Tag: snorkeling halmahera

Location Description Halmahera is the large odd-shaped island just west of the Raja Ampat region and east of northern Sulawesi. In terms of tourism, it's pretty much new to the scene. With the exception of the occasional liveaboard passing through and the two snorkel and dive resorts in the southern tip, Halmahera is rarely visited by snorkeling enthusiasts. This lack of tourism is by no means a reflection of the area's reefs and snorkeling potential, quite the opposite actually. Halmahera's unique position between two of the world's most bio-diverse marine eco-systems—Sulawesi and Raja Ampat—makes it one seriously good destination for snorkeling. There are two ways to arrive to Halmahera for snorkeling, with the first being by plane. There are a number of routes in which to arrive, however, the easiest and most comfortable is via Manado in North Sulawesi. From Manado, it's a short hop to the small port town of Labuha which may or may not involve a brief stopover in Ternate. Once in Labuha, it's a quick shuttle ride to the harbor followed by a 30-minute boat to Kusu Island Resort where all the snorkeling will stem from. The other way to get to Halmahera is by liveaboard. At least at the moment, liveaboards do not start or finish from Halmahera directly. Instead, any liveaboard snorkel safari to Halmahera will begin in Sorong and sail through Raja Ampat as well as Halmahera before finishing in Lembeh Strait in North Sulawesi, or vice versa. There's just not enough infrastructure to support the refueling and stocking of high-end liveaboards in Halmahera at the moment. The best snorkeling in Halmahera is around the south between the southern island, Bacan (pronounced Bachan), and Halmahera island to the north. Around this channel, you'll find numerous smaller islands fringed with stunning shallow coral reefs.