Raja Ampat Diving Liveaboard | LASHA Private Dive Charter

The Coral Triangle

Why Raja Ampat Is Dived From a Boat

Diver above a hard-coral garden in Raja Ampat — The archipelago is roughly the size of a small country — the sites are spread far enough apart that the boat has to be the base.

LASHA runs private Raja Ampat diving liveaboard charters from Sorong between October and April. The 52.5-metre luxury phinisi carries up to 26 guests in 10 ensuite cabins, has a dedicated dive deck, and is booked whole-boat only — dive charters from US$12,400 per night, minimum five nights, roughly US$880 per guest per night.

Raja Ampat, off the western tip of Papua, sits at the centre of the Coral Triangle, and its reefs are widely regarded as among the richest in the world. Diving here means current-fed channels, manta cleaning stations and soft-coral pinnacles scattered across an archipelago the size of a small country — which is why a liveaboard, not a land resort, is the practical way to dive it. This page covers Raja Ampat charters aboard LASHA specifically. For our Komodo dive programme, which runs year-round from Labuan Bajo, see the Komodo diving page.

Published Rates

What does a Raja Ampat dive charter on LASHA cost?

LASHA is chartered as a whole boat; there are no per-cabin rates. Raja Ampat belongs to our long-range expedition band alongside the Banda Sea, Wakatobi and Maratua: leisure charters from US$11,600 per night, dive charters from US$12,400 per night, with a five-night minimum. These rates apply to groups of up to 14 guests, and tiered rates apply as the group grows toward the full capacity of 26. For a 14-guest dive group, US$12,400 per night works out to roughly US$880 per guest per night — the dive band adds about US$55 per guest per night over the leisure rate.

Charter band	Nightly rate (whole boat)	Minimum	Season and departure port
Komodo leisure	from US$10,800	2 nights	Year-round, Labuan Bajo
Komodo dive	from US$11,600	2 nights	Year-round, Labuan Bajo
Expedition leisure (Raja Ampat, Banda Sea, Wakatobi, Maratua)	from US$11,600	5 nights	Raja Ampat: October–April, Sorong
Raja Ampat dive	from US$12,400	5 nights	October–April, Sorong

Dated availability and the full tier structure for every group size are published on the rates page. Quotes are always confirmed in writing by the booking team before any deposit.

Where You Dive

Which dive sites can a LASHA itinerary cover?

Map of the main Raja Ampat dive sites across the Dampier Strait, Wayag and Misool — The Dampier Strait classics sit within a morning of each other; Misool is a southern overnight run, which is why five nights is a floor rather than a preference.

Raja Ampat divides, for practical purposes, into a northern circuit around the Dampier Strait and a southern circuit around Misool. A private charter means the route is built around your group — sites are sequenced by tide and current windows rather than a fixed timetable shared with strangers.

Dampier Strait — the northern classics

The strait between Waigeo and Batanta concentrates nutrient-rich current, and with it some of the best-known site names in Indonesian diving: Cape Kri, renowned for the sheer density of schooling fish on a single slope; Blue Magic, a submerged pinnacle visited by mantas; Sardine Reef, where sweetlips, trevally and fusiliers stack in the current; and Manta Sandy, a ranger-managed cleaning station with a strict viewing line. Non-diving days pair naturally with the karst lagoons of Piaynemo and, on longer routes, Wayag.

Misool — the southern soft-coral country

South Misool is slower to reach and rewards the transit: this is soft-coral terrain, with sites such as Magic Mountain, a seamount known for manta encounters; Boo Windows, with its swim-through openings in the reef wall; and pinnacle sites like Nudi Rock and Four Kings. Because Misool sits well south of Sorong, it belongs on itineraries of eight days or more rather than a minimum-length charter.

Sunset over the karst islands of Raja Ampat — October to April is the sheltered window in the north-west monsoon.

Season and Length

When is the season — and how long should you charter?

