Raja Ampat & Cenderawasih Bay Diving Cruise (11 Days)

Arrive in Sorong, the West Papuan port city that is the gateway to the clear waters of Raja Ampat. The day is given over to embarkation aboard SH Minerva and final preparation, with cabin orientation, the safety drill and the expedition team's welcome briefing. The ship sails in the evening for Cenderawasih Bay.

Pulau Numfoor is a coral-rimmed island of raised limestone terraces and tropical forest lying in Cenderawasih Bay. Zodiac operations give access to reef snorkelling over healthy hard-coral gardens and to quiet beaches backed by jungle. The island also carries significant Second World War history from the 1944 Allied campaign.

Padaidori sits among the remote Padaido atolls, a scatter of low islands with secluded white beaches and sapphire water. Snorkelling here works colourful coral gardens alive with reef fish, while Zodiac cruises explore the mangrove fringes. The expedition team leads walks ashore and briefs on the reef ecology of the Coral Triangle.

Rainforest-cloaked Roon Island is home to the Roon people, with stilted villages over the water and a church dating from 1898, fringed by vibrant coral gardens. The day continues at Pulau Row, a remote island combining untouched nature, local culture and Second World War history, including accessible wreck dives. Marine life on both reefs is exceptionally diverse.

Kwatisore lies within Cenderawasih Bay National Park, Indonesia's largest marine national park. It is world-renowned for its resident whale sharks, which gather year-round around the local fishermen's floating bagan platforms. Snorkelling alongside these animals in warm, calm water is the single most famous experience of this voyage.

Mansinam Island, off Manokwari, is the historic site where Christianity first arrived in Papua in 1855 and remains an important pilgrimage destination. Guests are met with local cultural presentations ranging from ritual traditions to dance. The surrounding reefs offer some of the best snorkelling in the Manokwari area.

The ship enters Raja Ampat proper at Kabui Bay, where Zodiacs thread limestone waterways and narrow channels between karst islets. This is the heart of the archipelago's diving, with world-class sites including Mioskon, Blue Magic, Mayhem and the Passage. Snorkellers work shallow reefs while divers, on the paid dive programme, take the deeper walls and currents.

Piaynemo on Pulau Penemu delivers the postcard view of Raja Ampat: a boardwalk climb to a panoramic viewpoint over mushroom-shaped karst islands, plus Hidden Bay and a star-shaped lagoon. The afternoon moves to the quieter Fam Islands for village welcomes and reef snorkelling. Dive sites here include Galaxy Reef and Melissa's Garden.

Mansuar is a limestone-ridged island with three villages along its northern shore and snorkelling and diving from Yenbuda Jetty. Neighbouring Pulau Kri holds crystal-clear water teeming with some of the richest marine biodiversity on Earth — Cape Kri set the record for the most fish species logged on a single dive. Beaches here are pristine and the reef drop-offs begin metres from shore.

Misool, in southern Raja Ampat, is a maze of limestone outcrops, sea caves and mangroves. Zodiac cruising, snorkelling and kayaking take guests through the karst channels of Balbulal Lagoon. The day closes at Yapap, a secluded lagoon ringed by towering karst towers with glassy turquoise water ideal for snorkelling and photography.

SH Minerva returns to Sorong and guests disembark in the early morning. An optional tour of Sorong city takes in the natural sanctuary and the ethnic heritage house before airport transfers. Onward flights connect via Jakarta, Makassar or Manado.