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Wakatobi Dive Resort

Macro Diving

Macro Diving

Jetty Bar

Jetty Bar

In-room Breakfast

In-room Breakfast

View from the Jetty

View from the Jetty

The Reef

The Reef

Villas

Villas

 

Wakatobi Dive Resort is an award-winning luxury eco dive resort in remote Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia offering one of the world’s best diving locations and a level of service, remoteness and tranquility rarely found anywhere else on the planet.

Reached by weekly charter flight (2.5 hours) from Bali, Wakatobi is a divers mecca with a 3-mile long house reef, night diving, boat dives, nitrox diving and a very high standard of instructors and equipment to hire.

Accommodation matches the diving, with a high standard of rooms on offer including Bungalows and beachfront Villas.

What’s so Special?

Home of the world's most pristine reefs, Wakatobi offers what many claim to be the "best diving in the world."

Wakatobi is used to respecting the experience of divers and allows much more diving freedom than many dive resorts.

Bear in mind

The nearest supermarket is only 24 hours away by boat.

There are three levels of accommodation at Wakatobi; Villas, Ocean Bungalows and Palm Bungalows.

All accommodations are spacious and available with either a king-size bed or two twin beds. It is also possible to request a single bed to be added to a king bed configured room, enabling families to stay together.

All accommodation has a private balcony as well as two outdoor lounge chairs. Some also have a hammock between the trees in front.

Palm Bungalows

These very comfortable bungalows are located slightly behind and in-between the front-row Ocean Bungalows amidst beautiful palm trees and other tropical plants. Available both on the South and West section of the Resort, some Palm Bungalows even have ocean views.

Ocean Bungalows

Wakatobi's Ocean Bungalows are located directly on the beach. See the fish jump, hear the gentle waves and listen to the birds - all while seated on the balcony or in one of the comfortable lounge chairs in front of your bungalow.

They all have huge front porches with comfortable cushioned lounge beds and stunning views. They also have indoor bathrooms and huge Asian spa-style outdoor showers.

The Bungalows on the South end of the resort are the ones with the best breeze from the ocean and are an excellent choice for those who prefer to enjoy a holiday in the tropics without the use of air con (this applies primarily during June, July and August).

Wakatobi Villas

For those seeking the best – the Wakatobi Villas are the nicest accommodation option.

Located on the northern end of the resort beach and perched on small ledge just above the beach, the Villas offer unobstructed views over the ocean and sunset, even from the bathrooms.

Each villa is classically designed and constructed of earthy materials such as wood and sandstone.

They are more spacious than the Bungalows and are decorated for ultimate comfort and relaxation.

Villa 1 is a Two-Bedroom Villa with 2 bathrooms.

Features in all Bungalows & Villas:

Air-Con & Ceiling Fan

Inernet Access

Minibar

Dining

Wakatobi’s team of professional chefs are highly trained and have years of experience working in other first class resorts and restaurants before joining our team.

The food served is an international blend, combining Indonesian delicacies and flavours with dishes from around the world.

For the adventurous there are exotic dishes and for those looking for comfort foods those are available as well.

There are always multiple choices of starters, main courses and desserts.

If you have special dietary needs the chefs will happily accommodate.

This is true whether it's a food allergy or simply a preference. They are used to low-carb, vegetarian, low lactose or gluten free etc.

The chefs are used to special diets and prepare specialty meals with just a little advance planning.

In order to provide the most varied meals while having everything ready as soon as groups of hungry divers arrive at the restaurant most meals are served buffet style - but not just any buffet - this one is constantly replenished and kept fresh and hot. No stale cold food here!

Welcome Dive

After arrival there is a short orientation dive from the beach to test the functionality of your diving equipment and ensure divers feel comfortable in the water.

Beside good buoyancy and mask removal/clearing, "an out of air" simulation has to be mastered. Most guests will have no problems and can dive completely independent thereafter if they wish to do so. Less experienced/skilled divers will receive assistance from instructors.

Boat Dives

Every morning there are two consecutive guided boat dives and in the afternoons there is a third. Briefings include a dive site overview, a proposed dive profile, typical animal encounters and resident special critters.

Experienced divers can dive independently in their buddy teams without following their dive guide if they wish to do so.

