redseal1tx
Registered
- Messages
- 49
- Reaction score
- 11
- # of dives
- 2500 - 4999
RESORT ACCOMMODATIONS:
1. Sanur Beach Hotel Bali Discover Paradise in The Most Romantic Hotel Bali
The hotel is located directly on Sanur Beach. The beach itself is considered white sand in Balinese terms, but dont be expecting Panama City Beach, FL, Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman, or Bahamas type sand at Sanur Beach. Although the beach is a wonderful place to spend many hours, the sand is very course with broken shells and coral. I recommend wearing water shoes or sandals on the beach. After an hour walk on the beach, the bottoms of your feet will feel like they were rubbed raw by sandpaper.
The rooms at the hotel are extremely clean and well maintained.
The Breakfast Buffet was included in our accommodations. This is the LARGEST breakfast buffet Ive have ever seen. The buffet items take up 3 walls of a large open air restaurant that includes eggs to order, omelet station, fresh made pancakes, a huge assortment of pastries, fresh tropical fruit, 5 flavors of tropical fruit juices. Suffice it to say its huge. If you go hungry you have serious issues.
Sanur Beach Hotel also has two large pools, one with a swim-up bar. The grounds of the hotel are immaculately clean with a grounds crew that should be awarded for their hard work. The 3 days we were at the hotel it was completely booked. However, the grounds are so large that you never felt crowded. If you like to relax around the pool, you will need to reserve your lounge chair early in the morning if you want a good spot.
2. Wakatobi Dive Resort Paradise Found
The resort grounds are spotless; not a hint of liter anywhere to be found. The grounds crew at WDR keep the grounds spotless.
WDR is one finely tuned organization from the boat pick up from the air strip right down to the place settings at the restaurant. The staff at WDR doesnt miss a thing and no reasonable request is considered off limits.
We surrendered our Passports to the WDR representative on the boat ride from the air strip to the resort. We had our Passports back the first evening at the resort. By the time we arrived for dinner on the first evening, everyone in the restaurant knew our names. The staff must have a cram session during the afternoon to recognize everyones face and associate their names. This really makes you feel welcome and completely at home. You will NOT be disappointed with the food or service at the restaurant. There are many staff members assisting guests at all meals. Two staff members Budi (pronounced Bu-deye) and Made (pronounced Ma-day) are fabulous hosts and always wear a genuine happy to have you here smile. They cant do enough to make your staff a lifetime memory.
I highly recommend booking early a Balinese Traditional Massage. The Masseuses know how to get all the kinks out after traveling such great distances for the Wakatobi experience.
The house keeping staff is the stealthiest staff members at the resort. Their ability to spotlessly clean all the bungalows and villas while we were out on our morning dives is amazing. You leave for the first dive at 7:30 and by the time you return for lunch you have a spotless bungalow.
The restaurant is an open-air building that seats 50 people comfortably. The food is gourmet served buffet style. This is NOT your local Country Kitchen Buffet in the States where you pile on tons of food that was made by the former culinary engineer at your local prison. There is no way you will lose weight when spending a week at WDR. The chefs are outstanding culinary experts who prepare a wide variety of courses to thrill the most discriminating tastes. One night, Wahoo Sashimi was offered as one of the 5 appetizers. One of the restaurant staff told me that the Wahoo was caught just 2 hours prior to my devouring it.
WDR has a Pastry Chef on staff who, I believe, was trained in Europe. The fresh breads and desserts help the carbo-loading your body needs to have enough energy for each dive.
There are always freshly made treats on each dive boat between all dives. The Long House also provides an assortment of snacks and beverages in the afternoons.
DIVING:
The water temperature was a consistent 82 degrees Fahrenheit or 27.7 Celsius every day for both day dives and night dives.
Im 62 and weigh 185. I am not gifted with massive amounts of natural insulation so I get cold very easily and quickly. I wore a full 5mm wetsuit with a 3mm beanie and was very comfortable throughout the entire week. I also packed a 3mm vest with integrated 5mm hood just in case I needed it, but the vest was not used. Others more gifted with natural insulation were comfortable diving with a Board Shorts and a Lycra long sleeve skin.
The visibility on the dives was in the 50-75 fsw neighborhoods.
