Dive Review of Dive Damai in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat

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Dive Damai, Mar, 2012, by David E Reubush, VA, US ( Top Contributor 66 reports with 33 Helpful votes). Report 6703.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was my 3rd trip to Raja Ampat and 2nd there with Burt Jones in 3 years. You might get the impression from this that I like the diving there and that would be a correct impression. I'd recommend Raja Ampat to anyone who wants to see the best fish life and corals in the world. (I'll refer you to last year's report to avoid saying the same things again.) Last year I was on the Seven Seas with Burt and Maurine and this year it was the Damai 2 with Burt. Going with Burt (and Maurine) gets you the expertise of the folks who wrote the books on diving this area and the site selection can't be beat. The Seven Seas was a great boat, but the Damai 2 takes live-aboard diving to a whole new level. The cabins are large, the camera room rivals that of a shore-based operation, the crew is outstanding, etc. etc. My only minor complaint is that the food is better on the Damai 1. What I want to focus this report on is the weather. My previous trips were in April and May and the weather was wonderful. This trip was in March and, while the rainy season was supposed to be over, it rained constantly. This resulted in much lower visibility than I was used to and made getting up in the morning and trying to put on a soaking wet wetsuit in the pouring down rain down right unpleasant. So, if you're going to make the investment in time, money, and the ordeal of getting there I'd advise avoiding the rainy season, but definitely go and you won't be disappointed.
Websites	Dive Damai
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Australia, Belize, Bimini, Bonaire, Caymans, Curacao, Galapagos, Indonesia (Wakatobi, Raja Ampat, Komodo), Philippines, Red Sea, Southern Bahamas, St. Thomas, Turks & Caicos
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy, cloudy	Seas	calm, currents
Water Temp	82-86°F / 28-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness	1
Water Visibility	25-60 Ft/ 8-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Don't do anything stupid
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Damai 2 has the largest camera room of any live-aboard I have ever been on. Lots of room, even with everybody being photographers. Individual rinse tanks for everybody's cameras. Crew very careful with camera gear. It doesn't get much better than this, even compared with shore-based operations.

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Dive Review of Dive Damai in Indonesia/Raja Ampat

Dive Damai, Mar, 2012,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Dive Damai in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat