Dive Review of Village Bunaken in
Indonesia/Bunaken

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Village Bunaken, Jun, 2013, by Ian Kennedy, CA, US ( Contributor 13 reports with 6 Helpful votes). Report 7035.
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
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We stayed at The Village Bunaken, run by an Indonesian woman and her Dutch husband. Fly to Manado then get picked up for a 40 minute car ride to the markets on the river where a boat is waiting for a 30 minute ride to the island of Bunaken. The resort has about 8 bungalows, a couple with A/C. Bugs were not a problem when we visited in June. There is a nice pool. The resort is very modern, clean and well-kept, populated largely by Dutch tourists. The resort is all-inclusive. There is a fine, and inexpensive, spa service available. For example, a 2 hour massage and scrub for about $40. Perfect for my non diving wife. The food is adequate but after seven days becomes rather boring because it has to cater to all tastes. However, they are able to make a good mojito. All the staff are very friendly and helpful. I suggest you take the time to walk into town along either the narrow road or along the beach at low tide. The small town is quite interesting and attractive in its own way. There is an ornate church in the Christian section. The town seems to be divided subtly into two sections: Christian and Muslim. Pigs in one part; goats in the other part. It is worth the 20 minute walk to get to the town. The dive operation is run by Jun who is a character. He is an instructor. My dive guide was Samuel - he was very good at his job, able to find various small critters. He was invariably friendly and helpful. On all my dives there were only two divers, myself included, for Samuel to look after. Most dives were a fairly short ride from the resort i.e., about 10 minutes to 20 minutes. On one day we went over to the mainland to a site called Wori. It was a muck dive, probably not up to Lembeh standards but interesting. We spotted a crocodile flathead, an octopus, a frogfish, sea horses, a spotted ray, a snake eel etc. Most of the diving was along walls. Some were better than others. Mike’s Point was disappointing, displaying a lot of broken and dead coral. Other sites were much better. The wall just off the village was perhaps one of the best. The corals were in good shape and there were large and small animals to spot. Maximum depths were generally no greater than about 80 feet with minor currents. Visibility was not great, typically about 50 feet. There were quite a few novice divers on my boat during my stay. These sites are suitable for divers with minimal experience.
Websites	Village Bunaken
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	South Pacific, Hawaii, Caribbean
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, no currents
Water Temp	83-86°F / 28-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-60 Ft/ 15-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	All dives are guided and very close to 60 minutes duration
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	None	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	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Fresh water bucket provided on some dives

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Dive Review of Village Bunaken in Indonesia/Bunaken

Village Bunaken, Jun, 2013,

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 Village Bunaken in
Indonesia/Bunaken