Current:
During the week we spent at WDR (28 September 6 October) there was significant current at each dive site and the House Reef. We had a running joke about the WDR Dive Experience Managers who would identify a mild current on each dive that had to be at least 2 knots strong. This is not your Cozumel drift diving where you go with the flow. The dives we experienced were always into a stiff current. It was an excellent test of how to dive into currents and take photos at the same time. If youre comfortable in current, this should not be a problem. If you never dove into current, or are new to diving into a current for 70 minutes, this may be an issue for you. This information is not provided to dissuade anyone from going to WDR. You just need to know the type of conditions you will experience. As an example, 2 snorkelers from our group went snorkeling on the House Reef at approximately 1430 one afternoon and were swept away in the current. One of the WDR small skiffs were dispatched to rescue the snorkelers who were retrieved in the deep blue between WDR and Tomia Island a significant distance from WDR. In fact the current was so strong one of the snorkelers had a fin dislodged from a foot during the time in the water.
Checkout Dive:
The checkout dive took place on Friday afternoon on the House Reef. A small skiff takes divers to the western end of the House Reef where we back roll off the skiff into the water and descend to approximately 30 fsw. The current was brisk during the checkout dive moving the divers in an easterly direction back toward the WDR Jetty. While moving with the current each diver is required to demonstrate neutral buoyancy, regulator removal and recovery, mask flood/removal recovery and clear, and air sharing with a buddy. The ease and success of these skills will have a definite effect on whether a diver is allowed to participate in the Fluo-Dive offered as an extra dive at night. The Fluo-Dive cost an additional $160 USD. As a personal aside, Ive been diving for 36 years and the Fluo-Dive was the most spectacular night diving event Ive experienced.
Diving Day:
The diving day begins at 0730 with a ride in a small skiff to the larger dive boats. 0730 doesnt mean strolling down the beach toward the skiff. It means being on the dive boat or you will be left behind (in a nice tropical way).
The DEM provides a through dive briefing with associated map of the dive site.
All dives are a minimum of 70 minutes. If you dont think you can make 70 minutes on an 80 cubic foot aluminum tank, there are 100 cubic foot tanks available in both air and Nitrox.
After the first dive, the dive boat will either return to the resort for the surface interval or remain at sea and head to the second dive site. If the dive boat returns to the resort, it stays there for about 25 minutes before heading out for the second dive.
Since the dives are 70 minutes long, take advantage of the hot drinks available on the dive boats.
When the second dive is finished, the dive boats return to the resort for a well-earned lunch.
The afternoon dive requires that all divers be on the dive boats at 1415. If you choose not to participate in the afternoon boat dive, you can dive the House Reef with all its abundant marine life. There is a Barracuda who lives on the House Reef under a ledge in about 35 fsw. The only reason I mention him is due to his size; hes got to be at least 5 feet long and his girth is the thickness of a large mans thigh.
Our group of 24 was separated into two groups of 12 divers on 2 dive boats. The 12 divers were then divided into 2 groups of 6 divers. Each group of 6 divers had its own Dive Experience Manager. My group was fortunate enough to have Vanessa as our Dive Experience Manager. Vanessa is an outstanding DEM with the ability to locate the minutest marine life on the reefs. Pygmy seahorses were no match for Vanessas keen eye.
For those who have been to Wakatobi, the following dive sites we on the diving itinerary: Dunia Baru, Malabea, Kollo-Soha Beach, Blade, Cornucopia (I believe this is the site where the Whale Shark was sited), Waitii Ridge, Fan 38 East, Trail Blazer, Roma, Spiral Corner, Galaxy, Batfish Wall, Pocket, The Zoo, and Magnifica. The night Fluro Dive took place at Dunia Baru.
Marine Life:
The abundance of marine life is a pleasant surprise as is the pristine condition of the reefs we experienced compared to the amount of diving I do in the Caribbean.
We did not experience the 100 foot viz like you might see in the Caribbean, but you are rewarded with an abundance of marine life on every dive. When I say abundance, there were some points on a few dive sites where my vision of the coral was obstructed by the abundance of fish. In fact, on several occasions, I was literally run over by schools of Pyramid Angel Fish, Clown Triggerfish, Black Durgeons, and Silversides. I was also amazed at the number of juvenile fish and fish nurseries along the walls; simply spectacular.
Our dive boat was escorted to the Blade dive site by a pod of dolphin and a pod of Pilot Whales.
The Marine life is truly too abundant to mention each species we saw during each dive. However, just to mention a few we saw several Anemone fish, Clown Fish, Banded Sea Snakes, Giant Moray Eels, Cuttlefish, Frogfish, Morish Idols, Regal Angelfish, Leaf Scorpionfish, Jawfish, Turtles and one very special guest; a Whale Shark. The Whale Shark was approximately 20 feet long and stuck around our other dive group for approximately 20 minutes.
