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Dive Review of Kosrae Nautilus Resort in
Micronesia/Kosrae

Kosrae Nautilus Resort, Mar, 2014,

by Brigitte Lacouture, AK, US (Contributor Contributor 15 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 7644 has 2 Helpful votes.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 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 $$ 4 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments We spent 7 nights and 7 days at the Nautilus Resort on Kosrae owned and operated by Australians Doug and Sally Beitz. It is a small 18-room resort with a pleasant small pool with deck and grounds that back up to the mangroves. The air-conditioned rooms are simple but clean and roomy with plentiful hot water, a fridge, in-room coffee and tea, and cable TV. There is wireless Internet in the lobby or you can get faster service for a fee in the room. The staff was very helpful and friendly, Salik, their multitalented, dive master, boat driver, airport greeter, and waiter is the model of hospitality. In fact we found all the locals we met to be friendly. The resort has a fully equipped restaurant that is air-conditioned with enough variety for a week stay. There is also a small bar with a variety of beer and one each of red and white wine. The food was quite good; we particularly enjoyed the banana pancakes, the sashimi, and the local tangerines and bananas. For variety we ate one night each at the Kosrae Village and at the Pacific Treelodge, the meal we had was good at both of these as well, though eating mangrove crab is quite the task, do not be in a rush...

We dove for 5 days. The weather was OK, broken clouds in the morning with rain pouring down every day in the afternoon. The diving was mostly shallow 60 feet (20 m) or less and was pretty good but not spectacular. Kosrae is a volcanic island not an atoll, so the dive locations and sites are not all that varied. However, the reefs are very healthy and the hard corals at Hiroshi Point are by far the largest we have ever seen anywhere. As the hard corals are in basic earth tones they are not so colorful, but the color comes from lots of smaller reef fish (butterflies, angelfish, anthias, anemone fish, etc.), anemones, shrimp, and tons of Christmas tree worms in every color imaginable. We also saw medium size giant clams, but just a few sharks and one eagle ray.

Each day’s routine was similar; we loaded up the van with dive gear around 8:00 each morning for a short drive to one of the two dive boats, one each in a harbor in either direction from the resort. They kept them at different marinas and once the wind and swell had been determined, Doug decided which boat to use. From either marina, the boat rides were no more than 15 minutes. Diving is on the fringing reef so one always has a good view of the mountainous, tropical green, island. Boats had good sun cover, no heads, and limited camera space. We were 5 or 6 divers on the dive boat plus Doug, one of his sons, and Salik all of whom would alternate as dive guides or boat driver. It was not spacious, but there was enough room. Each dive was an hour plus, whatever your tank lasted. The boat had fresh water and fresh fruit and banana bread were available during our surface intervals. Lunch on the boat during the second surface interval is either a chicken or a fish sandwich, both tasty. We never saw another dive boat the whole week. Back at the resort, there was a fresh water rinse tank and a place to hang gear to dry. At night, it was locked in a secure room. Bring any spare gear you might need; they have a shop, but Kosrae is rather isolated...

We arrived on a Saturday and on Sunday almost everything is shut down, so no diving. Doug can arrange activities for you for Sunday with a day or so notice, which we took advantage of. He gave us a ride to the nearby village so we could listen to the choir during the Sunday service, they were very harmonious. For the afternoon we rented the resort’s rental car and drove around. There is no WWII wreckage on this island, but we arranged a few hour guided hike to some ancient ruins. We enjoyed the hike, which crisscrossed a small stream several times through beautiful rainforest, and Salik our guide (not the same Salik as at Nautilus Resort) was very informative and easy going, just be prepared for heat and humidity!

In summary, we enjoyed our visit to Kosrae, as it has an uber relaxed pace. If you want entertainment or excitement better go with a group of friends, because you will need to create your own. There is no nightlife, no shopping, TV is limited, and Internet is slow. Does the diving warrant the hassle of getting there as the destination in itself? Probably not, but if you are planning to dive on another, more visited, island and are taking the island hopper flight between Oahu and Guam, then making a stop on Kosrae for a week of diving is certainly worth it.
Websites Kosrae Nautilus Resort   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Hawaii, Tahiti, St. Vincent, Borneo, Curacao, Bonaire, Cozumel, Saba, GBR
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, rainy, cloudy Seas calm
Water Temp 28-28°C / 82-82°F Wetsuit Thickness 4
Water Visibility 20-25 M / 66-82 Ft

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions None.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters N/A Large Fish 1 stars
Large Pelagics N/A

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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