Papua Diving — Kri Eco Resort & Sorido Bay Resort, Raja Ampat's Pioneer Dive Resorts since 1990

Papua Diving was founded in 1990 by Max Ammer, the Dutch explorer who charted many of Raja Ampat's best-known dive sites, and it remains the pioneering operator in the archipelago. It runs two neighbouring resorts on Kri Island in the Dampier Strait: Kri Eco Resort, with simple cottages built over the water, and Sorido Bay Resort, with beachfront bungalows on a former coconut plantation that has been replanted with native forest.

Both resorts have PADI 5 Star dive centres and are also PADI Eco Centres. Dives are run in small groups and tailored to each diver's level, and the doorstep sites include Cape Kri, where a world-record 374 fish species were counted on a single dive, along with Mike's Point, Sardine Reef, Chicken Reef and Melissa's Garden, several of them named after the Ammer family. Excursions also visit the Pianemo karst islands, Hidden Bay and the Mushroom Islands.

Photographers are well served: Sorido Bay hosts the Raja Ampat SEACAM Center, with the latest SEACAM housings to try, yearly workshops led by SEACAM professionals and coaching in macro, wide-angle and digital editing. PADI courses run from Discover Scuba Diving, ReActivate, Open Water and Advanced to Enriched Air and Deep Diver, Nitrox is free for certified divers during their stay, and both dive centres have serviced rental equipment.

The resorts support the non-profit Raja Ampat Research and Conservation Centre, which runs a zebra shark hatchery with ReShark, a local elementary school and an agroforestry project, and they train local Papuan guides. Rates for 2026 and 2027 are published on the website; airport transfers from Sorong can be arranged.