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Dive Review of Sali Bay Dive Retreat/Same in
Indonesia/Maluku Islands

Sali Bay Dive Retreat/Same: "Nice resort by very disappointing diving", Feb, 2020,

by David Hill, MA, US (Sr. Reviewer Sr. Reviewer 9 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 11428 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling 4 stars
Value for $$ 2 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 2 stars
Comments Sali Bay markets itself as the only dive resort in the Malukus. Maybe there is a good reason why there aren’t any others.

It is not easy to get to Sali Bay. From the East Coast of the U.S. it took five flights, a car ride and a boat ride. The resort has 16 units, 12 individual cabins and four rooms in the Divers Lodge. All are air conditioned and have private baths.

The staff at Sali Bay is friendly, helpful and customer oriented. The food is good, although not over-generous. From the bar, local beer is very expensive, and the only wine available is Indonesian. Enough said.

The resort has limited wifi, but it is extremely erratic and undependable. At one point it went down for three days, and the explanations varied by the day. At the resort itself there is essentially no cell phone service, although at some dive sites nearer the main island of Halmahera there is some.

Apparently Sali Bay has not been marketed to the U.S. In 10 days there, I was the only American to visit. The majority of guests were German, with a sprinkling of Italians and Austrians. All the resort information in the room was in German language only.

Sali Bay has a full dive center with equipment and Nitrox available. Unfortunately diving there is very expensive and not very good. Many resorts in the area sell you a package that includes room, meals and diving. At Sali Bay diving is extra and costs 50 Euros per dive – 55 Euros if you want Nitrox. That adds up in a hurry.

The quality of the dive sites is simply third rate. Many sites were largely coral rubble with no real sea life. One dive guide finally told us before the resort was built the locals did dynamite fishing in the area, blowing up reefs in the process. When we encountered coral it was very healthy and occasionally spectacular. There were a modest number of smaller fish where there was coral but a real lack of larger fish or interesting critters. We saw only the occasional shark passing in the distance. Visibility averaged only about 50 feet, with a few occasions when it dropped to only about 30 feet. Photography was challenging in these conditions, and there really wasn’t much of interest to photograph.

Having dived across much of the Pacific from Australia through Indonesia, New Guinea, the Philippines, Palau, Yap and every island group across the Pacific all the way to the Pitcairn Group, I can say that this was some of the most unexciting, uninteresting and disappointing diving I have seen in the Pacific. Conversations with other guests indicated the same level of disappointment. No one voiced a desire to come back.

The entirely local dive staff at Sali Bay has clearly been fully trained and drilled in what to do. Unfortunately they do not understand the “why.” For example, on one dive we had spent the last 10 minutes in a beautiful shallow coral area between five and six meters deep. The dive guide then signaled to each diver that they needed to do a three-minute safety stop. Clearly he was unaware that , in fact, we had all just done a 10-minute safety stop. Every dive briefing was identical in terms of conditions expected and sea life we might see. They could easily have just played a recording. As guides spotting sea life for the guests, the quality of the staff was highly variable. Some were very good, and some were useless.

If you are looking for a nice, remote spot to read a book or go snorkeling, you will like Sali Bay. But if you are going to travel that far because you want to dive, there are dozens
Websites Sali Bay Dive Retreat   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Hawaii, Australia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Trobriand Islands, Santa Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Kiribati, Tahiti, Florida, Caymans, St. Martin, Bonaire, Bahamas, Virgin Islands, Seychelles, Red Sea, Tanzania, etc.
Closest Airport Labuha Getting There Very difficult -- required five flights from East Coast of U.S. including two on local airlines that are less than dependable.

Dive Conditions

Weather windy, cloudy Seas calm
Water Temp 84-86°F / 29-30°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 30-60 Ft/ 9-18 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions 60 minute maximum
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

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

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

Subject Matter 2 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 2 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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