Wakatobi-Best time to go?

Hi,

Our LDS is planning a trip to Wakatobi in 2010 and they want interested divers to give them dates of when they would like to go. I am a teacher at a University so my open dates are far and few inbetween after Christmas. But if the best time of the year is during class time I would definately try work around that. Our spring break is in March, not around Easter and if that is a good time great. So if I am going to miss 2 weeks of classes I at least want the diving and weather to be worth it. When I went to Beqa Island in March 2004 it was overcast the whole time, poor visibility and strong currents which made it tough for weaker swimmers and taking pictures. So any suggestions would be wonderful. This looks like a great place to visit.

Wendy

Really depends on what you are looking for, Wendy. Wakatobi Resort is more known for the macro life and one site has nice fish life (Roma) and the topography of Blades is nice. But otherwise, it's all about macro and very rarely any megafauna in the Tomia area.

Weatherwise, the best time to be in the Banda Sea area is the intermonsoonal periods, Apr, May and Oct, Nov. You get less wind and rain. Of course, this year, the winds that were suppose to come in Mar came in May. So it's still a crap shoot.

Really depends on what you are looking for, Wendy. Wakatobi Resort is more known for the macro life and one site has nice fish life (Roma) and the topography of Blades is nice. But otherwise, it's all about macro and very rarely any megafauna in the Tomia area.

 

Weatherwise, the best time to be in the Banda Sea area is the intermonsoonal periods, Apr, May and Oct, Nov. You get less wind and rain. Of course, this year, the winds that were suppose to come in Mar came in May. So it's still a crap shoot.

Thanks Drew,

Right now I am only using my 60mm and if a port comes available for my Seatool then a sigma 17-70. Actually May would be better-school is done the second week.

Thanks for the information Drew.

Wendy

i was looking forward to booking wakatobi until i met a diver who worked as an insructor in borneo. the instructor had been working there for 3 years and from what i was told i was glad i had not already booked.

i know that it is an expensive place to go too but from what i had been led to believe was that it was the divers paradise.

the instructor picked faults in the following.

accommodation - were very nice but they could not sit outside at night due to large amounts of mosquito's

food - all food that was meant to be cooked and served hot, was only warm at best.

diving - not as good as mabul 1, 2 or 3 or kapalai on a good day

guides - did not show the group anything that they could not have found for themselves.

the instructor that i met, was from europe and not an american who might get a better deal when i comes to guiding as they usually are heavy tippers.

i had heard from another instructor when i was in manado, that it wasnt " all that " ( not for the money ). he actually worked there a few years ago. and told me that the cost is so high becauseof the plane.

hearing 2 reviews first hand from people who have worked in the industry for many years was enough for me to keep my money in my pocket.

if you do go i hope you have an excellent time and you get treated a little better than them.

i was looking forward to booking wakatobi until i met a diver who worked as an insructor in borneo. the instructor had been working there for 3 years and from what i was told i was glad i had not already booked.

i know that it is an expensive place to go too but from what i had been led to believe was that it was the divers paradise.

I had a great time there, went 2 trips in a row.

the instructor picked faults in the following.

Any place in the world has faults, especially if you go looking for them.

accommodation - were very nice but they could not sit outside at night due to large amounts of mosquito's

I dont really remember anything like that, which probably meant it wasnt a problem for us. Actually..I though Wakatobi had one of the best accomodations of any place id been. I had ethernet in the room!

food - all food that was meant to be cooked and served hot, was only warm at best.

I do not agree, we had wonderful food. (granted, this was 2 years ago, so a lot could have changed..sometimes the mere change of a cook can change the whole experience).

diving - not as good as mabul 1, 2 or 3 or kapalai on a good day

Uhh.. que? Ok, if you're after pelagics, go to Sipadan. Wakatobi is macro, period. But I thought the macro at Wakatobi was at least as good, if not better because you dont get distracted by pelagics, as sipadan.

guides - did not show the group anything that they could not have found for themselves.

Here I agree partially. I thought there was a huge difference in 'quality' between guides. Some were very cool and would really try and help you find things, especially if you asked, others were grumbly and rude.

i had heard from another instructor when i was in manado, that it wasnt " all that " ( not for the money ). he actually worked there a few years ago. and told me that the cost is so high becauseof the plane

That's probably true. Plenty of resorts aroud the banda sea will be very very similar to Wakatobi in underwater life and possibly a lot cheaper.

hearing 2 reviews first hand from people who have worked in the industry for many years was enough for me to keep my money in my pocket.

id go back any time, except I think I like komodo better (but no, thats not really any cheaper

if you do go i hope you have an excellent time and you get treated a little better than them.

I did have an excellent time except for the first 2 days when we had a grumbly guide. After that we got paired with a guide that was really into macro, and we had a blast for the rest of the 2 trips.

Cor

I had a great time there, went 2 trips in a row.

Any place in the world has faults, especially if you go looking for them.

I dont really remember anything like that, which probably meant it wasnt a problem for us. Actually..I though Wakatobi had one of the best accomodations of any place id been. I had ethernet in the room!

