Indonesia resort in August for snorkelers

[Prosha]

Two of us are trying to select a dive resort for August of next year. We both dive but prefer to snorkel. What would you recommend in terms of a location and a resort? We would like the place to be considerate of snorkelers and not focus only on divers. Is that possible? We are currently considering -- Wakatobi, Komodo Resort and Murex Banga. We have been to Lembeh strait and Bunaken for diving before. Have not been anywhere else in Indonesia.

 

[boletus1973]

Two of us are trying to select a dive resort for August of next year. We both dive but prefer to snorkel. What would you recommend in terms of a location and a resort? We would like the place to be considerate of snorkelers and not focus only on divers. Is that possible? We are currently considering -- Wakatobi, Komodo Resort and Murex Banga. We have been to Lembeh strait and Bunaken for diving before. Have not been anywhere else in Indonesia.

Umh.. did you prefer good snorkeling just out of the room or snorkeling trips with the boat? never been to wakatobi but Komodo is mostly snorkeling with the boat and if you share the boat with divers sometimes you have to skip snorkeling in some dive places because they aren’t safe and snorkel during surface intervals…
for murex they have a good house reef but limited to certain times because the position.. in summer with winds the sea can be rough with some currents… for an avid snorkeler coraleye resort have a more easy out of the room house reef.. I think every resort can organize snorkeling trips!

 

[Prosha]

Umh.. did you prefer good snorkeling just out of the room or snorkeling trips with the boat? never been to wakatobi but Komodo is mostly snorkeling with the boat and if you share the boat with divers sometimes you have to skip snorkeling in some dive places because they aren’t safe and snorkel during surface intervals…
for murex they have a good house reef but limited to certain times because the position.. in summer with winds the sea can be rough with some currents… for an avid snorkeler coraleye resort have a more easy out of the room house reef.. I think every resort can organize snorkeling trips!

We are definitely looking for a resort with a great house reef but also lots of snorkeling from a boat. I understand that most resorts can organize snorkeling trips but often they require 4 people to do that or snorkelers join divers and, as you said, stay on the boat, if a site is not suited for snorkelers. We would like to avoid this obviously.

I will look at Coral Eye. Thank you

 

[abernat]

We have just returned from Wakatobi. We are divers but on every boat there were snorkelers with their own guide. There were no dive sites which were unsuitable for snorkelers and they came back on the boat raving about what they saw. If some site was unsuitable for snorkeling due to current, the boat took them to a nearby more protected site. They were generally picked up last by the boat. No extended swims (nor for the divers). Of course the rest of the resort was exquisite.

 

[Prosha]

Abernat, thank you so much! Did you travel to Wakatobi in August? Was there much wind? Was it choppy at the house reef?

 

[abernat]

Abernat, thank you so much! Did you travel to Wakatobi in August? Was there much wind? Was it choppy at the house reef?

We were there 25AUG - 8SEP. The wind decreased over that time and the visibility went up. This is fairly typical. Earlier on the wind kept us from going east from the resort due to chop but there were still many sites accessible. It was never particularly choppy at the house reef and there were snorkelers out everyday at all hours. There was strong current but that did not bother them, just the divers. On the house reef, a water taxi will take you out or pick you up on your schedule.

 

[Prosha]

Got it, thank you very much!
I am still very torn between Alami Alor (or possibly Alor Divers), Komodo resort and Wakatabi. Where will it be most calm and protected and who will be best at catering to snorkelers? Sounds like Wakatabi is great with snorkelers, which is awesome to hear!

 

[abernat]

I have not been to Alami Alor or Komodo so can't speak to them. Wakatobi is awesome in terms of client service. The boat rides tend to be 15 minutes or less and the sites are protected although there will likely be some chop during the rides.

 

[Prosha]

Thank you! 15 minutes of choppy seas sounds manageable!

 

[Qbrew]

Agreed about Wakatobi. I dive and my wife snorkels. She received excellent service from the dive/snorkel staff. She was the first off the boat and the last to be picked up. My dives were 55 to 65 minutes, she was in the water 75 to 90 minutes. I snorkeled a few times with her both on the house reef and off the boat. Snorkeling was fantastic as the diving. We we're with the same guide our entire stay and there were no more than 6 in my dive group, usually no more than 3 in her snorkel group. About 50% of the time she was the only snorkeler on the boat so just her and the guide.