How much does it cost to visit Raja Ampat?
Depending on the accommodation you choose, your base cost can be as low as 350,000 Indonesian Rupiah per day per person for your accommodation and meals.
Added to that will be:
- Flights to and from Sorong (See our How to get to Raja Ampat page)
- Purchase of Marine Park Entry Tags (IDR 1,000,000 or about USD 100.00 per person for international visitors)
- Transfer costs Sorong – accommodation – Sorong (Variable – see our How to get to Raja Ampat page)
- Activity costs (Compare activity prices on individual Homestay pages and Guide pages to get an idea of these)
With good planning, a two week trip from Bali to Raja Ampat including return flights, 4 full day snorkeling and island visit trips, a Bird of Paradise visit, boat transfers between homestays and one night in a mid-range hotel in Sorong prior to departing can be had for about USD 2000.00 for a couple travelling together.
Accommodation prices in Raja Ampat
Homestays provide budgetaccommodation in Raja Ampat, but while they offer the cheapest accommodation in Raja Ampat, they are not cheap compared to similar accommodation in other tourist destinations. Reasons for this are explained in greater detail in our Raja Ampat accommodation prices article.
Local boat and fuel prices in Raja Ampat
Ignoring airfares and diving costs, the majority of most travellers’ Raja Ampat budgets will be consumed by local boat hire expenses.
Boat travel in Raja Ampat is unreasonably expensive. The main reason for this is because fuel prices in Raja Ampat remain well above the nationally regulated (and subsidised) price.
An Adjunct Inspector of Policewas recently convicted for corruptioninvolving the hoarding of fuel (and illegal logging) in Raja Ampat, but it’s doubtful that his conviction will do anything to reduce an entrenched problem.
Obviously, the further your homestay is from a public ferry port, the higher your transfer cost will be. Doing a lot of boat travel for snorkeling and sight-seeing will substantially add to your trip costs.
This article discusses boat travel costs in more detail and provides a guide to the prices you can expect.
You should also carry extra Rupiah for unexpected expenses:
Ferries occasionally have engine trouble. Sudden tropical storms can delay small boat travel. A pickup may not show. Fuel may become impossible to obtain. The Raja Ampat Homestay Association has plans in place to minimise disruption to essential travel in these situations, but it’s best to have the cash on hand to pay for an extra day in Sorong, Waisai or at your island accommodation if necessary.
You should carry enough cash in Indonesian Rupiah to pay for all your expenses in Raja Ampat – see our Money, Banks & ATMs page for more about this.
So how do I do Raja Ampat on a budget?
If your budget’s tight, the following will help keep costs down:
- Pick a homestay central to the attractions you want to visit.
- Plan boat tours to avoid covering the same route twice.
- Travel in boats with lower capacity engines (eg 15 horsepower) to minimise fuel consumption.
- Stay in a homestay near Waisai to eliminate homestay boat transfer costs.
