Rascal is akin to a floating luxury villa with all guest accommodation above deck.
Since our daughters were born, we have dreamt of taking them to Raja Ampat. Our oldest took her first steps on a beach in Komodo, and finally, at the ripe ages of 2 and 4, we felt they were ready to put their snorkeling skills to the test in The Kingdom of Coral.
We got the kids ready for the trip by watching videos of Raja Ampat and practicing snorkeling in the pool (buy plenty of pink masks, if you have daughters, as it can take a few tries to find the right fit).
A week before departure, our oldest was so excited she started asking us daily if that day was the day we would be going to Raja Ampat.
After a long 9-hour journey from Bali to Sorong, we boarded Rascal and were treated to the most beautiful breakfast spread. It was easy to relax when we saw how the crew warmed to our daughters. One of the crew members, Zul from Sumbawa, picked up our littlest one and began showing her the boat to give us a bit of a rest.
For this trip, we also brought along a friend of ours, who is a professional nanny, to help with the kids. Having an extra pair of hands while on board was certainly helpful and something we are happy to help arrange for other families whenever needed.
The first rule we had to go over with the kids was, of course, "no running", a rule we would echo throughout the week. We then visited the captain's bridge and had our safety briefing on the main deck..
We set up the master cabin with stuffed animals from home, toys, books, and a travel crib for our little one. I would recommend taking one large suitcase full of toys and stuffed animals (which is also something we can easily arrange for families from this end).
The bed is a super king, so at 220cm wide will sleep a few kids with pillows around the edges as bolsters. It's also clear that no expenses have been spared with the linens, towels, and furnishings on Rascal, which were all immaculate.
The crew went further to make our girls welcome by loading a USB with movies for children. All of our dietary preferences had also been considerately taken into account and at each meal, the kids had their own special portions (which they loved!).
With so much to see and do in Raja Ampat, it took some thought to envision the best route for our children to make the most of the experience.
Considering how much energy kids have, we decided we did not want to do a lot of cruising and would instead enjoy spending time on beautiful beaches where they could run around making sandcastles, and in areas that were suitable even for our 2-year old.
We wanted this to be an intro to snorkeling, so we needed shallow reefs that could be accessed from the beach. We discussed our ideas with the captain and cruise director, and together, came up with a route that ticked all our boxes.
Our child-friendly itinerary took us to Friwin first, which is a stunning white sand beach. On the second morning, we had the most amazing snorkel at Yenbuba jetty where our older daughter saw a turtle and was absolutely ecstatic about the amount of fish she saw. We continued on to Yeben where we snorkeled with baby sharks and then cruised up to Wofoh for the ultimate beach set up.
Our loop only required a few hours of cruising per day and still included enough variety to keep it exciting for all of us with changing scenery and different activities. We quickly found a rhythm that worked for the kids and could have very easily stayed on board for more than a week.
Since Rascal launched about three years ago, I've seen the concept evolve with a continuously improving menu, signature cocktail list, and, perhaps most impressively, the set-ups on land and level of service that goes with each day.
Steve, one of the founders of Rascal, sums up the yacht’s concept in one sentence: "I want people to think, at the end of each day, that it was one of the best of their lives.”
Each day, we were amazed by different beach set-ups and picnics straight out of a glossy magazine spread. The attention to detail throughout, the quality of the food and commitment to go beyond offering services on the yacht, but on land as well, makes all the difference in the world.
We had the most pristine beaches all to ourselves, set up with umbrellas, music, coolers with drinks, and not a care in the world. My wife has seen her fair share of beaches and calls our Rascal beach set up her favorite beach day of all time.
When we returned home, I put together a little video of our GoPro footage and as we watch it with the kids, they point out to each other the turtle, sharks, many fish and when they see the kids we met on the other islands they say 'oh look, my friends'. We could not have asked for a better family vacation.
If you'd like to discuss a possible trip on Rascal, or anything about chartering with kids, please drop us a line at info@indoyachts.com or shoot us a message on WA at +62 811 88 22 82. We'd love to hear from you.
For more info on the yacht, please visit: Rascal.
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