Raja Ampat
Indonesia
The richest reef on earth, in an archipelago of limestone islands almost nobody reaches
Photos by Simon Spring, Simon Spring, Simon Spring and Simon Spring on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Indonesia
October to April for the calmest water — the windy months make the crossings rough and some homestays shut
Climate month by month
The next sixteen days in WaisaiOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 265mm in Jun
Where it is
0.23°S, 130.52°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
Weeks of it- Dive or snorkel Cape Kri and count what goes past
- Climb Piaynemo at first light
- Sit on the Arborek jetty and watch the fish underneath it
- Go out at dawn on Gam for the birds of paradise
- Stay in a village homestay rather than a resort
Raja Ampat travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Indonesia
Good valueCash outside the resorts, and the notes have a lot of zeros — count them twice. Cards work in hotels and dive shops and almost nowhere else on the small islands.
ATMs & cards
Use BCA, Mandiri or BNI machines and check the withdrawal cap, which is often Rp 2,500,000. On the small islands there may be one machine and it may be empty.
Avoid these
- everything — Waisai has two machines and they are frequently empty or offline
Use these instead
- BRI and Mandiri, in Sorong, before the ferry
Draw everything you need in Sorong. The homestays are cash only, the marine park fee is cash, and the boats are cash.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Indonesia
SafeRemote in a way that matters — the nearest hyperbaric chamber is a flight away, so dive conservatively and carry insurance that covers evacuation. The currents are strong, the reefs are shallow and fragile, and the marine park fee is checked.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (8 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- diving beyond your training — the nearest chamber is a flight away and the currents here are strong
- the ferry in bad weather — it is cancelled, and that can cost you a flight
- the reef underfoot — shallow, alive, and damaged by standing on it
- running out of cash — there is no machine past Sorong and nothing takes a card
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Indonesia visa rules
e-Visa requiredup to 30 days500,000 IDR (~€30)
Visa on arrival is the same price and available at Bali airport, but the queue is long — the e-visa lets you walk to immigration directly. Extendable once by 30 days.
Other passports
Visa required in advance
How to get it: Apply at evisa.imigrasi.go.id before flying, or pay on arrival at the VOA counter. Every arrival also files the electronic customs declaration and the SATUSEHAT health pass.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Before you fly: the arrival card
All Indonesia (electronic customs declaration)Required
In the three days before you arrive.
Have these in front of you before you start:
- passport
- flight number
- the full address of your first night
The customs declaration is per family group rather than per person.
Use the official link above. Sites that charge a "service fee" to submit one of these for you are not the government, and they want the same passport details the real form does.
Health & emergencies all of Indonesia
Good but costlyRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Tetanus up to date
- Rabies — Bali has an active dog and monkey rabies problem
- Japanese encephalitis for long rural stays
Getting treated
Bali has good international clinics (BIMC, Siloam) used to treating tourists, but they are expensive and anything major means evacuation to Singapore or Australia. Insurance with evacuation cover is not optional here. Public hospitals are cheap and variable.
Rabies is the serious one — any monkey or dog bite means immediate treatment. Dengue is common. Malaria is not a risk in Bali or Jakarta but is in Papua and parts of eastern Indonesia.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodHomestay food, three times a day: rice, fish, vegetables, and that is the menu for the week. Take snacks and anything you cannot do without; there are no shops.
Getting around
Car needed- UberNot here
- From the airport
- Denpasar airport to Seminyak Rp 120,000–200,000
There is nothing to hail and nowhere to hail it to. Boats are arranged by the homestay, chartered by the day, and paid in cash.
Time zone and your working day
Asia/Jayapura — 13 hours ahead of you
0 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — — your time, — theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 20:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 20:00–04:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
Internet speedall of Indonesia
Why these are Indonesia's numbers and not Raja Ampat's
Home broadband — Fair. Video calls and streaming for one or two people — fine for a holiday, thin for a household working. Broadband here runs at 40% of the global median of 130 Mbps.
Mobile data — Fair. Maps, calls and streaming; tethering a laptop works for an hour, not a day. Mobile runs at 61% of the global median of 109 Mbps.
Ookla publishes no separate figure for Raja Ampat, so these are medians for all of Indonesia. Cities usually beat the national number and remote islands and national parks fall well below it — treat this as the country's shape, not as a measurement of the street you will be staying on.
A median is the middle of every connection tested there, old copper and new fibre together — so in a country part-way through laying fibre it sits well below what a fibre line actually delivers, and a rental on one can run several times this number. Half of the connections are slower; a fibre flat is rarely one of them. It says what a place can do, not what your rental does, so every listing on Holistay carries its own measured speed and the date it was tested.
Getting online: Airalo or Holafly — a data eSIM for Indonesia, installed before you fly and working the moment you land.
Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index · measured June 2026
Must-see
Nearby day trips
Say a few words
Indonesian
- HelloHalo / Selamat pagiHA-lo / se-LA-mat PA-gee
- PleaseTolongTO-long
- Thank youTerima kasihtuh-REE-ma KA-see
- Yes / NoYa / Tidakya / TEE-dak
4 more phrases
- Excuse mePermisiper-MEE-see
- How much is it?Berapa harganya?buh-RA-pa har-GA-nya
- The bill, pleaseMinta bonMIN-ta bon
- Cheers!Bersulang!ber-SOO-lang
Religion
Muslim nationally, Hindu on Bali
Indonesia is the largest Muslim-majority country on earth, but Bali is the exception and is around 87% Hindu. The daily canang sari offerings on the pavement are religious — do not step on them.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Give and receive with the right hand, or both hands for respect
- Wear a sarong at temples — they are provided at the entrance
- Step around the small daily offerings on Balinese pavements
- Dress modestly away from the beach; Indonesia is a Muslim-majority country and Bali a Hindu one
Don't
- Do not use the left hand to eat, give or receive; it is the toilet hand
- Do not touch anyone’s head, or point with a single finger — use the whole hand
- Do not enter temples if bleeding, including menstruating, which is a stated rule at many
- Do not lose your temper in public; it causes serious loss of face on both sides
Where to stay in Raja Ampat
No Holistay rentals in Raja Ampat yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Raja Ampat on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Sorong SOQ
3hfrom the airport· 113 km as the crow flies
2h by ferry to Waisai, then a boat to the homestay.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
