This place looks like a dream come true. I assume the older reviews about the bad water, bugs, 11 divers per DM .. and all are 'old'. Have recent divers at Wakatobi had good to great experiences?
Wakatobi info please
- Thread starter xrcjdx
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Luckily I'll get to report back to you about "recent" experiences in a couple of months. As for the other things, I didn't experience any of it. Bugs are a part of the tropics, so you should be prepared anyway. I find Cactus Juice works great for me. The water was amazing and I didn't see any group with more than 4 or 5 divers per DM on my trip. My wife and I had a Villa and so we were assigned a great DM for the whole trip (one DM for the two of us).
I don't know what it'll be like post-pandemic, but I'm hoping it's similar to how it was the first time.
We will look forward to your report .. didn't realize you get the private guide with the villa .. price list breaks it out separately but maybe for the bungalows.
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xrcjdx
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Dan
Contributor
I just returned from 10 days at Wakatobi and am pleased to report they are still one of the best dive resorts in the world (IMHO). Everything we experienced during our initial trip in 2019 was similar or better this time, as the shut down time allowed the resort to update and repair a few things, and it apparently allowed to reefs to thrive. We definitely noticed the amount of fish was much more than before, and the reefs looked great. The service at the resort is still first class all the way, and everything, from the food to the dive team to the resort managers, was just as good as it was during our first trip.
Because we caught the end of the rainy season, the weather was a bit challenging some days, but there was only one dive we chose not to do (although the boat did go out anyway). There were no pesky bugs to speak of, except maybe some houseflies...the environmentally friendly pest control worked wonders. The underwater visibility was estimated at between 70-100 feet, temperature was a constant 85-86 deg F, and the most divers I saw with a DM was 4 (we had a private dive guide for me and my wife). A few raw, unsigned pics from the trip are attached.
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Wow @BFRedrocks those pics are amazing and I hope you share a few more once you've settle back. We went ahead and made our deposit .. it's a ways off (June '24) and a special birthday trip to splurge for. Your pictures wet our appetite
drrich2
Contributor
I assume you're referring specifically to Wakatobi Dive Resort. It's famous for overall quality experience and infamous for high prices; whether a given level of 'luxury' is worth a given added premium cost is up to the potential customer. Evidently you thought it was, for you. Can you elaborate specifically on what features you personally got for whatever extra cost you paid (vs. some hypothetical cheaper alternative; I have't priced any out so I don't know the numbers) that made it worthwhile to you? It might help others struggling with that decision.
Also was over in Wakatobi in late October '22 as part of a local shop trip and had a great time. Yes, expensive, but had a great time. The Resort agents had shepherd'd us though the arrivals at Bali, which was nice to have after being pretty nackered from the flights from Seattle to Bali via Singapore. Out of the group of about 10, we had 4 CCR divers, which the resort is able to support nicely. The "Waka" boats were really nice to dive from, and nicely outfitted with very nice head, large camera area, and plenty of room on deck. They are all made locally from wood and impressive. We did 70-90 minute dives, and our guide normally just hung at his comfortable depth while we were generally at deeper depths. Not many larger fish/sharks, with the biggest being an eagle ray. One of our folks did see a blacktip down deep but that was about it for bigger animals, smaller macro opportunities did not disappoint. Food was excellent with great service. We did stay in one of the oceanfront bungalows (not a villa), which was also very nice and air conditioned. Overall, yes, I'd go again no doubt. Not sure how many photos I took, but this is good sample set: Jim Piavis - Wakatobi 2022.
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