Epica is an awesome Raja Ampat liveaboard for guests on a tight budget. Popular among young divers, Epica can accommodate a maximum of 12 guests in 6 simple cabins. Most trips are either 6 nights covering the Dampier Strait, or 9 night cruises including either the further northern or southern Raja Ampat region.
You can hang out on the large upper deck of the liveaboard lounging on bean bags or in the hammock enjoying the stunning views of the islands of Raja Ampat. You can also sit on the bench seating at the main dining table or on stools facing out to the port or starboard side of the boat. There are also bean bags on the sun deck where you can work on your tropical tan.
Cabins are all on the main deck, with twin bunk beds. They have cooling fans and natural ventilation and have doors that open on to the deck, which many guests leave open for the ocean view. Epica guests share 2 bathrooms with fresh water showers. At the rear of the liveaboard's main deck is the dive deck, where you gear up and either step into the diving tender or dive directly from the mothership.
Meals are freshly prepared by the chef and are a mix of international favourites as well as Indonesian specialties, served buffet-style in the main deck dining area. Epica may be a no-frills liveaboard but offers a fun and affordable way to dive the world-class sites of Raja Ampat and, for some, that is the perfect mix!
Raja Ampat National Park Central (7 Days / 6 Nights - 19 Dives)
Trip highlights: shark action, manta rays, turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, wall diving
Dive sites and activities: Raja Ampat: Dampier Strait: Kri, Mansuar, Arborek, Yenbuba, Sawandarek, Manta Sandy, Jef Fam Islands, Saporkren, Yanggalo. Excursion to Arborek Island, Mioskon beach, Penemu viewpoint.
Day 1
Your diving trip to Central Raja Ampat starts when you board the Epica liveaboard in Waisai. After being shown to your cabin, you'll meet with the crew and fellow divers for a welcome briefing on safety procedures and the week's schedule. The afternoon is for preparation: set up your dive kit, complete a check dive, and settle in. As the sun sets, look forward to the diving ahead before you go to your cabin, rocked to sleep gently by the boat.
Core Days
Your days onboard Epica now fall into a perfect routine of diving, dining, and relaxing - the classic liveaboard way of life. Every morning, your cruise director carefully selects the dive sites, basing their choices on conditions and the group's preferences to ensure you see Raja Ampat's underwater wonders at their absolute best. Expert guides help spot camouflaged critters like pygmy seahorses and exotic nudibranchs, while majestic mantas glide into cleaning stations and reef sharks patrol the drop-offs.
Diving the Dampier Strait is renowned for its unrivalled marine biodiversity and strong, nutrient-rich currents. The area, which channels water between the islands, attracts huge, dense schools of fish, including jacks, barracuda, and tuna. It is particularly famous for its manta ray cleaning stations, where you can regularly observe both reef and oceanic mantas.
Arborek Jetty is a signature shallow dive site where the pier's pylons are completely overgrown with vibrant soft corals and sponges. Divers descend to find themselves enveloped in massive schools of fish, including jacks, tuna, and sweetlips, which congregate between the wooden columns. It is also an excellent spot for macro life - look closely for pygmy seahorses, electric clams, and numerous nudibranchs.
Manta Sandy is one of Raja Ampat’s most famous and dependable dive sites. As its name suggests, it is a shallow, sandy-bottomed lagoon that serves as a highly active manta ray cleaning station.The waters surrounding Yangeffo Island are highly regarded for their rich reefs and diverse ecosystems. It is situated in a zone that often benefits from the nutrient-rich currents of the Dampier Strait, feeding the extensive marine life.
One highlight of the liveaboard trip is the climb to the Penemu Viewpoint. Upon arriving at the karst island cluster, you'll find a well-maintained wooden staircase of about 300 steps leading up the cliff face. While the climb is a workout, it rewards you with one of Raja Ampat's most famous panoramic sights: a sweeping view of a turquoise lagoon dotted with dozens of small, jungle-covered limestone islands. This vista is often compared to the famous Wayag Islands but is much easier to access, making it the perfect final stop for an unforgettable day.
Day 7
Before you know it, your final dive is done. Once your kit is sorted and dry, you'll have a relaxing sail back to Waisai. This is the ideal time to swap details with your new diving mates, look back at the week's best bits, and grab those last shots of the islands. After a light lunch, you'll disembark from Epica, your camera and logbook heavy with memories, for your transfer to Sorong - leaving with a profound appreciation for Raja Ampat's underwater kingdom.
