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Dive Review of Wakatobi Dive Resort in
Indonesia/Wakatobi

Wakatobi Dive Resort: "Big Bang for Somewhat Big Bucks", Oct, 2014,

by Ron Hays, CA, US ( 2 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 7782.

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 5 stars Shore Diving 4 stars
Snorkeling 4 stars
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Third visit to this fabulous resort. 2002, 2005 & 2014.Keeps getting better & better, though the prices keep pace. It is unbelievable how nice this resort is, especially in light of its remoteness. Though expensive, the entire experience is a good value for the money. Door to door from Santa Barbara to Wakatobi is 24 hours. Worth the trip time. The resort has so many amenities including A/C, shampoo, conditioner & body lotion, nice sheets & towels, plenty of fresh water from their own desal plant& the most incredible, varied and perfectly prepared food of any resort. The staff & management are totally competent, very helpful & friendly and you will want for nothing during your entire stay. The diving just gets better at each visit with very healthy reefs. Best dives are between 20 & 40 feet for the full color spectrum of the soft & hard corals and beautiful tropical sea life. Forget the macho 65+ feet depths unless you are a camera bug with powerful strobes. All of the action, color and micro stuff is near the tops of the reefs. Good early AM & late PM currents wash the face of the reefs, keeping them healthy & vibrant. The resort staff harvest the Crown of Thorns (only saw 3 this trip, dozens in 2005)and are VERY eco oriented both in the ocean & onshore. Take a magnifying glass & leave the camera at home if you want to get the full experience. Most dives are drifts and unless you are a photo professional you will spend way too much time framing and miss out on most of the real reef action. If you are bringing a non-diver along, the snorkeling is incredible. Boats are stable, very well set up and comfortable with toilets, hot face towels after each dive, warm beach towels, fresh water, hot tea, hot chocolate, cookies, sandwiches, cake & fruit snacks after every dive. From the time you arrive & drop off your gear, you won't have to touch it (other than suiting up after the briefing) for the entire stay. They rinse it, dry it, load it and set it up after each day of diving. Weather was fabulous, only 1 day of wind & currents which cut vis down to 80+ feet. Lots of fish & critter books at the resort if you want to ID anything you saw (or want to see). We were assigned a boat with 10 USA divers & 4 guides. Other boats were filled with Brazilians, another with Germans and a third with folks from Belgium. Individual guides spoke the individual dialects. Amazing. Well worth the "splurge".
Websites Wakatobi Dive Resort   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Indonesia, Western Pacific, Caribbean, Bahamas, Chuk Lagoon, Palau, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Cozumel, Channel Islands (USA), Sea of Cortez, Hawaii, Florida, Aruba, Bora Bora.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas calm, currents
Water Temp 79-81°F / 26-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 1
Water Visibility 80-200 Ft/ 24-61 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 75 minutes
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

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

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
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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