We love the Wisesa! The boat is clean, comfortable and has all the amenities. The food is excellent and the crew is trustworthy, helpful, and fun. Dylan is the cruise... read more director and he's a riot to hang with - funny, energetic, and makes you feel welcome. I enjoy hanging with him. Excellent swimming, fun boat, great service. Andy, the small boat operator is awesome too. The whole crew is great. This is our 2nd time aboard and we've loved it.

  My liveboard experience on the Wisesa was just exceptional. This diving trip in banda sea for 8 days exceeded all my expectations.

The boat is very comfortable... read more with friendly living spaces.

Many thanks to all the crew who were just perfect, either professionnal and caring. Amazing fresh and home made food onboard cooked by the chef. Thanks to the cruise director for the day to day planning, amazing diving spots and the visit of Banda Neira Island.

I’ll never forget this beautiful experience and my first hammerhead dives. I recommended 200% this trip for sea lovers.

  Had a wonderful one-week trip with Wisesa through the Banda Sea! Beautiful, very comfortable and well-equipped boat. The whole crew is also incredibly helpful and friendly, providing a lively ambiance... read more throughout the trip. Dylan (cruise director) and Lorenzo (dive master) are extremely knowledgeable and passionate about diving and the region, which made trip goes beyond hammerhead hunting, stretched to bio-marine diversity, sharks behavior and East Indo culture. They are also very adaptive to the live situation and provided alternative plans so that we could have the best experience every time we went underwater. Not to mention the amazing food prepared by the chef!

Can't wait to be back on board of Wisesa again!

  Highly recommend Wisesa liveaboard experience with amazing dive instructor and chef - I would highly recommend it to anyone for Wisesa Liveaboard. 

This is my first liveaboard experience, and I completely fell in love with it.

Here are some highlights... read more of my Raja Ampat 8D/7N north line trip and why everyone should choose it:

1) Easy communication:

I approached the team over WhatsApp and got all my questions answered within the same day. Devi is very responsive and patient in answering my questions and helping me to manage international wire transfer/travel requirements in Indonesia.

2) Professional diving instructor and master:

Dylan and Yorenzo are amazing to dive with. Dylan is always willing to share diving tips and help out underwater. He is full of energy and constantly keeps guests entertained. Dylan pays lots of attention to what guests need and be there to offer help. Yorenzo is very experienced with the diving sites and spent lots of time helping us find exciting micro-animals. Cannot find better dive instruction/master to spend diving trip together.

3) Responsible & amazing crew:  

All crew on the boat is super professional and willing to help guests. They work super hard to ensure guests have the best time, and I appreciate it! All diving equiments are set up and loaded onto the boat by the crew. I barely need to do anything except diving. I felt I got spoiled by Wiseas, and not sure if I can go back to the traditional diving shop experience.                                            
4) Amazing diving experience:

I did 21 dives in 8 days and am in love with liveaboard life. Raja Ampat has the best corals and marine life. I was pretty worried before my liveaboard as I only have 35 logged dives and am not very familiar with diving with currents. But in general, all currents in the dive sites are manageable, so don't worry if you are a less experienced diver.

5) Food:

The chef is FANTASTIC, and I overate more than I should. Sometimes I was confused if I am on a food trip instead of diving trip. A spicy pancake with stinky sauce is perfect for breakfast. Also, for each dinner, we had an appetizer, main dish, and proper dessert (E.g., freshly made cakes). I enjoy the life of being fed every day

6) small size group & new friends:

As a solo traveler, I enjoy small-size groups since I feel it is easier to get to know each other. I love my whole group and enjoy talking to them.              

7) Comprehensive itinerary:

Wisesa designs the trip well-rounded. I also hike a bit to see the great view, enjoy a sunset BBQ and play beach volleyball. The literary is well-designed!!!

