Rovos Rail
On Kri Island, you will find Sorido Bay, a lovely resort in a very remote and pristine environment about 2 hours from Sorong. You can expect a high level of service in this simple resort setting—the ocean is your swimming pool and tree kangaroos are your entertainment. There are 7 cottages built in traditional Papuan style. The five Sentani cottages are ideal for 1-2 people and offer splendid ocean views. Two Kaimana cottages offer additional space for even more comfort. Just like the Sentani cottages, the rooms have ocean views plus a separate living room that can be transformed into an additional bedroom for adults with children. The is a very popular option for families or two couples spending their holiday together. All cottages have air-conditioning, WiFi, all the comforts of home, plus your own sundeck and kayak. There’s a spacious dining area with bar and lounge with epic views over the Dampier Straight, the famous house reef and Cape Kri. After a day of activities, relax with a good book and just wind down on your private sundeck or the lounge close to the lagoon.
While diving at Sorido, you will experience a staggering variety of marine life. No two islands or islets are alike and no two dive sites are quite the same. The diving facilities are top of the line. Kri Island is the best place in Raja Ampat to encounter mantas, sharks and pelagics.
One of the favorite dives, Cape Kri, is actually Sorido Bay’s house reef. This dive site put Raja Ampat on the map when Dr Gerry Allen smashed his record for total number of fish species on a single tank dive with 374 different species counted! The reef diving here is mind-blowing as well as the manta cleaning stations. The Passage is a completely unique dive site and haven to peculiar and unique microhabitats. This river flowing between the two Islands is a must for experienced divers and photographers. Enjoy the scenery above water as you explore the sheer limestone cliffs and hundreds of mushroom capped islands floating upon azure seas. Sorido Bay Resort is the ideal destination for divers who enjoy peace and solitude on a deserted island surrounded by luxurious amenities and friendly attentive service.
The Sentani Bungalow - ideal for 1-2 guests
The Sentani bungalow is a spacious double room 60m2) offering you all the comfort you need with splendid ocean views.
Kaimana Bungalow - A family sized room – ideal for 1-4 guests
The Kaimana bungalow (90m2) offers additional space for even more comfort.
Just like the Sentani bungalow the room offers splendid ocean views. The bungalow has a separate living room that can also be transformed into an additional bedroom for adults with children. A very popular option for families or two couples spending their holidays together.
Both Bungalows offer:
Air conditioning
Wi-Fi (unlimited data usage)
Kingsize bed
Extra bed on request
Sitting area
Electric fan
24/7 power supply with 220V & 110V outlets
Shampoo, conditioner, lotion and shower gel
Minibar
Safety Box
Camera workstation
Camera taxi
Laundry service
Private sun deck
Kayak and Stand up Paddle board available for free
Diving with Papua Divers
The province of Raja Ampat is Indonesia’s most easterly province and has earned its reputation as the world epicentre of marine biodiversity.
Heart of Biodiversity - Raja Ampat is an archipelago of over 1,500 small islands, including the four main islands of: Misool, Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo. Scientists have conducted several marine surveys in our area and their findings indicate that the marine life diversity here is the highest of any recorded on Earth. The variety of aquatic species, the variety and density of healthy vibrant corals and the abundance of fish has to be experienced to fully understand the importance of conserving the area.
World record house reef - Dr. Gerald R. Allen, internationally renowned Ichthyologist and author of more than 33 fish ID books conducted a survey on Cape Kri counting an amazing number of 374 different reef fish species. A significant increase of 91 species from his former Cape Kri survey 11 years earlier. This increase is evidence that our conservation work for over 20 years delivers results both in increased bio-diversity and improved health in our local eco-system.
No, nothing fishy about it!
Go dive and see it yourself: conveniently the record holding reef (Cape Kri) is right in front of Sorido Bay Resort so within seconds you can dive the best reef in the world.
Snorkeling
Just a few fin kicks of the shore and from the jetty you can discover the beauty of our reef.
There’s plenty of fantastic snorkeling around. Just off the Jetty you can see:
Blue spotted stingrays
Blacktip reef sharks
Turtles
Scorpion- and Crocodile fish
Batfish and schools of Jackfish
School of Bumphead parrot Fish
Or how about a night snorkel – almost always you will meet the endemic Papuan Bamboo Shark (Epaulette Shark)
A very exciting thing to do is to snorkel with the Manta Rays. Once a week we head out to encounter those gentle giants. If you like and space permits you can also join the dive boat to snorkel other places nearby. Therefore we offer special guided snorkeling packages. However not all dive sites are suitable for snorkeling though. We will advise which spots are suited for you and which are not.
