Wakatobi Island, The Heaven of Divers

A destination where you can dive the world's most pristine reefs and experience remoteness from everyday life in total comfort. Situated on a beautiful tropical island in the remote and peaceful Wakatobi archipelago in the Banda Sea, Wakatobi Dive Resort offers what many consider to be the best reef diving in the world. Blessed with a house reef where you can begin your dive only 20m (60 feet) from the dive center, Wakatobi is often described as a live aboard with a built-in beach! In addition to the spectacular house reef, there are several dozens of easily accessible dive sites offering incredible marine life diversity, color and natural splendor.

THE FACT OF THE ISLAND

Each island has its own distinct characteristics and as a second largest marine conservation area in the archipelago, Wakatobi covers an area of 1.4 million hectares giving you the contrast of an exotic and unique experience with its local inhabitants, culture and traditions as one of Indonesian’s jewels.

When marine tourism becomes a permanent and promising business sector, all the factors; including sport culture that has the highest commercial value of any marine tourism activity create a successful marine conservation program to be seen both chance and challenge. At Wakatobi, the program has turned to be equal in all sectors. It seems that people’s empowering program have run well in the area. The society becomes a powerful guardian protecting their underwater heritages.

The Collaborative Reef Conservation Program was developed by the founders of Wakatobi Dive Resort in consultation with local leaders and village elders. It was designed to motivate the people living within the region and to realize the genuine value of the reefs and inspire the villagers to be pro-active in protecting the marine ecosystem. The program achieves by providing the economic alternative sources that could help, protect the ecosystem and manage the reefs . It is a good example of how to do people’s empowerment by giving them the pattern with law enforcement. Cooperation between local fishermen and visiting divers is promoted by generating from tourism income that will return to the community

The best key to build deep trust and understanding amongst the community is to do the continuous and consistent efforts although the program took many years to reach the goals and the aim is there, where all members of the surrounding villages respect and honor the agreement. The Collaborative Reef Conservation Program was extended even further based on the success of a pilot project launched in 1998 that turned 6 km of reef into an effective no-fishing sanctuary. The program includes all 17 communities around the resort and the dive environment includes over 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) of some of the finest reefs of the world, including the protection of dozens of top dive sites for generations.

How to get there?

At this time, the access to Wakatobi can be reached either by air through Kendari using Susi Air
(10 times a week |Monday - Saturday|).

Time Schedule of Susi Air :
Morning Trip :
Trip : Kendari ---> Wakatobi 8:00 am

Wakatobi ---> Kendari 9:00 am


Afternoon Trip :
Trip : Kendari ---> Wakatobi 16:00 pm

Wakatobi ---> Kendari 17:00 pm


To get Kendari can be reach by
(Garuda Indonesia Air, Merpati Air,Sriwijaya Air, Batavia Air and Lion Air)
from Jakarta, Bali, Manado, and Surabaya as follow:

1. Jakarta – Makassar – Kendari - Wakatobi
2. Bali – Makassar – Kendari - Wakatobi
3. Manado – Makassar – Kendari - Wakatobi
4. Surabaya – Makassar – Kendari - Wakatobi

Time schedule of Garuda Indonesia Air :
Jakarta – Makassar (15:35 pm) – Kendari (16:00 pm) - Wakatobi (17:00 pm)

PEOPLE
Wakatobi has an amazing challeging dive sites and the island’s population of nearly 100,563 with their unique custom and culture encourages the people to promote their region to be the most popular marine tourism destination in the world.

Wakatobi consists of multi-ethnic society and Suku Bajo or Bajo Tribe who lives in the seashore, having a particular building architecture connected by the bridge and boats as their main transportation and basic livelihood as the fishermen.
The culinary art of the region serves you a delicious natural tasted food, traditionally made from generation by generation.

ACCOMODATION

The Island provides you in full comfort and distinct resort class although the site is in the most remote resort area. The villas and bungalows were built in a large space, tastefully decorated with the hospitality you would expect in the fine resort like Wakatobi Dive Resort, a Swiss-founded that has an international standard with some facilities in Tomia Island.

The Architecture is built in consideration with the preservation of the traditional building style, respect to the eco-tourism principles with the main building and bungalows crafted by local artisans and all using manual tools. Apart of their land-based resort, the world-renowned Pelagian Yacht now operates and takes the visitors in a local luxurious transportation. This Pelagian Yacht is fully integrated into Wakatobi’s award-winning marine conservation and community development program. It has an exclussive access to the diving sites within the extended Wakatobi region. Let’s try a trip to Wakatobi in a live-a-board adventure on the Pelagian at the same holiday!

