No matter where you stick your head under the water in Raja Ampat you’ll be dazzled by a rainbow of luminous fish and corals. On a single dive you can expect to get up close with huge manta rays and giant clams, gape at schools of barracuda, fusiliers and parrotfish, peer at tiny pygmy seahorses and multicoloured nudibranchs, and, with luck, spot wobbegong and epaulette (walking) sharks, with marine topography varying from vertical walls and pinnacles to reef flats and underwater ridges. Snorkellers can observe many of these species from above, too, with many reefs easily accessible from the beach.
Raja Ampat is generally better suited to advanced divers, and is thus not exactly a learn-to-dive hot spot. There are, however, some dive spots suitable for relative novices. Most dives are drift dives, which comes with a warning: the currents that whip you along the edge of the reefs can be very strong. Proof of valid insurance and dive cards will be required at reputable dive operators. Most places provide all diving equipment.