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Dive Review of Gangga Island Resort & Spa in
Indonesia/Gangga Island - North Sulawesi

Gangga Island Resort & Spa, May, 2010,

by Victor A Bary, NJ, US (Contributor Contributor 13 reports). Report 5470.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 5 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Gangga island resort (about 50 acres) is the sole occupant of its side of the Gannga Island. It features 15 large units on the beach. They are well appointed, air conditioned with a large, limestone tiled bath with double sinks and large shower with view to the sea. The units, like all the buildings at the resort, are decorated with guests' dive photos (with photo subject and photographer's name and country identified).

The grounds are beautiful and well-maintined. The eco-friednly main building is of traditional Indonesian architecture, with a large dining area, library (sections for English, French, German, Italian, and Indonesian speakers), bar, lounge area with lots of comfortable seats and pool table, and internet service. The building features an internal open-air garden visible from the dining room and most other areas. Food and service are excellent, and staff was especially appreciative of our attempts to learn some Indonesian. Entertainment on many evenings. (Nearly every one sings and plays guitar. I swapped tunes during a surface interval with the dive staff.)

Gangga Divers is simply the best organized, best-run dive operation I've encountered in 15+ years of diving. Each evening at dinner, the dive shop manager discussed our forthcoming dives (and modified them if we asked). The boats are purpose built, with lots of shade, and almost always were run at half seating capacity. Each dive begins with a dive site diagram and full briefing. Dive time and max depth were collected at end of every dive. When we left the resort, we were given a printout of our dives and profiles, as well as a map with each dive site noted. Our dive master, Donal, knew that the four of us love macro, and went out of his way to find interesting critters.

This is not the place to see pelagics (we saw schools of dolphin and tuna while on the boat, but underwater - no sharks, no barrcuda, but lots of turtles). Incredible variety of small shrimp and crabs, lots of frog fish, nudis, and cuttlefish). Side trips to Bunaken and Lembeh are a must. (We didn't like the debris on the buttom at Lembeh, and thought it a bit of a disappointment until we reviewed our photos - and realized how special it was for quantity and quality of macro subjects).

Gangga Island Resort ranks with the very best we've been at in Fiji in terms of beauty,service and staff attitude. Gangga Divers is simply the best dive operation we've ever encountered.
Websites Gangga Island Resort & Spa   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Borneo (Mabul), Fiji, Aurba, Bermuda, Bonaire, Cayman Brac, Curacao, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman Providencials, St. Thomas, Tortola
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 78-84°F / 26-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 1
Water Visibility 30-60 Ft/ 9-18 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Max depth, max time,come up with 50 BAR (recommended, not enforced)
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 4 stars
UW Photo Comments Each boat had separate camera rinse tank. Dive shop had a photo expert and dive masters went out of their way to find macro subjects for photographers
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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