Misool Eco Resort

Overview

Misool Eco Resort, located in southern Raja Ampat in its own Misool Marine Reserve, is hard to beat when it comes to world-class diving combined with barefoot, rustic luxury. In the heart of the coral triangle, the private island resort is surrounded by the most biodiverse reefs on the planet and above the waves, the limestone karsts, turquoise lagoons, inlets and white powdery beaches are a feast for the eyes between dives. With a maximum of 40 guests at the resort and a staff-to-guest ratio of 4 to 1, Misool offers the ultimate in dive and snorkelling holidays in pristine nature.  

In Depth

The heart of the resort is located within the north lagoon, fringed by a vibrant house reef with baby sharks patrolling the aquamarine lagoon. The resort was entirely built from reclaimed tropical hardwoods, milled on site with their own portable sawmill, so all structures feel in keeping with the surroundings and the definition of eco, rustic luxury. The north lagoon is home to the over-water cottages and villas, as well as the dive centre and restaurant. For those looking to be even more secluded, a steep climb over the hill leads to the powder-white south beach, overlooking a blue water swimming hole, where there are seven beach villas.  

All meals are served at the restaurant, over-looking the lagoon and consist of Asian and Western cuisine, with a focus on fresh, local and organic produce. There are four meals a day plus afternoon tea (ideal for hungry divers!) with a buffet at breakfast and table service for lunch and dinner. Even with the impossibly remote location of Misool, guests are still impressed with the fare and never go hungry.  

The Diving

Misool Dive Centre is naturally a hub of activity and is built on stilts over-looking the lagoon. It caters for all levels of divers including professional photographers and videographers with extensive workstations. There are three scheduled boat dives a day, as well as either a dusk or night dive. There are around 25 dive sites within just 15-minutes from the resort including the house reef, a world-class shore dive or snorkel and over 60 that have been explored within a 1-hour radius, with many more to be defined. The dive guides are true specialists of the southern region of Raja Ampat and will amaze guests with their ability to spot the smallest of reef dwellers as well as having safety at the forefront of their minds.

Dive sites are hugely diverse including wals, sloping reef, swim-throughs, manta cleaning stations, seamounts, drift drives, vast coral gardens and pinnacles. All of the sites are protected by the Misool Marine Reserve and scientific studies have show incredible progress since its inception, including biomass increasing by 600% in some areas, 25 times more sharks and oceanic manta sightings increasing 25-fold.  

Beyond the Reef

Misool is a haven for nature lovers with so much more to be explored above the waves. Romantic beach castaways, kayaking through mangroves, sunset paddleboarding, a day out with the rangers, twitching, exploring the wild maze of karst islands and turquoise lagoons, and if the timing is right, assist the rangers in turtle hatchling release.