The one friend I talked too yesterday just got back. He said the diving was just plain not good. He dives all over the region, and I've come to trust his judgement. He posted some of his pics on FB, and other photog/dive friends of his commented on them and how they felt the same way about Wakatobi. He was at a "Shootout" event, and although it wasn't at the Wakatobi Resort, he said the overall diving was poor in the area. Very little sealife and marginal reefs was the way he expressed it. I'm quite dissapointed... I was really excited about Wakatobi
Here's some of what he said....
Wakatobi really isn't that great anymore. except for the main resort, I think you are going to be kinda disappointed. Most guests just dive the house reef there now
I was in the WA bit of Wakatobi... no fish schools, not much reefs... the wide angle was all grey but it had ****loads of massive barrel sponges and sea fans.... I really don't care much for those.... and the macro life was almost non existent... I couldn't even find anemone shrimps to shoot in over 60% of the anemones I checked... really made it tough for the shootout
So this guy wasn't even at the Wakatobi resort or anywhere near it? Wangi-Wangi (the WA in Wakatobi) is hugely exploited by the oil industry (see the National Geographic article on the endangered Wangi Wangi flycatcher) and I'd imagine this impacts the diving somewhat. It's also far from the reefs under the protection of the Wakatobi resort, which is located off Tomea, the TO. No wonder his diving sucked, but you're comparing apples to, if not oranges, maybe pears?
So...based on this and me not knowing the area... what do you think Mossman? You were there recently. Was he diving an area that isn't as good as the sites the resort boats go?
I went back and read your TR again, which makes me even more confused...LOL. I don't have a lot of basis for comparison in the region. I've done the Similans on a LOB, which was by far the best trip I have ever done. Have you been there? If so how would you compare the 2? Maybe my friend is a little more selective and less impressed because he has so much experience in the region??? Thanks for taking the time to read through the muck...LOL.
I haven't done the Similans, but in the W. Pacific, I've done Bali-Komodo, Thailand-Burma, Palau x 2, Yap, and Truk. I have no doubt you'll find better diving in places in Indo that are harder to get to, eg. Raja Ampat, but I don't think you'd be disappointed with the diving in Wakatobi over a short time frame. As I said, I found myself wishing more more variety after 7 days, but my real beef was that my camera shutter stopped functioning just as I had set up a perfect pygmy seahorse shot and that's hardly Wakatobi's fault.
Your friend might still be disappointed by the diving in Wakatobi's protected area if he's been diving all around the area, who knows? There was a group of 20+ divers when I was there, many of whom had done the Paradise Dancer in R/A the year before and while they all raved about the diving on that trip, no one seemed disappointed at all by their Wakatobi experience. As for "most guests just dive the house reef", that was definitely not the case when I was there as I was one of the few who did dive the house reef more than once (had to do something while J was getting massages).
If you want "great diving and stay in a shed" as another poster suggests, go for it, especially if you don't mind getting yourself there on various domestic flights, overnighting in flophouses in sketchy towns, and putting up with resorts that have no A/C or hot water. You'll certainly save money. There's no doubt that Wakatobi is expensive. But it's similar to complaining that one's Ford Mustang can do a 0-60 faster than another's BMW. If all you care about is the 0-60 time and saving money, the Ford is clearly the way to go. If you like a little comfort though maybe less raw power and you can afford it, go with the BMW.
Overall, I preferred the diving on my Bali-Komodo trip. The Komodo sites were excellent and we hit a few nifty spots on the way there and back (though we also did some dives that were absolutely dead, where I should have stayed on the boat). The boat was indeed comfortable, at 180' feet easily the largest liveaboard I've been on, and the camera facilities were amazing. That said, I still enjoyed my Wakatobi trip even more. Unless you're a pro or dive fanatic, it's a dive vacation you're taking and Wakatobi emphasizes the vacation aspect. When I was younger and poorer, I didn't mind bunking on boats and sharing a head with 20 people, heck, camping out and diving together would have been fine, who even needs a shed? Still, even if you do a couple shore dives each day on top of the 3 boat dives at Wakatobi, you'll still be on land for the majority of your time, and that's where Wakatobi shines.
As you mentioned, and that's exactly how I thought, the cost is comparable to luxury liveaboards in many parts of the world. I've been on a few of them: Kararu Voyager, MV Anggun, Palau Aggressor, Truk Odyssey, Galapagos Aggressor II, Sky Dancer, Okeanos Aggressor, Turks & Caicos Aggressor, and Tahiti Aggressor. While many of those had excellent food, comfortable cabins and public rooms, and great service, none compare to the "liveaboard" that is Wakatobi Resort. While I thought the a/c could have been better in our bungalow (thatched roof doesn't keep the cool in very well) and we had toilet issues (eventually fixed), the rooms were otherwise large and comfortable - I'd shell out the extra for one of the upgraded, newer rooms however. The food was restaurant quality using top ingredients, easily exceeding anything produced on any of the aforementioned liveaboards. House wine was fine, but mixed drinks, from tropicals to dirty Sapphire martinis, were excellent, and very enjoyable during the happy hour at the end of the dock. Service, while usually outstanding on liveaboards, was over the top at Wakatobi - this makes it most liveaboard-like IMO as you don't have to carry a thing: your gear stays set up on the boat just like a liveaboard, unless you need it for a shore dive in which case they'll transport it to your assigned "station" at the dive facility, and they even carry cameras back and forth from the camera room to the camera table on the dive boat, or will take it from you as you exit the water after a shore dive. Throw in the available of cheap massages (the hot rock massage seemed the most popular), affordable internet accessible from the bungalow, even (albeit spotty) cell service, big tanks available (AL 100s) so heavy breathing photographers can still get their 60-70 min bottom dive on every dive, nitrox and even rebreather support for those so inclined, and grounds constantly being manicured so it looks and feels like you're staying at a boutique resort in Hawaii, not a remote island in a 3rd world country, it's luxury liveaboard on steroids.
If you'd already done other liveaboards and dive resorts around Indonesia, had dealt with the issues of traveling around the country and had experienced the best of what Indonesia can offer underwater, Wakatobi might not be the best for you unless you were more interested more in the land amenities. But as a first trip to Indonesia and your second to Southeast Asia, and assuming the cost won't throw you in the poor house, I don't think you'll make a mistake choosing Wakatobi.
I was having camera issues there, but still managed to snap a few u/w photos there (the latter set were the ones I pulled for the photo "contest" on the last night):
https://picasaweb.google.com/Mossman.Photos/Indonesia#
https://picasaweb.google.com/Mossman.Photos/Indo2#