Cape Kri
Dampier Strait, Waigeo · 5-30 m · often 10-20 m · Oct-Apr common
The 2001 Allen fish-count site. A point with current, a wall, and more species than a brief can list. Not a first checkout if the strait is running.
Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
Accessibility26
Skill ceiling58
Gear load74
Risk50
Seasonality72
Wow factor99
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Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology
Quick answers
Which local rescue or training agency should I check first?
Use the local lens: coastguard/federation norms and the shop briefing for that bay — not a blog visibility claim.
What is the PIN?
The official visitor entry ticket / marine-park fee. Boats check it. It is not a dive certification.
What is Cape Kri famous for?
A Dampier Strait site where Gerry Allen recorded 374 fish species on a single 2001 dive, a figure still used as a biodiversity headline.
Manta Sandy vs Blue Magic?
Manta Sandy is a cleaning-station snorkel/scuba with distance rules. Blue Magic is a current-swept seamount / pinnacle, typically advanced scuba.
Is Melissa's Garden a beginner site?
A famous soft-coral garden near Fam, often kinder than a Dampier current point, still a buoyancy exam. Not a standing studio.
Do people need a liveaboard?
Many visitors use liveaboards. Homestays around Arborek and the Dampier Strait also run day boats. Misool is farther.
These are famous, mapped sites. Current and monsoon change; boats publish the day. Depths are typical published bands, not a live plan.
Arborek jetty or Melissa's Garden is the correct first Raja water.
Points
Melissa's Garden
Fam Islands · 2-20 m · often 10-20 m · year-round, weather
A soft-coral garden on a shallow plateau, also dived on scuba. Knees are the hazard. One of the kinder famous names.
Manta Sandy
near Arborek · 5-15 m · often 10-20 m · seasonal cleaning
A sandy cleaning station with distance rules for snorkel and scuba. No chase, no blocking. Closures and time limits appear.
Blue Magic
Dampier Strait · 12-30 m+ · often 15-25 m · current windows
A current-swept seamount / pinnacle with a pelagic reputation. SMB, brief, and the right to skip it.
Sardine Reef
Dampier Strait · 5-25 m · often 10-20 m · current days
A rounded reef in current, famous for fish density. A Dampier classic beside Cape Kri.
The Passage (Fam)
Fam Islands · 5-20 m · often 8-15 m · tide windows
A channel through karst, dived and snorkelled on tide. Scenery is the point; current is the condition.
Arborek Jetty
Arborek village · 1-8 m · often 8-15 m · year-round
A village jetty that became a night-and-day fish nursery icon. Homestay culture; manners toward the village matter.
Misool / Fiabacet area
South Raja Ampat · 5-30 m · often 15-25 m · seasonal liveaboards
A remoter southern product: walls, caves, and a conservation-area story. Not a Dampier day-boat.
Tips
- PIN before the first giant stride — The park is the product.
- Garden or jetty first — Cape Kri and Blue Magic wait.
- Ask the manta rules that week — They tighten.
- Misool is a second map — Do not squeeze it into a Dampier slogan.
Raja Ampat is a strait, a garden, a jetty and a southern afterthought that is really a second province.