1. Sanur Beach Hotel Bali Discover Paradise in The Most Romantic Hotel Bali
The hotel is located directly on Sanur Beach. The beach itself is considered white sand in Balinese terms, but dont be expecting Panama City Beach, FL, Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman, or Bahamas type sand at Sanur Beach. Although the beach is a wonderful place to spend many hours, the sand is very course with broken shells and coral. I recommend wearing water shoes or sandals on the beach. After an hour walk on the beach, the bottoms of your feet will feel like they were rubbed raw by sandpaper.
The rooms at the hotel are extremely clean and well maintained.
The Breakfast Buffet was included in our accommodations. This is the LARGEST breakfast buffet Ive have ever seen. The buffet items take up 3 walls of a large open air restaurant that includes eggs to order, omelet station, fresh made pancakes, a huge assortment of pastries, fresh tropical fruit, 5 flavors of tropical fruit juices. Suffice it to say its huge. If you go hungry you have serious issues.
Sanur Beach Hotel also has two large pools, one with a swim-up bar. The grounds of the hotel are immaculately clean with a grounds crew that should be awarded for their hard work. The 3 days we were at the hotel it was completely booked. However, the grounds are so large that you never felt crowded. If you like to relax around the pool, you will need to reserve your lounge chair early in the morning if you want a good spot.
2. Wakatobi Dive Resort Paradise Found
The resort grounds are spotless; not a hint of liter anywhere to be found. The grounds crew at WDR keep the grounds spotless.
WDR is one finely tuned organization from the boat pick up from the air strip right down to the place settings at the restaurant. The staff at WDR doesnt miss a thing and no reasonable request is considered off limits.
We surrendered our Passports to the WDR representative on the boat ride from the air strip to the resort. We had our Passports back the first evening at the resort. By the time we arrived for dinner on the first evening, everyone in the restaurant knew our names. The staff must have a cram session during the afternoon to recognize everyones face and associate their names. This really makes you feel welcome and completely at home. You will NOT be disappointed with the food or service at the restaurant. There are many staff members assisting guests at all meals. Two staff members Budi (pronounced Bu-deye) and Made (pronounced Ma-day) are fabulous hosts and always wear a genuine happy to have you here smile. They cant do enough to make your staff a lifetime memory.
I highly recommend booking early a Balinese Traditional Massage. The Masseuses know how to get all the kinks out after traveling such great distances for the Wakatobi experience.
The house keeping staff is the stealthiest staff members at the resort. Their ability to spotlessly clean all the bungalows and villas while we were out on our morning dives is amazing. You leave for the first dive at 7:30 and by the time you return for lunch you have a spotless bungalow.
The restaurant is an open-air building that seats 50 people comfortably. The food is gourmet served buffet style. This is NOT your local Country Kitchen Buffet in the States where you pile on tons of food that was made by the former culinary engineer at your local prison. There is no way you will lose weight when spending a week at WDR. The chefs are outstanding culinary experts who prepare a wide variety of courses to thrill the most discriminating tastes. One night, Wahoo Sashimi was offered as one of the 5 appetizers. One of the restaurant staff told me that the Wahoo was caught just 2 hours prior to my devouring it.
WDR has a Pastry Chef on staff who, I believe, was trained in Europe. The fresh breads and desserts help the carbo-loading your body needs to have enough energy for each dive.
There are always freshly made treats on each dive boat between all dives. The Long House also provides an assortment of snacks and beverages in the afternoons.
DIVING:
The water temperature was a consistent 82 degrees Fahrenheit or 27.7 Celsius every day for both day dives and night dives.
Im 62 and weigh 185. I am not gifted with massive amounts of natural insulation so I get cold very easily and quickly. I wore a full 5mm wetsuit with a 3mm beanie and was very comfortable throughout the entire week. I also packed a 3mm vest with integrated 5mm hood just in case I needed it, but the vest was not used. Others more gifted with natural insulation were comfortable diving with a Board Shorts and a Lycra long sleeve skin.
The visibility on the dives was in the 50-75 fsw neighborhoods.
Current:
During the week we spent at WDR (28 September 6 October) there was significant current at each dive site and the House Reef. We had a running joke about the WDR Dive Experience Managers who would identify a mild current on each dive that had to be at least 2 knots strong. This is not your Cozumel drift diving where you go with the flow. The dives we experienced were always into a stiff current. It was an excellent test of how to dive into currents and take photos at the same time. If youre comfortable in current, this should not be a problem. If you never dove into current, or are new to diving into a current for 70 minutes, this may be an issue for you. This information is not provided to dissuade anyone from going to WDR. You just need to know the type of conditions you will experience. As an example, 2 snorkelers from our group went snorkeling on the House Reef at approximately 1430 one afternoon and were swept away in the current. One of the WDR small skiffs were dispatched to rescue the snorkelers who were retrieved in the deep blue between WDR and Tomia Island a significant distance from WDR. In fact the current was so strong one of the snorkelers had a fin dislodged from a foot during the time in the water.
