The Dive Guides are exceptional - they care so much about the reefs and the animals and they help us with our buoyancy, so that we can get really close, but don't have to touch anything. Our guide said 'use me, that's why I'm here' and we were able to lean and rest on him so we could get close! It was really excellent. We asked the guides questions and if they didn't know the answer, they immediately went to get their books and found the answers for us. We've had experiences in the past where dive guides chastise people about diving and not touching the reefs, but here in Wakatobi ,instead, they help us understand, they teach us things, help us with our buoyancy and instead, let us use them for support! Really excellent.

The marine life was of course excellent...

The Pelagian - the attention, the service - there were only 4 of us on board, but boy did they take good care of us! The courtesy of the staff was first class. The cabins were huge - the shower in my room was bigger than the shower in my room back home in San Jose! There was a misplaced step, which is about the only negative I can say, otherwise it was absolutely perfect!.

Diving from Pelagian, we saw some wonderful reefs - and some reefs that had been a bit fished out. But in those places, the muck diving was magnificent. The sandy areas were teeming with life, you can just settle down and watch for the entire dive, which is a real favorite for me. Magic Pier was unbelievable. There were Mandarin fish everywhere. Not one or two, but maybe thirty! I could've spent the whole day there.

The resort 'select' rooms are gorgeous - meticulously cared for - like the folded flower arrangements, the decorations, housekeeping in general - all excellent. You can just look around and say, things in Wakatobi are done with love. It feels like there is such good care taken of everything. From the man who picks dead leaves off the trees, to the one who smoothes the beach - it's all done with such love.

The dive boats and roomy, comfortable and the best we've ever seen. Really exceptional, with so much space - and a nice, clean bathroom - and small groups of just four people too!

The resort reefs are just amazing. So healthy, so alive. I was here 9 years ago and ever since, I've been raving about how pristine the reefs are. This time, the reefs were even better - even richer than before! The Dive Guides are noticing more species, more fish, year by year and I would agree with that. There's absolutely no bleaching. Some of the reefs are called 'something' Garden and that's just what they are - beautiful, alive gardens.

We really liked how Wakatobi staff took over and simply whisked us through at the airport. They did everything for us, we even went through the 'Crew only' section, it was unbelievable, first class treatment. When you get off a plane and you are jet-lagged, you don't even have to think, you don't have to do a thing!

We love that the resort is taking such special care of the local villages, who in turn are helping to improve the reefs and that the resort is so environmentally conscious. If we come back and have to choose only one, we would come back to the Resort, we've had such a great time. But we're really happy we did both Pelagian and the Resort.

In one sentence it's hard to say what makes Wakatobi so special. The resort is so beautiful. In general, the resort is 5 Star, with polish. There are other places, which are 5 star, but Wakatobi is with polish.

All photos by Jo Arnett