy lanes, meeting weavers at their doorways and pausing to watch children play by the jetty. Back aboard, dinner carries the gentle scents of spice and smoke, and the conversation drifts as softly as the tide.
DAY 7
Rise before first light for a nature excursion on Waigeo, following local guides into the forest to seek birds of paradise as the canopy warms to birdsong. Return to the ship for breakfast and an easy snorkel at Friwinbonda Island, a lovely last immersion among branching corals and scribbled butterflyfish.
In the afternoon, the expedition turns inland; board a local canoe to thread upriver before slipping into the impossibly blue waters of Kali Biru for a refreshing downstream swim. It is a playful, memorable finale, colour and laughter carried on a gentle current.
As evening draws in, Aqua Blu weighs anchor and sets a course for Sorong, your final dinner an unhurried celebration of a week well spent at sea, shared with new friends and a sky pricked with southern stars.
Day 8 | Disembark Aqua Blu, Sorong
Enjoy a healthy breakfast on board as Sorong comes into view. Bags are set on deck, farewells are exchanged with the crew, and transfers are arranged to match your onward flight. You step ashore with salt-touched hair and a camera full of colour, the memory of karst skylines and manta arcs still bright.
WHERE YOU’LL STAY
Your Expedition Cruise Vessel
Aqua Blu – Raja Ampat, Indonesia
You step aboard Aqua Blu in Sorong and set sail into the heart of the Raja Ampat archipelago, where crystalline turquoise waters swirl around dramatic limestone karsts and biodiversity reigns. The ship’s 15 individually designed suites reflect elegance, comfort and subtle nautical heritage. On deck you find stylish social spaces, a jacuzzi and sun deck, and your days alternate between underwater wonder-land and serene wilderness above the waves. Read More.
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
8 Days / 7 Nights
8 Days / 7 Nights
PLEASE ENQUIRE FOR PRICING & AVAILABILITY
PLEASE ENQUIRE FOR PRICING & AVAILABILITY
START: Sorong, Indonesia | Finish: Sorong, Indonesia
Please enquire for pricing and availability.
Flights & insurance – on request
TOTAL
FROM USD $15,330 per person
Departure Dates – 2025*
- December 6th – December 13th
- December 13th – December 20th
- December 20th – December 27th
- December 27th – January 3rd 2026
Departure Dates – 2026*
- January 3rd – January 10th
- January 10th – January 17th
- January 17th – January 24th
- January 24th – January 31st
- January 31st – February 7th
- February 7th – February 14th
- February 14th – February 21st
- February 21st – February 28th
- February 28th – March 7th
- March 7th – March 14th
- December 12th – December 19th
- December 26th – January 2nd 2027
Departure Dates – 2027*
- January 9th – January 16th
- January 23rd – January 30th
- February 6th – February 13th
*All itineraries are subject to change due to weather & other operational conditions.
Inclusions
- Private transfer on arrival in Sorong & hotel rest stop prior to embarkation as specified
- On-board accommodation aboard Aqua Blu for 7 nights
- All meals as indicated day by day
- Guided excursions as described, including snorkelling, diving for certified divers, tender tours, kayaking & selected beach activities, subject to conditions
Exclusions
- International & domestic flights to/from Sorong
- Travel insurance & personal expenses
- Optional activities, equipment hire or services not expressly mentioned in the daily outline
- Alcoholic beverages not included by the operator, crew gratuities & any items of a personal nature
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