8) comfortable living conditions:

I was lucky to live in room Lombok alone and enjoy all-night AC. There is always hot water for the shower and clean towels. The boat has many comfortable sitting/napping areas

  Such a great time - We had such an amazing time at the Wisesa in beautiful Raja Ampat, pretty ship with best chillout areas, friendly and helpful crew always with smiles on their faces, fresh... read more and delicious food and great cruise director Dylan, who always gives his best to cater your scuba-wishes, even when you wish to hit the depth 🙂

  A deep human experience of nature beauty - We enjoyed an amazing and wonderful snorkeling week with Wisesa Liveaboard boat. Dylan, the divemaster and the manager of trip is a very good « connaisseur » of the region,... read more of theunderwater life of Raja Ampat. He is profesional, human, in listening mode and well organized to facilitate us the contact with best snorkeling and diving places.
He was seconded by Yorenzo, (we liked to call him fish man, so amazing is him to see underwater animals). The biodiversity in Raja Ampat is really unique and you should have the eyes of Dylan and Yorenzo to see the details, to identify the species they shared with us.
The food prepared by Basori on the boat (with the aid of Edi), has nothing to envy to best indonesian restaurants.
Thank to all the team of Wisesa who made our trip an accomplished dream.

  Unforgettable! - We have had an unforgettable experience in one of the most secluded and wild place in the world. Thanks to Dylan and all boat staff for offering us such experience... read more with an extraordinary professionalism and care of all details. Food was great and over all expectation. Dylan (and also Lorenzo) is a very nice, professional, helpful and patient guide for snorkeling and diving activities. He has a big knowledge of the best coral spots and marine life. I absolutely recommend Wisesa for your Raja Ampat cruise. I only don’t recommend the Lombok cabin: too small.

  The Wisesa is a comfortable boat, but what makes it stand out is the cruise director (Dylan) and his crew. Dylan and his crew were constantly striving to do their... read more very best, making sure our experience was as good as it could possibly be. As one of the guides, Yorenzo's eagle eye spotted many amazing sights, from a large manta ray in the distance to the smallest of pygmy seahorses. The chef and his team also whipped up delicious meals and snacks, which I still remember fondly. Thank you for the memorable trip!

  We were a group of 8 friends on a snorkeling trip in northern Raja Ampat. The crew, the boat, the service and the whole experience was wonderful. The 10 days... read more were a combination of water activities, on shore visits and snorkelling and each day was better than the last. The boat is lovely and large enough that everyone could have their own space but without losing a sense of being connected to the crew and the running of the boat.
The food was delicious, varied and very high quality, our cruise director, Dylan was very proffessional while still keeping everyone laughing and enjoying themselves. He was also really flexible and happily accommodated all our requests without hesitation. A trip that we want to repeat very soon it was such a great experience !

  5 stars for the most incredible liveaboard experience I ever had! Wisesa is one of the least expensive companies, but the quality is just amazing. The boat is really beautiful... read more and cosy and the food alone would make a good reason to come back again, so delicious! Also the first liveaboard I experienced without a single technical problem so it was just a relaxing holiday as it should be. The crew is working with such an honest enthousiasm and passion, you can tell their job is a dream come true for them. This really creates a great and fun atmosphere so even when traveling solo, I enjoyed every second of this trip! And the diving in Raja Ampat is even better than I expected it to be. Thanks a lot for the amazing trip I will never forget and I hope to join this boat again in the future 🙂

  We had a wonderful trip with Wisesa. The crew was very friendly, helpful and professional. The diving with Dylan and Hawe was a superb adventure, on many different dive sites,... read more the briefings of Dylan were always interesting and enthusiastic. Also the accommodation and the food were excellent. We enjoyed “our trip of a lifetime” with Wisesa in Raja Ampat very much!! Thank you!

  What a wonderful holiday we experienced - 4 older couples all looking for a magic experience, snorkelling over the beautiful corals and amongst the myriad of fish. There were many... read more highlights but snorkelling with the Manta Rays and seeing reef sharks and turtles as well as so many different fish and coral was amazing. On land we were lucky yo see the red Bird of Paradise and also visit a couple of villages. The food on board was delicious and plentiful, the crew were there to help you at every turn and Dylan was brilliant in choosing different places for snorkelling depending on the tides, weather and currents etc. Definitely recommend this trip.

