Wakatobi An Experience without equal.
Wakatobi is a dive resort in southeastern Sulawesi, Indonesia. In a tranquil island setting far from crowds and cities, with no other divers for at least 100 miles, Wakatobi seamlessly blends five-star amenities and civilized comforts with a pristine natural environment; a pairing that has secured its reputation as one of the world’s finest diving and snorkeling destinations.
A secluded haven you won’t want to leave.
Whether you are diving or snorkeling amongst our vibrant protected coral reefs bristling with marine life, enjoying a rejuvenating spa, taking in a glorious sunset with your favorite cocktails at the jetty bar, or perhaps indulging in a romantic beach dinner, Wakatobi Dive Resort provides a unique and enriching experience for those seeking recreation, relaxation and privacy.
It’s not unknown for there to be tears on the last day of a trip in Wakatobi – guests simply don’t want to leave this little piece of heaven and return to the ‘real’ world.
You will enjoy the tranquility and secluded location of Wakatobi; no traffic noise, no pollution, no other divers for at least 100 miles. Although we are far off the beaten track, our private charter flight will transport you from Bali to our purpose-built airstrip in less than three hours, followed by a short boat ride to our resort and your vacation will truly begin.
Located in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia (Southeast Asia) Wakatobi is easily accessed from Europe or the USA. Many airlines offer flights to one of the major cities in Asia with transfer on to Denpasar, Bali which is the gateway (and most amazingly beautiful stopover on the way) to Wakatobi. Our private air charter brings you from Bali to our purpose-built airstrip in a two-and-a-half hour flight over some breathtaking tropical island scenery, then it’s a short drive and boat ride to the resort. A light meal is served on the flight and you will be assisted with all checked baggage.
Relaxed luxury, with nature at your door.
You will discover that, despite its remote location, Wakatobi Dive Resort offers a very civilized existence. Each hand-crafted villa and bungalow is spacious, quiet, comfortable and just a few steps from the ocean. All are air-conditioned with wi-fi satellite internet access, along with comprehensive amenities. All your meals and snacks (chef-prepared in our beachside restaurant) are included throughout your stay.
You will find yourself slipping into Wakatobi’s easy rhythm, rejuvenated by its comforting ways – freshly prepared and appetizing food, comfortable accommodation, sensational diving and friendly, personalized service.
We offer a variety of accommodations to fit your personal wishes:
- Two-bedroom Pool Villas
- One-bedroom Villas
- Ocean Bungalows
- Palm Bungalows
Villa packages include both one-bedroom and two-bedroom pool models, with three package options that include value added amenities.
Check out the Virtual Tour Here.
A dive experience that will enthrall and endure.
Wakatobi was created with the vision to deliver the ultimate dive experience and was established following an extensive search to identify the perfect location for a dive resort in terms of geography, climate, oceanic topography and marine biodiversity. To ensure its future we then created one of the world’s largest privately protected marine reserves. That gives you some idea of the extent to which we will go and the attention to detail that goes into every aspect of the Wakatobi experience.
Having identified the premier location, we developed a resort that, despite its remote position, offers a plenitude of facilities and comforts to make a dive trip, and all that surrounds it, an experience that you will cherish.
Myriad marine life varieties, and all at your doorstep.
Wakatobi is located at the world’s epicenter of coral reef biodiversity and is designated a UNESCO Marine Biosphere Reserve. This means that while diving at Wakatobi you can see the greatest variety and diversity of marine life. You’ll not only see beautiful vistas or pristine coral reefs, but also abundant colorful reef fish and rare and unusual cryptic ‘critters’. New and undocumented species continue to be discovered at Wakatobi.
There are other locations where you can see larger schools of fish, bigger animals and experience more adrenaline-filled underwater ‘rides’, but for sheer reef scenery and marine life variety, you won’t be disappointed with a diving holiday at Wakatobi.
Wakatobi’s dive sites.
Wakatobi is blessed with more than 50 mapped and named dive sites all within a short distance of the main resort. The reefs around Wakatobi are actually continuous, so to call a dive site a ‘site’ is a little misleading. We identify most of our dives sites at locations on the continuous reef where we start a dive. We have generally selected these starting points because of some unique underwater typography or marine life that is common to this spot.
Epicenter of biodiversity.
