We’ve been to a lot of wonderful places, and there have been quite a few people who have been there with us. So it was a particular challenge this year to select a destination that would meet the high expectations of divers spoiled by the likes of Lembeh, Palau and Borneo. No ordinary destination would do. We had to pick someplace spectacular! And we have. Wakatobi!

The resort is located in the Wakatobi archipelago in remote Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia where it is the only fully licensed dive tourism operator. The resort itself is situated on a small island locally called Onemobaa and is built directly at the seaside, with all bungalows spaced along a white sand beach.

Wakatobi has everything we could want. Luxurious accommodations, exquisite food, perfect weather, and of course, truly remarkable diving. Wakatobi has a diversity and abundance of sea life to excite even the most well-traveled diver. For photographers, it is paradise—wide angle, macro, big fish, minuscule and rare. Les Kaufman, Professor of Biology at the Boston University Marine Program & Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology, counted 301 fish species on a single dive at the house reef!!!

So 2010, we’re going to Wakatobi, a place like no other.

 

Wakatobi offers three different types of diving: boat diving, shore diving on the house reef, and taxi boat diving on the farther points of the house reef. You can choose any one or all three of these options on any given dive day. Wakatobi also offers night diving (unguided) on the house reef and guided boat night dives.

The number of dives is unlimited within safety and decompression requirements, and most divers will dive to the max. The profusion of marine life means that dives do not need to be deep (shallow dives conserve air) and spectacle-filled dives of 70 minutes or more are not uncommon.

Below is a brief overview of each of the diving options.

Wakatobi has more than 40 sites accessed by boat. Boat rides range from 10 minutes up to a maximum of an hour for a few of the more distant sites. Most are within minutes from the resort.

Prior to each scheduled dive boat departure, there will be a briefing at the resort by your 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, our guide will enter first. If conditions are as expected, the "pool is open". Otherwise, our guide will amend the dive plan. 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.

This is what has made Wakatobi the number one choice among not only resort divers but also liveaboard lovers. Simply get your gear and step right out on the beach, get in the water, and enjoy some of the most amazing reef life you will ever see. The house reef top is so prolific that many photographers are content to stay put and don’t swim to the drop-off, located about 80 yards in front of the resort proper.

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 that you will drift at various speeds along the reef while exploring its beauty.

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

You can dive the amazing house reef in buddy teams beginning at 6.00 a.m.

The house reef is more than three miles long! We will explore dive sites on the house reef not accessible from the resort. 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 our jetty (or on any part of the beach) where the local 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 ... the tender boats follow you as you make your dive and after surfacing, the taxi boat will pick you up and return you to the beach in front of the resort.

Taxi boat service is available from 6.00 a.m. until 5.30 p.m.

Night diving at Wakatobi is fantastic! One or two night dives (depending on 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.

 

Wakatobi offers beautiful accommodations with fine appointments that will satisfy the most discriminating traveler! There are four (4) levels of accommodation: Villas, Select Beach Bungalows, Standard Beach Bungalows and Garden Bungalows. All accommodations are spacious and available with either a king-size bed, and/or twin beds to sleep up to three adults or two adults and two children. All have a balcony in front as well as lounge chairs, tables and other furnishings. There a desk with internet access, a mini-bar, and much more. All bungalows and villas are equipped with air-conditioning.

Note: Our package is based on the Garden Bungalow accommodations. If you are interested in upgrading to a Villa or Select Beach Bungalow, please let us know and we will check on availability.

On your way to Wakatobi Dive resort you will first fly to the beautiful 'Island of the Gods' – Bali. When we arrive in Bali there will be staff on hand as soon as you step out onto the tarmac. They will guide us through immigration and customs. We will then be transported to the Kartika Plaza Hotel, a short ride Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport so we will get there early enough to enjoy the afternoon and evening in Bali.

Right on the beachfront of Bali's most famed South Kuta Beach, in an oasis of tropical gardens, the five-star Discovery Kartika Plaza Hotel, Bali resort has a wide choice of restaurants, excellent sporting facilities and its own Discovery Shopping Mall. We will have all afternoon and evening to relax, explore, or shop. The shops and bazaars are just outside the hotel entrance, and the local crafts are hard to resist!

 

The last leg of our journey to Wakatobi will be a VIP flight on a private chartered plane to the resort's own airport. There are two planes: one leaves at 6:30am and the other leaves around 11am. Our flight itinerary from LAX will determine which flight we are scheduled to go on. The flight takes approximately two and a half hours. On board we will be served a snack and drinks while relaxing, snoozing or looking out at the beautiful scenery of Lombok's Rinjani volcano and the offshore reefs and atolls en route to Wakatobi.

