Raja ampat - A Diver’s Journey to Misool

From Sorong to Stingless Jellyfish Dreams

I recently returned from one of the most extraordinary diving adventures I’ve ever had — a trip to Misool, one of the famed "Four Kings" of Raja Ampat, Indonesia. While our expedition didn’t cover the full expanse of the archipelago, spending several days exploring the underwater paradise around Misool was more than enough to make me fall in love with this remote corner of the world. Here's a journal-style recount of what went down, from Sorong to the jellyfish lake and everything in between.

Arrival to Sorong – A Slow Welcome

We landed in Sorong a day before embarkation, and I’m so glad we did! That buffer day turned out to be the perfect way to reset after the long travels and gently ease into the rhythms of Papua. We stayed at the Swiss-Belhotel, a solid and comfortable choice just a 10-minute drive from the marina where our speedboat pick-up would happen the next morning.

After catching up on sleep, we spent the afternoon exploring a bit of Sorong. We visited a local souvenir shop, took one of the bright yellow community taxis (a local experience on its own) and walked by a Christian church just as Sunday mass was starting. A great local experience as we were invited to join while the congregation was singing inside, but we had to keep going…

We had dinner at one of the marina restaurants — not only was the food delicious, but the view over the harbor was a perfect prelude to the next day’s adventure - it turned out to be where the liveaboard would pick us up the next morning. It made everything feel like it was clicking into place.

Despite the charms, Sorong also gave us a stark reminder of some of the socio-economic challenges in the area. We saw children asking for money in the street, piles of trash lining some sidewalks and at one point a rat darting across a rubbish pile. Still, the local people were warm, smiling and waving at us, especially the children. So many kids greeted us with a cheerful “Hello!”

Welcome Aboard: From Marina to Misool

By mid morning the next day, the boat crew picked us up on time from the hotel and brought us to the marina. We were welcomed aboard by the Cruise Manager who gave us a detailed rundown of life on board – cabins, safety procedures, dive briefings and logistics. As I was the only one from The Big Blue group in a lower deck cabin, I was given a personal walkthrough of the emergency exits, which I highly appreciated. The rest of cabins in the main and upper decks were given the emergency routes during the overall safety briefings as it was quite straightforward to follow.

After lunch, we had our check dive at a site near Sorong called Red Light District (no, not that kind!). Unfortunately, the current was stronger than expected and carried us away from the intended dive spot. Our guide sensibly called the dive after 10 minutes and we surfaced to try again. On the second attempt, we managed to explore the reef – we spotted a new kind of nudibranch, stonefish and heard another group had seen a Wobbegong shark! All in all a good reminder of what type of diving we might encounter for the rest of our trip!

Misool Underwater: A Living Dream

From there on, the days melted into one mind-blowing dive after another. Raja Ampat truly delivered. Each dive brought a new highlight – dramatic swim-throughs, vibrant coral gardens bursting with both soft and hard corals and marine life so diverse it felt like diving through an underwater encyclopedia.

Some unforgettable moments:

• A stunning cave night dive, where we surfaced into a dome filled with stalactites and our guides even made music with them - the sounds echoing through the chamber!

• Seeing a sleeping carpet-like Wobbegong shark up close – absolutely hypnotic.

• Gliding alongside manta rays, hawksbill turtles munching coral and big schools of jackfish and unicornfish.

• Witnessing Giant Trevallies hunting while hooked on the reef against strong currents.

• Pygmy seahorses tucked into vibrant gorgonian sea fans – I was amazed at how many we saw; I had always thought they were incredibly rare.

• A night drift dive that ended with black tip reef sharks hunting beneath us during our safety stop. That really got the adrenaline going!

• An “upside-down safety stop” under an island ledge, where one of our guides inflated his BCD, flipped upside down, and pretended to walk on the ceiling – a hilarious and surreal moment I tried to replicate… and failed! (I mostly just floated awkwardly in place, but hey – I tried!).

• BBQ on the deck with music performed by the crew and dive guides. Everyone sang along after a delicious spread of BBQ meat, seafood and veggies.

And the macro life didn’t disappoint either: Orangutan crabs (a first for me!), electric clams, more new nudis, blue-striped snappers, mesmerising cuttlefish, leaf scorpionfish in all kinds of colors, schools of squid on the surface at night and lobsters poking out of many crevices on our night dives.

And just when we thought the surprises were over – on our final day, a pod of dolphins appeared near the boat. My roommate and I grabbed our masks and jumped in, hoping to swim with them. We could hear them clearly underwater, their clicks and whistles echoing around us, but they didn’t come to our calls. Still, floating there, listening to dolphins in the blue was very exciting, indeed!

The Stingless Jellyfish Lake: An Otherworldly Finale

On our final day, just when I thought the trip couldn’t get any better, we visited the stingless jellyfish lake. We hiked up and over the island via a short but slightly challenging path built by the local community, then down into a saltwater lake that felt like a dream.

No fins, no wetsuits, no sunscreen – just you, your mask and thousands of gentle jellyfish drifting around you in absolute silence. The moment I submerged my head, everything else disappeared. It was as if time stopped. The jellyfish, which evolved to lose their sting over centuries of isolation, floated around us like something out of a Studio Ghibli film. It was peaceful, meditative and somehow profoundly moving.

Return to Sorong

Our final dive was followed by lunch and the long crossing back to Sorong. The crew took care of washing and hanging our gear so it could dry properly before packing. We arrived in time for dinner, still glowing (and exhausted!) from the week we’d just lived.

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Takeaway?

If you ever plan a trip like this – arrive a day early. That extra time in Sorong made all the difference in transitioning into the pace of Papua. And from the moment we stepped onto the liveaboard to the moment we disembarked, everything was seamless. It was a trip full of firsts, wonder and underwater magic. One of those that remind you exactly why you dive.