Wakatobi Dive Resort
Each bungalow has its own open shower restroom. Its a good size room with a shower in one corner and the other facilities in the other corner. It was actually very nice and very clean. Bungalows are double occupancy or triple occupancy with 1 double bed and a twin bed. The beds were comfortable.
Bed assignment if sharing with someone you do not know is on a first come first serve basis, which was a bummer because your arrival is dictated by the plane. Shoes were not allowed in any of the buildings. You were required to take your shoes off at the entry way including the open aired eating pavilion, which has no walls.
The food variety was fantastic as where the other amenities. The food was served buffet style with two or three main island themes to chose from. Grilled dishes required line waits. Desserts were served as petite fours, which often ran out.
Internet access was throttled and intermittent.
With respect to marine life, I wished I had known before I went that the subjects were going to be SUPER MACRO as opposed to MACRO. If you are into photography, then plan accordingly. I ended up buying a magnifying glass at the resort's dive shop just to see what was being pointed out to us. It was very expensive for a plastic handled magnifying glass.
On one particular dive, the checkout dive, we went to a spot where the coral was dead. We were told it was a result of being poisoned to capture the fish for the aquarium market. All of the other dive sites were pristine but not close to the resort. There would be lengthy boat rides to the other sites. The boat captain looked for sites that would be sheltered from the currents for the time period we would be diving. On one dive we all got separated. There were local fishermen out calling in the locations if they saw us. My dive buddy and I waited a long time for a pickup while drifting.
The week that we went there were high currents with a lot of haze in the water. Although advertised as unlimited shore diving available, diving off the resort reef wasn't allowed as an option.
They have a dedicated camera room for all of the photographers. Places to charge your batteries and set the camera up. This room is protected and kept locked. They do not want you to do your camera gear in the rooms.
The dive boats were open boats, and they were kept very clean. The crew helped carry your gear through the water to load on and off the boats. The boats had more than ample room for anything and everything related to your dive. Not crowded at all. In fact very comfortable. The crews were very friendly and helpful.
The crew is very aggressive about keeping people from touching the reef. The most diligent that I've ever seen. Which means these reef's will stay in great shape for a long time to come. They are also very diligent about keeping people to under 60 minute dives.
The most disappointing thing about the trip was the limited diving and the lack of shore diving. Shore time / downtime becomes boring if your into diving and it isn't an option. So plan on taking reading material of a set of movies that you haven't seen yet to help pass the time.
