Location
  • Indonesia
    • Bali
Length
4 to 14 weeks
Industry
Animal Science Biology Conservation and Preservation Ecology Life Sciences Marine Biology Tourism Wildlife Sciences

Program Details

Compensation
Non-Monetary Benefits
Timeframe
Year Round
Housing
Apartment Host Family
Language
English
Weekly Hours
30
Age Min.
20

Pricing

Starting Price
2100
Price Details
Packages depend on your current diving level starting from $380 USD / week

Package #1 - Dive Master (8 weeks)
For divers who have completed up to their Rescue Diver course

Package #2 - Rescuer (10 weeks)
For Advanced divers who need to complete their rescue skills during their program.

Package #3 - Advanced (12 weeks)
For divers with an Open Water Diver certification and need to complete both Advanced and Rescue courses

Package #4 - Zero to Hero (14 weeks)
For applicants who have no previous diving experience and need to complete all the required prerequisites.

Package #5 - Researcher (6 weeks)
For professional or experienced divers who do not need to complete their Dive Master course
What's Included
Accommodation Activities Airport Transfers Some Meals SIM cards Wifi
What's Included (Extra)

All packages include accommodation, in country transportation, 6-8 dives per week, 5 specialty courses, workshops, program shirt, VISA assistance, pre arrival training materials, pre arrival support

*Due to it's remoteness, all Raja Ampat programs include full room and board

What's Not Included
Airfare Domestic Airfare Some Meals Travel Insurance Visa
What's Not Included (Extra)

Return flights to home country
In country spending money
Some meals
Travel and Dive Insurance
Profesional Processing Fees
Dive Master Training Manuals

Apr 04, 2023
Oct 30, 2024
71 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Indo Ocean Project was founded by marine biologists and dive professionals to create a high level training and ecological monitoring program in the heart of the coral triangle.

Our field expeditions in Indonesia hosts research projects focused on marine mega fauna, coral reef conservation, and marine policy. The aim of the Indo Ocean Project is to generate high quality scientific data to inform local mangers and stakeholders about the status of Marine Protect Areas (MPA), and to increase marine conservation awareness among the local communities and general public. We combine our research project with a dive master internship program to allow aspiring marine researchers or dive professionals to gain hands on experience in a professional environment while completing several internationally recognized certifications.

You don't need to be a diver or scientist to apply! Join one of our project locations in Nusa Penida (Bali), Bira (Southern Sulawesi) or Raja Ampat (West Papua).

Video and Photos

Program Highlights

  • Complete your dive master course and 5 marine ecology specialty certifications in paradise
  • Immerse yourself in tropical marine biology and work alongside a team of award winning dive professionals and marine biologists
  • Practical hands on research diver training and techniques including ecological monitoring surveys, baited remote underwater video, marine megafauna photographic identification, coral restoration, coral reef mapping, mangrove and sea grass restoration...
  • Career stepping stone and CV builder, launch your marine conservation or professional diving career
  • Explore Indonesia's top diving destinations and swim with manta rays, sea turtles, sharks, ocean sunfish and pristine coral reefs in the planets biodiversity hotspot: Nusa Penida, Bira, and Raja Ampat

Popular Programs

Nusa Penida Dive Master and Research Diver Internship

The project headquarters is located on the island of Nusa Penida in the Penida Marine Park. Penida is a diver, surfer, and yogi paradise only a 30-minute boat ride from southeast Bali and ideally located only 1 hour away from the Denpasar International Airport.

Key highlights
- Year-round manta ray sightings
- Seasonal mola sightings (ocean sunfish)
- Nusa Penida Turtles project
- Mangrove and Coral nursery and restoration
- Grounded ecological monitoring and baseline data

Raja Ampat Project Dive Master and Research Diver internship

Raja Ampat is comprised of over 1500 small islands surrounding 4 main islands of Misool. Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo. The project headquarters are located on the island of Waigeo around 20 minute’s drive from the regions capital, Waisai.

Key highlights
- Most biodiverse marine ecosystem on the planet
- Project development
- Established MPA
- Remote island living
- Manta rays, reef sharks, macro diving (critters) and thriving coral reefs

Bira Project Dive Master and Research Diver internship

Bira is located on a peninsula in Southern Sulawesi around 200km away from Makasar. It has one of Indonesia’s most stunning beaches and untouched reefs. Far away from the hustle and bustle of cities, this sleepy ship building village has only just started to attract the travellers eye.