I do not agree, we had wonderful food. (granted, this was 2 years ago, so a lot could have changed..sometimes the mere change of a cook can change the whole experience).

Uhh.. que? Ok, if you're after pelagics, go to Sipadan. Wakatobi is macro, period. But I thought the macro at Wakatobi was at least as good, if not better because you dont get distracted by pelagics, as sipadan.

Here I agree partially. I thought there was a huge difference in 'quality' between guides. Some were very cool and would really try and help you find things, especially if you asked, others were grumbly and rude.

That's probably true. Plenty of resorts aroud the banda sea will be very very similar to Wakatobi in underwater life and possibly a lot cheaper.

id go back any time, except I think I like komodo better (but no, thats not really any cheaper

I did have an excellent time except for the first 2 days when we had a grumbly guide. After that we got paired with a guide that was really into macro, and we had a blast for the rest of the 2 trips.

 

Cor

Thanks for you honest opinions. I really hope it that was all an isolated case. Now I need to suggest a month I would like to go but that doesn't mean it would work or other interested people.

Any place in the world has faults, especially if you go looking for them.

But some places have more faults than others.

I though Wakatobi had one of the best accomodations of any place id been. I had ethernet in the room!

In the good ol'days of the long house and the love shack, way back when they didn't have fresh water everyday so they used the same water for the rinse tanks and a couple even caught flesh eating bacteria because of it.

Have to admit that they have ramped up the resort since then. That satelite internet connection at 64kbps is still better than GPRS.

I do not agree, we had wonderful food.

You must've missed the swedish "chef"... oh man that was hard.

Wakatobi is macro, period. But I thought the macro at Wakatobi was at least as good, if not better because you dont get distracted by pelagics, as sipadan.

Actually, if you look at the macro marine biodiversity and fauna, Wakatobi easily has the edge.

Here I agree partially. I thought there was a huge difference in 'quality' between guides. Some were very cool and would really try and help you find things, especially if you asked, others were grumbly and rude.

There was also a different pecking order for different photographers and nationalities. If you were a "known" photog to the resort's management, you could break and trample stuff and not get chided. Otherwise it's a no touching policy for the regular denizens. Big inconsistencies there.

That's probably true. Plenty of resorts aroud the banda sea will be very very similar to Wakatobi in underwater life and possibly a lot cheaper.

Definitely, and more coming in Raja Empat. Without the attitude!

except I think I like komodo better

Amen!

I admit I haven't dived at the resort since 2003, just after the airstrip. I've dived the area several times since then but on a boat. Personally I think there are much better areas for macro and better value too.

mabul and kapalai are macro sites not part of sipadan

i was looking forward to booking wakatobi until i met a diver who worked as an insructor in borneo. the instructor had been working there for 3 years and from what i was told i was glad i had not already booked.

i know that it is an expensive place to go too but from what i had been led to believe was that it was the divers paradise.

 

the instructor picked faults in the following.

 

accommodation - were very nice but they could not sit outside at night due to large amounts of mosquito's

 

food - all food that was meant to be cooked and served hot, was only warm at best.

 

diving - not as good as mabul 1, 2 or 3 or kapalai on a good day

 

guides - did not show the group anything that they could not have found for themselves.

 

the instructor that i met, was from europe and not an american who might get a better deal when i comes to guiding as they usually are heavy tippers.

 

i had heard from another instructor when i was in manado, that it wasnt " all that " ( not for the money ). he actually worked there a few years ago. and told me that the cost is so high becauseof the plane.

hearing 2 reviews first hand from people who have worked in the industry for many years was enough for me to keep my money in my pocket.

 

if you do go i hope you have an excellent time and you get treated a little better than them.

Most of the negative things you wrote about Wakatobi would describe my experience at Mabul.

The food was mediocre to bad and I don't remember it ever being hot. The resort staff gave definite preference to groups. The dive staff was absolute rubbish. In fact we got paired with several guides that only spoke Japanese. I was amazed by the total lack of concern for good buoyancy practices by the guides or the rest of their herd. In comparison after the fact, staying at Mabul (at the time had 2 resorts) was no cheaper than Wakatobi and was twice the hassle.

As was written, every place has faults and every experience is different.

I had a great time at Wakatobi. I'd go back during October and November, just to bring the thread back to the topic

Afternoon.

I'll add my own experiences, having been there last year, at this time, for 10 days.

Truth be told, It was my first foray into Indonesian waters, and I was very impressed overall, with the resort , and the diving.I signed on knowing not to expect big pelagics, but rather macro heaven, and Wakatobi did not disappoint. There was some differences in the guiding, but from what I observed , none of the Instructors/guides were surly. A couple were rather unfamiliar with the territory and it's inhabitants, being relatively new to the resort, but did their best, and asked other guides for help.There are always those that take more enjoyment out of locating marine life, and there were a few that excelled.Sure, some of what they pointed out, I was later in the week, finding on my own, but several times I found myself thinking " Now how the heck did he/she see that?"Such in the case of a juvenile frogfish,perhaps less than 1cm.

