This trip report is going to be a bit different, and I make no apology for this. You see, being a photographer I tend to recall things based around pictures I’ve taken, so I’m not going to list all the sites we visited, but I am going to curate the places that have had a particular impact upon me, especially from a visual image point of view. This is difficult on a tour like this as there’s always a lot to choose from, and it is a very personal view.
Chatting with our group at the end of each day never stops informing me that whilst there is often universal appreciation for the various delights we may have all encountered that day, each and every individual has their own unique perspective. So alongside sharing with the group the exciting sea snake encounter we had all swim amongst us, there’ll be someone as equally rapt about watching a starfish make its way slowly across the reef, or a pair of tiny bulldozer shrimp and a partner goby doing their thing—keeping what must rank as one of the oddest cohabiting trios in apartment sharing history.
Yet another reason to love the enthusiasm for snorkeling and those that do it!
First Snorkel of the Tour: “Like Being in a Dream”
Our trip began in Siladen Resort, North Sulawesi. This area is known for its bustling sea turtle population. So, I made a wager with my group that I thought almost impossible to lose, yet it didn’t make me any less nervous as you never know when Mother Nature might play a cosmic joke on you. I promised the group that, if we didn’t see a turtle during our first snorkel I would run naked around Siladen village! So, it was with no small amount of relief that within a few minutes of entering the water from the Siladen Resort tender, we’d seen not one but three turtles, and over the next 75 minutes we lost count in all honesty.
One of the very best benefits of snorkeling is that you get to communicate with your fellow snorkelers in a way that is impossible if you’re tethered to a scuba tank for an hour. So it was with great pleasure that one of my new friends, who was a Snorkel Venture and Indonesia virgin, said to me, “oh my god this is like being in a dream,” on our very first snorkel of the tour, after they’d just witnessed the wonders of an Indonesian reef close up and personal for the first time. As a tour leader there’s nothing that makes us happier than if YOU are having a great time, and we’re only human so positive affirmations like this are our bread and butter.
Our chosen site that first morning was Lekuan Pygmy on nearby Bunaken Island, and if ever there was a sure fire guarantee of seeing Heroes in Half Shells it was here—hence my fairly secure promise at the outset.
So with a fantastic, turtle filled first snorkel under our belts, my first trip of 2026 was off to a great start!
Life at Siladen: A Blissfully Consistent Routine
The pattern of life at Siladen Resort & Spa is blissfully consistent, with a couple of long snorkels in the morning, then an extensive varied buffet lunch, followed by a late afternoon snorkel. We were usually in the water around 3:30 to 4pm.
This is a great time of day if you’re an underwater photographer, but it’s equally beneficial if you like to see the reef ecosystem behave somewhat differently than it does earlier in the day. As a photographer, I find the lower sunlight offers up lovely beams of light and moody silhouettes if pointing towards the sun. Shooting with a strobe also allows me to light up the foreground whilst still keeping the sun’s rays in the frame—a look I never get tired of. But even if you’ve never taken a shot and prefer to remain unhindered by photo gear, this time of day serves up very different behavior from the creatures that inhabit the reef.
As the day draws on, daytime reef fish start to find places to shelter from predators, while those predators begin to liven up and head out looking for dinner. You’ll witness a lot more activity overall, and it’s also a great time to see more pelagic species like jacks and trevallies making forays into the reef. Meanwhile, fusilier schools gather into tighter formations—safety in numbers in action.
Mandolin and Manado Tua: Conditions Just Right
Apart from dispensing pearls of wisdom from across the decades, one of my roles is to try and capture our snorkel gang doing their thing. I tend to do this in a mostly candid fashion, as I’d rather not put pressure on people to pose or interrupt their snorkel time. It’s especially useful when we visit a location where I know the scenery is great, the sun is out, coming from the right direction, and even better if I know the site from previous trips.
On the morning of the third day at Siladen, we visited a glorious site called Mandolin, with the spectacular topside backdrop of Manado Tua, a dormant volcano very close by. As I don’t bring my big camera rig on these trips, I can carry a couple of smaller cameras alongside the almost ubiquitous Olympus TG7. With perfect conditions, I decided to use a GoPro with a half-and-half dome housing to shoot split shots. This morning at Mandolin couldn’t have been better—the backdrop of a volcano against a blue sky dotted with white clouds, snorkellers on a beautiful reef… the pictures almost took themselves.
