Dive Review of Selayar Dive Resort/Same in
Indonesia/South Sulawesi

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Selayar Dive Resort/Same: "Spectacular Walls with Amazing Biodiversity!", Nov, 2024, by David Holzman, CA, US ( Reviewer 5 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 13223.
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	The resort is very remote and you must allow for significant transit time, but it’s definitely worth the trouble because the great biodiversity, amount of fish of all sizes, colorful walls and very short boat rides were all excellent reasons to go. If you like a quiet beach resort with an awesome house reef to snorkel or dive and can handle the heat ( it’s near the equator) you’ll be very happy there. I stayed two weeks and did 17 dives, but could have dove more with house reef night and day dives available as long as you have a buddy. Food was served family style and it was good, healthy fare. I was the only American diver with a group of German and Swiss divers, some of whom had been there previously many times. The other divers and the owner/divemaster spoke good or great English and were very considerate to include me and in many conversations. The accommodations were in separate cottages very close to the long sandy beach and many people relaxed in the shade on cushioned lounge chairs with only the sounds of the wind and waves to soothe you when not diving. The snorkeling on the house reef was awesome with many reef fish, pelagic, turtles, rays, large schools of small and large fish close to the shore and on the edge of the drop off. I was able to capture wonderful stills and video while snorkeling for hours on some days. Dives were planned according to the tides and current of that day and some first boat dives were as early as 6 am with the second dive at noon with the times changing daily with the tides. You have to be flexible with the dive schedule to get your two boat dives completed. Arranged transportation was very good but is only on Fridays. One couple arranged their own ferry, car and short speedboat ride to get to the resort after diving in Bira, but that took 4 hours and was reasonable to accomplish and in cost. I chose to spend 2 weeks in Makassar, which is a very vibrant commercial city and the highlands of Toraja, which was full of cultural, hiking and rafting possibilities. Shout out to Sarah of the Sulawesi Castle homestay for being an excellent host, cook, storyteller and arranger of tours. She bakes awesome cakes, breads and desserts as well. I spent a wonderful day rafting with Toraja Outdoors Sports Adventures and highly recommend them. They also do bike trips. What did I see? Vertical walls full of life, diversity and colors. Spotted Eagle, Leopard and Blue point Rays, lots of turtles and some sharks. A small manta ray , , large schools of snappers, sweetlips, mackerel, durgans, anthias, and more. Nudibranchs, lobsters, slugs, flatworms, small octopuses, Napoleon Wrasse, aggressive Titan Triggerfish, Picasso fish, groupers, so many butterflyfish, many species of parrotfish and so much more. Most of the dives had little or no current but some dives we just flowed with it. One day, snorkeling on the house reef, I had to put a lot of effort into finning against the current for an hour to get some amazing photos of a shark investigating what an Eagle Ray was finding in a sandy patch near the drop off. Irvi, our Indonesian divemaster was great at pointing out big and little stuff to see and photograph. He was very knowledgeable about all the reef inhabitants and was always helpful and happy. Jochen, the owner and other divemaster, was all those things as well as very concerned about the safety of the divers, preserving this beautiful section of the reef and the health and happiness of the guests. The dive boat is a bit crowded with 12 divers, but we managed without problems. All the staff were great at making this remote resort work smoothly. I enjoyed my stay and would consider returning. Study the website thoroughly to familiarize yourself with the details.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Fiji, Costa Rica, Virgin Islands, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Belize, Nevis, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenadines, Florida Keys, Yap, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Indonesia
Closest Airport	Makassar	Getting There	I flew United nonstop to Manila to dive at El Galleon in Puerto Galera. Then Garuda to Jakarta and Makassar. Arranged morning transport by car of 5 hours to Bira then 2 hours by speedboat to very remote resort.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, cloudy, dry	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	85-88°F / 29-31°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	40-70 Ft/ 12-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	60 minutes max, 5 minutes safety stop, minimum 2 hours surface interval with two boat dives and unlimited house reef and no solo diving without permission.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
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	The rinse tank is on shore. Take your camera gear to your cottage to charge and prepare. Indonesian plugs. No compressed air.

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Dive Review of Selayar Dive Resort/Same in Indonesia/South Sulawesi

Selayar Dive Resort/Same: "Spectacular Walls with Amazing Biodiversity!", Nov, 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 Selayar Dive Resort/Same in
Indonesia/South Sulawesi