Kayaking
Armed with paddle in hand, visit shallow fringing reefs where fish are teeming underneath your kayak. Glide silently through the turquoise waters and visit some remote sandbanks and beaches surrounding the island. Visit the RARCC (Raja Ampat Research & Conservation centre) adjunct to Sorido Bay Resort. They are training papuan staff in building the kayaks and are happy to provide you more information about their kayaks and initiatives. We also have a limited number of SUPs (Stand-up paddle boards) at your disposal.
Nature Hikes
Take a break from the ocean and have a walk. Be amazed by the variety of wildlife on land.
Furry marsupials - The cutest inhabitants of the island are propably the Cuscuses. These furry marsupials are nocturnal and can often be spotted during dinnertime when they come to visit the restaurant or walk along the rooftops trying to steal a banana which they love eating. If you are lucky you may even encounter our domestic Tree kangaroo “Stinky”
Home to many birds - From Lorikeets, Eclectic parrots, Kookaburras and Paradise Kingfishers to Glossy mantled manucodes and Cockatoos – all live on Kri. Don’t forget to bring walking shoes, your binoculars and – of course – your camera.
Flower Power - Kri grounds are covered with wild orchids. Several species are to be found during a walk on the island.
Lizards - Monitor lizards are widely found on the island. Although they might look a bit unfriendly, they are very shy and absolutely not dangerous. Often you can find them along the walkways or just watch them sunbathing on the beach
Coconut crabs - Although listed as endangered species, they are still abundant on Kri Island. Nocturnal by nature they will only come out at nightime to feed on coconuts. It is hard to believe, but among the closest relatives of this massive crustacean is the itsy, bitsy, teeny, tiny hermit crab. Don’t believe it? Take a closer look at a little hermit crab and it looks a lot like its larger cousin … only smaller, of course.
Birdwatching excursion - This cruise is undertaken every Saturday just before sunset or in the afternoon. We will visit a small neighboring village by boat (30 min boat trip) followed by 30 minute hike to the birding location to see the endemic Red Bird of Paradise. This trip is complementary (free boat transfer to starting point of the start of the 30 minute hike to the birding location) however each participant is kindly requested to leave a donation to protect the birds and assist in local healthcare initiatives. Bring binoculars and walking shoes! Different birdwatching excursions are possible upon special request.
Sorido Bay & Kri Eco Resort cares about the islands that are home to its properties – Since 1993 Papua Diving has been pro-active in conservation initiatives and working with the local Papuan communities. Papua Diving donates 10% of its profit to support local communities and conservation initiatives. We employ more local Papuan people than any other operator, meaning about 90% of our staff are local Papuans. Offering them a healthier and better livelihood is only one of a number of measures we’re putting in place to help us leave a lighter footprint. Together, we can do our bit to conserve this amazing area and its inhabitants both above & below the sea.
The RARCC Foundation
Being the pioneers who have been diving the Raja Ampat for over 20 years, we hired local people from day one. We created an alternative for destructive livelihood gathering. Several of our staff have been involved in illegal logging, blast fishing, shark finning and turtle poaching before. They were offered new positions in our team. Their experience helps us understand and counter these problems.
The RARCC Foundation aims to:
• Protect and preserve the natural heritage of the Raja Ampat archipelago
• Encourage, assist and facilitate research on the flora and fauna
• Combat poverty among the local population
• Teaching the local community member in sustainable use of their natural resources
• Promoting green awareness among the local population
• Assist the local population to work in sustainable tourism
Promote the Raja Ampat to actively engage more institutions, companies and individuals with similar goals to work together in this unique area
The Papua Diving dive resorts, Kri Eco and Sorido Bay, are situated on Kri Island which is is 75km from the port of Sorong on the northwest coast of West Papua, Indonesia.
A typically route to get there:
Take an international flight to one of the recommended International airports in Indonesia Jakarta , Denpasar (Bali) or Manado
Connect to a domestic (Indonesian) flight to Sorong (SOQ- Domine Edward Osok airport)
Connect to our transfer service between Sorong airport and the resort.
Free scheduled transfer
SUNDAYS
For stays of 7, 14 and 21 nights we operate a boat transfer from Sorong to/from the Island on Sundays.
THURSDAY/WEDNESDAY
For stays of 10 & 17 nights there are two options for the standard boat transfer, either:
Arrive Thursday and depart Sunday, or
Arrive Sunday and depart Wednesday
Usually the boat leaves Sorong at 9:30 am arriving in the resort around 11:00 am. For the departure is scheduled to arrive at 9am in Sorong.
