SEAHORSE PARADISE RESORT

West Papua, one of Indonesia's many islands, has one of the world's most diverse underwater ecosystems and it has one of the most colourful bird kingdoms on Earth. Raja Ampat, meaning four kings, is a specific area within Indonesia, including West Papua. The name refers to the four biggest islands within the Indonesian archipelago (Batanta, Waigeo, Misool and Salawati) and originates from the time of maharajas. The area covers 42,000 km2 including 2500 limestone islands covered shore to shore by untouched, ancient rainforests.
 

The forest canopies are home to myriads of parrots disturbing the piece of this ancient land. Black and white cockatoos enjoy this paradise as well singing even louder. The tree crowns provide home to the beautiful bird of paradise with the most amazing plumage on display. The thick undergrowth provides the perfect hiding place for many other animals such as the cassowary.
 

Coral reefs near the shore provide home for more than 500 species of corals and 1300 species of fish. An Australian scientist, during a 60 minute dive, managed to identify 283 different species, which is more than the total number of species known to be living around the Caribbean islands and equals all the variety of species found in the Red Sea. The cold, nutrient rich underwater currents near the shore attract masses of underwater life including manta rays. The size of these amazing creatures can reach up to 6 meters. We can differentiate between two kinds; the well know white colour manta ray, and the all black, which is unique to this area. Different type of larger fish are attracted to this area, as the myriad of small fish feeding on the plankton-rich waters provide the perfect hunting ground for all. Cachalot and grampus are just two to mention. Furthermore sea cows and turtles are grazing the underwater sea grass near the shores and pipe fish and ghost-pipe fish feed in the coral reefs near by. At dusk we can also spot mandarin fish playing on the coral reefs.
 

In the underwater crevices carpet sharks are sleeping and this place is also home to walking sharks. There are beautiful examples of fan corals at the depth of 20m and if you look carefully you can find pigmy sea horses hiding on them. It's not easy to see them as the white fan coral provides shelter for the white pigmy seahorse, the red for the red pigmy seahorse and the yellow for the yellow pigmy seahorse. The ample varieties of nudibranchias or sea slugs living in this part of Indonesia are worth mentioning as well. It is possible to identify more than 20 different types with their staggering colour variations during a single dive. They provide the perfect opportunity to take some amazing photos.
 

We discovered this stunning place after experiencing many amazing trips to different parts of the World, with hundreds of dives under our belts covering most of the well known dive sites and bird watching places worldwide. We have no doubt in our mind that this is paradise as we have never seen it and experienced it before. We have been visiting this place for many years and searching for ways to share it with others. After much searching we came across the island of Berie, where we have decided to set up an Underwater and Nature Exploration Centre.

The unique biodiversity of Raja Ampat was made famous by two of the most prestigious magazines in the field. First, the National Geographic Magazine published an article on the most diverse coral reefs on Earth covering Raja Ampat in September 2007. A year later, in September 2008, the GEO Magazine published the findings of a research group working in the area showing the amazing biodiversity of Raja Ampat to millions of readers.

We are planning to build a resort and research centre in harmony with the place using traditional building materials and techniques. The work is scheduled to start at the end of the summer 2008 and we hope that we can welcome our first guests during 2009.

HOW TO GET THERE

Papua Paradise Resort (diving centre and bird sanctuary) is located in West Papua (previously known as Irain Jaya) province, in Raja Ampat shire, on the island of Birie.

The main airport in the area is Sorong and internal flights are provided by Merpati and Express airlines from Jakarta, Makassar, Manado and Denpassar-Bali. On arrival at Sorong airport you can make your way to the marina by taxi, where you can catch a boat to the island of Birie. The length of the boat trip is weather dependent and it may vary from 1 to 2 hours. Please note that a fee is payable when entering and leaving the island, except on Saturdays. The price is listed on our price list.
 

We are happy to provide help with internal flight bookings. In all cases our suggestion is to allow a 24hour time gap between the international and internal flights as the internal airlines may cancel or change flights without notice and refunds to customers.
 

PRICES IN EURO

Accommodation prices - day of arrival on Monday
One night** 190
7 nights**, non-diver 850
14 nights**, non-diver 1550
Single room surcharge, per night 80
Children from 4 to 8 years sharing room with parent(s)**45% of adult rate
Children from 9 to 14 years sharing room with parent(s)** 65% of adult rate

Package prices (accomodation + diving) - day of arrival on Monday
air nitrox EAN 42
Package*, 7 nights**, 14 boat dives  1650
 

Package*, 7 nights**, 14 boat dives + unlimited beach dives***  1900
 

Package*, 14 nights**, 28 boat dives 2.900
 

Package*, 14 nights**, 28 boat dives + unlimited beach dives*** 3.200

Diving
air nitrox EAN 42
1 dive* 47
2-5 dives, per dive* 70
6-10 dives, per dive* 60
11-15 dives, per dive* 55
16 or more dives, per dive* 34
Nitrox surcharge by tank (in case of air package) 6

Equipment rental
Dive equipment rental including dive computer for one day 40
Dive equipment rental including dive computer from the 2. day, per day 35
Dive equipment rental including dive computer for 1 week 170
Dive equipment rental including dive computer for 2 weeks 285

Others
Raja Ampat Underwater National Park yearly entrance fee (valid for calendar year, compulsory
for all divers)**** 50
Additional transfer to Sorong - up to 8 people, per motorboat 350
Additional transfer to Sorong - 9-12 people, per motorboat 450
Sorong accomodation package (1 night hotel stay, dinner, breakfast, transfer to the airport) for 1 person 50
Sorong accomodation package (1 night hotel stay, dinner, breakfast, transfer to the airport) for 2 people 65
Satelite internet for 1 minute 0.35


* The dives included in the package and diving prices are in 10 km range of area, one of the dives included in the package is a manta point dive
** Accommodation (and package) prices include breakfast, lunch and dinner (unlimited coffee-tea and drinking water), in and out transfer between Birie and Sorong on Tuesday and one excursion on Monday as well
*** Between 7am and 8pm, without dive guide on the house reefs
**** The price is determined year by year by Raja Ampat goverment
 

Excursions (person/occasion)
bird watching - minimum 2 people (red bird of paradise, wilson bird of paradise, king bird of paradise, northern cassuary) 150-200
Excursion to a waterfall - minimum 4 people 40
Passage - minimum 4 people 60
Manta point - minimum 4 people 40

Payments
One week after the booking,50% of the total costs is required to be paid as a non-refundable deposit
Payment in full is due 50 days prior to arrival
At the location we only accept cash for the additional costs (extra dives, excursions, etc.)
If you want to pay extra costs at the location in USD, we only accept bank notes in good condition and issued after 2006!

Cancellation Policy
Date changes are only possible if initiated min. 30 days prior to arrival and will be surcharged by 20% extra fee
Cancellations within min. 30 days to arrival will be refunded by 50% of the paid costs
Cancellations within min. 15 days to arrival will be refunded by 25% of the paid costs
In any other cases, repayment is not possible
We only accept cancellations in writing