LASHA positions to Raja Ampat for the October–April season, boarding in Sorong. Outside that window the vessel returns to Komodo, where the season runs year-round from Labuan Bajo — see the Komodo charter page for that programme. The minimum Raja Ampat charter is five nights, which covers a focused Dampier Strait circuit. Most dive groups book eight to twelve days: enough to combine the northern sites with Misool, keep one day in reserve for weather, and still surface in time for Piaynemo. Route templates and day-by-day examples are on the itineraries page, and every routing is finalised with your group before departure. The October 2026 to April 2027 window is LASHA's first Raja Ampat season, following her maiden public voyage on 17 August 2026.

The Dive Deck

How is LASHA set up for diving?

Deck plans of LASHA across her four decks — LASHA across four decks. The dive deck is staged aft, so tanks, kit and the tender never cross the guest areas.

LASHA was built in 2023 from ulin ironwood and teak in the Buginese shipbuilding tradition, flies the Indonesian flag, and is homeported in Labuan Bajo. At 52.5 metres and 466 GT across four decks, she has the space to keep dive operations and guest life separate: a dedicated dive deck holds gear, briefings and wet traffic away from the indoor Lounge & Resto, the alfresco dining area and the sun-deck jacuzzi. Endurance matters in Raja Ampat, where resupply is limited — the vessel carries 12,000 litres of fuel and 22,000 litres of fresh water, with a 750 hp Weichai X6170 main engine and twin 70 kVA Mitsubishi generators.

Specification	Detail
Length / tonnage	52.5 m / 466 GT
Built	2023 — ulin ironwood and teak, Buginese tradition
Guests / cabins	Up to 26 guests / 10 ensuite cabins across 4 decks
Dive facility	Dedicated dive deck
Main engine / power	Weichai X6170, 750 hp / 2 × Mitsubishi 70 kVA generators
Fuel / fresh water	12,000 L / 22,000 L
Safety	2 tenders, 4 × 20-person liferafts (80 seats), 75 life jackets, radar, AIS, EPIRB, 54-channel CCTV

Full deck plans and interior photography are on the yacht page.

A traditional Indonesian phinisi under sail — Ulin ironwood and teak, rigged the way Buginese shipwrights have built for centuries.

The Vessel

Why choose a wooden phinisi for Raja Ampat?

The Raja Ampat fleet falls into broad categories: purpose-built steel dive boats, which prioritise utility; sailing catamarans, which trade character for platform stability; and wooden phinisi like LASHA, built in the same Indonesian tradition as the trading ships that have worked these waters for generations. A phinisi is the only category that belongs to the place culturally, and at 52.5 metres LASHA carries that heritage at a scale few wooden vessels reach. One honest trade-off: a wooden hull without active fin stabilizers means open-water crossing days — Sorong to Misool, for instance — are felt underfoot. We plan routes around sheltered anchorages, and the October–April season is chosen for Raja Ampat's more settled conditions, but guests who are highly sensitive to motion should raise it with the team when planning the route.

Who She Suits

Who is a LASHA Raja Ampat charter for?

LASHA sells whole-boat charters only — there is no cabin-by-cabin booking. That makes her the right vessel for private dive groups: families with certified divers, dive clubs, groups of friends splitting the charter, or a company trip built around the reef. Solo travellers looking for a single berth on a shared departure are better served by scheduled dive boats. The 10 ensuite cabins span two accommodation decks: four lower-deck twins (Deluxe 101–102, Grand Deluxe 103–104) and six main-deck suites (Junior Suites 201–204 with private balconies, Master Suites 205–206 with balcony and jacuzzi). Mixed groups work well — while divers are at Cape Kri, non-divers have the lagoons, the sun-deck jacuzzi and the tender for topside exploring. Cabin layouts are detailed on the cabins page, and the broader liveaboard overview explains how a private charter differs from a scheduled cruise.

Booking

How do you book?

LASHA is operated by Komodo Luxury (PT Komodo Bahari Nusantara, established 2015, part of Juara Holding Group), and bookings run only through official channels: this website, WhatsApp at +62 811-3823-875, and [email protected]. To hold October–April dates, send your preferred window, group size and the split of divers to non-divers; the team returns a dated itinerary and a written quote for your band. A transparency note: this guide is published by the LASHA team at Komodo Luxury, and its recommendations reflect how we plan and run our own charters.

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