Raja Ampat is the perfect place for Scuba diving. Ask a scuba diver where their dream dive site would be, and chances are their answer is Raja. Colorful corals, diverse marine life and pristine water will probably be some of their answers of why. Then you get motivated of trying it yourself and started dreaming of scuba diving in Raja Ampat, while only having several numbers of dives logged in your book.
Then a question pops up: Is it possible to do that?
Speaking of possibility, it is possible for a beginner diver to dive there. However, we have some solid arguments of why you should not.
Why You Should Not Scuba Dive in Raja Ampat if you are a Beginner
Safety Issue
The currents in Raja are unbearable even for most experienced divers. Training up your breathing technique and mastering buoyancy should be the priority to learn while being a beginner diver. Getting kicked by strong currents is not a good experience to have when one does not even know how to balance themselves underwater. This ending up being an accident will be more than likely the less experience you have in your pocket.
There is a chance you will damage the corals
Having a good buoyancy is practically the key skill for every scuba diver. Taking chances will only bring a possibility of damaging the corals and or reefs in Raja Ampat. The reason of why people make Raja Ampat on their top list is because it has a beautiful environment, and it is a great place for the marine lives to live. It is not only careless to dive there without much of experience, but also selfish for ruining the corals for future scuba divers to see.
You will not be able to fully enjoy it
Scuba diving with beginner level limits you to a maximum 18 meters depth. Meanwhile, most of the beautiful things that exists in Raja Ampat can be seen mostly in 40 meters depth or even more. This means you will not be able to enjoy much of Raja Ampat. For example, sharks are in deep water most of the time and only comes up occasionally.
So, let’s say that even after knowing those reasons, you still want to jump into Raja Ampat’s underwater. You want to know what it takes and how you are able to dive there. Probably not now, but someday in the future. Here is your beginner guide to Scuba Dive in Raja Ampat.
Beginner’s Guide to Scuba Dive in Raja Ampat
Level up your Scuba diving skills
Level up your scuba diving skill. There is no other way around. If you are in Indonesia, you might want to start your buoyancy and breathing technique somewhere like Tulamben in Bali, where you will have from minor to no currents most of the time.
Once you are getting better, Gili Trawangan is a good place to try to get used to stronger currents. Nusa Penida also has some unpredictable currents at times and could be in your list of places to train.
Take Higher level of Certification
As for certification, it is recommended that you take Advanced Open Water from PADI or an equivalent certification from other Scuba Diving organization. Not only that this will increase your skills in diving, but this is also usually a minimum level to be able to join a liveaboard to Raja Ampat.
Furthermore, taking Nitrox course could also be useful. Breathing from Nitrox tank will help you be less fatigued after a dive full of kicking currents compared to using oxygen tank. This will be very useful considering that the currents in Raja Ampat can be harsh at times.
Choose certified dive centres/liveaboards
Some dive centres are not affiliated with any Scuba Diving certification, nor are they certified. Scuba Diving in a certified dive centres or liveaboard means a lot for you and your safety. It means that you are diving with diving equipment that fulfills the standards of safety. It also means you will be guided by professionally certified guides.
It might not be a fun experience having a guide who does not share the language you speak when you dive in Raja Ampat. Marine sign language is indeed helpful, but you won’t understand much the pre-diving instructions using mere hand signs.
This is exactly why you should plan your diving trip with DUNE. We have professional guides who are available on Chinese, English, French, Spanish and even Indonesian. Check out our Raja Ampat trip.
Conclusions
It is a little bit dangerous, but it is possible to scuba dive in Raja Ampat as a beginner diver (take it with a grain of salt) and maybe even do your courses there. However, you will not be able to fully enjoy what Raja Ampat has to offer. Instead, you will have to dive into sites that are beginner friendly where there is not much going on, where you will stay at maximum 18 meters depth and could not enjoy much the true beauty of what people call “The heaven on earth”.
Furthermore, the currents in Raja Ampat are exceptionally strong and unpredictable. It means when you are down there, it will feel like they are coming from every direction all at once. This is not supposed to be faced by Scuba Divers with beginner level.
Training your breathing technique and mastering your buoyancy is far more important. Keep going, and you will be ready to go to Raja Ampat in no time.