 “The high diversity of corals, optimal coral health, and wide variety of reef and fin-fish in Wakatobi is superior to any other location I have visited in the tropics, and my research has taken me to many, many reefs during the past 20 years. Wakatobi now serves as my global control site. The pristine corals surrounding Wakatobi provide an optimal baseline for scientists to compare with locations where corals are suffering from global warming and land sources of pollution. In short, this is what a healthy and vibrant coral reef should look like, and I urge my fellow scientists to visit this location in the next decade so that they can get an idea of what the reefs appeared like 150 years ago.”

Dr. James M. Cervino
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

 

"Every time I return to Wakatobi, I find the reefs healthier and more vibrant, the resort more developed and the staff more attentive to my needs.Wakatobi has the best combination of resort and reef that I have experienced. As a land based resort the food, accommodations and service are better than anything I have experienced while the reefs rival anything I have seen on a liveaboard. At Wakatobi, there is simply no bad dive. All the sites are healthy, vibrant and interesting. In short, I return to Wakatobi simply because I get the best accommodations, dive the best reefs and, of course, get my best pictures there."

Tom Reynolds
Consultant to USC Lab
Program Manager for the Rainbow Sensor Program

Wakatobi is located at the Southeastern tip of Sulawesi, a region considered to be the epicentre of coral reef biodiversity, Wakatobi is the resort of choice for some of the world’s most discerning divers, including many professional marine photographers.
The creation of such a premier dive destination, with reefs which are actually improving in health as time goes by, is no accident, it is the result of arduous and dedicated work to carry through a master plan designed with such goals in mind.

To put in place sustainable marine resource protection within the Wakatobi region, the resort developed a Collaborative Reef Conservation Program in consultation with local leaders and village elders. The Program motivates the local communities to realize the intrinsic value of the reefs and inspires them to take an active role in protecting the marine ecosystem. The program achieves this by providing an economic alternative to fishing and by creating real incentives that help protect and manage the reefs: education, tourist dollars, employment with direct payment, as well as reef lease fees – all providing greater income than the fishing they replace.

The program has initiated changes in the way that local people fish and has also encouraged them to police the reefs; illegal fishermen and poachers pose a far greater threat than does the locals’ need for food.
The program includes all 17 communities around the resort and stretches over 12.5 miles of some of the finest reefs of the world, including the protection of dozens of top dive sites.

Wakatobi Dive Resort founder, Lorenz Mäder says, “While it is understood that every traveler has inevitably some negative impact to the place he visits, it is most important to see the overall environmental impact balance. The question every dive operator has to ask himself is: ‘Is my operation improving the natural environment and does the local community benefit directly and indirectly?’ Most dive destinations are deteriorating over time for whatever reasons. Wakatobi Dive Resort has not only managed to stop destructive fishing methods and unregulated exploitation, but has actually improved the quality of the resort surroundings, seagrass beds and reefs.”

Wakatobi’s steps to protect and improve the environment

• Implementing strict rules to minimize divers' impact - all guests sign a dive conduct agreement
• Offering village tours to further cultural understanding
• Reducing, separating and recycling waste as much as possible
• Treating waste water in biological ways to avoid harmful nutrients entering the sea
• Using local traditional skills to build and maintain the resort, and selling local products
• Providing full-time employment to a workforce of about 140 locals
• Sponsoring electricity for the local village (500 people) including 2 km power line to the village, transformers, electrical installations in every house, in exchange for the villagers honoring a 3 km reef sanctuary on their traditional fishing grounds
• Sponsoring waste management in the surrounding villages on the neighboring island
• Sponsoring public projects for all 17 villages in the sub-district sponsoring schools with education materials
• Recognizing that the poorest need most support to refrain from traditional but destructive practices such as reef gleaning: Wakatobi employs up to 50 widows to produce natural roof tiles (made with sago palm leaves) for the resort buildings and sponsors scholarships for orphans
• Sponsoring a small credit scheme for small businesses to increase compliance
• Sponsoring patrols in the vicinity carried out by representatives of the local communities as well as reef patrols further away from the resort conducted by Police, Military and Rangers

© EcoAsia 2009

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What is the weather like?
There are two peak seasons: one between April and June and one between September and November. The annual rainfalls are four times lower than the Indonesian average. Wakatobi is one of the most arid regions in Indonesia and the air humidity is mostly only about 65 to 75%. The temperature ranges between 78° and 84°F.

What is the water temperature?
The warmest water in Wakatobi is found in the upper water layer during mid to late October, when temps range from 82° to a maximum of 86°F. The coolest time of year is August, when the water temp drops to about 77°F.

What kind of clothing should I bring?
Bathing suits and T-shirts for daytime. Dress is usually informal in Indonesia due to the warm, humid climate and lightweight fabrics are recommended. Light windbreakers, wraps, or a sweatshirt is a good idea as it does cool down at night.