Checkout Dive:
The checkout dive took place on Friday afternoon on the House Reef. A small skiff takes divers to the western end of the House Reef where we back roll off the skiff into the water and descend to approximately 30 fsw. The current was brisk during the checkout dive moving the divers in an easterly direction back toward the WDR Jetty. While moving with the current each diver is required to demonstrate neutral buoyancy, regulator removal and recovery, mask flood/removal recovery and clear, and air sharing with a buddy. The ease and success of these skills will have a definite effect on whether a diver is allowed to participate in the Fluo-Dive offered as an extra dive at night. The Fluo-Dive cost an additional $160 USD. As a personal aside, Ive been diving for 36 years and the Fluo-Dive was the most spectacular night diving event Ive experienced.
Diving Day:
The diving day begins at 0730 with a ride in a small skiff to the larger dive boats. 0730 doesnt mean strolling down the beach toward the skiff. It means being on the dive boat or you will be left behind (in a nice tropical way).
The DEM provides a through dive briefing with associated map of the dive site.
All dives are a minimum of 70 minutes. If you dont think you can make 70 minutes on an 80 cubic foot aluminum tank, there are 100 cubic foot tanks available in both air and Nitrox.
After the first dive, the dive boat will either return to the resort for the surface interval or remain at sea and head to the second dive site. If the dive boat returns to the resort, it stays there for about 25 minutes before heading out for the second dive.
Since the dives are 70 minutes long, take advantage of the hot drinks available on the dive boats.
When the second dive is finished, the dive boats return to the resort for a well-earned lunch.
The afternoon dive requires that all divers be on the dive boats at 1415. If you choose not to participate in the afternoon boat dive, you can dive the House Reef with all its abundant marine life. There is a Barracuda who lives on the House Reef under a ledge in about 35 fsw. The only reason I mention him is due to his size; hes got to be at least 5 feet long and his girth is the thickness of a large mans thigh.
Our group of 24 was separated into two groups of 12 divers on 2 dive boats. The 12 divers were then divided into 2 groups of 6 divers. Each group of 6 divers had its own Dive Experience Manager. My group was fortunate enough to have Vanessa as our Dive Experience Manager. Vanessa is an outstanding DEM with the ability to locate the minutest marine life on the reefs. Pygmy seahorses were no match for Vanessas keen eye.
For those who have been to Wakatobi, the following dive sites we on the diving itinerary: Dunia Baru, Malabea, Kollo-Soha Beach, Blade, Cornucopia (I believe this is the site where the Whale Shark was sited), Waitii Ridge, Fan 38 East, Trail Blazer, Roma, Spiral Corner, Galaxy, Batfish Wall, Pocket, The Zoo, and Magnifica. The night Fluro Dive took place at Dunia Baru.
Marine Life:
The abundance of marine life is a pleasant surprise as is the pristine condition of the reefs we experienced compared to the amount of diving I do in the Caribbean.
We did not experience the 100 foot viz like you might see in the Caribbean, but you are rewarded with an abundance of marine life on every dive. When I say abundance, there were some points on a few dive sites where my vision of the coral was obstructed by the abundance of fish. In fact, on several occasions, I was literally run over by schools of Pyramid Angel Fish, Clown Triggerfish, Black Durgeons, and Silversides. I was also amazed at the number of juvenile fish and fish nurseries along the walls; simply spectacular.
Our dive boat was escorted to the Blade dive site by a pod of dolphin and a pod of Pilot Whales.
The Marine life is truly too abundant to mention each species we saw during each dive. However, just to mention a few we saw several Anemone fish, Clown Fish, Banded Sea Snakes, Giant Moray Eels, Cuttlefish, Frogfish, Morish Idols, Regal Angelfish, Leaf Scorpionfish, Jawfish, Turtles and one very special guest; a Whale Shark. The Whale Shark was approximately 20 feet long and stuck around our other dive group for approximately 20 minutes.
. Quite frankly, it has me concerned now. I had read elsewhere that when the currents were present, you pretty much drift dove it. Again, hopefully someone from the resort can address this issue?
