四王島瓦伊沃潛水度假村(Waiwo Dive Resort Raja Ampat)

Raja Ampat is a true paradise for diving but I do not recommand this divecenter. The manager does not care about safety. I checked the oxigen tank at the 2 boats. The first thank was empty and on the second boat there was a valve missing. With spring tide they did a current check but the captain dropped us on the wrong spot.. strong downcurrent and inexperienced diveguides. They were very lucky that there were no beginners on the boat. They also offered a packagedeal for additional dives in the beginning of my trip, but before my check-out increased the price and told me the package was no longer available. The only gesture was that I didn't had to pay for the short dive with down current. The staff at divecenter and resort was very friendly and helpfull and had a nice stay at the resort.

Two week stay at waiwo resort. All the staff were really friendly and polite. We felt really safe and there was a relaxed and happy atmosphere. The bungalows were clean and comfortable, right on the beach surrounded by nature. The food was very good, really nice soup and fresh bread, varied main courses, some dishes were a little spicy but there was always other options and a delicious dessert after every meal. Barbecue two nights and the staff from the resort and dive shop sang songs, that was so nice. The diving was really well organised. We covered a lot of different dive sites over the two weeks. The equipment was in good condition, safety definitely a priority. Always laughter and fun on the boat despite the language barrier, some staff had very good English and everyone made an effort to communicate. There was also a Cuscus that made appearances from time to time creating great excitement even among staff who saw it all the time.

Cibo scadente con pochissima varietà e quantità, i portavivande sono spesso vuoti. Personale poco attento al cliente e alle esigenze del cliente ma sempre pronto a farti pagare gli extra. Queste impressioni sono state condivise con altri clienti provenienti da tutte le parti del mondo. Non ci torneremo.

Mooie plek in Raja Ampat om vanaf het land deze fantastische duikstek te ontdekken. Ze zijn nog startend, dat merk je in de kleine dingen. Maar het is fantastisch om te zien hoe ze willen leren en hoe dingen aangepakt worden. Je hoeft niks te doen en wordt compleet ontzorgd tijdens het duiken. Alleen je pak zelf aantrekken dat mag jezelf doen. Voor de rest wordt alles voor je geregeld. De boten zijn snel en comfortabel. Tijdens het duiken heb de gidsen oog voor het kleine maar ook het grote leven wat je kan ontdekken. De transfer van Sorong naar het resort is goed geregeld. Het eten is niet altijd even gevarieerd, maar goed het is een eiland waar je niet alles zomaar kan kopen/halen…… De natuur is voelbaar als je op het resort bent en loopt. Je hebt het gevoel dat je midden in de jungle zit. Vogels, koeskoes en andere bijzondere beesten. Uiteraard ook met de muggen, maar dat hoort er allemaal bij als je op zo’n bijzondere plek zit.

My husband and I had an absolutely amazing stay here and after staying in several places in Southeast Asia I would highly recommend it. The service, the diving, and the room were incredible. We got married here on the beach, and the owner was incredibly kind, helping us to organize a priest, photographer, and hair/makeup (though I would not recommend paying for hair and makeup as they didn’t do a good job and I ended up washing off the makeup), and then even had the staff build a heart-shaped decoration on the beach for us to stand in front of during the ceremony! The rest of the staff were so friendly and welcoming, we absolutely loved Yolanda. I would also highly recommend the room we had - it was right on the water and very private. It’s absolutely worth the extra money as some of the other rooms don’t have as nice of a view or privacy, so definitely make room in your budget for it. This place is hard to get to, requiring a 2.5 hour ferry (after multiple flights), but you are in a great location to see some of the best dive sites in Raja Ampat, which was very important to us as divers. Definitely see Piaynamo and Melissa’s Garden. We were so happy with the diving experience as we had our own guide and they took care of everything. Definitely do a night dive on the house reef - the house reef is incredible, even for snorkeling! We were very happy with the food too. It wasn’t quite as good as the food we had on our liveaboard in Komodo, but it was definitely still above average, you could eat as much as you needed to feel satisfied, and we really enjoyed trying some Indonesian dishes and I was happy there were plenty of vegetables. I’m a bit picky with food as I’m a dietitian but even I was happy. My only recommendations to the property would be to warn people to come with enough cash for a tip - they didn’t allow us to leave a tip via credit card and the only way for us to get cash was to pay for a taxi into town - and we went there to dive, not take taxis into town, so we just left all of the USD we had. Thank you Waiwo for an incredible time!!

Raja Ampat is not a destination for a luxurious resort holiday - you go to the expense and effort for diving in and around the Dampier straights. Some key considerations for choosing this resort 1. the two large dive boats they have appear to be the best/fastest dive boats in the area - so travel in comfort/space, and save time, especially on longer trips and when the seas get rough (which they did). 2. They offer Nitrox - the other place we looked at didn't offer this which is important for a week diving every day. 3. You get access to all the amazing dive sites in the area (Cape Kri, Blue Magic etc) and get to/from the further away ones quicker thanks to the fast boats, without being on a liveaboard....which suits some parties e.g. with a non-diver. From that perspective the resort/experience gets 2 stars - the house reef was mostly too murky to snorkel due to rain and wind....maybe a lot better in dry season. The visibility was poor at quite a few dive sites as well - making those dives average and the snorkelling v.poor. Some of the sites with shallow reefs, so in theory good for snorkelling were effected by rough seas/strong currents - not ideal even for an experienced snorkeller. Sawandarek was the only really good snorkelling in a whole week (was a great dive as well). There was very little else to do at the resort other than diving - the Piaynemo day trip was good, although snorkelling poor, the Mata day trip was poor - no Mantas and a very dull site for diving and snorkelling otherwise. Two land based trip are available - blue river, which was brown river all week due to heavy rain, and a bird of paradise trip which was supposed to be great if you are happy to get up in the middle of the night. Accomdation is ok - not luxurious but comfortable enough. A lovely view out across the beach and ocean. The main issue we had was being in beachfront villas, when the tide came in at night it was extremely noisy with the waves crashing in front of the villa, sometimes with wind and rain as well, making it very hard to sleep even with earplugs and a spare pillow over head. Food - breakfast buffet was limited in choice - fresh fruit was amazing. Adding some nice cerial (e.g. muesli/Granola), yogurt, fresh pastries would have helped. Lunch and dinner was a bit variable - on the last day of our weeks stay, both meals were amazing - all guests 100% happy, up to that point some dishes were hit and miss - flavours were always good, but red meat dishes tended to be mostly bones or fat/grissle and very little meat. Mixing up the starters a bit would be good too - soup twice a day is a bit odd. Drinks choice was limited and prices were a little expensive by Indonesian standards e.g. local beer over 2x cost in Bali. The resort did seem to be listening to guest feedback. Having a bbq would have been nice to mix things up a bit....apparently only happens when more guests are there. Service - all the local staff were great - resort and diving. Diving - Sonly

Plenty of pillows to do pillow fights with ! Clean and spacious room. Go for the fullboard option. You won’t go hungry ! Diving or snorkeling is a must ! Do the birdwatching or the blue river. It is amazing. Pianemo trip is a must for that iconic picture of a lifetime

Very nice stay when in Raja Ampat. Staff is incredibly nice and friendly, rooms are very beautiful on the beach and clean, food is really good. We stayed 4 days and everything was great, with a very relaxing atmosphere. Definitely recommend!