Dive Review of Wakatobi -- Pelagian in
Indonesia/South Sulawesi

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Wakatobi -- Pelagian, Oct, 2012, by Robert , OR, US ( Contributor 13 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 6889.
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	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Wakatobi is 600 miles east of Bali and 300 miles away from any other dive operation or liveaboard. Travel to Wakatobi Resort is via private charter to their private airport, then a transfer via boat to the resort. Wakatobi staff meet you on arrival at the Denpasar airport, taking care of Immigration and tourist visas while you pick up your luggage. They then accompany you through Customs. You have to spend at least one night in Denpasar. (We spent 3 nights in Kuta. Hey! It’s a long flight!) On the day you leave for Wakatobi Resort, they again meet you at the airport, get you checked in, then take you to an airport lounge to await the charter flight. Guests receive VIP treatment all the way. The Bali office will assist you in making any other travel arrangements you need. (We had them arrange for transport from the Denpasar airport to Tulamben, on our return from Wakatobi.) The Bali office will store any of your unneeded luggage for you while you’re at Wakatobi. (On the theory that the less luggage you take, the more supplies they can put on the flight for the resort.) They have the stored luggage waiting for you at the Denpasar airport on your return. The cost for two passengers for 7 nights on the Pelagian was $7,500; 5 nights at Wakatobi Resort $4,500 (separate review.) So, it’s a little pricey, but we feel we got our money’s worth in great diving, great food, great service and great accommodations. More than once, they took Bob out on night dives when he was the only diver. While we didn’t see many critters that we hadn’t seen before, there was a profusion of everything! Hundreds of Mandarin fish on a night dive at Magic Pier. (A creepy venue with crappy vis, but an exciting dive nevertheless.) Dives ranged from pinnacles to walls to muck. Dive times were 0645, 1015, 1415 and 1740. Dive tenders were RIBs (back roll entry) that would be a bit cramped if you had six divers. (There were 4 of us, plus DM.) The gear stays on the RIBs. The crew analyzes the Nitrox for you and you watch the process, since the RIBs were usually hanging from davits until dive time. We saw a whale while we were under way, not while diving. The Captain slowed and changed course, so we could whale watch from an appropriate distance. The staff, food and accommodations were top shelf. They definitely believe in customer service. The diving was great and the trip was worthwhile.
Websites	Wakatobi -- Pelagian
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Australia, Bali, Belize, Costa Rica, Egypt, Fiji, Grenadines, Guam, Hawaii, Honduras, Irian Jaya/Papua, Jamaica, Keys, Komodo, North Sulawesi, Palau, Philippines, PNG, Solomons, St. Vincent, Tahiti, Truk, Turks & Caicos.
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	20-50 Ft/ 6-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Nitrox depth limits; signal DM at 750 psi.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	1 or 2
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics	N/A
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]

Subscriber's Comments

By Maria Chapman in TX, US at Feb 21, 2013 07:26 EST

Good report, thanks. Can you please give names of cruise directors and/or photo pro on Pelagian?

By report author: Robert in OR, US at Feb 21, 2013 19:38 EST

Ben and Kaori were cruise directors/dm's. No photo pro per se. I would like guess it is Ben. No photographers on our trip.

By Maria Chapman in TX, US at Feb 21, 2013 22:06 EST

Thanks lots. I have been trying to track down the italuan couple who was doing those two jobs when we were onboard Pelagian. CiCi and Marco... They were really, really good. Glad you enjoyed the trip.

By report author: Robert in OR, US at Feb 23, 2013 14:21 EST

We were assigned to an Italian DM named Marco during our stay at the resort, but we don't have a last name. We never heard any reference to a DM named Cici, tho.

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Dive Review of Wakatobi -- Pelagian in Indonesia/South Sulawesi

Wakatobi -- Pelagian, Oct, 2012,

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):

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Wakatobi -- Pelagian in
Indonesia/South Sulawesi