1. Figure out exactly how much money you are likely to need
Most places in Raja Ampat accept cash only. Prior to your arrival in Sorong, you need to confirm with your homestay exactly what they will let you pay with credit card, if anything. Costs you need to consider include:
- Taxi to Sorong harbour from airport
- Return boat trip from Sorong to Waisai
- Return transfer from Waisai to homstay
- Homestay accomodation
- Cost of tours and activities
Budgeting for tours and activities can be difficult, as prices are often ‘per boat’ to a certain attraction. For example, a boat to Pianeymo often fits 6 people so if you could be paying anything from the cost of a whole boat (hundreds of dollars), to 1/6th of this price.
I would not rely on an ATM in Sorong to dispense any money, let alone all the money you need for your stay in Raja Ampat . To cover your stay you’ll need multiple ATM withdrawals and thereafter guard a wad of cash so large you could be an extra in a trap music videoclip. We found BNI banks good for this as they will often let you withdraw 2.5 million IDR at a time, whereas most ATMs have a 1.25 million IDR limit. The trick is to look at the top of the machine, and if it says it dispenses 100,000 IDR notes then you are fine.
2. Bring snacks (+/- tupperware)
Day 1 of our stay in Raja Ampat was marred by the tragic loss of Clinton’s jam biscuits, to rats. Despite my warning of the ‘eat all or none’ principle regarding snacks in the wild, he had 2 biscuits then we tied the packet with my hair tie and left it in my open backpack. One brief snorkelling trip later we returned to find the packet on the other side of the room with 3 biscuits visibly gnawed on and several other puncture marks along the rest of the packaging. After some retrospectively unreasonable deliberation, we thought it best to throw them away.
So, either bring small sealed snacks that you can eat in one go, or bring some sort of airtight vessel you can seal your snacks in. You’ll want snacks if you’re like Clinton and you don’t like fish, bananas and spinach, because this is what most of your diet will consist of.
3. Raja Ampat is a largely alcohol-free zone
When visiting Raja Ampat, bear in mind that acquiring any sort of alcohol can be extremely difficult. Most homestays don’t even have a fridge, let alone purchasable luxury snacks and drinks. If you really don’t want to go without alcohol, your options include bringing it with you or somehow finding it in Sorong before you board the ferry to Waisai. Note that when we visited Raja Ampat over Christmas, Sorong had “run out” of beer. Your final option is to band together with other tourists at your homestay and ask the boat driver to locate some in bulk on one of their frequent trips to Waisai.
4. Beware of Permamoist
Similar to permafrost in the extremes of latitude, permamoist will haunt you and your belongings in Raja Ampat. Your clothes will become moist with sweat, ocean, humidity etc. and they will never dry. Whenever you see the sun, make sure you take the opportunity to dry your clothes.
5. Get the right SIM card
If you have a good idea of what you want to do in Raja Ampat and you’ve got your accommodation sorted, then you don’t need a SIM card. Otherwise, Telkomsel seems to be the only provider that has signal in the area.
For other hints & tips about visiting Raja Ampat, we recommend the site Stay Raja Ampat. It is a not for profit website which acts as a platform for homestays to accept bookings and tourists to leave feedback about their stay.
Permamoist and rats. I’m sold. I’ll be on the next flight!