News
New Indonesian luxury resort offers more choice for Diverse Travel guests
The choice of handpicked luxury dive experiences from UK-based Tour Operator Diverse Travel just became more impressive with the addition of Bunaken Oasis Resort, a wonderful ecological and ethical resort in North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
This luxury dive resort on Bunaken Island sits in an enviable location at the end of Liang Beach offering a deluxe diving experience within the Bunaken National Marine Park. Every element within the resort has been carefully designed to cater for guests looking for a special resort and promises a high level of service in all areas.
The Bunaken Oasis Diving Centre is on site with a completely tailored diving service with the emphasis on space and comfort for divers. All boats have fresh water showers, toilets and catering facilities. The dive guides are qualified to Dive Master or above and no more than four guests allocated to a dive guide. The fleet of new dive boats includes an extremely spacious 17.5m fibreglass catamaran together with four traditional wooden boats.
Accommodation is across a choice of cottages, 10 luxury and two-bedroom cottages. For relaxing times there is a fresh-water infinity pool with sea views, Long House lounge, spa with a full range of massages and specialist treatments, panoramic restaurant with spectacular views and a chill-out cocktail bar.
Prices are from £3095 per person for 7 nights including:
- Return flights from London Heathrow to Manado, Indonesia on Singapore Airlines
- 7 nights in traditional cottage (full board, 2 people sharing
- 17 boat dives and free Nitrox
- Free house reef diving subject to local conditions and availability
- Laundry in resort is included as standard
- Return airport transfers
With over fifty years’ experience of dive travel, dive centre and resort management the Diverse Travel team has the experience to deliver memorable holidays that benefit from full financial ATOL cover.
For more information visit www.diversetravel.co.uk/indonesia/north-sulawesi/bunaken-oasis or call 01473 852002 or email info@diversetravel.co.uk.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 3
Today we are diving one of the outer reefs from an inflatable. As we reach the bottom, a reef octopus eases its way into the cover of a small crack in the coral while displaying it’s incredible ability to change colour. They are arguably one of the most charismatic of reef dwellers and it is always exciting for me to simply hover and watch. I would have spent longer and waited for it to come and investigate me, but as dive time is limited we wanted to move on and find a turtle.
The waters around Somabay are well protected and hold a rich variety of marine life. The reef edges are thriving colonies of coral and shoaling fish, while nearer the sea bed plenty of wildlife is still to be found.
Then we located the turtles. They are very used to divers and so show little concern when slowly approached. In fact occasionally one will come over to see what you are doing. There is always huge excitement when diving with a turtle. The shear thrill of sharing a moment with another species.
What a fantastic way to finish a wonderful few days diving and I would like to thank SOMABAY, ORCA DIVING and THE BREAKERS for making my stay such a good one.
I had a great time, with diving everyday either on the house reef or on one of the offshore reefs by inflatable or larger day boat. Orca diving provided high quality equipment and facilities while the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The Breakers was right on the coast with nice rooms, good food and once again friendly staff making the whole trip a real pleasure.
Soma Bay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds.
As well as scuba diving, Somabay caters for many other sports and activities, and so is perfect for families as well as individuals and/or groups. And of course there is always time to lay peacefully on the beach under the Egyptian sun.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 2
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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