Dive Review of Papua Paradise Eco Resort in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat

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Papua Paradise Eco Resort: "A Wonderful Week!", Apr, 2023, by Gary & Robin Schiendelman, PA, US ( Top Contributor 42 reports with 56 Helpful votes). Report 12417 has 2 Helpful votes.
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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	We spent a week at Papua Paradise Eco Resort prior to boarding a liveaboard in Sorong. The resort had been recommended by a very reliable source so we were confident we would be happy with the resort but Papua Paradise exceeded all of our expectations. The resort picked us up at the Sorong airport when our flight arrived from Jakarta at 6 am. We were taken to a local hotel and given a room and lunch. We were completely surprised that this was included! Since we had about 6 hours before boarding the transfer boat, it was a nice respite to be able to shower, take a quick nap and have lunch. They retrieved us from the hotel for the short transfer to the harbor where we boarded their boat. It was about an hour and a quarter transfer to the resort on calm seas. We were told it could take longer during rough seas. Upon arrival at the resort, we were greeted by the manager and staff, given a quick orientation and shown to our room. We also completed some forms for the dive shop. Quick and easy! All of the bungalows are over the water. There are a handful of new, deluxe bungalows but these were sold out when we booked so we were in one of the older, superior bungalows. The size seemed pretty similar on both. The newer ones have an outdoor shower and slightly larger deck, but we were very happy with the older room. The bathroom needed updating but everything worked. The layout was great with multiple shelves, a desk and closet. There were also plenty of places for charging. The old thatched roof did “shed” so there was always a slight amount of debris coming down. Not really an issue but would suggest camera people be careful. There is no air conditioning. We did not find it to be an issue at all. There is a ceiling fan directly over the bed. The doors to the deck were at the foot of the bed and with those open, we never felt uncomfortable. Turndown service included closing the mosquito netting around the bed, lighting anti-mosquito coils and closing the doors to the deck. We would open them again before we went to bed when the lights were out so bugs would not be attracted. Speaking of bugs…the only time we were ever bothered by bugs was when we sat at the lounge area at sunset. A little application of bug juice and we had no problems at all. Nothing even close to problems we’ve had in Roatan or Belize. We watched the birds hunting all the insects and they seem to be doing a good job at pest control! The main areas were just a few minutes walk from our room. The open air dining room was pleasant with meals served buffet style. The staff were friendly & competent and the food was pretty good. The selection varied daily with a combination of Indonesian and western food. The bar and common lounge area was across a boardwalk and offered places to sit and relax. Wifi was only available in these common areas and was spotty at best. It would drop in and out and at one point there was no connection for a day. The dive operations were centered on the pier where the boats would pull up and your gear was stored. The gear room is really large and with good ventilation. A labeled basket held all miscellaneous items and there was a place for your bc, reg and wetsuit to hang. Since everyone had their own spot, it made things very organized and easy. Rinse tanks were large and cleaned frequently. The boats were assigned each evening and your assignment was on a white board at the dive shop, located on the land end of the pier. The dive boats were nice. It appeared the larger boat (also used for transfer) was for larger groups while the smaller ones were for individual travelers. We found the small boats to be very comfortable. The crew loaded and unloaded your gear so you only had to carry a camera and wetsuit.They helped you gear up at the dive site, then after the dive, gear was removed in the water and handed up. An easy climb up the ladder and you were back on the boat. Hot tea or coffee were provided between dives. They also rinsed your gear at the end of each day and hung it up for you. A nice touch! Our dive guide, Donal, was with us the entire week. It was interesting that even when there were another 2 divers on the boat with us, we still had our own dive guide, and they had theirs. Donal is a great spotter and we enjoyed diving with him. There were dive options that you could discuss in advance with the dive managers. Local reef dives (5 to 20 minutes away) were a normal schedule of 2 morning dives with a SI on a beach or village. Then back for lunch and out again for an afternoon dive. There are two all day trips that are included if you purchase the unlimited dive package.. You went with a packed lunch and again, they found a nice beach or village to stop and have lunch. A nice relaxing day with a return around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. There is also a trip to the Fam Islands that is all day but there is any additional charge ($85 per diver) so we did not do that trip. There are multiple land trips also but we didn’t take advantage of them. We did talk to a guest who tried one of the bird of paradise tours. They didn’t see the BOP but saw many other birds and enjoyed the short hike. We just didn’t want to get up at 4am! We also heard the hornbill sunset cruise was nice and plan to do that one when we return. We enjoyed the diving and were taken to a variety of sites. We did repeat a couple of the closer sites but that was ok as we enjoyed them. There is a good muck diving site on the opposite side of the island and that was really good. It made for a great night dive. We saw all of the fish and creatures you would expect in this area of the world. From mantas to sharks to schooling fish to plenty of macro life. There was something for everyone. We encountered few currents and none were really strong. We were treated to dolphins at the surface on a couple of occasions and we also saw a Minke whale that was swimming just below the surface right next to the boat, which gave us a great look at this beautiful creature. What a treat. In addition to the diving, the resort is a haven for birds and other wildlife. We heard more than saw the birds and in the morning, it was so nice to be woken by them. Also heard but not seen was a chorus of frogs at sunset. The shallow water under the bungalows was a great place to spot many juvenile (and adult) fish. There were about a dozen baby black tip sharks we saw every morning. Baby blue spot stingrays were plentiful and there were most always large schools of anchovies. Most mornings it would take us 15 minutes just to walk the 20 feet across the wooden walkway from our bungalow because there was so much to see. The final morning, we were so lucky to see a dugong right under our window! It stayed for about 10 minutes, seemingly for a good back scratch on a piece of wood lying on the bottom. The night of the new moon, we were treated to a show of bioluminescence off the back deck that was incredible. Although we have no idea what was making some of the light trails, it was really cool. The stars were also amazing. Upon leaving, the resort coordinated our transfer to the liveaboard. They made it so easy! We got to the dock in Sorong and the Mermaid had a tender waiting and we just moved from one boat to the other, our feet never touched land. If you are into nature and don’t mind spotty wifi and doing without air conditioning, this is a really great resort. We will definitely be returning!
Websites	Papua Paradise Eco Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Indonesia, PNG, Solomon Isl, Red Sea, Maldives, South Africa, Mozambique, Cocos Isl, Galapagos, Socorro, Palau, Var Caribbean locations, New Jersey, Florida, No Carolina, Philippines, Fiji
Closest Airport	Sorong	Getting There	Qatar Air from Philadelphia to Doha to Jakarta to Sorong. Not hard, just long
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	84-86°F / 29-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	30-80 Ft/ 9-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Time and depth but not strictly.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	1 or 2
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	N/A	Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Cameras were put into a plastic bucket (no water) on the boats. The crew handled they carefully. Plenty of room to charge and work on your camera in the room. We heard there is a camera room but did not see it. We only use a go pro and point and shoot so we had no issues. There was a dedicated camera rinse tank at the dock.

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Papua Paradise Eco Resort in Indonesia/Raja Ampat

Papua Paradise Eco Resort: "A Wonderful Week!", Apr, 2023,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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 Papua Paradise Eco Resort in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat