Dive Review of Peter Hughes -- Paradise Dancer in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat

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Peter Hughes -- Paradise Dancer, Jan, 2011, by Jeffrey F Tonn, WA, US ( Reviewer 6 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 5909.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was our second trip on Paradise Dancer. Many of the crew were still there from two years before. Wendy, Yan and Acho were the dive masters - the dream team! They are absolutely the best. We like to go off on our own, but when they spotted something good, they looked for us. We really liked this trip even better than our first trip to Raja Ampat because we knew where the places we wanted to return. Many Mantas, Wobegon sharks and great fish life. The marine reserves are fantastic and the fish are easier to approach than outside the reserves. The corals are amazing. We saw some bleaching, and there seemed to be more toward the end of the trip in the south. On this boat you don't need to handle your gear at all, other than to check it over, put it on and roll off the tender. At the end of the dive you hand it up to crew members who are always there to take it from you. The shoulder massages and warm towels are there for you after each dive. You can't find a better boat - a three masted schooner. It has a wide beam, so it is stable as can be. It is roomy and the cabins are great. There had been several improvements since our first trip, including installation of a non-skid surface on the deck. It was beautiful wood before, but just too slippery. For people who experienced issues when the boat was new, those are now gone. Breakfasts are cooked to order - people were creative in their requests. I ate Indonesian - mei goreng or nasi goreng or rice porridge. Lunches were tilted toward Indonesian/Asian - and were fantastic. Dinners were Western, and were fine. The first night we had a huge Indonesian dinner - in my opinion the best dinner of the trip. My only complaint is the travel to get there. That, of course, is why the diving is still so great. From Bali you must overnight in Makassar then fly on to Sorong, where you catch the boat. Dancer staff help at every step of the way, though, for as much as you need them. Expect to pay overweight charges for each domestic flight. You need rupiah in Sorong, but we find you can use plastic in Bali and Makassar. With all our camera gear, we paid about $300 getting from Bali to Sorong, and a bit less on the return. Yan was extremely helpful in negotiating overweight payment in Sorong. So, would I go back? How about tomorrow.....
Websites	Peter Hughes -- Paradise Dancer
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Solomon Islands, Palau, Galapagos, Hawaii, Belize, Caymans, Bonaire, Roatan, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Mexico, Australia
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	82-°F / 28-°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	40-70 Ft/ 12-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	60 minutes or so
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Camera room with good camera space, adequate power, towels, shelf for storage. Great dunk tank always filled with clean water. Divers very respectful of camera tank. Crew was fantastic in handling cameras and always carried them to dive tender. Crew took cameras first at end of dive, put protective covers on lenses, turned off modeling lights. It couldn't have been better!

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Dive Review of Peter Hughes -- Paradise Dancer in Indonesia/Raja Ampat

Peter Hughes -- Paradise Dancer, Jan, 2011,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Peter Hughes -- Paradise Dancer in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat