Raja Ampat · How many days
After where to stay, it is the question I get most: how many days do I need in Raja Ampat? I stayed ten days. My short answer is seven at the very least, ten if you can, and more if the trip allows it. Here is why the number matters more than people think.
A few days ago someone wrote to me: she had three days, maybe four, and wanted to fit Raja Ampat in. I had to tell her it was close to impossible.
Raja Ampat is not the Gili Islands, where you hop over from Bali for three days and come back. It sits at the far eastern end of Indonesia. You need at least one flight, often two, to reach Sorong, then a ferry to Waisai, then a boat to your island. The way in and the way out can each take most of a day. With four days, you spend half of them travelling and the other half tired from it.
it's not a stopover. it's the whole trip, or it's not worth the flights.
On paper, ten days looks like a lot for a group of islands. On the spot, they disappear. Four things eat them.
Here there are no roads. You can often snorkel straight from your homestay's jetty, but the famous sites, the excursions and every change of island mean a boat ride, sometimes a long one. A day with a big excursion is a day spent largely on the water, between sites.
You wake up early, because the light and the sea are best in the morning. You swim a lot, you sit in the sun on the boat, you go to bed with salt in your hair. It is a beautiful rhythm, and a demanding one. After a few days your body asks for a slower one.
Most of the islands are deeply Christian. On Sunday, families go to church and rest, and most boats stay at the jetty. Count it as a quiet day at your homestay, not a day of trips.
Wind or a rough sea can cancel a boat outing at short notice. With a tight schedule, one lost day is a site you will never see. With a few spare days, it is just a lazy morning.
| What you get | What you give up | It is for you if | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 days | The highlights, at speed | The slow days, and any margin for the weather | Your dates are fixed and you want to see it anyway |
| 10 days | A comfortable pace and a quieter, more isolated island | Very little on a first trip | It is your first time: this is the length I recommend |
| 15 days | Several islands, including the remote ones | Nothing, except time elsewhere in Indonesia | You want to settle in and go further |
| 21 days | Room for the far south, Misool included | Nothing | You have the time, and you want all of it |
Day one is the ferry from Sorong. The flights to reach Sorong come on top.
Seven days works, and I would not go below it. But you will be rushing: one excursion after another, early starts every day, and no room for a cancelled boat. What you lose are the slow days, the ones with no plan, and those are exactly where the charm of the place hides.
This is what I did, and what I would tell a friend. Ten days lets you keep the big outings and still have empty afternoons. Above all, it gives you time to sleep on a quieter, more isolated island, away from the busiest spots, where the evenings are just the family, the sea and the generator.
From two weeks, you can really move around: several islands, each with its own pace, and the remote ones that a short trip has to skip. Misool, in the far south, is a separate journey with boats that only run on some days of the week. It only makes sense on a long stay, combined with the rest. If I went back, this is the length I would take.
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Each of these lengths is in the guide as a full itinerary, day by day: where to base, how many nights on each island, which day for which excursion, and what it costs.
See the four itineraries in the guide →Readers of this article get 10% off with the code BLOG10
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Once you have your number of days, the real work starts: which islands, in which order, how many nights on each, which outings on which day so that Sunday and the weather do not ruin your plan. That is what I spent the most time on, and it is what the guide gives you, length by length.
Not really. Once you take out the travel days in and out, you are left with two or three days on the water, with no margin for the weather or a Sunday. Seven days is the minimum I would recommend.
No. Unlike the Gili Islands, Raja Ampat is at the other end of the country: flights to Sorong, a ferry, then a boat. The journey alone takes most of the weekend.
No. Two weeks lets you change islands, reach the remote ones and keep a slow pace. Most people who stay that long wish they had stayed even longer.
Misool is far south and the boats only run on certain days, so it does not fit a short stay. Plan it as part of a trip of two weeks or more.
Yes. Keep at least one or two spare days so a windy morning or a cancelled boat costs you nothing. And plan Sundays as quiet days, see also when to go to Raja Ampat.
The full guide
This article helps you choose how long to stay. The guide tells you what to do with those days: four complete itineraries, which islands to base on for each length, how many nights on each, and what every leg of the trip costs. 17 chapters, 85 pages, English or French.
See the guide →Readers of this article get 10% off with the code BLOG10
Iddar
WildRoute · Field Edition