Manado resorts: Tasik Ria or Santika?

[nwflyboy]

Trying to get a better idea of the relative advantages/disadvantages of these two resorts near Manado...

Both look nice enough - big pools, plenty of luxury, great diving nearby. Now I'm looking at which one would be better for us - opinions?

Tasik Ria looks quite nice, the prices seem reasonable, I've read several posts from folks who stayed there and liked it. Question: is there a beach? It appears there is, but it's not the perfect, broad, soft-white sand beach of one's dreams (that's OK, we're not going there for a beach, but a beach that's swimmable does earn some extra points).

I've seen fewer comments here about Hotel Santika, which also looks nice. Prices there seem somewhat higher. They do seem to be marginally closer to most of the Bunaken dive sites (true? enough to make any difference?). I see no mention of a beach there so I assume there is none.

How do these two resorts compare? For our last day (non-diving before flying) I'm thinking we might want to forego any jungle/hikking/shopping trip and simply lay around and relax as we offgas rather than chaing little monkeys or climb a volcano...since it will be our last full day in Indonesia before moving on to a different part of our trip. Which resort would be better for a day of relaxation and indulgance? Does the food at either one beat the other?

How about the dive ops associated with each: Eco Divers at Tasik Ria vs. Thalassa at Hotel Santika? Does either one have a better small-group experince (i.e diving with just a small number of bodies versus a crowded cattle operation)? Is there good diving out front of each resort's house reef? Does either one have an edge for good DMs, better boats, more flexibility, personal service, etc.?

Thanks a bunch for any recomendations!

 

[nwflyboy]

Replying to myself (is that an indication I need professional help?)...

After googling and searching through past posts here, I'm now leaning towards the Hotel Santika/Thalassa Dive Center.

It sounds like this is significantly closer to the Bunaken dive sites (10-15 minutes versus 45 - 60 minutes at Tasik Ria). They typically come back to the resort during surface intervals; at Tasik Ria, you get on the boat at 8 am and return at 5 pm.

No beach at the Hotel Santika, but the beach at Tasik Ria sounds marginal; both have nice, big pools.

Food may be slightly better at Santika.

The dive ops at Tasik Ria (Eco Divers) get mixed reviews. Some folks thought they were great, others decsribed a cattle boat experience and some DMs with issues. The reviews of the dive op at Santika (Thalassa) seem universally positive; their boats look too small to cram 20 divers on to.

The good news: just about everybody agrees the diving is great.

I'm going to ponder this just a bit more but am leaning strongly towards the Hotel Santika/Thalassa Dive Center. If anyone present knows of a reason why this couple and this resort should not be joined in vacation bliss, speak now or forever hold your piece...

Seriously, if you think I'm making the wrong choice, please speak up.

Thanks!!!

(BTW, a full, detailed trip report is promised upon my return )

 

[opalobsidian]

We stayed at Santika and dove Thalassa last year, we had a great time!!!! Simone of Thalassa is super consiencoius, and if you e mail her she might cut you a deal which is significantly lower than published prices, she did for us, but we were staying for 10 days.

The breakfast buffet at Santika is great, really a vast and varied selection, from scrambled eggs and toast to bubur and salted fish lips. But dinner SUUUUUUUUUX. What most people did was venture into Menado for dinner and drinking safaris. The DMs will be DYING to take you into town and show you around, ours even wanted to take me to his village to get a tattoo because I admired his....ah if I were 20 years younger, or just a little bit drunker....

The moral of this story is, I think you're making a great choice!

 

[ss Taylor]

Can’t comment on the Santika Hotel, as we have never stayed there. Have seen Thalassa dive boats out on the reef, they are quite small and don’t look that comfortable to me.

With regard to the Tasik Ria and Eco Divers I do feel more qualified to comment as I have just returned from my sixth visit there. The hotel is one of my most favourite places in the world. The low-rise rooms are set amongst a beautiful, mature and well-tended tropical garden. Some rooms overlook the wonderful pool with its sip and dip bar. (The pool is one of the warmest I have ever swam in) and other rooms have a beach view. All rooms have a/c and are furnished to an excellent standard.