Are drinks included in the price?
Water, tea, and coffee are available 24 hours a day and are free of charge. Juices, sodas, beer, wine, cocktails, and specialty coffees are available at an additional cost

How’s the food at Wakatobi?
Those who have been there say it is great! Balinese chefs prepare delicious, ample and healthy meals using fresh produce flown in from Bali and overseas. Added to this, there are fresh tuna sashimi, excellent soups, barbecued fish, fresh fruits, steaks, oriental specialties, and decadent desserts. Meals are generally served buffet or family-style in the Longhouse dining area. There is also a beach barbecue or two during our stay. If you have special dietary needs, please let us know in advance. In the lounge, complimentary instant coffee, black tea and cookies are served around the clock.

Do all the bungalows have separate bathrooms?
Yes. All bungalows have their own toilet and fresh water showers plus towels and toiletries.

Are the bungalows air-conditioned?
Yes. However, air conditioning is generally not necessary as the resort is on an island far out from mainland which ensures there is always a gentle sea breeze to cool you. All the rooms are cross-ventilated and fitted with ceiling fans and mosquito nets.

What currency will I need while I'm at Wakatobi?
The resort accepts US Dollars, Visa or MasterCard, Rupiah (local currency) and Euro. Travelers checks are not accepted. However, you can pay everything on credit card, even the staff tips. It’s a good idea to change a little money while in Bali to cover incidentals along the way. Note: throughout Indonesia, the best exchange rates for US currency will be for $100 dollar bills printed after 2003.

Can my family reach me while I'm at Wakatobi?
Yes. Your GSM phones might work through a public system which is, unfortunately, not always reliable. But there are several satellite phones for use in an emergency. There's also a PC available in the Lounge with Internet access. Internet access is possible due to a VSAT two-way 128 kb satellite internet connection. This connection powers both the resort's PCs and can also be used for guest's own laptops, as there are LAN ports in every room. A WI-FI network is also up and running. You can also have friends/family email Wakatobi at resort@wakatobi.com and the staff will forward any messages..

Is the water safe to drink at Wakatobi?
Yes. A large capacity reverse osmosis water purification system ensures an ample supply of fresh, potable water at all hours of the day.

What entertainment is available?
Wakatobi has a complete entertainment center including a TV, VHS, DVD and CD player, cassette deck and stereo. The staff will have slide and video presentations during the week and guests are encouraged to do likewise with the photos and videos they take.

Are laundry facilities available at the resort?
Yes.

What is the time difference at Wakatobi?
GMT +8 hours (Bali, Nusa Tenggara, South & East Kalimantan and Sulawesi)

Does the resort provide any toiletries?
Hair dryers are available on request, and in all rooms there is shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, towels and everything else you would expect at a good resort. There also electrical converters if want to bring your own electric razor or hair dryer.

What can I bring to help the local village and children?
For the local children, they recommend anything educational or healthy. Note pads, pencils, erasers, maps, rulers, craft supplies, crayons or basic school or coloring books would be greatly appreciated.

What type of electrical outlets and voltage are in the rooms?
All rooms are fitted with three-square-pin sockets (UK Standard) and the electricity is 220v 50 cycles. We have ample plug socket adapters and voltage converters (for 110v supplies) for all guests. The 24-hour power generated at the resort is generated by an in-house power plant. Each day, twice a day, they switch from one generator to another. This will cause a little blip in the power supply at the change-over times, which is usually. at 06:30am and 11:00pm everyday. These are times that cause the least disturbance to guests. Sometimes, this can inadvertently switch off battery charges that have been left running overnight.

What's the diving like in the Wakatobi region? What will I see?
The Indo-Pacific region is considered a biodiversity hot spot, benefiting from the currents and nutrients transported between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Within that area, the Wakatobi region is near the epicenter of coral reef biodiversity. The hundreds of kilometers of reef structure in the Wakatobi National Marine Park provide every imaginable marine animal, including whales, dolphins, sharks, rays, tunas, barracudas, marlin and more.

The area is teeming with hundreds, if not thousands of different fish species. For instance, Les Kaufman, Professor of Biology at the Boston University Marine Program & Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology, counted 301 fish species on a single dive at the house reef in 2004.

For photographers, this means wide-angle, normal and macro opportunities abound!

Is there night diving?
Yes. Shore-based night diving is available every day. Some days we also offer boat night diving (to see mandarin fish, for example) and that schedule depends on conditions.

Do I need to bring along my dive certification card?
Yes!!!

Are there any facilities for photographers?
Yes. Located in the lower level of the Longhouse is a large, three-sectioned air-conditioned camera room with padded work benches. Both 220v and 110v power strips are already set up for your rechargers. There is a refrigerator for 35mm film and various basic tools for adjustments of cameras, lights and housings.

Are we allowed to bring souvenirs up from our dives?
No.