The food and presentation, I thought was good, not necessarily gourmet, but good. Having spent an afternoon with the chefs in the kitchen, I was wowed by what they were able to do with such limited means, and everything was spotless!!

The bungalows were always well kept, as well,roomy, with fresh linens daily.

The evenings I sat out, I never experienced any mosquitos, whether on the breakwall, or the end of the dock.

Everyone has their own expectations of a dive adventure. Needs & desires differ, Wakatobi certainly filled the bill for mine.

Before you cross it off your list, I would gather some other opinions, and not necessarily those of ex- employees.

We dived Wakatobi last Nov and had an awesome time. We were on the Pelagian and it's an awesome liveaboard! The crew were superb, the food was 5* and guides were enthusiastic, excellent and great at spotting things the divers wanted to see.

The whole operation was really slick and from what we saw of the resort (last night dinner/drinks only) it looked pretty nice. food at the resort was good, hot and plentiful.

Only disappointment was not being able to dive the house reef

Diving Wakatobi is thoroughly recommended. The Pelagian gets a big thumbs up too!!

ps. From what I understand, the charter flight from Bali is now an additional cost item (i.e. NOT included in the base price).

I was just there in April, and I was throughly impressed. This was my fourth trip to Indonesian waters and thought the diving was some of the best I have done there.

IMHO they have the best house reef I have ever seen. One night I spent over 100 minutes just in 2nd gulley, and we only got out of the water because it was 10pm.

The guides did a good job of finding the harder to locate critters, and were friendly and cheerful.

I thought the resort was excellent, and the food was the best I've ever had on a dive trip. I do remember getting a few bug bites, but nothing major.

The rainy season was hanging on a bit longer then normal. So we had a mixed bag of sunny and overcast days, but if you're looking at the May time frame, you should be in good shape.

I think this trip would be a wonderful experience and I thank all of you for your input and experiences. My biggest problem would be missing 2 weeks of classes (I teach-university) and thought if the trip could be combined with my spring break (March)then I would only miss 1 week but I am sure the majority of interested people wouild prefer Easter break, or if May would still have calm seas, low rain and good visibility.

Thanks

I think this trip would be a wonderful experience and I thank all of you for your input and experiences. My biggest problem would be missing 2 weeks of classes (I teach-university) and thought if the trip could be combined with my spring break (March)then I would only miss 1 week but I am sure the majority of interested people wouild prefer Easter break, or if May would still have calm seas, low rain and good visibility.

 

Thanks

Weird.

The web has exposed wildly different reports about diving just about anywhere, so I'm not sure how to give or take advice. I thoroughly enjoyed Mabul, although the muck diving was better off a boat in Kapalai. We dived Mabul, Kapalai and Sipadan, without much trouble, in January. Even the weather wasn't bad! Food was OK, and better than I've just had in the Maldives, and the guides on Mabul were much better than in the Maldives.

I'm looking at Wakatobi etc as I have only been shooting macro for a year, and still find finding small critters a struggle, though not so much of a struggle as avoiding the shark- and ray-frighteners in the Maldives. Egyptian sharks are much friendlier!

You never get everything: the famous Sipadan bumpheads and barracuda had gone elsewhere - probably driven off by a horde of green turtles...

Tim

B)

the instructor picked faults in the following.

 

accommodation - were very nice but they could not sit outside at night due to large amounts of mosquito's

 

food - all food that was meant to be cooked and served hot, was only warm at best.

 

diving - not as good as mabul 1, 2 or 3 or kapalai on a good day

 

guides - did not show the group anything that they could not have found for themselves.

 

i had heard from another instructor when i was in manado, that it wasnt " all that " ( not for the money ). he actually worked there a few years ago. and told me that the cost is so high becauseof the plane.

hearing 2 reviews first hand from people who have worked in the industry for many years was enough for me to keep my money in my pocket.

 

if you do go i hope you have an excellent time and you get treated a little better than them.

Utter nonsense. I, too, heard it wasn't as good as (fill in the blank). Boy was I surprised. It was great.

1) accommodations - the bungalows were fantastic. Best accommodations other than Lembeh Resort. No problem with mosquitos whatsoever.

2) Food - the new dining facilities have been around for 1-2 years. The food was the best I've ever had on a dive trip. Same category as Bali and Ocean Rover.

3) Diving - Great mixture of reef and macro critters. No really big stuff, but I could spend a 100 hours looking around

4) Guides - guides show you all the regular critters and more. They also share the locations well with their fellow guides. We had a great guide, Yon, who works from Graham Abbott part of the year. They all work hard to find stuff.

I don't know the best time of year for sure, but October was great. The water was warmer an totally flat last May, but I think cooler water and some wind was actually a good thing.

I've known several people who have gone through the summer months June-Aug and were completely satisfied.

I'm leading a trip back to Wakatobi next year. Whether one considers it pricey or not, or whether there is someplace better, it is an almost guaranteed quality dive trip experience. ...or else I wouldn't go back.

More photos: scorpioillusions.com