The food at the Tasik is very good, breakfasts are buffet style with a huge selection, eggs anyway you want them, bacon, sausages, breads, cakes, pastries, fresh fruit, yoghurt (made at the hotel) and a wide selection of oriental dishes plus of course, tea, coffee, water and juices. Evening meal main course is cooked to order and you can choose from an extensive menu of Indonesian and international foods. Starters and deserts are chosen buffet style. Once a week weather permitting a bar-b-cue is held outdoors on the beach.

The staff at the Tasik are friendly, charming and extremely helpful nothing seems too much trouble for them.

We note your comments about the beach and to be honest it is not great, but who needs that with the hotels beautiful pool and gardens.

The Dive Operation

The management and staff of Eco divers run an extremely professional and efficient operation, yet at the same time are very friendly and approachable.

Yes the dive boats do leave between 8.00am and 8.30am and do not return until about 5pm ish this has never been an issue with me. The journey to the dive sites for me has always been part of the fun and adventure of diving. The boats are large and well appointed and even when full there is plenty of room to sunbathe or to sit and read on the spacious upper deck, there is also a sheltered area should the sun become too hot or the rain too hard. On the lower deck there is a large and comfortable saloon, with plenty of power points for charging, cameras, torches, etc.

A hot lunch is served on board, (included in the cost of your dive package) usually after the second dive; the food is plentiful, well cooked and varied. Tea, coffee, fresh water, soft drinks and biscuits are available throughout the day.

We note your comments referring to a “crowded cattle operation” this is not the case with Eco divers. Divers enter the water in small groups usually no more than 4 to a group with a dive guide for each group, furthermore entry into the water is staggered, so a large group of divers doesn’t enter the water together.

The dive deck is spacious with each diver having their own kit up area with plenty of room for equipment storage and dedicated areas for camera and video storage. A clean towel is provided on a daily basis.


The dive boat crew and the dive guides are brilliant, they are very knowledgeable in regard to the marine life and can spot creatures, which anyone else would normally swim past. They are helpful, friendly and have a great sense of humour this all adds to the enjoyment and fun of diving with Eco divers.

I have been fortunate enough to travel widely and have dived in some amazing locations throughout the world and have used many different dive operations but in my opinion it is without a doubt Eco divers are second to none.

We hope this information is of interest to you and just to let you know we are already planning our return.

 

[JenM]

I second the thumbs up on the Santika and Thalassa Divers. I don't know anything about Tasik Ria so I can't comment on them - I'm sure it is a great place to stay. However, when we choose our location in Manado, we specifically chose the Santika because we didn't want to spend the whole day on the boat. We prefer short rides to the dive sites. Since we didn't know much more about it, when we got there, we were pleasantly surprised at the beauty and comfort of the resort. Because it is just 10-20 minutes from the majority of the dive sites in Bunaken it is the closest you can get to the marine park while still having AC in your room. Also, because they usually come back to the resort, you can choose to sleep in if you want and catch the 10:30 dive rather then the 8:30. Or you can skip the morning altogether and do an afternoon and night dive.

Their dive boats are small and typical of the wooden panga style of the area. All have shade, one or two have marine heads. They are fine for the trip to Bunaken and back, but they don't have the level of comfort that it sounds like the Tasik Ria boats have. We did do an all day trip to Bangkka and the boat was fine for that. (They also can arrange for all day trips to the outer islands in the Marine Park, Lembeh, and Poopo with a minimum of four divers). The boats don't take more than 8-10 guests so you'll never be in a big group. If you did have 8 or 10 divers, you would have at least 2 DMs and the group would split up. The DMs were great, very interested in pointing out the little stuff and no time limits or "herding" going on.

There are a couple of things you should know about the Santika. They didn't matter to us, but YMMV. Regarding the food, it was fine for us, but we aren't very picky. The pizza was decent, and the Indonesian dishes were okay - not great, but not bad either. Breakfast was fine and when we were there, lunch (local Indonesian dishes) was supplied at the dive shop if you were diving all day. They have a nice lounge area at the dive shop to hang out, chat and eat, but you could also go up to the hotel if you wanted something more western.