  We chartered with 5 friends the Wisesa for 8 days and visited central and north Raja Ampat up to Waigeo.
We all had a fabulous time.
The 8 men crew... read more looked after us very well.
The food was excellent and varied daily.
Dylon, the director on board looked after us very well and we enjoyed spending time together.
The cabins are comfortable and have AC..
Raja Ampat is the most beautiful place on earth if you like to see the underwater-world and its spectacular karst formation shaped islands.
You do not need to dive to swim with coral and ocean-mantas. Dugongs, turtles, barracudas, sharks etc and the coral is in perfect conditions.
We saw very few plastic, and if so we were advised by Dylon to pick it up on the beach . They take it back to Sorong, where there is a special place to leave the plastic.
For me , this was my second visit to Raja Ampat, after 6 years.
There are more live aboard boats, some more homestays, but altogether it is still such a remote beautiful part of our planet, it is more then worth if to go and explore.
I can recommend Wisesa boatany time for a wonderful time in Raja Ampat..
All the way from the beginning when i contacted the Wisesa staff, up to the end of our stay.
Johanna and friends from Spain

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  Our eight days aboard Wisesa were a lot of fun, plenty to see and do, wonderful food and a very helpful, courteous and caring cruise director and crew.A very memorable... read more holiday

  Alas, the trip was only 7 days and ended far too soon!
Dylan and his crew of eight personable, friendly and highly skilled specialists made this an unforgettable experience. There... read more was nothing disappointing about this trip from pick-up at the airport in Sorong to the delivery of happy snorkelers at the end of the trip to the Swiss Bel Hotel.
We did 17 snorkels including a night snorkel at various locations selected by Dylan taking into consideration currents, weather in general and the abilities of our group. Dylan's knowledge, spotting and free diving skills and enthusiasm meant there were many WOW MOMENTS both below the surface as well as above. There were many, many highlights but swimming with manta rays and finding the Red Bird of Paradise are right at the top of this list.
The food was plentiful, delicious and varied. The best Calamari in the world!!!
Congratulations and thank you to Dylan and in the incredible crew of Wisesa.
This trip is highly recommended!!

  Firstly, if you are going to Raja Ampat be prepared to go to one of the best places on the planet - we have travelled a lot and it is... read more truly incomparable.

Wisesa was a superb vessel. Dylan is a fantastic guide, knows all the right places (away from the crowds) and importantly respects the wildlife and nature with true passion. Staff are full of personality and smiles and we had a good laugh with them. Rooms are brilliantly clean, comfortable and more spacious than we've had on other similar liveaboards (they are for sleeping, you relax above deck). Our adventure was everything we wanted thanks to Wisesa and the only sad part is we couldn't come straight back.

  We are New Yorkers who took the 8 day WISESA boat snorkeling trip through Northern and Central Raja Ampat from Jan. 5 - Jan 12. We were lucky in that... read more the seas were relatively calm with almost no current at any of the snorkeling sites that we visited during the 8 days.
Here are some tips:
1 Snorkelers: Bring a 3 mil wetsuit. We started with just full body Lycra suits but soon got cold after repetitive snorkeling. Yes, the water is 80 F degrees this time of year but you will be doing 3 one-hour snorkels each day which will drop your core body temperature.
2. Bring a tropical diving hood. The sun beats down mercilessly on your head so you need to protect your scalp from sunburn. Hoods are better than sunscreen.
3. Select the right cabin. There are four choices of cabins. My wife and I chose the back two (Bali and Lombok) which provide more privacy than the front cabins. WISESA charges per person rather than per cabin so there was no extra charge for having two cabins. Of the two cabins we had, Cabin Bali was larger and better than Cabin Lombok. Having the back two cabins meant we didn’t have to share the bathroom with others.

