Raja Ampat has over 80% of the world's hard corals and is one of the most bio-diverse areas in the world due to currents from different oceans flowing into the region. This means that at times there may be small, mild currents on some of the dives. However, you will be fully trained on how to dive in currents and will not be expected to go out on surveys until you are totally confident and have good buoyancy skills. Experienced divers may wish to bring a reef hook, and delayed SMB (though these are also provided on site).

We have some of the best boat drivers in the area. They were born in the local villages and know the curents on dive sites very well. Their local knowledge (some of which has been passed down from generation to generation), is second to none. We also use tide apps on smart phones to determine when it is best to dive a site, to avoid strong currents ie: rising, slack or falling tides.  

At Barefoot Conservation safety is our top priority. We have all state of the art medical equipment for remote diving; including oxygen, first aid kits, AED and when possible a Medical Officer on site. The local government installed a new Decompression Chamber in the capital's (Waisai) hospital in 2013. This means the nearest Decompression Chamber to our basecamp is only a 45 minute fast boat ride away.