The Whale Sharks of Cenderawasih

Every year TIME asks its correspondents around the world to nominate the places most worth going to, and publishes one hundred of them as the World's Greatest Places. In 2026, one of the fifty places to visit was a boat in a bay: Silolona Sojourns' Si Datu Bua, in Cenderawasih Bay, West Papua.

What drew TIME there is the rare possibility of swimming with several whale sharks at once.

The Bay

Teluk Cenderawasih National Park lies in the great bay on the northern side of the Bird's Head of Papua. It is one of the richest marine environments in Indonesia: more than 200 coral species and around 800 varieties of fish, according to the TIME entry, in water few travelers ever see.

It is best known for its whale sharks, the largest fish in the sea, which can grow to around eight meters long. In 2025 alone, park rangers recorded more than 500 of them in the bay. Unlike most places where whale sharks appear only in a short season, Cenderawasih sees them through much of the year, gathering around the bagan, the traditional fishing platforms, where the fishermen's nets concentrate the small fish that draw them.

To float in the water as one of these animals passes beneath you is one of the great wildlife encounters on Earth. To have several around you at once is something very few people will ever experience.

Doing It Properly

An encounter like this can be done well or badly, and the difference matters. In 2025 new tourism guidelines came into force in the bay, aligned with Indonesia's national action plan for whale shark conservation, setting out how operators and swimmers should behave around the animals. Operators who follow them are certified, and Silolona Sojourns is one of them. TIME noted the certification in its entry.

In practice this means small numbers in the water, distance kept, no touching, and an operator who works with the local communities and park rangers, never around them. A private yacht with six guests is about as light a presence as a visit can have.

Why by Boat

Cenderawasih is remote, and that is much of its value. There are no resorts along most of the bay, and the best way to reach the whale sharks, and the reefs and islands around them, is to live aboard. A yacht arrives, anchors, and lets guests spend their days in the water and their evenings on deck, with the encounter at the center of the week instead of squeezed into a day trip.

Si Datu Bua suits it unusually well. She is small enough for a bay without marinas, with three RIBs to get guests to the platforms quickly at first light, and her fifteen crew include a PADI instructor and cruise directors who know the bay. Her three suites mean a couple, two or three couples, or one family can have the whole experience to themselves.

Something New for 2026

The TIME entry also noted that, in 2026, select sailings would include Soul Sanctuary retreats: yoga, ocean breathwork and sound healing led by internationally trained practitioners. Combined with the whale sharks, it is a week built around slowing down in one of the wildest places in the country.

Planning the Trip

Cenderawasih sits in the far east of Indonesia, and the voyage pairs naturally with Raja Ampat to the west. Our guides to the whale sharks, Where the Giants Gather and the Complete Guide to Whale Sharks, cover the seasons and what to expect in the water.

Si Datu Bua is available for private charter through Indo Yachts. Her yacht page has her suites, seasons and itineraries.