Last minute Christmas trip...Sangalaki????

[happybuddha]

I originally planned to go home to the US for Christmas but changed my mind a couple of days ago. I usually go to Puerto Galera for the holidays but the girlfriend has laid down the law (I'm thinking the same thing but like her to think she is in charge) that we need to do something different this year.

I've been searching around SB and the internet and it looks like a lot of people like Sangalaki. So I sent off an email today to Sangalaki Dive Lodge inquiring about Dec 18-31 expecting that they would be fully booked and to my surprise they came back saying not only do they rooms but "we have special promotion which starts 1st Dec 05-31st January 06. Normally our price is USD220 per person/night but the promotion prices is USD180 per person/night inclusive of accomodation on the island (twin sharing basis),all food & beverage while at the resort (exclusive bicarbonate & alcohol drinks) and 3 boat dives daily."

I'm not so concerned about whether this is a good price or not (their published rate on the website is US$250/person/day), but what am I missing. During what is normally most resorts busiest period, why would they be running a discount? Is business that bad due to security concerns? Is the "rainy season" that supposedly starts in worst than I've read? What/Why?

Its always been my experience that there is no free lunch, and its nearly impossible to find rooms 26 days before Christmas.

Cheers,
Drew

 

[kthan]

hv heard rumours about SDL which i cannot verify so good for you that your alarm bell starts ringing.

I stayed at Derawan Island Resort and thoroughly enjoyed myself there. Sangalaki is only a 45 min boat ride away.

That said, the DMs told me there are "some waves" during the end of the year period but they have a wonderful house reef just off the jetty.

Email Eva (www.divederawan.com) directly and ask for vacancies. Don;t know if mentioning a referee helps but i think should be in the same price range as SDL.

Eric

 

[happybuddha]

Hi Eric,

Thanks for the quick response, as I said, there ain't no free lunch so anyone with specials at Christmas must have issues.

I almost sent you a PM earlier, before I posted, as I saw posts where you were going to visit the area. I always feel better talking with someone that's been there.

I'll be sure to use your name, do you mind telling me you family name so I can use it in my message?

How many days do you reckon one should spend there? I'm fairly flexible with how many days I can stay (within reason). Is 5-6 days about right?

Cheers,
Drew

 

[kthan]

Baring in mind that there 4 are islands you are visiting - Derawan, Sangalaki, Maratua and Kakaban....1 week is just about right. it all depends on how many "excursions u wanna make. If u see mantas, it is always never enough the best connection via Singapore is Sat-Sat, leaving the island on Fri afternoon and off-gas at Berau.

Kakaban and Maratua have some fantastic drift dives with pelagic sightings. Enough reviews have been written about diving there and I believe you prob know them pretty well. One advice i would give is to off-gas in Berau rather than in Derawan. Cheaper that way and sure beat leaving the island in the early morning (4-5am) just to catch the first flight to Balikpapan.

Waht i did was on the last day, i did an early morning dive. Clean my gears and left for Berau after lunch. Will reach Berau (Segar Bumi hotel) around 5pm. Have a good nite rest and catch the first flight out at around 8.30 am the next day. Airport is just a short 10 min drive away from hotel.

Tell Eva that Eric Han from Singapore told u to contact her directly.

 

[happybuddha]

kthan,

Thanks, my first email bounced so I rang them this morning and it turns out they had a server problem last night. Anyway, I've now been in communication with a guy named Sonny and the good news is they have rooms available. I find it amazing both them and Sangalaki still have rooms this near the holidays. I guess people have security concerns, I don't know.

Anyway, thanks for the tips on the diving. Sonny said in his email, if I understood it correctly, Maratua is only as option for bookings of 8 days/7 nights or more but he didn't give a reason and I don't see anything about that on the website. Anyway, that's about what we plan to do, except do Tuesday to Tuesday-this should work just as well with flight schedule shouldn't it?

Thanks,
Drew

 

[kthan]

That you would have to check the silkair Website or with the Derawan staff. At first i thought the package was expensive. I didn't know the islands were that far ....Sangalaki is 45 min, Kakaban is about 1 hr and Maratua is about 1.5 hrs. And we are talking about travelling time on a twin engine 200hp speed boat!

Email me at erichan@scubadiving.com if you have more queries.

 

[shimashimaya]

sangalaki is a great place to dive - a paradise of sorts. and you have done the ABSOLUTELY right thing by booking a room at derawan, not that I've stayed at the resort there before. i HAVE however stayed at sangalaki dive lodge, not once but twice and i tell you, it's definitely NOT worth your money - staying there could just in fact ruin your entire dive holiday. the service is AWFUL (boatmen escaping to nearby islands because of cheaper beers there, and not returning till late morning/early afternoon the next day), place is dirty and unhygenic (cockroaches in room, guests were served rain water), dive master abandons guests in the water, and all kinds of other nonsence. a micky mouse outfit that charges sky-high prices.

have loads more to say, and will do so at greater lengths soon. meanwhile, enjoy your time at derawan. sangalaki is indeed a diving paradise. you will love it.

 

[Jaevis]

I share same sentiments with shimashimaya about Sangalaki regarding service level. Having stayed there myself in August, I totally agree that diving was great. However, management sucks real big time! Under no circumstances should you stay at SDL! Just run a search on this forum on Sangalaki and you'll know what I mean.
kthan mentioned about travelling distance and time between the 4 islands. That is something you'll need to consider. From what the DM at SDL told me, the best season is in Sep. It gets a bit rough during Nov and Dec and crossing the sea to Maratua can prove rough and dangerous. That should be the reason why Maratua is an option for longer stays... so that they hope for a better day to do the crossing.
My niece stayed at Derawan in May and came back with all praises. Ultimately, it'll be your choice. Whatever you choose, happy and safe diving! Hope you made a right choice.

 

[happybuddha]

Thanks for all the input, sounds like Derawan is a good choice. Have any of you ever thought of doing a few days at Derawan and then moving to Nabucco? Would there be any benefit to that? I thought it might be nice to be close to "Big Fish Country" for a few days.

I'm still a little concerned about the weather during Christmas, have any of you been there during the last two weeks of the year? It would be nice to have sunshine a lot of the trip, more to keep the GF happy than me...I'm OK with a book on cloudy/rainy days between dives, but the GF will want to catch a few rays.

Cheers,
Drew

 

[shimashimaya]

stayed at nabucco for two nights. the resort is great, but not cheap. can't remember the price, but you can be sure of receiving 5-star treatment. the managers there - alex and silka (german couple) are very attentative and hospital and made sure guests are comfortable and happy. diving at 'big fish country' was a nice change from sangalaki too - one can go quite deep there, barracudas galore and loads of other great stuff to see. had some of my greatest dives there.

i dont really know about the weather in dec. i was there in march this year and the weather was ****e. it was raining practically everyday! was there again in august this year - raining as well, though not as much! think it's really the luck of the draw, but am sure your GF would be able to catch a couple of rays nevertheless ;-))

ps. the resort on nabucco (www.nabuccoislandresort.com) has a romantic feel about it - am sure your GF would love it....