The main task of the guides is to conduct a tour and point out the difficult to spot animals. The guides assist photographers in taking pictures without damaging the reef or harming the animals.

Boat dives are limited to 75 Minutes. Independent divers can choose to dive the house reef with a buddy without time limit and skip the boat dives.

Surface Intervals

In between all dives, a minimum surface interval of 1 hour needs to be observed. You will be offered refreshments and encouraged to drink enough liquid in between dives to avoid dehydration. This applies whether you chose to dive with Nitrox or without.

House Reef

The house reef is open for non-limit diving for independent divers from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Between 6 in the morning and sunset there are water taxis at guests’ disposal. Outside of these hours guest can access the house reef from the beach at leisure.

Solo Diving

Certified solo divers and experienced instructor level divers with suitable back-up equipment (at least a pony tank) and "reef friendly" dive style can obtain permission to dive solo from the dive operations manager in charge. There are pony tanks and regulators for rent.

Night Diving

Night diving off the beach is possible daily. About twice a week, subject to demand, night dives from boats are offered (typically before dinner).

 

Reef Protection

Wakatobi expects of all guests (and most of all its own dive guides) to dive carefully and to avoid damaging the reef or disturbing underwater life by chasing, touching, poking or moving.

No dive resort has integrated reef conservation into the core of their business model like Wakatobi has, where substantial resources are invested in keeping Wakatobi a marine sanctuary.

Underwater Photography

Wakatobi welcomes underwater photographers and provides excellent infrastructure and trained assistance for them. Some of Wakatobi's best friends and ambassadors are keen UW photographers.

The flexibility and freedom Wakatobi offers is highly appreciated by them. In the interest of their safety and the integrity of the marine environment the same guidelines as for normal divers apply.

Safety

Every guest is responsible for the flawless operation of his/her own equipment. Ask for assistance if you are not 100% sure.

Decompression diving is only permitted to trained, certified, insured and properly equipped physically fit divers. The nearest pressure chamber is in Bali and so requires a costly rescue flight and means the end of your holidays.

Equipment Rental

Wakatobi has all of the dive equipment needed to enjoy a state-of-the-art diving experience. If you wish to travel light, leaving your own equipment at home, Wakatobi can supply everything you need at a very modest rental price.

Wakatobi offers tailored wetsuits, vests with hoods, beenies, BCDs, regulators with octopus, computers as well as great snorkel gear (mask, fins, snorkel).

The Dive boutique also has several of these items for sale, especially hoods and vests so that you can opt to layer your dive gear if you get cold from several days of amazing diving.

Camera Room

Wakatobi has excellent facilities for working on your camera. The camera room is climate-controlled and has large work-tables and storage shelving for all your camera gear.

Workbenches have cushion pads to protect your equipment. Voltage-regulated power is provided to charge all your batteries. There is plenty of light to allow you to work on your camera.

Wakatobi offers 3 different types of dive boat diving on specially designed locally crafted dive boats.

Shore diving on the fabulous house reef and taxi boat diving on the further points of the house reef is available (the house reef is more than three miles long). It’s possible to participate in any one or all three of these options on any given dive day.

Night diving (unguided) on the house reef and 1-2 guided boat night dives are also offered.

Shore Diving

Shore Diving is Wakatobi’s ‘Signature dish’ and what has made Wakatobi the number one choice among not only resort divers but also liveaboard lovers. It has been described as the World's best shore diving.

Simply get your gear and step right out on the beach, get in the water, flip your fins a few times and enjoy some of the most amazing reef life you will ever see.

The house reef top is so prolific that many photographers find themselves out of film before they have even reached the drop-off (about 70 metres from the resort front).

Here on the house reef you can spend hour upon hour throughout your stay. Sometimes you will enter from the beach, other times from the ladder at the jetty. Most dives will be in a slight current meaning drifting at various speeds along the reef while exploring its beauty.

You can enter and exit the water right in front of the resort at high and medium tide while at low tide you will need to use the jetty or the canyon "second gully" at the corner of the island. Due to the location next to this unique island corner canyon you can shore dive at any tide!

When getting in the water in front of the resort you will first gently drift over an area completely covered in lush sea grass. This is a superb macro site with tons of wondrous critters.

Then, as you get about two thirds out on the reef flat you'll start to see the corals – lots of corals. The outer part of the house reef is completely covered with lush coral, both soft and hard. Enjoy!

