The underdeveloped infrastructure makes moving around in Raja Ampat - and all of West Papua - relatively expensive. On the upside however, you can still find truly pristine places and untouched nature hardly ever visited by anyone.
The gateway to Raja Ampat is Sorong, with SOQ airport connected to 3 main hubs in Indonesia by multiple daily flights: Jakarta, Makassar and Manado. There are a few airlines serving Sorong airport, but we recommend to choose one of the 2 below.
Indonesia's national airline has improved a lot over the past decade and is certified as a skytrax 5 star airline. Although prices are higher than the competition, we think the service is worth it.
Especially for travellers transiting in Jakarta, Garuda is an excellent choice. They operate exclusively out of the new terminal, which is a huge plus.
GARUDA INDONESIABatik Air is a good alternative for a tighter budget. Tickets are comparably low priced, but the fleet of relatively new planes are well equipped and offer more leg room than budget airlines.
Batik may have more delays than Garuda, but overall great service for a very competitive price makes Batik Air a good choice for most travellers.
BATIK AIRBoth, north and south Raja Ampat, are connected to Sorong via ferries. These are public transport and heavily relied upon not only by tourists, but by locals as well. The ferries can be crowded sometimes, but generally speaking the ride is quite comfortable.
Sorong to Waisai as well as the other way round are operated twice each day: at 09:00 and at 14:00. In calm sea the crossing takes around 2 hours.
Tickets are sold at the harbour. Current prices are IDR 100.000,- for a standard ticket and 215.000,- for VIP. Make sure you keep a sweater handy for VIP, since AC is usually set to 16°C.
The crossing to Misool takes about 4 hours to Folley and than another hour or so to Yellu, as long as it's calm. In bad conditions it can take twice as long and occasionally the ferry doesn't go at all.
Tickets are sold at the harbour for currently IDR 200.000,-.
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 12:00.
Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 08:00 from Yellu and about an hour later from Folley.
Naturally, the most used and in many places only form of transport in Raja Ampat is by boat. Private boat charter - especially if you don't want to travel in local longboats - is expensive. We operate all our tours with our private speedboat.
There are hardly any roads outside the main cities in Raja Ampat, so this applies more to travelling on Papua's mainland. If you join us on one of our mainland tours we will of course provide an appropriate car.
From North to South, we'll show you the best of Raja Ampat. Our private tours are tailored to your wishes - the ideal way to visit this piece of paradise and experience its natural beauty.