Dive Review of Wakatobi Dive Resort in
Indonesia/Sulawesi

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Wakatobi Dive Resort: "World Class Diving, Accommodations & Dining", Dec, 2017, by Paul Selden, MI, US ( Contributor 16 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 10640 has 1 Helpful vote.
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	Wakatobi was founded by Lorenz Mader, who told me that he carefully researched the world's best potential locations before picking this one. Our accommodations were on the ocean front, with a little strip of beach (with chairs and a table) where we enjoyed our sundowners. The air-conditioned room had enough room for a king bed with just enough space for a couch, chairs and table. We brought our own booze but also bought it at the bar at the end of their long pier. For convenience our room location was great - between the dining room and dive center. Meals were superior in their preparation and service. We'd heard about flies being a problem but the wind seemed to keep them away, and the plates of deliciously prepared food on the smorgasbord tables were kept covered. The entire resort was kept very clean, and the white sandy beach is nice. I recommend making your reservations well in advance to get the time and rooms you want. After the first few days my usual dive guide was Nicki Yaeger. After understanding my interest in underwater photography and fish/creature/coral IDs, she listed the names of all the unusual underwater sightings with me after every dive. The other guides were very good as well. There were numerous nudibranch, anemone, an occasional sea krait, many typical reef fish, as well as some more unusual ones (for me) such as Zanzibar shrimp, spearing mantis shrimp, tassle scorpionfish, ocellated dragonfish, Lembeh seadragon, miracle triplefin - too many to list! Usually there were four or fewer divers per guide. Others in our group, as well as I, were attacked by a Titan triggerfish at a couple of dive sites (no way to avoid it - the attack was without warning - no one we injured, but my heart rate rose a bit). The shore diving was good as well, but the sand stirred up by the waves made made photography tougher in the shallows. I might have rated it higher if I did more than one and in better light. We stayed ten days and I got in 32 dives, including a night dive. The coral was healthy and plentiful, with many species. I highly recommend a tour of the local village, from which Wakatobi draws many of its employees, and which also benefits from Wakatobi's social programs, including providing electricity during certain hours. The resort is pricey, which doesn't stop some people from going there a number of times. I gave it a five star overall rating for two main reasons: first because it is one of those rare dive resorts that are worth going to a least once in a lifetime, and second, because it would take most people many dive trips to lesser locations to experience all that a single stay at Wakatobi offers. The bang for the buck is huge for those who can take the time and know how to save up for a big trip. Depending on your schedule, spending an additional 4-5 days in Bali is also worth the time. We added a 5 day land-only tour on the way home, staying at the Kayon Resort in the Ubud region, which we highly recommend.
Websites	Wakatobi Dive Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	FL Keys, Bonaire, W Palm Beach, Vanc. I., Thetis I., CA, Saba, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Galapagos, Cozumel, Grand/Lil Cayman, Utila, Roatan, Andros, Turneffe Is., Palm I., Playa d Carmen, Ceyn-Akumal, Dominica, Holbox, Curacao, Union I., St. Eust., Providencia, Philippines, Borneo, Fiji, Indonesia
Closest Airport	Wakatobi	Getting There	usually via Bali but volcanic eruption in Bali meant we didn't know exactly how we would get there or back until the last minute - our actual routing was Jakarta-Makassar/Sulawesi-Wakatobi and Wakatobi-Bali on way homre
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	76-84°F / 24-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	40-70 Ft/ 12-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	They have a no-gloves / no touching policy & wanted people to dive with a buddy (nominally). Dive times were often 70+ minutes.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
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	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	There is an on-site photo/video expert. The camera room facilities were very good. Rinse tanks were kept clean. On board camera buckets were roomy. Boats were roomy, too, which was a good thing because they often went out fairly full.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Wakatobi Dive Resort in Indonesia/Sulawesi

Wakatobi Dive Resort: "World Class Diving, Accommodations & Dining", Dec, 2017,

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/Sulawesi