Raja Ampat National Park South & Central (9 Days / 8 Nights - 21 Dives)
Trip highlights: shark action, manta rays, turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, wall diving
Dive sites and activities: Raja Ampat - Mioskon, Misool: Love Lagoon, Balbulol, Daram, Wayilbatan, Yilliet, Farondi, Fabiacet; Dampier Strait: Penemu, Gam, Cape Kri, Sardine Reef, Arborek, Sawandarek, Gam, Jef Fam, Manta Ridge. Bird Watching with a local Papuan guide, snorkelling at Jellyfish Lake, Penemu viewpoint, beach visit for flying foxes, cave paintings.
Day 1
Your Raja Ampat diving trip to Misool and the Dampier Strait starts when you board the Epica liveaboard in Waisai. Once you've checked into your cabin, you'll meet with the other divers for a necessary safety and itinerary briefing. The afternoon is dedicated to preparing your dive kit and completing a quick check dive in local calm waters, to ensure all equipment is adjusted correctly. Lunch and dinner are served, depending on your arrival time. The diving schedule starts tomorrow.
Core Days
In Misool, you'll explore seamounts rich with soft coral and swim through caverns where reef sharks patrol. The Dampier Strait offers exhilarating drift dives, featuring manta rays at cleaning stations and schooling barracuda. Your dive guides will highlight camouflaged life, such as pygmy seahorses and nudibranchs. The sheer density of marine life, from dogtooth tuna to anthias, is simply astounding.
Fabiacet is a cluster of small islands in the Misool area of Raja Ampat famous for its spectacular biodiversity.
This area is defined by an extensive underwater ridge and various submerged pinnacles, creating dramatic walls and shallow reefs. These features are completely blanketed in some of the world's most dense and colourful concentrations of soft corals and massive gorgonian sea fans. Divers can expect to see huge schools of snappers, barracuda, and trevally in the blue, alongside constant sightings of reef sharks and even the endemic wobbegong shark.
Mioskon is a shallow, sloping reef in the Dampier Strait and runs down to about 25 metres, it is famous for its large schools of yellow snapper and endemic wobbegongs resting beneath the ledges. In the shallower sections, the reef is particularly rich in colour and macro life, allowing dive guides to easily point out rare finds, like pygmy seahorses clinging to the sea fans.
Cape Kri holds the official world record for the highest number of fish species counted on a single dive. In 2012, renowned marine biologist Dr. Gerald Allen recorded an astonishing 374 species in a single 90-minute dive, a testament to the site's unbelievable biodiversity. The sheer volume of marine life is overwhelming. You will be constantly surrounded by massive schools of fish, including swirling tornadoes of chevron barracuda, clouds of fusiliers, and huge schools of snappers and jacks.
Manta Ridge is a submerged ridge that acts as a primary cleaning station for both the smaller reef manta rays and the much larger oceanic mantas. Here, the mantas hover and circle near the ridge, allowing tiny cleaner wrasse to remove parasites. This predictable behaviour allows divers to get close to these majestic animals.
Your liveaboard cruise in Raja Ampat with Epica also affords some unique land adventures: tracking the elusive birds-of-paradise alongside a local Papuan guide, swimming with non-stinging jellyfish in Jellyfish Lake, climbing to the stunning panoramic Penemu Viewpoint, witnessing the dramatic nightly migration of flying foxes from a secluded beach, and exploring ancient cave paintings hidden among the karst cliffs.
Day 9
The morning will bring your final dive, a last chance to savour the unparalleled biodiversity of these waters. After you rinse your gear and pack up, settle in for the leisurely cruise back to Waisai. You'll enjoy a light lunch while soaking in the final views of the spectacular limestone karsts. Upon disembarking, you'll transfer to Sorong, leaving with a camera full of images, a logbook overflowing with incredible sightings, and a deep, lasting appreciation for Raja Ampat’s underwater wonders.
Raja Ampat National Park North & Central (10 Days / 9 Nights - 25 Dives)
Trip highlights: shark action, manta rays, turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, wall diving
Dive sites and activities: Raja Ampat: Batanta, Wai, Dayan, Penemu, Kawe, Wayag, Gam, Dampier Strait: Manta Ridge, Mioskon. Beyond the diving: trekking to Batanta’s waterfall, climb Penemu’s panoramic viewpoint, summit Mt. Pindito, and unwind with beach bonfires under the stars.
