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Dive Review of Siladen Resort & Spa in
Indonesia/Bunaken

Siladen Resort & Spa: "Siladen Resort", Nov, 2015,

by Jonathan Persky, FL, US (Reviewer Reviewer 3 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 8653.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments This was my first visit to Siladen Resort & Spa. It’s located on the island of Siladen near Bunaken Marine Park. The resort is managed by Miguel & Ana, who were previously managers at Lembeh Resort and Wakatobi.

The resort is about a one hour car ride and 30 minute boat ride from the Manado (MDC) airport. The resort has one free boat shuttle to the mainland a day so do try to coordinate your travel to accommodate this. Boats to the mainland are available at any time but there is a charge (which can be split among multiple travelers.

The resort is very clean and can accommodate up to 40 guests in either beach view or garden view rooms. Meals are served in a large open air room (for breakfast and if raining) or otherwise on the beach. Food is much above average compared to other places I have been in Asia.

For non-divers there is a huge pool located between the restaurant, bar and reception area. The resort also has a large spa that can handle multiple clients (in separate rooms) at the same time. It also offers package deals. I chose the 4 treatments in 5 days which was three one hour massages and a 45 minute cucumber scrub for 1 million rupiah.

The dive shop is large and includes an office area, lounge area and camera room. It is managed by Mike and Natalie. While the camera room has many workstations, each workstation is a bit narrow and shallow. If you have larger equipment you may want to work on the large table in the center of the room.

Dive equipment / lockers are in a separate building between the dive shop and the beach. Divers rarely need to go into it as the staff brings all your equipment onto the boat. No need for you to carry anything. During high tide you walk right off the beach onto the back of the boat, very convenient. During low tide the boats dock in the village which requires a walk of approximately 250 yards. (The walk is flat and on a small paved road.

The resort operates 4 boats which are fast and comfortable. During our trip there were approximately 20 guests but no more than 10 – 12 on a boat. A few of these guests were snorkelers. Typically 2 – 4 guests are assigned a dive master. Entry is done via back roll. My travel companion and I had Alo as our divemaster for the 6 days of diving we had. Alo is great, pointed out a lot of small critters and quickly pointed out passing turtles, sharks, etc. He even suggested wide angle shots and positioning.

Most of our dives were around Bunaken Island (about a 20 – 30 minute boat ride). Morning is a 2 tank dive leaving at 8am and getting back around 12:30 with a 1 hour surface interval. Afternoons are 1 tank dives at 3pm getting back around 5pm. Night dives can be arranged as requested.

Dive sites were varied and a couple were so great we asked to repeat them two days later. In 15 dives I can’t say we had one bad dive site. Obviously, conditions change and while most dives were easy with little to no current, a few were quite the amusement park ride with constantly changing currents. If you get cold, be sure to wear at least a 3 mil if not 5 mil wetsuit. Many sites had thermoclines and water temperature quickly changed by 8 – 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
For me, this trip was sandwiched between trips to Lembeh and Ambon, so it was nice to have reef to offset all our muck diving.

I would highly recommend Siladen Resort and Spa and will probably visit again in the near future.
Websites Siladen Resort & Spa   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Throughout Indonesia, Australia, Fiji, Philippines, Caribbean, Thailand, Maldives, Hawaii, all through the Carribean
Closest Airport Manado Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas calm
Water Temp 76-80°F / 24-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions [Unspecified]
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 4 stars
UW Photo Comments [None]
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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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