nacho
Guest
Has anyone ever been to Wakatobi resort I am going in may of 2006 all the pics i have seen are awsome and my LDS says it is one of the best places to dive in the world what do y'all think of it
Wakatobi
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scubashooter
Contributor
If you've booked why are you asking if it's good? The resort is nice enough. Visited while on liveaboard in Nov, having been there twice before. The diving is macro and coral, with pelagics very thin and hardly large. If you are into pygmy seahorses, it's a nice area to be in.
I personally don't like the management and the way they handle the diving. They are biased to certain divers who can break rules (and coral!) and also the dive procedures, A to B to C style. Food was crap but I think that's been rectified, as have the accomodations.
Still expensive for what you get. Komodo/Irian Jaya/Alor/Maumere is a better destination.
I personally don't like the management and the way they handle the diving. They are biased to certain divers who can break rules (and coral!) and also the dive procedures, A to B to C style. Food was crap but I think that's been rectified, as have the accomodations.
Still expensive for what you get. Komodo/Irian Jaya/Alor/Maumere is a better destination.
Scubashooter is pretty accurate.
It's all macro. If you like to see a ray or a shark swim by once in a while, you will be disappointed.
We were there in October. The food was miserable. The resort caters to photographers. The DM will even show stuff to the photographers before the rest of us, contrary to what their web site states.
It takes a long time to get there (not their fault). Their charter leaves for Wakatobi early morning, it took us two days to get to Bali. Don't get bent there, the plane only comes in three times a month.
They make you do mask and emergency air share skills on checkout dive. Potential for problems, as the staff person was not qualified if there had been an incident at 60 feet where we did the skills.
They say they pay off the locals for their fishing rights, (trying to justify the expensive resort) but we found them fishing at nearly every site.
This is a very expensive trip- consider instead almost any of the popular Pacific destinations, or Cozumel four times!
Some of the DMs were very personable, as were the locals. Management is aloof!
We won't be going back, you are stuck at the resort with the miserable food with no alternatives.
It's all macro. If you like to see a ray or a shark swim by once in a while, you will be disappointed.
We were there in October. The food was miserable. The resort caters to photographers. The DM will even show stuff to the photographers before the rest of us, contrary to what their web site states.
It takes a long time to get there (not their fault). Their charter leaves for Wakatobi early morning, it took us two days to get to Bali. Don't get bent there, the plane only comes in three times a month.
They make you do mask and emergency air share skills on checkout dive. Potential for problems, as the staff person was not qualified if there had been an incident at 60 feet where we did the skills.
They say they pay off the locals for their fishing rights, (trying to justify the expensive resort) but we found them fishing at nearly every site.
This is a very expensive trip- consider instead almost any of the popular Pacific destinations, or Cozumel four times!
Some of the DMs were very personable, as were the locals. Management is aloof!
We won't be going back, you are stuck at the resort with the miserable food with no alternatives.
scubashooter
Contributor
Nachonacho:
You wrote "... been to Wakatobi resort I am going in may of 2006..." That indicated you booked already. Sorry if you took that as admonishment. Just wanted to clarify. I found many people asking if it's good or safe AFTER they book a great deal on impulse.
DenverDiver
Lorenz gets funding to payoff the fishermen, and they are allowed to fish with single lines , not bombs and trawler nets. What you are paying for is the airport (BIG MISTAKE). You haven't been where you had to travel 48hrs once in Indonesia to get to the resort! THAT was an adventure. I thought the food problem was gone was they got rid of the swedish "cook". It's also a matter of supplies, 3 times a month is not enough to load up on supplies by plane (since most passengers take up the weight with baggage). If you're going to such a remote place, it's just too much to expect great food. My beef was they couldn't even do a local indo dish decently because they think european and believe all europeans can't handle spices.
To be fair, if you get into DCI problems, you can get med-evac from Bali anytime (in the day), so just make sure you have your dive insurance.
They told us they rotate chefs from "5-star" resorts in Bali. We have friends that must have gotten the same rotated staff.
They also warned us that air support wasn't commonly available from Bali, the boat ride is 22 hours.
They also warned us that air support wasn't commonly available from Bali, the boat ride is 22 hours.
scubashooter
Contributor
That boat ride is to Kendari, then there's the bus ride to Makassar to get the flight.
The air support is available, but not right now... seems it's being used in Acheh.
The air support is available, but not right now... seems it's being used in Acheh.
I was thinking of going to Wakatobi in April but decided not to go because of the price. A week there would cost at least 2-3x what it would cost to dive just about everywhere else in SE Asia. I will go to Dumaguette in the Philippines instead and not including airfare, the trip is about 4 times cheaper. It is about twice the price of Komodo or Irian Jaya and I am not sure if it is really twice as good. Oh well, I suppose one of these days I might make it there but for now, there are so many other places in SE Asia I have not been to so Wakatobi is not high on my list right now.
scubashooter
Contributor
Well the area isn't so bad. I think a liveaboard is actually worthwhile for coral scenery and reef macro. When I was in the area in Nov, it wasn't bad... it wasn't great. The dive sites around the resort are decent, the better sites and the 2 pelagic sites are nearer Hoga, too far for a day boat but worth it on a liveaboard.
If you want to compare Wakatobi to Papua Barat or Komodo, there's no comparison. Komodo has better pelagics, corals are on par as is the macro life. Papua has better corals, soft and hard, biodiversity out of this world and the macro is still yet to be fully explored. However, WackyToby is good for the photographers who want to dive one site to get that shot of the pygmy seahorse over and over. Sort of like lembeh, but lembeh is better!
If you want to compare Wakatobi to Papua Barat or Komodo, there's no comparison. Komodo has better pelagics, corals are on par as is the macro life. Papua has better corals, soft and hard, biodiversity out of this world and the macro is still yet to be fully explored. However, WackyToby is good for the photographers who want to dive one site to get that shot of the pygmy seahorse over and over. Sort of like lembeh, but lembeh is better!
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