Day 1
Your diving adventure to the central and far northern reaches of Raja Ampat commences in Waisai. Here, you’ll step aboard the Epica, which will be your liveaboard home-from-home for the next days. Once you're settled into your cabin, everyone will gather for a welcome briefing, covering the essential safety procedures and the exciting itinerary ahead. You'll then have a chance to get your diving kit organised and complete a check dive to make sure everything is in working order. Afterwards, it's time to unwind on the upper deck and savour the magnificent sunset with a well-deserved cocktail in hand.
Core Days
Prepare to immerse yourself in Raja Ampat's renowned biodiversity. You'll have the chance to swim alongside majestic manta rays at their cleaning stations, drift past sheer coral walls alive with pygmy seahorses and vibrant nudibranchs, and watch reef sharks patrol the deep. Divers at Wai are often surrounded by massive, swirling schools of fish so thick they can block out the sun - look for fusiliers, surgeonfish, and huge schools of jacks and barracuda. This is a fantastic area to encounter larger marine life. You can expect to see oceanic and reef manta rays gliding gracefully into cleaning stations. It's very common to spot blacktip and whitetip reef sharks, and the uniquely tasselled wobbegong shark is a special find, often camouflaged on the reef floor. Large napoleon wrasse and herds of bumphead parrotfish are also frequent sights.
The diving at Wayag is characterised by spectacular underwater landscapes that mirror the islands above. You can expect sheer walls, intricate reef systems, submerged ridges, and exciting swim-throughs. Because of its remote and exposed location, Wayag attracts a great deal of pelagic life. The dive sites are often swept by strong currents, bringing in schools of unicornfish and bigeye trevally. It is an excellent place to encounter various sharks, including the occasional grey reef shark. Oceanic manta rays are also frequently seen.
Mioskon is a small, picturesque island in the Dampier Strait, well-loved by divers for one primary reason: an absolutely staggering concentration of fish. Often described as diving in an aquarium or 'fish soup', Mioskon is a site that perfectly showcases the incredible biomass of Raja Ampat. The dive typically follows the gently sloping reef that surrounds the island, which is covered in beautiful hard and soft corals and large sea fans.
Beyond the diving, the trip also includes trekking to Batanta’s waterfall and a climb up Penemu’s panoramic viewpoint. The summit of Mt. Pindito is a short but steep and challenging scramble over sharp, volcanic limestone rock, but the reward is the definitive, 360-degree view that has made Raja Ampat famous. Looking down upon the maze of mushroom-shaped islands and turquoise lagoons is an unforgettable experience that makes the effort entirely worthwhile.
Day 10
After a final sunrise dive, it will be time to pack your kit for the gentle cruise back to Waisai. Over a farewell lunch, you can swap contact details with your new-found friends before it's time to head ashore, leaving with a logbook jam-packed with amazing entries of Raja Ampat's magic.
[Information is best estimate in ideal circumstances and subject to changes beyond our control. The itinerary is a guide only and may be adapted to best suit the weather, tides, currents, availability and other prevailing events. Price is for the cruise, not for an exact number of dives].
Food on the Epica liveaboard is served buffet-style on the upper deck around a large communal table. The menu is a mix of freshly prepared Indonesian and international dishes. The schedule on the Epica liveaboard is structured around diving to make the most of the conditions at various sites. A typical day includes 3 to 4 dives and follows this general pattern:
* Early Morning: A light breakfast (cereal, fruit, coffee, tea) is served before the first dive briefing.
* 1st morning dive
* Full Breakfast: After the first dive, a full buffet breakfast is served, including cooked options like eggs and sausages.
* 2nd morning dive
* Lunch: A buffet-style lunch is served with Indonesian and Western options, including meat, seafood, and vegetarian dishes (e.g., tempeh, tofu), plus salads and fruit.
* Afternoon: The afternoon is generally for relaxing, followed by the 3rd dive. Depending on the itinerary, afternoons can include shore activities such as village visits or hikes to viewpoints like Penemu.
* Evening: A night dive may be offered. After dinner, evenings are free for guests to relax.
Drinking water, tea, coffee, fruit, and light snacks are available throughout the day. Beer and soft drinks can be purchased on board.
Dietary requirements, including vegan diets, can be catered for if notice is given in advance.
