Dive Review of Bastianos in
Indonesia/Bunaken

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Bastianos: "A revisit", May, 2019, by John E. Keith, UT, US ( Top Contributor 32 reports with 9 Helpful votes). Report 10930.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	To finish our Indonesia trip (see my reviews of Papua Explorers and Papua Paradise), we went to Bastianos on Bunaken, where we had a great experience in 2017 (see my review). We flew from Sorong to Manado on Lion Air - a TRULY low cost airline (all checked baggage is charged; meals or snacks inlcuding drinks were sold) but they were on time. We dived 4 days. Once again, the staff was very good, although the manager was not there (her partner was managing the resort - he was very personable but seemed a little overwhelmed). They certainly went out of their way to be sure that my wife's lost phone/driver's license/credit card got delivered from their office in Manado ASAP, and were quite helpful generally. The dive shop is well organized, with a maximum of 3 divers per guide. Unlike the resorts at Raja Ampat, Bastianos charges 5 euros per tank of nitrox. The boats do have a camera bucket on board. The corals are still quite nice, with some really spectacular wall diving. However, Bunaken is being "loved to death." Every dive site had several boats parked over it (although Bastianos made an effort to visit sites before or after the other dive shops), including many from Manado (which we didn't see last time in nearly the numbers). We did see several frog fish (which we didn't in Raja Ampat), lots and lots of turtles (again, not at Raja Ampat), and an abundance of small critters. We did dive one site that had a very strong current, but didn't see any large fish or schools there. The resort is in a continual state of upgrading - adding various improvements to the public areas and in the rooms. Bastianos does have air conditioned rooms, which was a plus. The food was served for a couple of days (when there were only 6 people staying there), and then buffet (when more folks showed up). It was certainly adequate although not super. You could get a made to order omelette for breakfast. While it seems that Bunaken has declined a bit in diving quality, it remains a lovely site and Bastianos serves its customers well.
Websites	Bastianos
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Egypt, Florida, California, Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Australia, Maldives, Indonesia
Closest Airport	Manado	Getting There	Sorong to Manado via Lion Air
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	surge, no currents
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	25-75 Ft/ 8-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Come up together; time was limited to less than an hour
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	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		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	We used the camera room because our room was air conditioned and I prefer not to temperature stress them. It was certainly adequate. Camera buckets on board the dive boats and a rinse tank on land were provided.

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Dive Review of Bastianos in Indonesia/Bunaken

Bastianos: "A revisit", May, 2019,

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 Bastianos in
Indonesia/Bunaken