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Indonesia IndonesiaRaja Ampat IslandsIsland

Waigeo Island

3,155 km² rising to 958 m out of the Dampier Strait.

When to go

Waigeo Island seen from space, cut out from the sea (Sentinel-2)
WaisaiSaonekKabare
N 20 km

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

3,155km²

Area

564km

Coastline

measured on a simplified outline

958m

Highest point

6,000

People

30°C

Warmest sea

November

1,183km

To the mainland

When to go to Waigeo Island

Best for the beach from January to May.

The sea is warmest in November (30 °C) and coolest in February (29 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days Best months

Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.

Island in Raja Ampat Regency, Southwest Papua Province, Indonesia

Waigeo Island is an island in Indonesia. It belongs to Raja Ampat Islands. It covers 3,155 km², with 564 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 958 m. About 6,000 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,183 km away.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there

Plan the trip

Ferries, stays and things to do

Car hire at DPS airport (Kuta, Badung)Discover CarsSee 

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

On the island

What you find on Waigeo Island.

  • 1viewpointsBirds of paradise
  • 3ferry terminalsWaisai, Selpele
  • 10named peaksSamlor, Mount Mandum, Gunung Kerucut and 7 more
  • 1waterfallsWarengkris Waterfall
  • 3dive centresGurara, Scuba republic, Raja Ampat dive resort
  • 14hotels, guesthouses and apartments
  • 2restaurants, cafés and bars

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 191 m above the sea. 61 % of it is below 200 m.

  • 22 %0–50 m
  • 39 %50–200 m
  • 34 %200–500 m
  • 5 %500–1,000 m

Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).

Size, for real

Next to islands you may know.

Waigeo Island3,155 km²
Mallorca3,685 km²
Long Island3,529 km²

100 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Towns on the island

  • Waisai22,541 people
  • Saonekno census figure
  • Kabareno census figure

Month by month

The weather on the island.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon high (°C)282828282928282828292928
Night low (°C)272727272727272627272727
Sea (°C)292929293029292929293029
Rain (mm)167160186176206254255179178126150166
Wet days262325262627262222222427
Sun h/day6.46.76.97.37.66.46.77.37.37.46.96.4
Wind (km/h)141413111214171916141112

Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.

Recent years

Warmer and cooler years at sea.

Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020+0.5+0.4+0.2+0.3+0.4+0.6+0.5+0.6+0.6+0.6+0.6+0.6
2021+0.6+1.1+0.9+0.6+0.2+0.1+0.2+0.6+0.6+0.6+0.5+0.4
2022+0.1+0.3+0.4+0.4+0.4+0.6+0.5+0.6+0.8+0.4+0.4+0.4
2023+0.5+0.3+0.6+0.6+0.5+0.5+0.5+0.4+0.2+0.1+0.2+0.4
2024+0.4+0.1+0.3+0.6+0.7+0.7+0.6+0.6+0.6+0.7+0.7+0.6
2025+1.1+0.9+0.9+0.5+0.6+0.4+0.7+0.6+0.6+0.6+0.3+0.4

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Photos

Seen by visitors.

Waigeo view-2
Lord Mountbatten · CC BY-SA 4.0
Village-Waigeo-1
Lord Mountbatten · CC BY-SA 4.0

Nearby

More islands nearby.

Batanta IslandIndonesiaIndonesia449 km²1,184 m83 km awaySalawati IslandIndonesiaIndonesia1,662 km²42 m103 km awayMisool IslandIndonesiaIndonesia2,076 km²151 m209 km awayHalmahera IslandIndonesiaIndonesia17,780 km²1,635 m359 km awaySeramIndonesiaIndonesia70,370 km²3,027 m382 km awayMorotai IslandIndonesiaIndonesia2,279 km²591 m391 km awayBacan IslandIndonesiaIndonesia1,796 km²187 m384 km awayObimayor IslandIndonesiaIndonesia2,472 km²817 m384 km away

About these numbers

Names, area, populationWikidata (Q1323418) · CC0
OutlineNatural Earth · public domain
Sea temperatureNOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
ClimateNASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
TownsGeoNames · CC BY 4.0
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

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