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Dive Review of Wakatobi/Wakatobi Resort in
Indonesia/Wakatobi

Wakatobi/Wakatobi Resort, Oct, 2006,

by Chrisanda Button/Rickie Sterne, Arkansas, USA . Report 3092.

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 N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 5 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Wakatobi Resort has become a name to conjure with among divers. Quite deservedly so! Not only is the diving beautiful and easy, the service excellent, the accomodations comfortable and spacious, and the food delicious, you get to feel good about diving from a resort that works hard to maintain good ecological practices and to integrate itself into the local communities. The logistics of diving at Wakatobi are almost as simple as those on a liveaboard. Take your gear to the gear shed on the day of your arrival and thereafter it will be moved from shore to boat and back again by the boat crews. The dive boats are large. Gear stations are uncrowded, and there is plenty of carpeted space for cameras to ride. Entry is by giant stride, while reboarding is made easier by the location of ladders amidships. Boat crew set up our gear each day, quickly learning just how high each diver liked to carry his tank. They also served us water before each dive, our preferred beverage and snacks between dives. Divers are led on boat dives in groups of five or six by dive guides who are familiar with these reefs. The diving is a paradise for lovers of corals, sponges, gorgonians, and anemones, tropicals, and macro life. The sloping walls are beautiful. We actually did see pygmy sea horses. Also many crocdile fish, cuttlefish large and small, bobtail squid, nudis galore, Saron shrimp, mantis shrimp, and a number of turtles among the tropicals. The house reef is as great as reported. The only time we encountered any significant current was on a night dive on the house reef when The Wakatobi Express was running. The previous night we spent an hour traversing the same area of reef we were swept over in 18 minutes in the express.
Our beachfront bungalow was spacious and very comfortably appointed. We used the air conditioning for about three hours each afternoon. Otherwise we opened the shutters to sea breezes and slept under cover with the ceiling fan whirring. Besides a comfortable bed and ample storage space, we enjoyed lounging areas inside on a loveseat, on the porch, and in our private chaise lounges. Drying racks on the porch were great for swimsuits. We especially appreciated the library of marine ID books on the desk right in our bungalow. Bungalows are spaced so that each seems private.
Being early risers, we usually strolled over to the Longhouse before breakfast to grab a cup of the good coffee always available there and to drink it on the jetty, watching schools of fish in the shallows. The new dining room is a beautiful structure in traditional Indonesian style. Meals are served from an attractive buffet. The variety of food satisfied a wide range of preferences. We felt we had dined in a fine restaurant with large servings all week.
The Indonesian staff were so attentive, that by midweek they were mimicking our group of Southern divers' speech patterns. "Here's some water, y'all." Wakatobi Resort offers a good combination of virtually unlimited diving for the maniacals and a relaxing holiday for more casual divers.





Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Bahamas, Bay Islands, Belize, Cozumel, Turks & Caicos, Sea of Cortez, Australia, Fiji, Truk, Yap, Palau
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas calm, noCurrents
Water Temp 78-0°F / 26--18°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 70-90 Ft/ 21-27 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile ?
Enforced diving restrictions Depth: 130 feet or MOD for nitrox. 70 minutes time limit on boat dives. On the house reef: don't run out of air.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

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 3 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

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

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 5 stars Shore Facilities 5 stars
UW Photo Comments Macro photography heaven with a fabulous camera room in the Longhouse. Over a dozen spacious work stations provided charging strips for both 110 and 220V. Under bench storage area for each station.
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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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