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Dive Review of Misool Eco Resort in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat, Misool

Misool Eco Resort: "Great diving, lovely resort - but not relaxing", Jan, 2018,

by Markus Fritze, Hamburg, Germany (Reviewer Reviewer 3 reports with 5 Helpful votes). Report 10685 has 3 Helpful votes.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 3 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling 4 stars
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments The resort is a clear bucket-list destination and the focus on the environment is fantastic. The resort helped with the flights from Jakarta to Sorong and took care from the arrival in Sorong till the departure, including an overnight in a decent hotel in Sorong. The service at the resort is excellent, which includes the restaurant and the dive shop. The rooms are nice, but not over-the-top. UW photography is great and even if you don't care about photography, at least bring a little compact one – you would regret not doing it!

But the remote location also creates problems. Some are expected:
- the long stressful travel time to get there. Don't even think to just stay a few days – maybe combine it with a live-aboard in Raja Ampat.
- The food is simpler as in other resorts, but also a bit more repetitive as necessary. Especially considering the cost for staying there.
- Internet is slow (as expected), but it is also only available at the dive shop, which is annoying, if you need to be reached in an emergency.
- no cellphone service at the resort. On the dive boat you might get lucky in certain spots.
- there is (obviously) no doctor anywhere near (next one is 4-5 hours away in Sorong)
- the AC condition is minor and only cools down the bed area a bit. The rooms are open, so cooling the whole room is a no-go.
- I would not recommend as a non-diver to go there. It is too expensive to spend time on a beach, which is pretty much all you can do.

Some not expected problems:
- getting a good night sleep was an issue for us. The waves at this time of the year were breaking right under and behind the bungalows and why I normally don't mind the waves, but this was not relaxing at all. The rooms at the beach are quieter, but you need to climb a hill to get to them – not necessarily fun during rain. They do however offer a boat transfer to the beach.
- a lot of garbage arrived in the bay at every single day. While this is more an issue of society, it still distracts from the beauty of this place.
- the boat ride was stressful, I think more than it should be – the term "private speed boat" makes it sound greater than it is. It is a several hour ride and you had the choice: under deck with a smell of fuel with an almost non-working AC using, in small airline style seats or outside on the back with the engine noise and water splashing. On our return the weather was not great and it was quite choppy, therefore people got seasick and jumping the waves on the boat was back-breaking.

Would we go again? I think for us the stress to get to the resort was the biggest issue plus our problem getting a good sleep – we needed weeks to recover, especially the boat ride back was dreadful and my wife had to see a doctor who diagnosed a concussion of her back. If that would be more manageable, we would go again in a heartbeat.
Websites Misool Eco Resort   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Germany, Malta, Egypt, Australia, Maldives, Indonesia, Belize, USA
Closest Airport Sorong Getting There International flight to Jakarta. There we had a 8 hour layover and a domestic flight via Makassar (with another several hour stop in the middle of the night) to Sorong. Then 4-5 hours on a pretty uncomfortable boat. From Europe about 40 hours plus in total, the most stressful trip we ever took.

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, rainy, cloudy Seas calm, choppy, currents, no currents
Water Temp 30-31°C / 86-88°F Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility - M / - Ft

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 60 minute dives, conservative depth profile, because of the extremely remote location.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas Squadrons
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 3 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 5 stars Shore Facilities 4 stars
UW Photo Comments The location is great for wide-angle (corals and fish) and macro-photography. The he groups are small and it is possible to book a private guide. The boats are small with no amenities, but because the rides typically only take a few minutes, it works out ok. Otherwise it would only get 2 stars.

Many live-aboards are also in the area. I would recommend avoiding them and staying in the resort instead: the dive groups are much smaller and the resort seems to get first pick on the sites, which can be important when it comes to e.g. visiting Manta sites.
Was this report helpful to you?
Report currently has 3 Helpful votes

Subscriber's Comments

By Kathryn Foster in CO, US at Apr 21, 2022 18:23 EST  
Very helpful information. Thank you for sharing.
By report author: Markus Fritze in Hamburg, Germany at Apr 21, 2022 18:27 EST  
It has been a while since we were there, so take it with a grain of salt. Misool is continuously working on improving itself.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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