  We went on the 11-night Ambon to Sorong cruise. It was a spectacular trip, snorkeling over gliding oceanic Manta rays, schools of giant bumphead parrotfish, reef sharks, barracuda, turtles... read more and amazing coral gardens. It was fantastic that they offered a snorkel cruise rather than dive-cruise as it that’s what our group of 9 passengers were mainly interested in. So many other boats were oriented to a dive audience.

The crew of 9 was what made the trip so memorable, they made so easy for us to just relax and enjoy nature; the cabins were cleaned daily, fresh towels, wonderful meals, plentiful water and soft drinks. They even threw a surprise birthday party for my birthday! The crew can sing, play the guitar, ukulele, local drums! Unexpected musical ensemble we were so lucky to have.
It was very encouraging that the cruise did not offer plastic bottles of water, instead we refill from the large water dispenser that was always readily available. We really appreciated the ecological care of not proliferating more plastics . Less non biodegradable trash in the seas and we can hope to see a clean Raja Ampat even in the years to come. Hope to be back again. Thank you for the trip of a lifetime

  A memory making trip with an outstanding crew along with awesome sights and snorkeling. The clarity of the water is incredible. And the turtles amazing.

  My boyfriend and I (we are a scuba instructor and a divemaster) went on one of the Komodo trips with Wisesa this August (2019) and had the most amazing experience!... read more />
The diving in Komodo is superb and we got the best of every single dive site. The cruise director picks the route and dive sites depending on the weather conditions, tides and currents and will make sure you dive the top sites during your trip. They check conditions daily so if one place is not suitable, you will return to it a day or two later. Also, you have certain flexibility in choosing what you want to do, whether you want to repeat a dive site or if you want to do a particular excursion - like going to a beach or visiting a local village.

For example, we did Castle Rock, Crystal Rock and Batu Balong twice, as those were the dive sites our group enjoyed most.

The liveaboard itself is very cozy and comfortable. It has only 4 cabins and everything is very compact. We personally loved the atmosphere and being in a small group.

There are two instructors/divemasters onboard, so you can dive either as one big group or split in two. This can also vary from dive site to dive site.

We did 3-4 dives every day. The logistics are excellent. You prepare your equipment on the liveaboard and the crew takes everything for you on the smaller diving boat. They take great care of cameras and anything else you might want to take along - like towels, dry bags and windbreakers.

The food is excellent - there is always fresh juices and fruit for breakfast, apart from your eggs and pancakes. Lunch is buffet style and dinner is a 3-course menu. The chef is really really good!

We did all sort of excursions - we went hiking, went to pink beach, visited a local village, saw the Komodo dragons, went kayaking around a sand bank, had a BBQ dinner on the beach and all of this was nicely planned between the dives. The whole programme was very diverse and we loved it.

If you are planning a trip to Komodo or Raja Ampat, you will love your time on Wisesa. The team is also very responsive and will help you with all the logistics around your trip.

  My partner and I dove in the Komodo National Marine Park at the end of August 2019 and we had an excellent experience (we did 23 dives) onboard Cruising Raja Ampat - Wisesa... read more Liveaboard for 8 days/7 nights of diving. . The liveaboard is a traditional Indonesian 4 cabin boat called Phinisi and can accommodate 8 divers max. The time we had on Cruising Raja Ampat - Wisesa Liveaboard was absolutely great. Edwin, the Cruise Director and also divemaster, and Soreya , local divemaster, are very experienced. The briefings are thorough and the 2 guides know the dive sites like the palm of their hand. The dive sites are planned according to the tides and the current. We also had our underwater cameras with us and got good help on the boat with those. During the week we saw lots of schooling fish, reef manta ray, black tip and white tip reef sharks, bamboo shark, an amazing variety of reef fish, green and hawksbill turtles, stingrays rays and many nudibranch.
The food onboard is excellent and the boat has all the amentities for a great diving holiday - big sundeck, lounge and snacks all the time...
Apart from diving we had a dinner on an uninhabited island and went to a few beaches to enjoy the sunset and a walk on the hills. We visited a local village and went to Palar island to see the Komodo dragons!If you are looking for a liveaboard trip in Indonesia check out their different routes, the diving is absolutely mind-blowing. It was really WOW! Highly recommended!