The resort is surrounded by mangrove swamps, so as others have mentioned, there is no beach, but the pool area at the hotel is quite nice.

There's a looooong walk on a jetty through the mangroves from the diveshop to their little wharf, but they will transport all of your equipment. It's only a problem when you come back between dives and "gotta go" if you know what I mean - the bathrooms are back at the dive shop, not down at the wharf.

Their house reef is not right off shore, it is about 2 minutes away by boat so you can't just grab a tank and jump in. However, the dive op is so flexible that it was easy to arrange with them to take us over to it. It is a really nice reef with tons of critters (blue ribbon eels, pygmy seahorses, etc.) as well as good coral. This is where they do their night dives.

As you can probably tell, we really liked the Santika. In fact, we are hoping to go back for our second trip there in November.

 

[nwflyboy]

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm sure both places have their strengths and weaknesses.

For me, I think the edge goes to the Santika & Thalassa primarily because they're closer to the dive locations and have smaller boats. There were also a few items that raised my concerns in a trip report posted here:http://dive.scubadiving.com/members/tripreports.php?s=2904

Items that I found of particular concern were:

While we were sitting there trying to be patient during the incredibly boring orientation, one of the Eco Divers boats came back to the resort. It was a big boat, and packed with divers. The four of us looked at each other and knew we were in trouble. Cattle Boat Alert! The Bunaken Marine Park is 45 minutes from the resort so a big boat would make the crossing more comfortable. But, there was another big boat sitting out in the harbor with Eco Divers logo on the side -- oh no, economics: pack the boat and that way we only need to run 1 boat. I don't know what I was thinking when I booked our diving here. I saw the big boats on their web page but it didn't dawn on me that it would be so crowded or that the resort would be so far from the Marine Park.

and

The following morning we had breakfast and then boarded the big boat, found all our gear, and went up on the top deck for the trip out to the Marine Park. Along the way, we saw several pods of dolphin and also a sail fish. When we got close to our first dive site there was a briefing en masse and the dive groups were formed. They broke all the divers up into groups of not more than 5 divers and assigned each group a guide and group number. We were group 4. Group 1 was told at the end of the briefing to go downstairs and get geared up. Midway through group 1 gearing up, group 2 was told to gear up. Midway through group 2 gearing up, group 3 was told to gear up. When it was finally our turn, group 1 was exiting the boat. When group 2 was ready, they exited the boat, and so on. This method was meant to keep the groups apart but it wasn't very effective. We encountered the other groups on nearly every dive. It was beautiful but too crowded with divers.

and

On our first day of diving there were about 17 divers on the boat, the second day there were 9 divers and on the last day, there were about 24 divers.

I found this particularly troublesome, although I'm sure many folks wouldn't even have noticed or cared:

Another criticism I have about the dive operation concerns smoking on the boat. There were several smokers on board with us (including me) every day. There was a sign posted outside the salon which said "No Smoking." People interpreted this as meaning "no smoking in the salon." So people smoked just outside the salon (on the dive deck by the salon door) and also upstairs. There was no place designated as a smoking area and thus, no place for non smokers to avoid the second hand smoke or smell. This problem could have been avoided with a simple statement at the briefing indicating that smoking was allowed only when the boat was in motion and in the designated area at the end of the dive deck. Enough said.

Personally, I've got a very low tolerence for inconsiderate smokers, least of all on a crowded dive boat.

Granted, the trip report referenced above is not overwhelmingly negative about the hotel/dive op (in fact, far from it - sounds like there's clearly much to like). And of course a single report only tells part of the story of one person's experience. Still, the prospect of being on a boat with 24 divers, crowds in the water, and no place to escape from smoke....that's not my idea of what I'm looking for when I fly to the other side of the world for an expensive and much-anticipated vacation.