You can dive the amazing house reef in buddy teams beginning at 6 am.

Taxi Boat Diving

The house reef is more than three (3) miles long. A taxi service is offered that allows you to explore dive sites on the house reef normally not accessible from the resort.

Due to the house reef being so expansive this adds several sites for you to enjoy. Simply let one of the dive guides know that you and a buddy (or a group of up to 6 divers) wish to go out with a tender boat and they will help you get your gear on board.

Then, as the boat glides out over the reef you fine tune your gear and get ready for the dive. Once over the site you will do a back roll to enter the water. The dive location will be chosen so that the current will bring you back to the resort. After a perfect, impression-intensive dive, you can then exit the water at the end of the jetty (or on any part of the beach) where Wakatobi staff will be standing by to carry cameras and dive gear.

Sometimes the predominant current will change and you may not be able to get all the way back to the resort without surfacing.

No worries - tender boats follow you as you make your dive and after surfacing, you can simply give a wave and one of the taxi boats will pick you up and return you to the beach in front of the resort.

The Taxi boat service is available from 06.00 a.m. until 5.30 pm.

 

Boat Diving

Because of the very fortunate location there's a wide range of superb dive sites within reach of the dive boats. There are more than 40 sites nearby, all accessible by a normally short boat ride. Boat rides range from 10 minutes up to a maximum of an hour for a few of the furthest away sites. Most are within minutes from the resort.

Prior to each scheduled dive boat departure, there will be a briefing at the resort by a guide. A sketch of the dive objective is displayed, the likely conditions discussed, and a dive plan rehearsed.

Known marine inhabitants and their locations are explained, along with specific advice for photographers. On arrival at the dive site, your guide will enter first. If conditions are as expected, the "pool is open".

Otherwise, your guide will amend the dive plan before opening give the OK to enter the water. Boat dives always have trained guides to locate and point out marine life and/or assist divers as needed.

Snacks are served between consecutive boat dives, as well as liquid refreshments such as tea, hot chocolate, and water. Dry fresh towels are also available. For safety purposes, all divers are encouraged to remain well hydrated.

Night Diving

Night diving at Wakatobi is fantastic! One or two night dives (depending on the length of the trip and weather) will be offered from the boats. You can dive any night on the house reef in front of the resort (unguided). Simply gear up in the diver preparation area and walk-in off the beach.

Night dives should be finished at the latest by 10.00 p.m. but special arrangements can be made to dive at other hours.

Solo diving at night is not allowed due to security reasons.

Basic Nitrox

There are two state of the art Nitrox Technologies membrane systems fed by multiple water-cooled Bauer compressors. Using Nitrox is highly recommended since it makes your diving experience even safer and more enjoyable, by extending your bottom times and shortening your surface intervals.

Nitrox certification is available for those who are not yet certified and can be easily earned with Wakatobi Resort even before your holiday! Wakatobi Resort is associated with PADI, SDI & TDI.

You can chose any Nitrox course option (minimum age 15) as long as you hold already any kind of open water diving license - the licenses are recognized by all diving associations.

Technical Diving & Re-breathers

Divers using closed circuit re-breathers can be accommodated with oxygen fills, standard Faber tanks with standard DIN valves, sofnolime and knowledgeable staff to assist. Boat crews are trained to handle re-breathers properly.

CCR divers are required to bring all their own equipment. There is The Evolution re-breather on site for rent as a backup for fully certified Evolution (and Inspiration divers with Vision electronics license).

2019 - 20 Price Guide:

  • 7 nights from £2,725 pp

Includes:

  • International Flights from the UK
  • 7 nights accommodation Full Board
  • All transfers
  • All taxes

This is a guide price only, based on travel in low season.

Prices will vary according to availability of airfares on the dates of travel and seasonal hotel and airfare surcharges.

Please ask us for any current special offers.

Jasmine Bonus:

  • Includes Full Board

Contact Us:

All of our Indonesia Holidays are completely tailor made and we can put together any kind of itinerary to suit your interests and budget.

Call us to speak to an Indonesia expert about your Indonesia holiday or honeymoon to Indonesia.

Call us now on 0333 7000 747

Click to enquire by email

We're open from 9 until 9 daily and our 0333 number is a local rate number included in most call packages.