Raja Ampat or Wakatobi?

[little_turtle]

My husband and I are also in the final stages of booking Wakatobi from 12th to 22nd October 2012.

Had anyone else been there at that time of year before? It will be our first dive trip to Indonesia, so we are hoping it will be a good introduction.

Also, can anyone recommend a particular room type over another, as we want to have easy access to the beach to make the most of the shore diving .

 

[highdesert]

We were there at the exact same time and the weather was perfect. Sunny, a few clouds floating around, flat seas. My recommendation for a room (unless you're considering one of the $$$ villas) is one of the newer bungalows south of the restaurant building. You'll get a wonderful breeze down there that you won't get north of the restaurant, plus it's very tranquil, and only about a minute longer walk to the dive center. You won't be doing shore diving from your accommodations, wherever they are, so that's not an issue. You'll do that from the gullies on the south side of the pier, or get in a tender and have them take you upcurrent for a slow drift back to the gullies, where you exit.

Go here ...

Wakatobi Dive Resort - Our Accommodations

... and look at the "Standard Beach Bungalows" (five of them) and "Garden Bungalows" (four). They're essentially all the same, some just set back off the beach. I think all four of those garden bungalows have water views, and probably better from the last two (#19 & #21).

Here's the map of the area ...

Wakatobi Dive Resort - 360 Quicktime Virtual Reality gallery

You'll love it ... have fun!

PS - The bungalows are actually east of the restaurant, not south ... but they are the most southern group of bungalows.

 

[Sideways]

My husband and I are also in the final stages of booking Wakatobi from 12th to 22nd October 2012.

Had anyone else been there at that time of year before? It will be our first dive trip to Indonesia, so we are hoping it will be a good introduction.

Also, can anyone recommend a particular room type over another, as we want to have easy access to the beach to make the most of the shore diving .

Hiya LT Just a thought.... we Just booked Oct 12 to 22nd 2012, and were told we were getting the very last spot (Due to a very large group going then). We wanted the Oct. "12 day" slot, but it was already full too (another large group) Maybe your with the big group that's already slated in??? Hopefully when you say "Final Stages" that means you already have your reservation, if not I would contact Wakatobi ASAP. Hope to see you and Hubby there!

Greg

 

[Bali Diver]

October excellent time to dive the whole region with very calm conditions.

 

[Stamatatou Amalia]

i also booked raja ambat with mermaid liveaboards and had to cancel , but they were ok and returned my money of deposit , as the cancellation policy stated ( 90 days prior the journey):blinking:
sorry you had to loose yours.

 

[little_turtle]

Thanks for your input everyone!

I think Wakatobi will be a good introduction to Indonesian diving for us, and we look forward to great visibility in Sept/Oct.

When the new airport opens in Sorong (due at the end of 2012 I think?), which will make it a bit easier to get to Raja Ampat, we hope to head to Misool Eco Resort.

We have narrowed the dates down for Wakatobi to:

Friday 28th September to Friday 5th October: 7 nights
Friday 12th October to Monday 22nd October: 10 nights
Wednesday 17th October to Saturday 27th October: 10 nights

Only a Garden Bungalow or Select Bungalow is available for these dates, so the hardest decision will be should we go for 7 or 10 nights?

Any advice? Any thoughts on if 7 nights is too short, and does anyone have any experience with the Select Bungalows (i.e. are some better than others for view etc)?
​

 

[little_turtle]

Greg, I forgot to mention that I think the only reason there is availability from 12th to 22nd October is that 1 or 2 rooms from the large group booking were released. But availability is very limited in September / October (I think there are only a couple of rooms available for the dates that I mentioned).

If we end up booking 12^th to 22^nd October, I’ll let you know

 

[highdesert]

If the Garden Bungalow is one of the four beyond the restaurant (Nos. 15-21), I would personally take that over the Select Bungalow. Better price (if that's an issue), a nice breeze, tall palm trees, access to a nice little beach in front, and a short walk to the restaurant. The Select Bungalows sit up on a ledge off the water, and the breeze doesn't come from that direction that time of year, at least not like down on the other end. Some of the older Garden Bungalows (Nos. 9-13) sit back surrounded by vegetation, out of the breeze, and get a lot of foot traffic past them.

Wakatobi Dive Resort - 360 Quicktime Virtual Reality gallery

Seven nights would go in a flash, and there are plenty of dive sites to visit if you go for 10 nights. I could have stayed for 10 more nights. After all that travel, go for the longer trip!

 

[little_turtle]

Good advice highdesert! With the Garden Bungalows, I assume 19 or 21 would have the best ocean view?

 

[highdesert]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure ... we were in 18, on the beach, and we remarked about how good those two looked. There's very low vegetation there, and then tall palms. Nothing much of the height that would block the view or the breeze. Those would be my picks!