Key highlights:
- Reef sharks galore!
- Marine park development
- Baseline data collection and ecological monitoring
- Coral nursery and mangrove restoration
- Community and education program

Related Programs

Program Reviews

4.96 Rating
based on 133 reviews
  • 5 rating 96.24%
  • 4 rating 3.76%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Growth 4.9
  • Support 4.95
  • Fun 4.95
  • Housing 4.5
  • Safety 4.95
Showing 1 - 8 of 133 reviews
Default avatar
Kevin
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Fantastic divemaster internship in Raja Ampat

Here's what you can expect in doing your internship with IOP in Raja Ampat:
- Extremely high-end diving education that goes well beyond basic requirements. It can be tough at times but it pushes you to become a better and safer diver, and drives very rapid and significant improvement in your diving skills. Expect additional workshops and skills dives well above the basic curriculum, lots of marine life education, a minimum of 5 leads (only 1 is required), learning to lead scientific dives, additional course assists, etc.
- Exceptional educators who are deeply knowledgeable, engaging, and serious about their craft. They set an excellent example of what a dive professional should be, taking safety and conservation seriously, and continuously learning and passing along their knowledge
- A lot of diving - I did 75 dives during my 8-week stay, with 1 (sometimes 2) dry days per week. Expect a mix of shore and boat dives across ~15-20 sites, some of which are world-class. Also expect most diving days to have at least some productive element to it, e.g. science dives (surveys, BRUVs, benthic surveys, coral restoration/surveys), skills dives, course assists, marine education dives
- Expect to be fairly busy. Between diving, science, course work, homework, and facility duties, there's a lot to do
- The facilities are basic but comfortable. Expect basic needs like food, drinking water, and shelter to be met at all times, however occasional interruptions to running water or electricity come with the territory in such a remote location
- The remoteness of the facilities adds a layer of complexity when it comes to things like supplies, healthcare, mobile access. This can be easily mitigated by showing up well-equipped (e.g. with medications, with a working SIM card, with ear drops), and by being proactive about your health (e.g. take electrolytes, care for injuries early to avoid infection, rinse your ears after every dive)
- A fantastic social scene where you are surrounded by passionate and like-minded people (interns and staff) from all walks of life. Sharing this experience with them is one of the highlights of the internship. Interns are on a rotating schedule so expect people to leave and new people to arrive during your stay
- The one drawback was that facilities and resources are shared across IOP and the host resort, and resort guests always took priority in what is meant to be a shared space. This applies to dive rental gear, boat space, dive site planning, food, use of facilities, repairs, etc. It's all understandable, but can sometimes make you feel like a second class citizen in your own home.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
If you're considering it, just do it
Pros
  • High-end diving education
  • Passionate and like-minded interns and staff
  • Amazing diving and location
Cons
  • Shared facilities with host resort
  • Occasional interruptions in water/electricity
8 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Juliette
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Beautiful times in Raja

My experience in Raja Ampat with IOP was absolutely amazing. From the beginning to the end. I haven’t seen any big issue once being there.
If I can start with the amazing location which makes the whole stay incredible, remote in the jungle. This exactly what I was looking for. I enjoyed the fact that not everything is working always good ( ex toilet, electricity and so on) this is why I picked this location. My room was good I had no problem sleeping in the bungalow.
Of course the location is also amazing for all the beautiful dive sites I have visited, with my favorite : Cape Kri.
The content of the divemaster program is in my opinion really good and complete, I’m very satisfied with the content, I learnt a lot and I’m going home with so much more knowledge about diving and about marine ecology. This is a great program really! Besides the sciences, the fun was also there with a group of great people around.
Maybe one thing that made me sad is the feeling that we were separated from the the rest of the resort at some point because high season started, we were eating in the classroom and I enjoyed more being at the restaurant also to interact with the rest of the resort makes it more cosy I feel.
Especially in Raja because it is so remote is important fo connect with others and I think IOP is a great way to give SR a good and friendly atmosphere with the interns coming here as passionate divemaster trainees.
The program was also really well taught, the workshop and the dives, I have only good comments and good memories about that.
I feel like maybe paying every time to go to town ( 400 return) is a bit expensive and I felt like one car going per week could be offered to interns that needs special things like medication or food but thats minor.
I found the prices as well quite high for beers and other things but I guess this is Raja Ampat prices.
I really want to thank again IOP staff that really helped us throughout the program and made our stay so special !
Can’t wait to come back again!

