Southeast Sulawesi Dive resorts
Wakatobi Dive Resort
Set on a small, picturesque island in Southeast Sulawesi, Wakatobi Dive Resort is an exclusive and luxurious boutique resort, renowned for its world-class diving and snorkelling.
Guests lucky enough to stay here have easy access to one of the most bio-diverse coral reef environments on Earth. Divers and snorkellers are afforded a unique opportunity to discover pristine reefs and walls filled with myriad marine life.
Wakatobi guests enjoy personalised, world-class service, fine dining, spa therapies and relaxation in a near-perfect utopia. Sand paths wind their way around the resort and the lush gardens. Guest Bungalows and Villas offer space and comfort, with modern facilities and luxurious furnishings.
When not exploring Wakatobi’s incredible reefs, guests can book a range of additional activities including kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, and seasonal kiteboarding. Take an Indonesian cooking class or maybe join a sarong wrapping workshop. There are also culture and language classes, tours to local villages, and bird watching tours. And not forgetting the resort Spa, providing rejuvenating therapies and relaxing Balinese massages.
Visitors to Wakatobi Dive Resort can relax in the knowledge that their stay also benefits both the local environment and community through the resort’s robust commitment to sustainable eco-tourism. It’s no exaggeration to say that guests simply don’t want to leave this little piece of heaven and return to the ‘real’ world.
Hotel Services/Facilities: Wakatobi Dive Resort seamlessly blends five-star amenities and modern comforts with a pristine natural environment. It is an intimate resort connected by sandy pathways, with guest rooms nestled amongst coconut palms or directly on the white sandy beach.
Divers and snorkellers will be awestruck by the stunning house reef, with pristine coral reefs, and colourful and quirky marine life.
The resort’s dining room serves gourmet meals in a beachfront setting, and guests can also enjoy private ocean view dining or in-room dining services. An on-site Spa offers a full range of international and Indonesian treatments.
The Longhouse is home to several amenities, including the Library, Media Room, a Boutique and gift shop, and the Longhouse lounge.
Food, Beverage & Entertainment Facilities: The resort’s relaxed, yet elegant, waterfront restaurant draws high praise from guests who often express surprise at finding such refined cuisine in what is truly a remote and private location.
All guests receive Full Board, giving three delicious main meals and snacks each day. A talented culinary team prepares an ever-changing menu of regional and international flavours, blending locally sourced ingredients with delicacies from around the world.
Most meals are served buffet style with constantly replenished, fresh and hot food. For dinner there are also stations for soup and roast of the day, as well as a mouth-watering variety of desserts! Restaurant staff are always on hand to serve soft and alcoholic drinks, plus a selection of gourmet coffees and teas.
All diets can be catered for with advance notice. Romantic dining experiences by the beach can be arranged, and a room service menu is available throughout the day.
The Jetty Bar offers the ideal location to relax and take in the unforgettable Wakatobi sunsets, watching the Milky Way light up the night sky. Truly magical!
Transfers: International flights should arrive in Bali for your onward connection to the resort. Wakatobi’s private charter flight from Bali to the resort departs at 06:45, so this means you will need to spend at least one hotel night on Bali, which Diverse Travel can arrange. Wakatobi staff will collect you from your hotel and take you back to Bali airport to check in for your flight to the resort. The flight time is approximately 2.5 hours, followed by a short boat ride to the resort island.
On checkout day, your flight from Wakatobi back to Bali leaves at 16:00, allowing for international flight departures that evening.
Wakatobi Dive Resort offers a total of 34 rooms split into several different room types.
Accommodation options:
– Palm Bungalow
– Ocean Bungalow
– One and two-bedroom Turtle Beach Bungalow
– One-bedroom Villa
– Two-bedroom Pool Villa
These private residences nestle under the shade of coconut palms, many directly on the beach. The buildings are hand-crafted in regional Indonesian style from sustainable local materials, and carefully sited to ensure both privacy and views. All rooms offer a full range of amenities, including air conditioning, Wi-Fi internet access, private verandas, and many luxurious features.
All room types offer the following:
– Access to Concierge for stopovers or Bali day tour arrangements
– VIP greeting and assistance upon your arrival in Bali
– Private guest flights to/from Bali to the resort
– Gourmet full-board meals, soft drinks, brewed coffees & teas, plus snacks
– Air conditioning
– Aromatherapy soaps and lotions
– Mini-bar, coffee machine, towels, hair dryer and safe
– Afternoon turn-down service and daily housekeeping
– Optional Village Tour
– Personalised service and support (ratio 5 staff : 1 guest)
– Wi-Fi internet access
– A reef protection and community development contribution
– No fuel surcharges or National Park fees
– A hideaway far from city lights, noise, traffic and pollution!
Palm Bungalows
Palm Bungalows reside in a palm grove just a short distance from the beach and within easy walking distance of all resort facilities.
Ocean Bungalows
Ocean Bungalows are scattered along the white sand beach and offer stunning ocean views from private verandas with comfortable lounge beds. These private residences include additional features such as spacious outdoor Asian-style showers.
Turtle Beach Bungalows
One and two-bedroom Turtle Beach Bungalows overlook a beautiful stretch of white sand beach. Like Ocean Bungalows, the Turtle Beach models feature larger interior spaces, as well as Asian-style outdoor shower gardens with dual rainfall shower heads and a separate outdoor entrance from the beach.
Villas
The resort’s premier one-bedroom and two-bedroom Pool Villas are situated on the white sand beach and deliver spectacular water and sunset views.
Villas have expanded waterfront decks, and outdoor Asian-style shower rooms. Two-bedroom Villas include private plunge pools.
