I was in Weda Resort ( Weda Reef & Rainforest Resort - Best Diving and Birding in Halmahera ) Halmahera – Indonesia for a 12 days dive trip in April 2019 , and I’d like to share my experience .
Reservation :
I contacted the resort directly and discuss accommodation and diving . Payment possible on check out but I preferred to pay in advance so I get also discount 10% .
Get there :
I flew from Italy to Jakarta , stay some hours in an Hotel near airport and take late at night a direct flight to Ternate ( Halmahera Island ) landing the following day h 07:25 .
Pick up in the airport from the Weda staff and then 15’ by car + 45’ by speed boat + 2 hour 30’ by car so I arrived h 12:00 in Weda resort . Smooth and well organized .
Accomodation :
Very comfortable even without aircon because the roof leave the air to enter . I’d say is not a luxury bungalow as some other resort , anyway all what you need for a perfect diving vacation is well provided . Very clean room , confy bed with mosquito net , a large table to work with the camera , big bathroom with hot shower . A nice veranda to enjoy the sunset . And just few step from the diving and from the restaurant .
My only complain was the frogs were very noisy at night ! ( also becuase it was a lot of rain at night )
Restaurant :
the food was very good and plenty ! Lunch and dinner was in family style and fish , chicken and at least 4 vegetarian options were served every time .
Afternoon snack was served directly on the bungalow veranda ( this was a nice touch ! )
Wi-Fi works only in the restaurant and was just enough for some wathapps .
Birdwatching :
I'm not a big fan of birdwatching but it's worth an early woke up end join the expedition to see the Standard Wing Bird of Paradise in the jungle . A big professional monocular was setted up by the guide , so I saw wery well his dancing ritual . The guide had incredible eyes and he showed me many others birds I cannot count .
Diving operation :
2 dives in the morning starting on 7:30 for reef dive and 1 dive in the afternoon 15:00 usually for macro . Night dive available ( but 3 dives was more than enoug for me because 70-90 minutes each one ) .
Dive boat was very confortable , fast , semicovered , easy to get in and out , plenty of space , and also rinse tank on board for 2 big DSLR camera !
Snack on board , as well as water , coffee and tea . Great crew , as always in Indonesia , take care of all .
Group are small , max 4 divers for 1 dive master , but usually 2-3 .
Diving :
As underwater photographer I was there for wide angle photography and I was not disappointed !!!
No other dive shop around , no big boat transit ( just some small fisherman boat ) …. all the sea was only for us !
Even if there was a lot of rain at night during my stay ( unusual for the period ) the visibility was from great to excellent .
Anyway we had to dive mostly the off shore dive site ( Loleo , Tidore , Elmoos ) for best visibility .
Hope next time I will be there ( … and yes , I have to came there again for sure ! ) I'll be able to dive the dive site close the coastline .
Macro dive was also good with some dives really "muck style " on sandy slope in search of mimic octopus and frog fish .
Very special dives were Gorango and Shark Mountain in early morning . So many fish !
Dive condition was perfect : flat sea , warm water ( 29-31°C ) , great visiblity , none to moderate current . Great snorkeling possibility as well and fantastic shallow part of the reef .
It was really a great experience : one of the best place I ever dived for reef and coral , and very good fish life as well , ..... anyway more than thousand words I think it is better to show you some photos :
Reservation :
I contacted the resort directly and discuss accommodation and diving . Payment possible on check out but I preferred to pay in advance so I get also discount 10% .
Get there :
I flew from Italy to Jakarta , stay some hours in an Hotel near airport and take late at night a direct flight to Ternate ( Halmahera Island ) landing the following day h 07:25 .
Pick up in the airport from the Weda staff and then 15’ by car + 45’ by speed boat + 2 hour 30’ by car so I arrived h 12:00 in Weda resort . Smooth and well organized .
Accomodation :
Very comfortable even without aircon because the roof leave the air to enter . I’d say is not a luxury bungalow as some other resort , anyway all what you need for a perfect diving vacation is well provided . Very clean room , confy bed with mosquito net , a large table to work with the camera , big bathroom with hot shower . A nice veranda to enjoy the sunset . And just few step from the diving and from the restaurant .
My only complain was the frogs were very noisy at night ! ( also becuase it was a lot of rain at night )
Restaurant :
the food was very good and plenty ! Lunch and dinner was in family style and fish , chicken and at least 4 vegetarian options were served every time .
Afternoon snack was served directly on the bungalow veranda ( this was a nice touch ! )
Wi-Fi works only in the restaurant and was just enough for some wathapps .
Birdwatching :
I'm not a big fan of birdwatching but it's worth an early woke up end join the expedition to see the Standard Wing Bird of Paradise in the jungle . A big professional monocular was setted up by the guide , so I saw wery well his dancing ritual . The guide had incredible eyes and he showed me many others birds I cannot count .
Diving operation :
2 dives in the morning starting on 7:30 for reef dive and 1 dive in the afternoon 15:00 usually for macro . Night dive available ( but 3 dives was more than enoug for me because 70-90 minutes each one ) .
Dive boat was very confortable , fast , semicovered , easy to get in and out , plenty of space , and also rinse tank on board for 2 big DSLR camera !
Snack on board , as well as water , coffee and tea . Great crew , as always in Indonesia , take care of all .
Group are small , max 4 divers for 1 dive master , but usually 2-3 .
Diving :
As underwater photographer I was there for wide angle photography and I was not disappointed !!!
No other dive shop around , no big boat transit ( just some small fisherman boat ) …. all the sea was only for us !
Even if there was a lot of rain at night during my stay ( unusual for the period ) the visibility was from great to excellent .
Anyway we had to dive mostly the off shore dive site ( Loleo , Tidore , Elmoos ) for best visibility .
Hope next time I will be there ( … and yes , I have to came there again for sure ! ) I'll be able to dive the dive site close the coastline .
Macro dive was also good with some dives really "muck style " on sandy slope in search of mimic octopus and frog fish .
Very special dives were Gorango and Shark Mountain in early morning . So many fish !
Dive condition was perfect : flat sea , warm water ( 29-31°C ) , great visiblity , none to moderate current . Great snorkeling possibility as well and fantastic shallow part of the reef .
It was really a great experience : one of the best place I ever dived for reef and coral , and very good fish life as well , ..... anyway more than thousand words I think it is better to show you some photos :
