MahaRaja Eco Dive Lodge

It's my 4th time visiting; I never have enough of the beauty and tranquility of the island. I've been solo and with my partner and every time Maharaja has given me exactly what I needed 😍Always welcoming and smily, the team makes you feel at home. The 'food trolley time' is highly celebrated 4 times per day - and in this trip the donuts were a highlight!! The diving is wonderful, and the snorkelling is also mind blowing! A must visit!!

5 stars are not enough to describe our marvelous experience at MahaRaja.

We are back from 5 (too shorts) days in Papua where we had the chance to discover paradise.

Bungalows and commons places have been entirely built by Papuans. 20 of them live on the island and take part in all the daily tasks, that they chose themselves.

All the buildings are made of wood, the island operates entirely via solar panels, Maha has banned fishing around the island and has installed electric motors on boats (the first diving centre to do so). Communities are getting richer and more intertwined.

We had the chance to dive every day but you just need to look down on the reef to see sharks, squids or rays. Nature has found a refuge and new species are appearing every day.

Food is delicious and even my burger fan boyfriend loved it.
Wifi is birds sounds and AC is night wind.
Thank you Maha for making this word a better place. I warmly encourage everybody to discover this truly unique place.

Amazing experience: the vibe, feeling of being disconnected from technology and day to day things (some might not be able to cope with it), fascinating dives and simplicity of doing nothing (again some might feel it as lack of planning or time management and not being able to enjoy doing nothing and go by the flow) and going back to basics and reconnect with nature, and most importantly the great food are only some of the highlights.
Will definitely come back.

I had the most incredible time at MahaRaja. I can easily name this as my top vacation. Its unique location, amazing views, diverse marine life and healthy reef, delicious locally produced food, friendly staff in a very intimate setting made up for an unforgettable experience.

We originally booked the place because that was the only eco lodge with availability for our dates. But over my two weeks of stay there, I got to know the place, the people and the cause behind it, and I am definitely planning to return for more.

Booking experience
The booking experience was very smooth. They were very responsive and flexible with my dates, unlike similar lodges which require a minimum of 7 day stay. While it took me 10 days to wire the money they assured me that I have the room booked for my stay.

The rooms
The rooms are spacious, comfortable, and quiet. They are located on the quiet side of the island away from the main areas. While you don't have running water, each room has plenty of water for shower and drinking. Each room has a balcony with the view of sunset. There are two showers, one inside and one on the balcony. My favorite feature of the room was the outdoor shower with the view of the sunset. All of the sanitary products are eco friendly.

The food
The food is locally sourced from Papuan villages and is made by the local chef using fresh ingredients. Since there is no cooling system, they always buy the food fresh. While simple, everything is very tasty. The donuts and bread are the highlights. Also make sure to try the jackfruit and eggplant dishes. You can always ask for a cooking workshop.

The island experience
You forget the concept of time on the island as their schedule is very flexible. You can request to go for diving or snorkeling at any time of the day. Food is available at most times and you can ask for more if you were late for the meals. You have access to all the island and ask for a tour of the facilities. The staff are extremely friendly and accomodating. They make you feel right at home.

Diving
Raja Ampat is the heaven of divers and MahaRaja is no exception. Beautiful, healthy reef all around the island which is accessible through the beach, the jetty or by a boat ride. You can also explore the sights in the neighboring islands. A quick boat ride will take you to Manta points were you can see mantas swimming above your head.

I took my advanced certificate there with Maha. She was very thorough in her training and took extra time to help with my buoyancy and finning technique. I am planning to go back for my rescue certificate with Maha.

Maha Raja has an atmosphere which provides a luxury experience and provides a complete mental reset allowing total relaxation.

The food here was amazing and the diving was 100% professional and safe with great local sites.

All in all this Island is magical and we had a brilliant stay here... now to the more important part below;

To put into words the good that Maha and her staff are doing is impossible. Not only are they supporting local communities, but they are also supporting global ones which take into account our global issues relative to the environment and economy. From the ground up this Eco Lodge was built with conscious effort to ensure sustainability worldwide. You will realize this when using the eco friendly toothbrushes, soap, electricity, vegan food, etc... every last detail has been thought of and by you choosing to stay at Maha you choose to make the world a better place and prove that this style of service is possible. The largest impact you can notice here is the local community learning about how to take care of their own environment. Maha has weekly classes with the local village helping them grow in a positive way.

Come stay and see for yourself!

Returned from one-week in paradise, just amazing!

Fabulous! You won’t regret it!!

A life-changing experience. Go!

Paradise found!!

Die Zeit bei Maha wird meinem Mann und mir niemals in Vergessenheit geraten. Wir hatten 6 Tage zum Ende unseres Raja Ampat Urlaubs gebucht und unser Aufenthalt hat unsere Vorstellungen weitaus übertroffen. Die Schönheit der Insel, der Menschen und der Tiere und der Natur ist überwältigend.

MahaRaja Eco Dive Lodge;
Saya lewati kemarin pada saat trip dari pasir timbul Kri ke arah Air Terjun Batanta.
Dikelola oleh bule prancis; info yang saya dapat per Maret kemarin; harga sewanya 200 euro/ bungalo.
Terlihat eksklusif sekali Pondokan ini. Lengkap disajikan di sini pasir putih dg Pohon Kelapanya; di belakang bisa dilihat Pohon2 rimbun menjulang yg tumbuh subur di atas karang. Karang Disekitar dermaga pun tumbuh subur dg Air yg sangat jernih.
Kabarnya; tidak sembarang orang bisa menyelam/ free dive di sini; karena mmg untuk menjaga semua itu. Yg paling wah juga disini; sesekali kalian bisa melihat langsung kawanan lumba2 dan bahkan Paus Orca berenang di depan/ seputaran pondokan ini.
Wah.. luar biasa; pernah mampir di sini.

