Sorido Bay Resort
A dive resort of Papuan-style beachfront bungalows on Kri Island, beside the Cape Kri reef and run by the pioneers of Raja Ampat diving.
- Neighbourhood
- Kri Island, Dampier Strait, Raja Ampat
- Status
- Open
Why we recommend it
Sorido Bay is a resort for divers before anything else, and its position explains why. Cape Kri, the reef on which the ichthyologist Dr Gerry Allen set a record for the number of fish species counted on a single dive, serves as the house reef. Papua Diving lists more than thirty further sites, most of them five to fifteen minutes away by boat, including Sardines, Blue Magic and the manta cleaning station at Manta Sandy.
The operation is kept deliberately small. Boats carry a maximum of six divers with two guides, and the resort has only a handful of bungalows. Papua Diving runs a second property on the same island, Kri Eco Resort, with a dive centre of its own.
Travellers weighing the alternatives within the archipelago can compare it with Papua Paradise Eco Resort, the overwater bungalow resort on Birie Island, and with Misool Eco Resort, another of Raja Ampat’s island resorts.
Rooms & Suites
There are two types of bungalow, both on the beachfront with a view of the lagoon. The Sentani bungalows sleep one or two guests. The Kaimana bungalows, at 90 square metres, add a separate living room that can be turned into a second bedroom and take up to four. All have an en suite bathroom with hot water, air conditioning, a refrigerator and a private outdoor space, and the interiors are decorated in Papuan style with local artefacts.
Each bungalow is fitted for underwater photographers, with a long camera bench, a built-in sink and both 110-volt and 220-volt sockets. Staff carry camera equipment to and from the jetty.
Dining
Meals are taken at the Island Kitchen, an open-air restaurant and bar overlooking the bay, which serves a mixture of Western and Indonesian dishes. Stays are on a full-board basis.
Design
The resort was conceived as a low-impact development. The buildings follow traditional local design and use local materials, and most of the original trees and bushes on the site were kept, so that the bungalows sit within the vegetation along the shore. Two larger buildings hold the dining area, the lobby, a library and a small museum of Second World War artefacts collected by Max Ammer. A sundeck and a wet lounge stand on the jetty.
Wellness & Spa
The resort has its own dive centre, operated by Papua Diving, with custom-built fibreglass boats, equipment hire, nitrox for certified divers and PADI courses. A spa offers treatments ranging from traditional full-body massage to facials, and birdwatching excursions by boat can be arranged.
Location
Kri is a small island in the Dampier Strait, the channel that runs through the centre of Raja Ampat, the archipelago off the western tip of New Guinea. The resort is reached by speedboat from Sorong, a crossing of about two hours, and transfers run on fixed days of the week; stays are planned around them. Divers who are also considering the country’s other great marine park will find it described in OKYTO’s guide to Komodo, its dragons, reefs and boats.