There’s so much more going on in the top few meters of the reef, and as someone who dives as well, I find that as a snorkeler I’ve gained a wholly different appreciation of this area of the underwater world. My knowledge is growing exponentially, which at 60 is no mean feat, and I’m loving it—it certainly underlines that you can teach an old dog new tricks.
Post-Snorkel Evenings: Stories, Fish ID and Desserts
Most days after the snorkels I’d find some of the gang down at the bar, and over a beer or a cocktail we’d discuss fish ID. I often find that our snorkellers are much more knowledgeable than me, so my particular forte is sharing snippets of marine biology I’ve gathered over the years—mainly about behaviour, which alongside photography is where my personal interest lies. So, for example, I’ll know about damselfish as a group—their breeding patterns, what they eat, and even how they communicate—but I’d be hard pushed to name all the different variations without hitting the books.
I love these post-snorkel sessions. They tend to segue nicely into dinner and become a real sharing of knowledge, with everyone taking something useful away—alongside some of the most delicious desserts imaginable.
Moving On: From Siladen to Raja Ampat, the Last Paradise
After a week’s snorkelling at Siladen Resort, it was time to bid our fond farewells and head further east, as this two-centre trip was far from over. After a relatively smooth journey by boat and plane, we arrived in the bustling and slightly crazy town of Sorong. From there, after breakfast near the airport, we departed by boat to our next tropical island base—Papua Explorers Resort in the heart of Raja Ampat.
Raja Ampat feels exactly as it’s often called—“the last paradise”—because being quite far flung means you rarely encounter other boats. As snorkelers, it’s even rarer to bump into another group. Which made it all the more amusing that the other group sharing the resort with us was another snorkelling group. It’s a sign of how group snorkel trips are becoming more popular. Not long ago, snorkellers would have been in the minority at most resorts, usually surrounded by divers.
Mangroves, Jetties and More to Explore
Introducing our gang to new snorkelling environments is always fun, and one of the most engaging has to be the mangroves that fringe many Indonesian sites. In Raja Ampat, they play a vital role in the ecosystem, providing shelter and food for a myriad of juvenile fish and critters. They’re also, in my opinion, a great place to take photographs, with the transition between tree roots and shafts of sunlight piercing the darker water creating striking scenes.
Another great location for fish and photography can be found around jetties and docks. These provide a man-made sheltered environment where large schools of fish gather, and on the legs of the structures you’ll often find soft corals and fans—ideal spots to look for creatures like hawkfish and nudibranchs.
The Fam Islands Day Trip
Papua Explorers’ fast tenders got us to most locations in under thirty minutes, but one of the longer trips we make is to the Fam Islands.
On this occasion, they surprised us by adding an extra snorkel. Even with the longer journey, we still managed three snorkels, a packed lunch, a climb up to the viewpoint, and made it back in time to explore the house reef for a sunset snorkel.
A Group from All Corners of the Globe
My traveling companions reflected exactly what we’re all about at Snorkel Venture—bringing together like-minded souls from all four corners of the globe to share a joint passion. On this trip we had Americans, Aussies, Canadians, a Brazilian-Uruguayan couple, and of course a couple of Brits—someone needed to show this lot how to make a proper cup of tea.
I do have one of the most enviable jobs around. Yes, there’s the travel and the incredible marine life, but one of the very best parts is meeting people—new friends and old ones alike. It’s always great to reconnect with those I’ve travelled with before, and it’s unusual these days to be on a trip where I don’t know at least a few faces.
Final Thoughts
Both locations on this tour deliver a diverse snorkelling experience, great for fish spotters and photo enthusiasts alike. There’s a reason why the Coral Triangle regularly tops the density of corals and marine life league tables year after year.
Sharing this with a small group of like-minded people, while being looked after by resorts like Siladen and Papua Explorers, has to be one of the nicest ways to spend a few weeks away from the troubles and frenetic pace of modern life.
And thankfully, on this occasion, I didn’t have to make good on that promise.
Paul Duxfield
SV Tour Leader
As always on these trips, I make the deliberate decision to shoot with either an Olympus TG7 or an action camera (GoPro or DJI), as it’s what most of our guests use and far easier for international travel. All images from this trip were captured using that kit.