Un havre de paix, de bonheur permanent, de joie de vivre, Maha, Bernard, demanius eddy, dorteus, marinus, alo, onisael, elin, kristin, musa, sepi et toute l'équipe
sont les compléments d'âmes indispensables de ce bout d'ile aux caractéristiques parfaites.
une sensation de bien être permanent,....... un défaut de taille pourtant: 10 jours passés donne l'impression d'être arrivé la veille.....:):)
C'est un Lodge hors du commun hors du temps, Vous souhaitez bénéficier d'une ressource positive, pleine d'humanité, de valeurs sincères .....
alors sans hésiter MAHARAJAECODIVELODGE est fait pour vous
Une simplicité de tous les instants vous donne un confort hors du commun en tout point de vue,loin de l'artificiel des resorts commerciaux où l'argent est omniprésent
Vous aurez des PMT, des plongées inoubliables, un matériel ad hoc un accompagnement au top et un accès quand vous le décidez,
seul le lever et le coucher du soleil vous impose son rythme
Cette dose d'empathie, de philantropie et une certaine candeur de Maha et son équipe (la famille), font que cette citation prend tout son sens:
"Aucune personne n'est parfaite mais une équipe peut l'être"
et nous pouvons dire haut et fort que cette équipe de l'ile dokri est PARFAITE
Les mots ne seront jamais assez fort pour exprimer notre expérience à Maharaja.
Nous ne pouvons nous résoudre à ne pas y retourner, alors "the papou's family", attention à la "wesser", à la "suru" à la "kior", nous y reviendrons !!!
et ne pas oublier que "isabelle à les yeux bleus, bleus les yeux isabelle a" ............;).............
Toutes nos pensées et amitiés les plus sincères. Gis et Fred

Beautiful

Most disappointing experience ever. 😫 It was unprofessional, unsafe, and often times unfriendly.😱

I have been to Raja Ampat many times (Misool, Raja4Divers, Papua Paradise, etc) and felt Maharaja lacks the minimum standards of a diving resort but is a cheap hostel priced at luxury level. 😳 We feel it's imperative that a fair warning must be let out to the world, in case anyone want some real review.

There are indeed a few nice and unique things about the island such as the fantastic panoramic view and a cute beach. The rest is unfortunately the opposite of a relaxing vacation.

Our first experience was already an indication of lack of management. We waited at Papua Paradise (just across the small channel and 5 mins away) for 1.5 hours before we got finally picked up, which is just the time a storm is coming and got clothes and laptop bag wet from waves. During the 1.5 hours, we made various calls to their contact numbers without any response. Even Papua Paradise helped us to contact them and were about to send us out with their boat. (Later we found out Maharaja is completely disconnected from any kind of communication from management and civilization. How can this work logistically if you want to bring in guests from outside world?)

Diving: unprofessional and even unsafe. No dive plan. No emergency oxygen or protocol. No one bothered to check our dive certification or give us release forms to sign, which even the worst dive centers would do. If this gets reported to PADI, their license would be revoked. It seemed to us we were the rare experienced diving guests because they don't know how proper dive operation works and are not experienced in critter-finding. Our regultors we brought were both damaged as they were soaked in water overnight without caps by untrained staff. Mine leaked right before I jumped in the water. We were lucky they didn't break down while diving!!!

In terms of management: there isn't ANY. Staff have no time concept at all. Activities, food, diving were never on time and we were always made to wait for 30 minutes on average. My partner is German and this was extremely frustrating to him. Every morning we watched dive boats leaving Papua Paradise at 7:30 while waiting for our late breakfast.

Sleeping is stressful and nightmarish. Room is hot with poor ventilation and no fan. Mosquito net is laughably tiny - maybe big enough for a baby crib. (Refer to my photo). You have to pick between being eaten alive or suffocation. The island is very wavy. Loose pillars under the room make scary banging sound with every loud wave.

Staff are not trained and are unfriendly (they look unhappy themselves), which is totally different from other places. A few were smoking around guests, even next to petro and while handling dive tanks! Service is nonexistent. You are on your own after arrived. On the last day the staff were handed salary and donated clothes, which should happen in private but was pretentiously "performed" to guests at usual dinner time. This was the first day I saw happy faces on them.

Food is tasty but always with quite limited portion. We had 9~11 guests in total but only enough food for less than 5. Meals were vegan as advertised, with little choice and almost no fruits. We are in the tropics after all! Vitamins!

The "Eco" part, garbage were burnt on the beach and fumes flew over the bungalows and smoked us for a full night and day! (Refer to pic) We were truly shocked. The supposed "electric boat" never appeared. Instead, boats with smoky engines were used for everything. (Well at least they have a further range.) Because of the solar panels, only USB devices can be charged. (Note to photographers).

Overall an overpriced basic homestay / hostel experience that didn't live up to its marketing. As experienced divers who love Raja Ampat and come back repeatedly, we already wanted to leave the first night there. We tried to make the best of it by diving as much as possible, but still unfortunately suffered through stress for the rest of the stay instead of enjoying our vacation.