What was your funniest moment?
My favorite moment was mapping chicken dive site in currents
Pros
  • Remoteness
  • Dive sites
  • Content learnt
Cons
  • Prices
7 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Matilda
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Raja Anpat

I had a great experience in Raja. The diving was amazing and I was able to improve a lot. The living is really basic but that is due to its remote nature and offered a back to the roots experience which I value a lot. Additionally I learned a lot about our oceans in all the workshops provided by IOP and it was a great experience to see how fish data is collected and help doing so. The staff was friendly and helped out with any problems that arose. Overall I had a great time and grew a lot during this time.
The travel there was quite exhausting since it is so remote but it is absolutely worth it.

What was your funniest moment?
One of the most memorable moments is dancing on the jetty in the middle of the night and having fun with everyone. This mainly happened at the snorkeltests but to me it was a movie scene experience.
Pros
  • Great people
  • Beautiful nature and diving
Cons
  • Not much food variety
  • Bathroom and showers where really basic and not that clean
  • Rats (but it's in the jungle)
11 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Martijn
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Raja Ampat Diving Experience

My internship at Indo Ocean Project was an experience that can be compared with anything else in my life. The scenery, the remoteness, the marine life all contributed to an awing experience that I will carry with me forever. Life in remote Raja Ampat, thought demanding, brought the team closer together. Despite our diverse backgrounds (construction workers, attorneys, nuclear physicists, DJs, hotel managers, etc.), we were united by our love for nature and our passion to preserve it. The staff, with their vast knowledge and experience, showed me even more insights into the values of marine life, the threats and consequences to its degression, and the most impactful ways to conserve and restore it. Their dedication to this cause was a true inspiration to me.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Some tips for future travellers:
- arrange your visa beforehand, you don't want to waste time going to the immigration office
- bring a waterproof bag that you can bring on boat days
- Taxi's are relatively expensive so get a scooter when you want to go to town
- Given the remoteness the food is absolutely amazing, but don't expect resort food or hamburgers.
- Be prepared to feel spoiled for the rest of your dive career. Every other dive location that you'll visit will never feel as Raja.
Pros
  • The people
  • The marine life
  • You become a dive pro in no time!
Cons
  • It will be over before you know it
9 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Axl
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Best experience ever

I came to Bira without really knowing what I was doing but I left with so much knowledge, so many good experiences, fun and amazing encounter !
The all IOP project is so cool, I don’t have any background in marine science but now I feel like a know so much more and so much more interested also.
Huge big up to the team in Bira (Ben, Jess, Qinthan and Kholil🫶🏻🫶🏻) they made the experience even better, so don’t wait a second and just go do your next adventure with IOP !!
PS : i miss the sharkies of Bira

What was your funniest moment?
Doing a coral census where they was WAY TOO MUCH corals that it became overwhelming ahah but it just turned into a running joke and we still took great care of those corals !
Pros
  • Encounters
  • Marine life
  • Science and everyday life knowledge
11 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Jenna
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Diving in paradise

Indo Ocean Project in Raja Ampat is nothing short of paradise! The diving is incredible with so much biodiversity, and our home in the jungle was simple but gave direct access to a stunning coral reef and a beautiful jetty where we spent much of our free time. The interns and staff feel like a family and I couldn’t be more grateful for this experience. It’s the perfect mix of professional education and constructive feedback, while keeping things very fun and enjoyable! Couldn’t recommend more :)

20 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Anna
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Great Experience

I learned a lot at Indo Ocean, Raja Ampat. It was a great experience. If you choose Raja Ampat as your location you need to be aware, that this is a really remote area. No fancy coffee shops etc. nearby.
The Indo Ocean program is a really good combination of Divemaster and Conservation/Research Skills. I was lucky to have two marine biologists as the program managers. So their knowledge and experience was very useful to me.
Even if you have a biology background you'll learn a lot!
And if you don't have one, do not be afraid to take part in this program! ; )

22 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Nathalie
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Living in paradise

To keep it short: if you love the ocean, join this program!
From start to end, I've enjoyed the IOP project and can't believe how much I've learned in such a short period of time.
This is of course, thanks to the amazing program itself - but above all because of Qinthan, Jess & Ben who've made the stay truly unique :)

Diving:
Bira is by far the greatest place I've had the opportunity to dive in so far. It's full of marine life and thriving coral reefs. What makes it so special that you never know what appears in the blue 💙 - schools of devil rays, trevallys, barracudas, tuna or grey reef sharks, marbled rays and more!

Housing & social life:
We've had a wonderful time in Bira with lots of like-minded people :) there's a community kitchen and a bunch of amazing restaurants in walking distance.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?
Launched a fundraising campaign to support local people in exploring the underwater world and become guardians of their marine miracles
Pros
  • Incredible dive sites with abundance of marine life
  • Wonderful managers & marine biologists
  • Well structured program with lots to learn
22 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers