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Photo by Irma Ade, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Best time to visit Raja Ampat
Indonesia · Southeast Asia
All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.
The year in Raja Ampat
Tap a month for its page
- JanJRaja Ampat in January: avoid
- FebFRaja Ampat in February: sweet spot, busy
- MarMRaja Ampat in March: avoid
- AprARaja Ampat in April: avoid
- MayMRaja Ampat in May: avoid
- JunJRaja Ampat in June: avoid
- JulJRaja Ampat in July: avoid
- AugARaja Ampat in August: avoid
- SepSRaja Ampat in September: avoid
- OctORaja Ampat in October: avoid
- NovNRaja Ampat in November: avoid
- DecDRaja Ampat in December: avoid
- Sweet spot
- Good
- OK
- Avoid
- Busy
No dry season: more than 6 rainy days in every month.
Plan this trip
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Flights from
Flights
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Book with the airline
Where to stay
Book direct
Luxury
Things to do
Car hire
Rent direct
Travel insurance
Check whether your bank card or home insurance already covers this trip.
If the trip needs a visa, the travel agent or visa centre usually sells the cover it asks for.
Mobile data (eSIM)
Your own plan's EU roaming may already cover this.
Renting a pocket Wi-Fi is the other common way to stay connected.
These are sites people in book with. Each opens in a new tab, on the site's own pages.
Month by month
No fare history for this route yet, so this ranking is climate and crowds only — the price column will fill in as the scanner collects.
| Month | Max °C | Rain days | Humidity | Sun h/day | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30° | 17d | 86% | 9.1h | avoid | monsoon: 17 rainy days, 256mm |
| Feb | 30° | 14d | 85% | 9.2h | sweet spot busy | busier than usual |
| Mar | 30° | 17d | 86% | 9.3h | avoid | monsoon: 17 rainy days, 251mm |
| Apr | 30° | 19d | 87% | 9.7h | avoid | monsoon: 19 rainy days, 274mm |
| May | 30° | 20d | 87% | 9.9h | avoid | monsoon: 20 rainy days, 313mm |
| Jun | 29° | 22d | 88% | 9.4h | avoid | monsoon: 22 rainy days, 378mm |
| Jul | 29° | 18d | 86% | 9.1h | avoid | monsoon: 18 rainy days, 314mm |
| Aug | 29° | 17d | 85% | 9.6h | avoid | monsoon: 17 rainy days, 272mm |
| Sep | 29° | 16d | 85% | 10.1h | avoid | monsoon: 16 rainy days, 241mm |
| Oct | 30° | 17d | 85% | 10.3h | avoid | monsoon: 17 rainy days, 249mm |
| Nov | 30° | 18d | 86% | 10.3h | avoid | monsoon: 18 rainy days, 234mm |
| Dec | 30° | 17d | 86% | 9.4h | avoid | monsoon: 17 rainy days, 241mm |
Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.
Weather read at Waisai (or the homestays): ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.
A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.
How busy it gets
Then and now
Raja Ampat's December days now average 29.8°C, 2.1°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 12 of 12 months are clearly warmer.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–90 | 27.7° | 27.8° | 27.9° | 27.9° | 27.9° | 27.6° | 27.2° | 27.5° | 27.5° | 27.8° | 27.8° | 27.7° |
| 2017–26 | 29.6° | 29.7° | 29.7° | 29.6° | 29.6° | 28.9° | 28.7° | 29.0° | 29.4° | 29.6° | 29.8° | 29.8° |
| Change | +1.9° | +1.9° | +1.8° | +1.7° | +1.7° | +1.3° | +1.4° | +1.4° | +1.9° | +1.8° | +2.0° | +2.1° |
The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.
Getting there
Fly into Sorong (SOQ), then drive. The flights under Where to book are to Sorong.
| Sorong (SOQ) | the drive is not measured yet |
|---|---|
| RJM | the drive is not measured yet |
The drive from each airport is the road's, from openrouteservice.org by HeiGIT: typical, not a schedule.
How far Raja Ampat is, and what it costs, depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.
- from Manila
- from Jakarta
- from Ho Chi Minh City
- from Taipei
- from Singapore
- from Hong Kong
- from Kuala Lumpur
- from Bangkok
Open in Rome2rio for every way from to Raja Ampat, flying or not.
Before you go
Type C and F plugs at 127 / 230 V. Drives on the left. The currency is the Rupiah. No UK Foreign Office advice against travel. Global Affairs Canada: Exercise a high degree of caution (with regional advisories). US State Department: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution. Everything for Indonesia: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.
Being there
On arrival
- Paying — Cards work in hotels, malls and larger restaurants; carry cash for warungs, markets and small shops. QRIS codes are common, and bank apps from some Asian countries can scan them.
- UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
- Tipping — Not expected, though often hoped for in Bali and other tourist areas; if you tip, hand it over quietly.
Getting around Raja Ampat
- Apps — Rides: Bluebird, Gojek, Grab. Maps: Google Maps. Messages: WhatsApp. In parts of Bali, such as Canggu, Jimbaran and Uluwatu, local taxi drivers bar app pick-ups; walk a short way off before booking.
As the area consists of islands, the only meaningful way of travel is by boat. While there are no public boat services to the islands, your homestay or resort will usually arrange it for you for a fee. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Raja Ampat, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Help
- Emergency — police 110 · ambulance 118 or 119 · fire 113. From a mobile, 112 is the general emergency number.
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.
Your embassy — : how to reach your embassy or consulate abroad. A guess from your city, : a city is not a passport.
Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 3 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.
Sources (14)
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/indonesia/getting-help
- indonesia.travel/gb/en/general-information/staying-safe-in-indonesia
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Indonesia
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Jakarta
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Bali
- gojek.com/en-id
- grab.com/id/en
- bankmandiri.co.id/en/emv-transit
- periskop.id/kota/20260729/naik-mrt-jakarta-kini-bisa-tap-kartu-kredit-visa-dan-mastercard
- en.antaranews.com/amp/news/433019/bi-expands-cross-border-qris-to-boost-foreign-tourists-spending
- infobip.com/blog/most-popular-messaging-apps-by-country
- developers.google.com/maps/coverage
- pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286608
- rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/AnnualReport/PDFs/09PAYMENT290526C6588B796E664822A2BD0DEB6452CAD4.PDF
Raja Ampat in pictures
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Pavel Kirillov, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Max Mossler, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Jonathan Chase, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
What Raja Ampat is like
Raja Ampat is a group of islands on the western tip of Papua in Indonesia, famous for its diving experience. Most of the world's coral reefs biodiversity and rare species of marine life can easily be found in an archipelago about the size of Switzerland. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth seeing
- If you are not diving, you can still have fun! Walk the island, visit the villages, admire the nature, or snorkel and see the natural wonders! More on Wikivoyage
- Worth doing
- The Raja Ampat islands are a truly natural phenomenon with enormous biological diversity. The amazing marine landscape means that underwater photography should be on the top of your list during your stay. More on Wikivoyage
- Getting in
- The nearest major airport is Dominique Edward Osok Airport (SOQ IATA) in the mainland at the city of Sorong. More on Wikivoyage
- Staying safe
- Raja Ampat is generally not recommended for beginner or inexperienced divers because of its strong currents, it is much helpful if you have a PADI diving certificate. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Raja Ampat, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.
Around Raja Ampat
Also in Indonesia
- Bali best Jun, Aug, Sep
- Bandung best Jun, Jul, Aug
- Jakarta best Jul, Aug, Sep
- Labuan Bajo best May, Jun, Aug
- Lake Toba best Jun, Jul, Aug
- Mount Bromo best Jul, Aug, Sep
- Nusa Lembongan best May, Sep, Oct
- Ubud best Jun, Jul, Aug
- Yogyakarta best Jul, Aug, Sep
Nearby
- Darwin Australia · 1,340 km
- Dumaguete Philippines · 1,362 km
- Cebu City Philippines · 1,413 km
- Bacolod Philippines · 1,507 km
Kind of place
Raja Ampat is in Indonesia, Southeast Asia. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.
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