  Living aboard Wisesa for 8 days and 7 nights, cruising around Komodo National Park was such a wonderful experience. My best friend and I dived everyday and had the experience... read more of a lifetime.

Firstly, although the sail was not put to use, the boat is gorgeous. It is comfortable and always kept clean. There are a lot of community spaces so it was a very social trip. The top sun deck is a favourite spot and the crew are able to pull up and remove the overhead canvass so that you are not constantly baking in the sun. Some rooms below were a little smaller (mainly Lombok and Flores cabins). But the room we stayed in, Bali Cabin, was spacious although a bathroom must be shared with Lombok cabin.

Aside from the boat, which we loved a lot, the crew onboard really made the trip magical. Everyone was very friendly and accommodating. Even if they are not fluent in English, they always greeted everyone with a smile. And how could I forget their music sessions? They were always whipping out their guitar and drum to play a tune which everyone would fall in love with. There's just nothing better than sitting on the sun deck reading a book whilst the crew are inside strumming away and singing. Those who handled the dive equipment were also very helpful, helping us bring our tanks from the dive boat onto the deck and changing them for us.

The diving in Komodo was just superb. There's so much to see underwater. Even when we go back to the same dive site, we see different things. Sharks hunting, sea horses, massive sting rays, sponge crabs, lion fish hunting etc. Before each dive, we would always get a dive briefing and Edwin (the cruise director) would always jump in the water to check the strength of the current before we dived, which you need to do in Komodo. We really enjoyed the schedule on Wisesa as we got to fit in 16 dives but also got to see the Komodo dragons, visit a small village and enjoy afternoons on the beach. The flexibility in schedule meant that if there were any places we really wanted to go to, Edwin would try to arrange it for us.

Again, thank you for a wonderful trip that we'll always remember. We left with 16 more dives, a tan and lot of new friends.

  My husband and I have just returned from an amazing 7 nights snorkelling aboard the WISESA live aboard to celebrate his 50th birthday. It was by far the most... read more relaxing holiday we've ever had. Everything about our adventure was incredible and a large part of that was due to our cruise director Edwin and the rest of the crew. Days were so well planned with a lot of variety and always something happening yet everything still felt so relaxed.

We mostly did 3 snorkels per day which always revealed something new and blew our minds and on top of this there were other land activities to vary things up. Our trek to see the Bird of Paradise did not disappoint, we visited a local village, had a beach BBQ and walked up to the Pianemu viewing platform. We also did a night snorkel which was a different experience for us. All of these activities were amazing.

We were so well looked after on the boat - The food was absolutely fantastic. For anyone thinking about doing this adventure with kids, there were two children on our trip. For snorkelling there was always two crew in the water with someone nearby with a life saver ring if anyone needed a rest as well as a small boat at the ready to assist. Edwin described the snorkelling spots in detail before we left WISESA and also tested out the visibility and currents before we entered the water.

The small capacity of the WISESA is also wonderful. The other travellers were like-minded and there was plenty of space for everyone to escape if they needed to. Our cabin Bali was quite spacious, though the only negative perhaps was the very small bathroom.

As for Raja Ampat - I didn't even know it existed until we started looking into the holiday. It was difficult for us to get there from Brisbane (3 flights over two days), but so completely worth it. We arrived via Singapore, Manado and Sorong and really enjoyed our time at S Loft in Manado. Manado was a great choice for us for a stopover. It is on the island of Sulawesi and you can also visit the marine national park of Bunaken from there. We chose to do a land excursion to Tangkoko National Park which was also great, we saw a number of different animals/creatures.

What a beautiful untouched marine wilderness Raja Ampat is. The coral is in many areas colourful and pristine and the variety is amazing. The fish are also very abundant and we saw all manner of strange creatures - eagle, devil and manta rays, a raja walking shark, a wobbygong, schools of dolphins, turtles, squid, lion fish, huge schools of parrot fish, trevelly, plenty of reef sharks ...