So I think I'm going with Santika/Thalassa. Although it appears there are a few areas where Tasik Ria/Eco Divers might edge them out (sounds like better food), the proximity to the dive sites and the smaller boats (even if they're less comfortable, that's not much of a concern with 15-minute boat rides) trump the other concerns for me.

Thanks again for everyone's input. This board is a wonderful resource - I'll definitely post trip reports upon my return.

 

[TSandM]

I don't know about Santika, but I can comment about Tasik Ria.

The resort is very nice, very pretty, and the rooms are comfortable and the air conditioning works well. Bottled water is provided in the rooms. There's a small lending library for down time, and we had massages available at the resort, although I didn't avail myself of them (why get a massage when you could be diving?) I really liked the bar out at the end of the pier, where you could sit and have a drink and watch the sun set and the lights on the fishing boats, and you could have dinner there if you wanted (at an additional charge).

The boats are large and comfortable and you can rattle around on them. There was plenty of room to gear up, and I liked the individual spaces for towels and dry clothes. I also liked the availability of electrical outlets and dry areas for charging light and camera batteries en route, as well as the showers on the aft deck of the boat. Although the boats carried a lot of people, we were divided into small groups, and yes, we saw the other groups from time to time, but I certainly didn't feel we were overcrowded. The guides were VERY good at spotting the tiny and unusual, and getting our attention -- no mean feat in the kind of currents we were diving in!

Lunches on the boats were the best meals we had there, in my opinion. Wonderful Indonesian food -- vegetables and chicken and fish and noodles, along with the wonderful spicy sauces (my mouth is watering writing this). The food at the resort was indifferent, although there was enough variety that those who did not want to eat Asian food could avoid it. I loved the local food, and thought what we got on the boats was better.

Anyway, I'd say that I can't think of any reason I wouldn't go there again, if I were to dive Bunaken, although I can't think of anything that would keep me from looking at other options, either.

Now, KBR is a different story (on the Lembeh side). THAT place, and its dive op, were simply wonderful.

 

[Wisnu]

Both are nice resorts and excelent dive operations; with its plus minus as described by other posters; I consider equal and will choose the best offer. But, for my next year Menado trip I am considering Sedona Manado / Euro-Divers - they claim as ***** accomodation with pristine white sandy beach, private lagoon.

 

[nwflyboy]

I'm sure both are quite nice, and we would be happy at either. It's nice to have such good choices to agonize over.

In the end we decided to go with Santika/Thalassa Divers primarily due to the shoretr boat rides (Mrs nwflyboy does get seasick on longer boat rides, so the prospect of a 10-15 minute ride out to the dive sites versus 45-60 minutes helped us decide).

Thanks again to everyone for their input. I promise a full trip report when I get back.

 

[pelan-pelan]

Just got back. If you want personalised diving, fantastic views, spacious well-equipped cottages (tons of hot water) and food at top class level

www.lumbalumbadiving.com

Just got back. They have been operating in the area for over 10 years. The place is pretty booked up, but they may have some spaces. And incredibly good value for money.

Expect no more than 12 on the boat, expect max 4 per dive guide if you are all 4 together in a group, otherwise diving 1 or 2 or sometimes 3 to a guide. Dives on Bunaken and also the muck and critter sites of Manado-side (pygmy seahorse, flamboyant cuttlefish and 2 hairy frogfishes all in one dive in last 2 days).

Whilst we were there they had groups from Europe - many of them were returners. Can't speak highly enough of the operation. Total relaxed experience. Gear is all labelled for you, put on the boat for you, all you have to do is walk down the drive from breakfast on the verandah to the boat. Guides listen to what kind of dive you want. They know their sites, coral, fish and critters. The boat is well organised and they are vigilant and safety conscious. Drift diving - no problem. Food on the boat - you choose from the menu the day before and your lunch is ready for you when you come up from your first dive. Always water, tea, coffee, fruit. Crew always ask what you would like.

This would cut down on your travelling, Lumbalumba will pick you up from the airport. On your last day off-gassing you could snorkel or alternatively as you are on the mainland, you could take a trip into the hhighlands - and they can organise that for you too. Or grab a massage in their new spa room.