Dive Review of Wakatobi Dive Resort in
Indonesia/Wakatobi

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Wakatobi Dive Resort: "Still gorgeous after all these years", Oct, 2024, by Mary McCombie, CT, US ( Top Contributor 31 reports with 19 Helpful votes). Report 13182.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Our first trip here was 2001, when Lorenz Mader had recently built the nascent resort; there was no airco, Nitrox, or fresh water, but having gotten to know Lorenz, we agreed if anyone could make it work, it was he. On our second trip in 2008, the resort was swanking up, and now it's huge (can handle around 100 guests). We kind of miss the old days but despite its size, the service at Wakatobi remains personal. Prices are much higher, of course. It is still quite a good value, but the tab for the trip is high. We booked a Turtle Cove bungalow and enjoyed the space, view, and privacy, but the walk to the dining hall and dive shop was quite long. The food was excellent and I am still pining for their breakfast pastries. No pork is served since the staff are Muslim. The restaurant was happy to make special order mie goreng for my husband at breakfast. The dining staff was happy to set up a candlelit table outside for us at some of our dinners, and I enjoyed a festive birthday cake with singing. The dive operation assigns a DM guide to each group (we were diving with two friends, so one guide to four of us). Novie was superb, a badass diver with a great attitude, and her advice about weighting and technique helped our buddies to drop some lead and improve their gas use. The boats are large, with maybe 14 divers on board, but did not feel crowded. There's a nice head with a shower in the stern, and they provide individualized snacks after the first dive (e.g., gluten-free, no cheese, etc.). There were some crazy currents that we remembered from previous trips--up,down, spinning, and sideways--so it helps to be chill with current. I loved the shore dive there. In the old days, you could do a solo dive by just donning a tank and going it; now you must have SDI solo certification, be a DM or Instructor with over 500 dives. Happily, I qualify, and had a wonderful 90 minute dive using one of their rescue bottles on the house reef. I'm already thinking about our next trip there. The coral and life is so perfect that it gives me hope for the future, particularly when so many places are degraded.
Websites	Wakatobi Dive Resort [same]
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	all over the world
Closest Airport	Wakatobi	Getting There	Charter flight from Bali
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	calm, currents
Water Temp	81-83°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	30-60 Ft/ 9-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	DM set the profile, usually above 70 feet
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
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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Dive Review of Wakatobi Dive Resort in Indonesia/Wakatobi

Wakatobi Dive Resort: "Still gorgeous after all these years", Oct, 2024,

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 Wakatobi Dive Resort in
Indonesia/Wakatobi