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

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Gangga Island Resort & Spa: "My 4th visit to GIR", Sep, 2023, by Michael J. Millet, CA, US ( Top Contributor 101 reports with 63 Helpful votes). Report 12627 has 1 Helpful vote.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	GANGGA ISLAND RESORT REVIEW In early September, 2023, I visited GIR for the 4th time. My last prior visit was in 2017. My dive buddies and I transferred to GIR from Bitung after disembarking from the Raja Ampat Aggressor. This transfer took about 2 hours. Upon arriving at GIR, we were greeted with music and flowers — nice. My cabana did not show much in the way of changes since my last visit. It would have helped if the staff had turned the A/C a couple of hours before my arrival; it was 84ºF in the cabana. My dive buddies had to change cabanas because the A/C in their room was not working. During my stay there were only 10 guests at any one time. Nonetheless, the service provided by the staff was generally pretty good. All meals were ordered from limited menus that changed daily. They included both Indonesian and Western foods. The meals were generally nicely prepared and presented. However, on occasion the chicken and fish were overcooked. Also, there were some meals when it took longer than it should have for the food to be delivered to the table. Adult beverages are limited with beer, Bali wines and some spirits. There were a couple of times during our week’s stay that the resort ran out of soda water and the preferred wine. GIR was a spacious camera room with lots of charging stations, lint-free towels and compressed air blowoff. Unfortunately, the A/C was not working there either. So one’s camera cleanup was done in record time. The dive operation was run quite efficiently with 2 dives in the morning and one afternoon dive. The 2-tank morning dive was at 8 AM and the afternoon dive at 3 PM. We learned upon arrival at the resort that Nitrox would not be available during our stay because of needed repairs to the mixer — a bit disappointing. The dive crew did a great job setting up all our gear on the dive skiff and loading camera rigs. They made sure that there was adequate camera rinse tanks on the boat. The dive boats are different and better than those from 2017. They are fiberglass with easily accessible dive stations and a toilet. All water entry is by back roll. Between dives, we enjoyed fruit, cookies and cake. The dive crew was always quite ready to help this old man don his gear and get in the water. I hired a private dive guide who was quite attentive and a very good critter finder. We experienced a variety dives sites about Gangga, Bangka, Talise and North Sulawesi. It included some coral gardens, mini-walls and muck. Comparing my photos from this trip to my 3 previous visits, it would appear that the quantity and diversity of marine life has decreased a bit especially regarding nudibranchs. As a general observation, it seems to be that the GIR resort has not had the needed upkeep and maintenance over the past few years; perhaps due to the pandemic. It is still a nice resort but can use some TLC.
Websites	Gangga Island Resort & Spa
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	All over the Caribbean; Galapagos, Socorro, Fiji, Solomons, GBR, Vanuatu, PNG, Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Yap, Kosrae, Truk Lagoon
Closest Airport	Manado	Getting There	Direct flights to/from SIN
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	78-84°F / 26-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	40-90 Ft/ 12-27 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No deco; 60 minute dives
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	The resort has a nice camera but without A/C it is tough to be in it. The dive boats have enough camera rinse containers and the crew handles camera gear with care.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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

Gangga Island Resort & Spa: "My 4th visit to GIR", Sep, 2023,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

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