Raja Ampat Diving in December: What to Expect

By Salah Teman · 5 August 2026

December sits squarely inside the Raja Ampat season, and it is when conditions are at their most settled. It is also when the longer itineraries run, which changes what you can reach.

Conditions

Water at 27–30°C and stable. A 3mm suit is right for most divers; a shorty works if you do not feel the cold. Surface conditions in December are typically calmer than at the season’s edges, which matters on the longer crossings.

Why the 10-night trips matter

Seven nights covers the Dampier Strait and the Fam islands. Ten nights reaches Misool in the south — and Misool is a different Raja Ampat. Boo Windows, the swim-through behind the region’s most recognisable underwater photograph, sits there, along with the soft coral walls and gorgonian ridges. If Misool is on your list, itinerary length decides it, not the season.

Mantas

Reef mantas are at Manta Sandy and Blue Magic through the season. December falls inside the reliable window, though no operator can promise an animal.

The festive weeks

Late December into early January is the busiest fortnight of the Raja Ampat calendar across the entire fleet, and it books further ahead than anything else. If you want Christmas or New Year on the water, plan a year out rather than a month.

Early December is the opportunity

The first half of December is quieter than the festive weeks with the same conditions — arguably the best value fortnight of the season. Same reefs, same water, without the holiday premium or the queues at the cleaning stations.

Non-divers

December suits mixed groups. Arborek Jetty, Melissa’s Garden and the shallow reefs give snorkellers genuinely good water, and the settled conditions make surface time comfortable.

Check dates and availability

Our live schedule shows every departure with cabin-by-cabin availability, so you can see exactly what is open before you enquire: booking schedule. The KLM Teman is a 36-metre Indonesian phinisi taking 12 guests in 5 ensuite cabins with a crew of 10 and a Cruise Director.

Related: best time to dive Raja Ampat, Cape Kri, Manta Sandy, liveaboards for non-divers.

Salah Teman

Salah writes for Teman Liveaboard, the owner-operator of the KLM Teman. The Teman is a 36-metre Indonesian phinisi, handbuilt in Sulawesi and launched in 2017, carrying 12 guests in 5 ensuite cabins with a permanent crew of 10 and a Cruise Director. The team behind her has more than 20 years sailing the Indonesian archipelago. The boat works Komodo National Park from June to September out of Labuan Bajo, Raja Ampat from November to April out of Sorong, and runs Banda Sea and Ring of Fire crossings between the two seasons. The dive site guides on this blog are written from the operator's own logs and itineraries, with conditions, seasons and equipment guidance checked against the dive team who work these sites every week. Where a detail depends on the day — depth on a given tide, or where a current will take you — we say so rather than guess, because that is a briefing the Cruise Director gives on the boat, not something a web page can promise.

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