Villa guests also enjoy daily butler service and private dive/snorkel guides. Premier villa packages include a private boat, PDEMs (Private Dive Experience Managers), underwater camera / video hire and tuition, and daily spa treatments.
The Wakatobi Villa experiences offer a luxurious holiday with many unique touches. If you’re looking for something truly special, please do get in touch with us so we can tell you more.
Wakatobi’s dive centre is just a stroll away from all guest rooms. The centre accommodates everyone from first-time divers and snorkellers, to advanced divers, underwater photographers and videographers, nitrox and rebreather divers.
The House Reef is directly in front of the resort and has been named the world’s best shore dive. Divers and snorkellers often spend hours, even days, exploring this expansive site, which can be accessed day and night, right from the beach or the resort jetty. Highlights include frogfish, blue ringed octopus, blue spotted stingrays, ghost pipefish, gorgonians, sponges and a wide variety of colourful reef fish.
Away from the resort island, there are more than 40 other dive sites, all accessible by day boat. Most boat rides are just 10 minutes, up to a maximum of an hour for only a few of the furthest sites. Reefs rise to within a few feet of the surface and drop to depths below 60 feet. Steep slopes or walls are riddled with ledges and undercuts that harbour a wide array of marine life, while pinnacles, seamounts and shallow upper reefs add variety. These topographies create opportunities for long, multilevel profiles that often exceed 70-minutes. The upper portions of these reefs are ideal for snorkellers, who also join daily boat trips.
Wakatobi dive guides are experts at finding unique marine life, and dive groups will have a maximum of six divers or snorkellers to one guide. Dive guides can tailor a personalised dive or snorkel package to meet any guest’s needs. Private guides are also available, and photographers can enlist the services of a guide when setting up macro portraits.
Underwater photographers are provided with the full support of a dedicated photo centre and on-request underwater photography services and workshops with Wakatobi’s resident Photo Pro.
All guests receive personalised attention from a highly experienced team of dive professionals, along with concierge-style handling of equipment and appropriate onboard and in-water assistance. There is a full range of well-maintained and modern rental equipment available to hire.
Private Guides
Divers and snorkellers seeking the ultimate in personal service and diving freedom can add the services of a Private Dive/Snorkel Experience Manager. By working with a private guide, divers and snorkellers can enjoy a more independent itinerary, while at the same time benefiting from the guide’s watchful eye and support.
Comfortable, Spacious Day Boats
Wakatobi operates a fleet of 8 custom-built 70-foot dive/snorkel boats designed for comfort, stability and space. Boats provide full-length roofs for sun protection, large camera platforms, generous bench seating with ample personal space, deck-level bathrooms with full freshwater showers, and mid-boat water entry points.
Resort schedule
– Breakfast from 6:30 to 9:00am
– First dive – boats depart at 7:30 am with the first dive at, or around 7:45 am
– Second dive at or around 9:30am – 10:00am
– Lunch from 12:30pm to 2:30pm
– Third dive at 2:15pm, or at sunset when a night dive is offered instead
– Dinner from 6:30pm to 9:00pm
Climate and water conditions at Wakatobi
The air temperature is around 30 °C during the day and cooler in the evening, while the water temperature is a cooler 26-28°C.
For divers who tend to get chilled easily we suggest a full body 5mm dive suit, especially for those making several dives in a day. This may seem excessive, but keep in mind that most guests do four dives a day all around 70-minutes long.
For snorkellers, we suggest a 3mm wetsuit for cold and sun protection, or just a lycra skin for sun protection.
The Pelagian Dive Yacht
Wakatobi Dive Resort boasts its own luxurious dive yacht, catering for just 10 guests at a time. Pelagian expands on the resort’s tradition of ultimate service and premier diving. Venturing into remote, seldom-visited corners of the Tukang Besi archipelago, guests enjoy cruises of discovery and adventure to distant reefs, verdant island lagoons, and magical muck diving sites.
With more space per guest than any dive yacht of its kind, Pelagian cruises to sites where no other dive operation has gone before. Along the way, guests enjoy the personal service and exclusive amenities of a world-class motor yacht.
Other Indonesian Hotels / Resorts
Bali – Kuba Indah Dive & Spa Resort
Bali – Alam Anda Ocean Front Resort & Spa
Bali – Alam Batu Beach Bungalow Resort
North Sulawesi – Bunaken Oasis Dive Resort
North Sulawesi – Murex Bangka Resort
North Sulawesi – Murex Manado Resort
North Sulawesi – Siladen Resort and Spa
North Sulawesi – Tasik Ria Resort
North Sulawesi – White Sands Beach Resort Lembeh by Eco Divers
North Sulawesi – Dive Into Lembeh
North Sulawesi – NAD-Lembeh Resort
North Sulawesi – Lembeh Resort
Raja Ampat – Dive Into Raja Ampat (@ Waiwo Resort)
Raja Ampat – Papua Explorers Dive Resort
Raja Ampat – Kri Eco Resort (Papua Diving)
Raja Ampat – Sorido Bay Resort (Papua Diving)
Offers
PHILIPPINES DIVING
2 CENTRE RESORT OFFER
15 – 26 January 2025
NOW from JUST £2495pp
RED SEA DIVING
SHARM RESORT OFFER
27 November – 04 December 2024
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MALDIVES DIVING
LIVEABOARD OFFER
29 November – 07 December 2024
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MALTA DIVING
RESORT OFFER
10 – 17 December 2024
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RED SEA DIVING
LIVEABOARD OFFER
12 – 19 December 2024
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MALDIVES DIVING
CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR OFFER
20 December 2024 – 04 January 2025
NOW from JUST £5595pp
SOUTH AFRICA SHARK DIVING
RESORT OFFER
06 – 14 May 2025
NOW from JUST £1695pp
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