Romance in Raja Ampat: Couples Liveaboard in Eastern Indonesia

A private transfer will be waiting to take you to your hotel upon arrival, where you can settle in and freshen up before spending the rest of the day at your leisure.

If you did manage to get some shut-eye during the flight, we’d suggest exploring the city. There are several museums that are well worth a visit – the Singapore National Museum, the Singapore City Gallery, the Peranakan Museum and Chinatown Heritage Centre – while the zoo, Jurong Bird Park and the Singapore Night Safari are ideal activities for escaping the bustling streets. As the gastronomic capital of Asia, you won’t be short on dinner options and our local Concierge can recommend the best.

Today you’ll experience more of Singapore’s culture and beautiful architecture, with a five-hour walking tour of the city, accompanied by a local guide. Begin at the Chinatown Heritage Centre, which offers visitors the chance to dive into Chinatown’s past and learn about the lives of Singapore’s Chinese immigrants. Visit the Thian Hock Keng temple, the oldest temple in Singapore, before wandering through the bustling streets and heading to the Pinnacle@Duxton. This social housing project was completed in 2009 and features 50 floors linked together by tranquil green spaces. From the top you can enjoy fantastic views across the whole city. Your tour will end with a visit to a traditional tea house and a tea tasting.

It’s time to head to Indonesia today, and you’ll begin your day of travel with a two-hour flight from Singapore to Jakarta. After a short layover in Jakarta, you’ll fly to Sorong – the capital of Southwest Papua – which takes around four hours. Here you’ll be met by the crew and transferred to your floating home for the next ten days: the Jewels of Raja Ampat liveaboard boat.

Once settled in, you’ll set course for the southernmost islands within Raja Ampat National Park, enjoying an al fresco lunch onboard. Stop off to swim and snorkel around coral reefs along the way, before heading to the back deck of the boat for evening cocktails and dinner a deux, as the sun sinks beneath the horizon.

Your liveaboard will continue cruising through the night, so you’ll wake up at the eastern end of the Misool archipelago – a picturesque chain of jungle-covered limestone islets, with spectacular coral reefs offering some fantastic snorkelling (and diving, if you’d rather).

Spend the day exploring the many inlets, bays and beaches with a combination of trekking, swimming and snorkelling. You can also break out the kayaks and paddleboards for some seaborne adventuring. After a full day of island-hopping and water-based activities, spend a quiet night at anchor under the stars.

Rise bright and early today for breakfast onboard, before swimming and snorkelling (once you’ve let your food go down a bit!) through a giant dome-roofed sea cave filled with massive stalagmites and stalactites. This is undoubtedly one of the region’s most memorable experiences. From here, you’ll sail to the mysterious stingless jellyfish lake – one of only 20 in the world where these amazing creatures exist – and swim among the many thousands of stingless animals.

With the help of the tenders, you’ll visit some mysterious sea-cave cemeteries and see prehistoric cave paintings (estimated to be between 3,000 and 5,000 years old), depicting various human figures and huge human hands, fish and flowers.

It’s one for the wildlife lovers today as you continue your Raja Ampat couples adventure. Today, you’ll hopefully see the Lesser Bird-of-Paradise in the wild, an unforgettable experience for any birders who do manage to spot one. Rise early and walk through the forest to try and see the beautiful birds as they dance around in their ‘lekking’ trees.

In the afternoon, it’s time for some underwater exploration; snorkel around one of the world’s best coral reefs, where schools of fish hang out in the deep and colourful sea fans are found sticking out of the wall. Round off your day with some romance, as you watch the sunset together while the boat sails towards Batanta Island.

Today, the island of Batanta offers a change of scenery and a chance to stretch your legs with an adventurous jungle trek, filled with birds, butterflies and insects. Starting at a local village, your expert guides will lead you through the forest on a short walk to the first of two waterfalls, where you can swim and cool off. If you fancy even more of a challenge, you can keep heading upriver where a second, larger cascade awaits.

Back on the boat, tuck into some lunch to refuel after the trek, before donning your snorkel and heading underwater, or hopping back on the paddleboards and kayaks. Later in the afternoon, you’ll begin cruising towards another beautiful group of islands further north.

After cruising through the night, you’ll wake up near a pearl farm, tucked away in a protected, deep water cove. Here you’ll have the chance to tour the facilities with a guide and learn about how this precious commodity is produced and harvested. Pearling is an important industry in Indonesia and provides employment for many people in the local area.

Spend the afternoon at your leisure, either snorkelling and kayaking among three small islands linked by pristine coral reefs, or simply relaxing on the dreamy beach.

This morning you’ll explore a small group of limestone islands, filled with charming coves and stunning reefs. Enjoy another delicious breakfast onboard first, before disembarking the boat and hiking the short trail up to a vantage point, which boasts incredible vistas across the surrounding area. Once you’ve worked up a sweat, head back to the boat to grab your snorkel and venture out to discover the nearby reefs.

During lunch, you’ll journey towards a small island located between Gam and Mansuar, where the currents bring rich nutrients to the coral reefs. The three famous jetties here offer an abundance of underwater life – schools of fish, shy black tip reef sharks, elegant spadefish and magnificent giant clams.

Central Raja Ampat plays host to many magical underwater gems, and today you’ll have the chance to witness some more of them. Begin the day above water, with a visit to a local village in the middle of Mansuar island, where the local community promotes sustainable living through their education centre, solar-powered street lights and sustainable fishing practices. The nearby house reef is home to myriad marine creatures, so you’ll spend the rest of your morning snorkelling here and – if you’re lucky – maybe catch sight of a wobbegong shark.

Another underwater adventure awaits in the afternoon, as you make your way to the eastern point of Mansuar. Famous for its schools of big fish, here you can see humphead wrasse and giant trevalley swimming alongside each other. You might even be greeted by the resident hawksbill turtle. As dusk falls, enjoy a delicious beach BBQ and party with the liveaboard crew beneath the stars.

It’s a super early (but worthwhile) start this morning, as you head off into the forest in search of the incredible Red Bird-of-Paradise. The walk takes about 40 minutes, and (with a pinch of good luck) as you arrive at the bird site at dawn, you’ll see the incredible mating displays of these birds in the rainforest canopy. This is a David Attenborough moment if there ever was one!

You’ll then walk through a colourful local village, meeting the people who call this wonderful corner of paradise home and seeing how they live their daily lives. This afternoon, there’s more great snorkelling in store around the famous wall on the east of Gam island. As the sun sets, you’ll embark on an overnight sail to an island near Sorong.