I had tears when we left the boat to catch our plane back. Need I say more ...

  Always in search for the ultimate snorkeling experience during my travel around the world I came accross Raja Ampat. Could it be true there is still a lost underwater paradise... read more on earth with pristine reefs and rich underwater life such as in my childhood memories of Jacques Cousteau......I started to look for the best option to explore the vast protected marine park with 1000+ islands and concluded that a liveaboard would be the best option to discover a significant proportion of Raja Ampat. As I knew from previous experience it has certain advantages to join a specific snorkeling cruise when you want to explore shallower reefs as a snorkeler. Though snorkeling cruises are rare I found Wisesa quickly and after reading their itinerary for the 8-day trip I was completely sold and booked immediately. It sounded like a dream and Wisesa makes this a reality!
From the first booking contact with Devi untill my actual stay on Wisesa with cruise director Edwin and the wonderfull crew everything is organised flawlessly. Super friendly crew and like-minded travelling and snorkeling travel companions on the boat made me feel at home immediately as single traveller. I very much liked the fact that Wisesa operates with a small group of guests as this gives a more intimate and personal experience sharing our daily adventures together around the table or on the beach during one of the three restaurant quality meals that chef prepared every day.
At the same time the ship is big enough to offer everybody some personal space and privacy when you want.
The rithm of three snorkels a day quickly becomes very addictive! The pristine quality of the reefs, diversity of marine life, size of the annimals and immense schools of fish is breathtaking and every time we jumped in at a new site there were surprises and wow moments. A highlight of the cruise for me was our Manta Ray encounter at Manta Sandy. The chances of seeing Manta's are good at this time of year at this cleaning station, however no guarantee.
I managed to observe five of them from close distance just below the surface. It was a magical experience!
Another highlight was that Edwin helped me overcome my diving anxiety by giving me an amazing discover scuba experience. His long experience and perfect coaching qualities made me feel relaxed and able to enjoy the ride. I feel priviledged that I was able to experience Raja Ampat and I am very gratefull for Edwin and the crew making my dream come true.

  Just departing Indonesia after a simply wonderful week on Wisesa with Edwin and the crew. Best snorkelling we have ever done, superb food at every mealtime, delightful crew who couldn’t... read more do enough and a beautiful boat. We’ve been looking forward to this trip for a long time and Raja Ampat, Wisesa, Edwin and the wonderful crew ensured that our unreasonably high expectations were comfortably surpassed. Thank-you for a truly unforgettable week. We are very privileged.

  Still in complete awe of the 8 days I just spent living aboard, diving and exploring Raja Ampat on the beautiful ship Wisesa with great fellow guests and the most... read more wonderful and thoughtful crew ever. Ofcourse there are many operators offering liveaboard in RA but I couldn’t have made a better choice than coming along with Cruising Raja Ampat.
What’s good? A total of only 8 guests and crew of 9 made that I never felt lost, even as a solo traveler. I left ship many friends richer. The crew was super friendly and accomodating. Wisesa is a stunning well built, sturdy traditional ship with a perfect lay out of the different areas. Always room to spend time by yourself when you want to just dream away in the amazing landscapes of RA. The ship was in the hands of a very experienced captain and first mate, I always felt safe. My cosy cabin was very comfortable and was cleaned immaculately every day. Food is taken seriously on board Wisesa and all meals were outstanding.
Needless to say the diving in RA is ofcourse unparalleled and the divemasters and guides on board Wisesa know their way around there like the back of their hand. I had not been diving for a long time and was a bit insecure at first but they were super supportive and made my welcome back to the underwater world very easy and enjoyable.
Next to diving we did some really nice trips on land which gave us a chance to explore the beauty of the islands from another angle. I’ll never forget swimming in the hearth shaped lagoon with my new friends!
Whats not good? Having to leave ship after 8 days full of truly wonderful experiences 😉

Terima kasih banyak everybody on Wisea for making me feel welcome and at home. I will definitely come back!