Wakatobi resort land-only or mixed with Pelagian in late Nov/early Dec?

[vaughnd]

Hi, we're looking at going to Wakatobi late November to hopefully avoid crowds in peak season. They only have availability on the Pelagian 1-8th Dec in the expensive superlux cabin, or 8-15th Dec in the deluxe cabin. Is the 8-15th Dec still a good time or pushing too far into their "wet" season?
We ideally wanted to do 3 nights resort, 7 nights liveaboard, 4 nights resort. One or two days of snorkelling at the resort instead of diving.

- Is it worth doing a mix? Does the Pelagian visit worthwhile dive sites that land-based can't reach?
- If we do 14 nights resort-only will the diving sites get repeated a lot? I'm happy floating around snorkelling aimlessly on the house reef for most of the day if the diving gets repeated though.
- Is the first half of December still a good time to dive?
- Am I horribly lazy for preferring diving off a Dhoni than a dinghy

We just did Raja Ampat on Scubaspa which was amazing. Been to Maldives, Red Sea, Thailand, Sodwana, Aliwal Shoal. Aiming for Palau, Komodo, etc. next.

Palau was our first option, but travel is a bit tricky and Solitude Gaia is booked up forever, and the second choice Black Pearl threw up too many red flags in my searches.

 

[cetacean]

@vaughnd

Wakatobi has the potential to spoil you for land-based dive resorts for the forseeable future...

Having been diving in much of Indonesia, Wakatobi is either one the best (or the best) land based operation in Indonesia. It's efficient, clean, and the food is very good.

The diving is very good, but if you've been to Aliwal then know that the dive region around Wakatobi is not going to yield any true megafauna. You'll see some big schools of fish, but it's really the health of the reefs as well as the biodiversity that make this region so rich to dive.

We've been 4-5 times (including during Dec.) - there is very little variation in temp and water conditions throughout the year (due to the microclimate of the area). Having been out on the Pelagian a couple of times, the further out they get (away from the resort) the more chance you'll see something different vs. diving from the resort, however the marine ecosystem isn't as well protected the farther you get away as well. The Pelagian is worth the trip, however the diving isn't that different from the local diving, just more convenient from the boat.

Re; Palau - getting there from S. Africa would be a bit of a challenge. Don't know if you heard, there was a direct flight from Singapore to Palau running once a week, unfortuntely the airline stopped flying that route a few months ago. Having said this, at least twice a week you can fly Singapore-Taipei, have a two hour layover and catch the flight to Palau. That's not horrible... As for liveaboards, we vastly prefer the Siren over Solitude in Palau, and might consider the Ocean Hunter over any other boat than the Siren as well.

Last - you mentioned you're happy to float around aimlessly on the house reef. Insider tip: in the seagrass right off the beach in front of the resort there are both pipehorse and the occasional seahorse to be found. You've got to be patient to find them (high tide also helps, otherwise it's a bit shallow).

 

[vaughnd]

@vaughnd

Wakatobi has the potential to spoil you for land-based dive resorts for the forseeable future...

Having been diving in much of Indonesia, Wakatobi is either one the best (or the best) land based operation in Indonesia. It's efficient, clean, and the food is very good.

The diving is very good, but if you've been to Aliwal then know that the dive region around Wakatobi is not going to yield any true megafauna. You'll see some big schools of fish, but it's really the health of the reefs as well as the biodiversity that make this region so rich to dive.

We've been 4-5 times (including during Dec.) - there is very little variation in temp and water conditions throughout the year (due to the microclimate of the area). Having been out on the Pelagian a couple of times, the further out they get (away from the resort) the more chance you'll see something different vs. diving from the resort, however the marine ecosystem isn't as well protected the farther you get away as well. The Pelagian is worth the trip, however the diving isn't that different from the local diving, just more convenient from the boat.

Re; Palau - getting there from S. Africa would be a bit of a challenge. Don't know if you heard, there was a direct flight from Singapore to Palau running once a week, unfortuntely the airline stopped flying that route a few months ago. Having said this, at least twice a week you can fly Singapore-Taipei, have a two hour layover and catch the flight to Palau. That's not horrible... As for liveaboards, we vastly prefer the Siren over Solitude in Palau, and might consider the Ocean Hunter over any other boat than the Siren as well.

Last - you mentioned you're happy to float around aimlessly on the house reef. Insider tip: in the seagrass right off the beach in front of the resort there are both pipehorse and the occasional seahorse to be found. You've got to be patient to find them (high tide also helps, otherwise it's a bit shallow).

Thanks! Sounds like early Dec and throwing in the Pelagian is a plan, just worried about 7 days at the resort being too little, but the budget only extends so far.

Not too phased about megafauna as I'm happy critter hunting and seeing coral gardens in good nick. Saw plenty of mantas and sharks in Raja and raggies galore in Aliwal of course. Seahorses will be a massive selling point for my wife. Saw lots of pygmies in RA, but needed a magnifying glass

Palau route for us will be Cape Town to Singapore to Manila on Singapore Airlines, then it only seems like United Airlines from Manila to Palau, but the timing is a mess so we'd have to overnight. That or find somewhere around Philippines to dive, but it doesn't look like Nov/Dec is the right season there.

 

[Jackie]

We are at wakatobi now. It’s off season and we have had our own DM this week. Only groups bigger than two are those who came together. The Pelagian isnt available this month (slow season), so we opted to stay two weeks and are doing two dives a day, so far. We havent snorkeled on the house reef yet, but everyone says there is a ton to see, morays, octopus, rays, schooling fish.
Most people stay for a week, but it’s a long trip for us and we opted to dive in a more relaxed schedule.
The biodiversity and quality of the reefs exceeds other spots we have been to (RA, Maldives) but no sharks, big rays, etc,
I dont mind repeating the sites, i must have dived the same ones in CZM dozens of times.
Its really magical and you really do have 70-75 minute dives.

 

[cetacean]

We are at wakatobi now. It’s off season and we have had our own DM this week. Only groups bigger than two are those who came together. The Pelagian isnt available this month (slow season), so we opted to stay two weeks and are doing two dives a day, so far. We havent snorkeled on the house reef yet, but everyone says there is a ton to see, morays, octopus, rays, schooling fish.
Most people stay for a week, but it’s a long trip for us and we opted to dive in a more relaxed schedule.
The biodiversity and quality of the reefs exceeds other spots we have been to (RA, Maldives) but no sharks, big rays, etc,
I dont mind repeating the sites, i must have dived the same ones in CZM dozens of times.
Its really magical and you really do have 70-75 minute dives.

@Jackie

Glad to hear it... Wakatobi is a special place (we keep returning...). If you have some patience and are willing to go slow, also try snorkeling the sea grass right out front off the beach, you can find pipehorses, seahorses, and the occasional rare nudibranch out there.

You won't find big things in the region (they were all fished out long time of ago), but within the marine protected area the fish life is abundant and the corals are pristine. Many agree that it's lkely the best run dive resort in Indonesia.

 

[vaughnd]

We are at wakatobi now. It’s off season and we have had our own DM this week. Only groups bigger than two are those who came together. The Pelagian isnt available this month (slow season), so we opted to stay two weeks and are doing two dives a day, so far. We havent snorkeled on the house reef yet, but everyone says there is a ton to see, morays, octopus, rays, schooling fish.
Most people stay for a week, but it’s a long trip for us and we opted to dive in a more relaxed schedule.
The biodiversity and quality of the reefs exceeds other spots we have been to (RA, Maldives) but no sharks, big rays, etc,
I dont mind repeating the sites, i must have dived the same ones in CZM dozens of times.
Its really magical and you really do have 70-75 minute dives.

Enjoy! We're booked for the 20th Nov for two weeks land-based. Figured we'd do a mix of diving and snorkelling as the mood takes us. Take a break from the liveaboard pace and take in some island vibes instead.

 

[rmorgan]

Pelagian is a fine boat with a great itinerary, well worth doing. We did a week at the resort and a week on the boat, and are going back in October (our first repeat) for two weeks at the resort, substantially because we didn’t do enough at the house reef. Track down Pam Osborn’s fabulous e-book of pictures, exclusively on the house reef—amazing.