The Wakatobi region is considered to be the epicenter of coral reef biodiversity. 85% of the world’s coral reefs are located in the Indo-Pacific region, and as you travel either east or west from the epicenter of biodiversity, the number of species decreases. At the Western edge of the Indian Ocean, or the Eastern edge of the Pacific, you will only find about 25% of the number of species that are present at Wakatobi.
The Atlantic/Caribbean region has even less diversity, less than one tenth the number of species found in the Indo-Pacific. For instance, the Atlantic/Caribbean region has fewer than 70 species of corals while the Indo-Pacific has over 700 species.
The environment influences biodiversity. Coral reef ecosystems need warm, clear waters to thrive. If there’s too much runoff from large rivers or urban growth nearby, the reefs can be choked by siltation or pollution. The waters must be warm, but not too warm. Below 25 C, coral growth is retarded. Above 29 C, the symbiotic algae living in the corals begins to die off and stress the corals. Depth is important too. Very shallow waters have too much temperature fluctuation and disruptive wave and surge action. Too deep, and light is diminished, which decreases diversity. At about 20 M depth, there is plenty of light, and not much wave action, even during large storms, so more species can survive.
Unlimited diving on pristine, protected coral reefs.
It’s all at your doorstep.
Nowhere else do you have such ease of access to miles of pristine reefs with diverse topography, life and highlights. In other locations you collect the good dive sites together over large areas with perhaps long and arduous boat journeys in between and might not even get close to what Wakatobi offers out there right at the doorstep.
Our ‘signature dish’: shore diving the House Reef.
Our house reef is world-famous. Some guests never go on a boat dive because the reef and wall right in front of our resort provides enough territory and diversity to keep them exploring for several days. There is no need to swim long distances. We even offer ‘taxi-boat’ services to transport you up current to extended parts of the House Reef to explore or enjoy a beautiful drift back to the jetty. (find out more)
Fluro diving; a new dimension, new experience.
Experience a new dimension in diving so exclusive that more people have seen Earth from space than have seen corals in this totally new light! Fish suddenly speak and coral communicate through fluorescence. Read more here.
Night diving – any night.
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 buddy teams). 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.
A plethora of sites to dive by boat.
We have more than 40 sites that we regularly dive, all accessible by our day boats. Boat rides range from 10 minutes up to a maximum of an hour for a few of the furthest sites. (find out more)
Privacy and tailored diving with a Private Dive Experience Manager.
Our Private Dive Experience Manager program represents the ultimate in personalized resort diving: a Private Dive Experience Manager, whose focus is to fulfill your innermost wishes and tailor an exclusive, personalised diving experience to fit your individual needs. Read more here
Your stay supports our protected conservation zone.
The entire Wakatobi region has been turned into a sustainable protected marine park. The local village and surrounding communities have enthusiastically adopted the conservation plan and as a result, illegal fishing, reef walking and other activities detrimental to the coral reef have been halted. Part of your payment for staying and diving at Wakatobi goes back to the community to sustain and support this new way of living. Living in harmony with and in respect of the coral reef ecosystem.
Explore further afield, in luxurious comfort.
Pelagian expands on Wakatobi Dive Resort’s tradition of ultimate service and premier diving. Venturing into remote and seldom-visited corners of the Tukang Besi archipelago, guests enjoy cruises of discovery and adventure to distant reefs, verdant island lagoons and fecund 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 motoryacht.
Cabins
With a maximum of 10 guests, Pelagian’s cabins are well-appointed and spacious. The master suite provides all the comforts one would expect of an upscale hotel suite – and all other cabin levels are also roomy, with full en-suite shower rooms.
Dining
Pelagian offers a Wakatobi experience in all respects and that includes the dining. Pelagian has an experienced on-board chef and team & a well-equipped galley.
Facilities
Pelagian offers home-from-home comforts in an intimate setting, with discrete personalised service and all the supporting facilities you need.
Itinerary
Pelagian will show you a different kind of diving to that seen at the resort, with muck diving par excellence.
Diving
Exclusive access to remote and untouched sites; the luxury of being the only divers for miles around.
“What a week on Pelagian! This is muck heaven, a window to a new world. But don’t let that fool you, the reefs and corals are amazing! Your enthusiasm for the big and tiny have brought us to a new level of appreciation for diving.”
Brian and Deena Jones – Guests
All information from www.wakatobi.com