Is there a lot of reef damage from dynamiting and cyanide fishing?
No. There have been instances of some reef areas being hurt by boat anchors and local fishermen walking on the reef top. These practices are effectively being minimized by Wakatobi’s Collaborative Reef Conservation programs.

How do they handle decompression emergencies?
In case of a DECO emergency, Wakatobi’s first-aid trained dive managers would immediately stabilize the diver's condition with non-baric medical oxygen. If deemed necessary, they would then evacuate the diver by a sea level cabin pressure flight to the hyperbaric chamber in Bali.

On board the dive boats, there is a good stock of medical gear and medication. Should that not be enough, there is a basic hospital on the island neighboring Wakatobi.

Is solo diving permitted?
Yes, but only for Instructor-level divers with a pony tank once they have been deemed suitable by the professional dive team as safe, responsible and competent. Pony tanks are available for rent.

How long are the scheduled boat dives?
The Wakatobi region is blessed with abundant marine life and dive sites that have both deep and shallow areas. This allows for long bottom times on most dives. Divers can enjoy 70-minute bottom times or more if they choose. You may stay down as long as your air supply or safe diving limits allow.

Do they have Nitrox?
Wakatobi has 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.

Do I need a passport or visa to visit Indonesia?
Yes. Your passport will need to be valid for at least 6 months after your entry into Indonesia and must have at least one totally clear page for the visa sticker.

Wakatobi guests require a 30-day visa. You will purchase a visa upon your arrival for $25 USD. Although many taxes and security fees will be included in the cost of your air ticket, Indonesia levies an international departure tax of Indonesaisn Rupiah equivalent to $25 USD at Denpasar airport. Please ensure that you have enough Indonesian currency available to pay this fee on the day of departure from Indonesia.

When do I need to check-in for the flight from Bali to Wakatobi?
To fly from Bali to Wakatobi, you will be required to check-in at the domestic departure terminal of the Airport in Bali at either: 07:00h (First Plane) OR 11:00h (Second Plane)

Which ticket counter do we check in at in the Domestic Departure Terminal?
Our staff will meet you at the taxi drop point outside the domestic terminal door with entry passes, they will help you find porters and direct you into our staff inside the terminal. Inside, our team will assist you through check-in and escort you to the VIP lounge where there will be a short wait before you board the flight.

When will I return to Bali on the last day of my Wakatobi trip?
The Wakatobi air charter returns to Bali by 16:00h.

What is the flight like to Wakatobi?
The flight lasts approximately 2 1/2 hours and is very scenic along the way.
TransNusa operates commercial domestic routes within Indonesia as well as exclusive charters for Wakatobi. We use a French-built ATR 42 for our charters. The aircraft's maximum capacity is 44 seats (or about 35 divers and their heavy luggage).

Do I need to stay in Bali one night before flying to Wakatobi island?
Yes, on the first day of the package, you will need to check in to the Domestic Departure Terminal in Bali before any international flights arrive on the island. This will mean an overnight stay in Bali before the trip is required.

When I arrive in Bali, what should I expect?
Upon arrival, there will be a Wakatobi representative at the door of your plane. Our representative will whisk you through Immigration, avoiding all those lines. You'll need to pay $25 USD here for your visas - no photos necessary. After getting your visa, you'll be taken through baggage reclaim, past customs, and out to meet the guide and driver.

Can I use US dollars in Bali?
Yes the US dollar is accepted by most merchants in Bali. However, while in Indonesia, it is always cheaper to use Rupiah rather than US Dollars. This is because the merchant will apply an exchange rate to convert your US Dollar to rupiah. He may not be giving you the best rate available at banks and authorized moneychangers .
 

Do you recommend any special insurance?
Trip cancellation/interruption insurance is recommended in the event of the unexpected. You should also have adequate medical insurance to cover any incidents. We also recommend you consider purchasing supplemental dive insurance, offered by many firms such as Divers Alert Network (DAN), PADI, and Dive Assure. These companies offer specific dive-related policies that often include travel, gear and accident coverage all in one comprehensive policy.

Is there malaria in the Wakatobi region?
The risk of getting malaria in the Wakatobi region is very, very low. Wakatobi reports that none of their clients or staff have, as far as they know, in over a decade ever contracted malaria.

Do I need vaccinations before I travel to Indonesia?
When traveling in the tropics, it is wise to be up to date with Typhoid, Tetanus/Diphtheria, Hepatitis and a current Polio protection.

Do I need to worry about avian/bird flu?
No. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (cdc.gov) has not recommended that the public avoid travel to any of the countries affected by the bird flu. The CDC does recommend sensible precautions when traveling abroad. Most of the known cases of bird flu involve farmers and livestock workers in direct contact with poultry, so avoid touching chickens and ducks and surfaces that might be contaminated.

For more information, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/. In addition, the World Health Organization has a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions, http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/avian_faqs/en/index.html.