Hoga Island with its white sandy beach and beautiful panorama offers you a place that can accommodate up to hundreds guests. There is also a moderate home stay for you to spend the time at Wanci in Wangi-Wangi Island, the capital city of the regency that keeps put in order providing all the facilities to the visitors needs.

There is no denying that Wakatobi is an excellent tourism destination with no less than 750 coral reef species from a total of 850 species in the world, comparing with the Caribbean owes only 50 species and other 300 species in the Red Sea.

AMENITIES

Local food always challenges you to experience unordinary flavour with a touch of magic while a journey in international cuisine will exclusively give you a different taste of seafood with imported ingredients. Guests will enjoy a food etalase from fresh sea fruits to a divine desert and a fresh coconut to a cup of hot local coffee. At Wakatobi Dive Resort the food even extremely served at the Jetty Bar where you can see the sunset of day and look forward to a new adventure tomorrow.

Why make you hurry from the paradise if you can benefit your time in beauty treatments to pamper you while taking a break from diving. Experience the Spa with a fully-trained staff and life can get any better than yesterday. Your day ends with a marvelous sunset watching while having a wonderful candle light dinner.


Source : www.wakatobi.info

Good sightseeing tours in bad weather - Tips

Travel is interesting because one is getting out of the daily routes. There are things to expect and unpredictable things to happen. For a tour guide, however, you try to have everything in control, from itinerary to transportation, from local meals to entertainment. Yet there is one thing completely uncontrollable - the weather.

You surely know the rainy season or hot periods in your city, but you can not decide if the sightseeing tours day is raining, snowing or even a freak storm. Can a tour guide fix the weather? No, but a tour guide can be prepared in advance for bad weather to prevent bad sightseeing tours. Here are some tips for city guiding in bad weather.

Be prepared. Check the weather forecast 3 days before and sightseeing tours. It is easy with the internet, mobile, television, newspaper… whatever methods convenient for you. If it is going to be a fair day, great! If it is going to rain, prepare umbrellas or rain coats accordingly.

Adjust the itinerary to make a better experience. Increase indoor activities to minimize the affect of the poor weather. Swap places to visit if it is a multi-day sightseeing tour. Offer new options for cancelled items due to the weather conditions. Do inform your clients in advance about the changes in itinerary, they will appreciate this. They will understand as weather is out of your control but not getting notified may annoy most travelers. If you are taking public transportation in the city, try to choose the closest bus/metro/taxi stand from the venue.

You are the guide and leader of the tour, so be great by keeping your clients in a good mood. Do you have jokes about such bad weather to lighten the mood and potential tension? Are there stories of interest that happened particularly in raining days? Is the snow bringing a different beauty of the local scenery?

What weather do you least expect on your sightseeing tours? Have you successfully coped with any extreme weather in your guiding career? Please share with the tour guide community on this blog.

Benefit of saying "thank you" at the end of sightseeing tours

It is nice to be nice and it costs nothing

Do not hold back your gratitude at end of the sightseeing tours. As a tour guide, you are probably a very hard working person. Surely you deserve the warmest thanks from everyone on your tour. You definitely will receive it if you have done an excellent job. Yet remember, a great successful tour can’t be completed by you alone.

If it is a private sightseeing tour just between you and your clients, thank them for their support and cooperation. For them being on time, listening to you attentively, following the rules in specific sights. Your clients also appreciate your gratitude and will think highly of you for offering it to them.

If it is a big tourist group, you need to publicly thank more people. Thank the driver for his safe driving and punctuate delivery. Thank the tour leader and organizing company, so that you have the opportunity to meet each other. Thank the national guide for his help and support during the tour. Any other parties that are relevant and deserve your appreciation? Please do.

What’s more, if you had a great time with your clients and co-workers, why not sing a farewell song to express your feeling?
A sightseeing tour closing speech with thanks can be quite sentimental.
Do you have anything special to show at end of the tour? Share with us.

Sightseeing tours from a coach

Coach tours are often route tours that a tour guide can easily get accustomed to. To be a master at guiding sightseeing tours on a coach, here are some tips for you.


Best coach and driver option available
Locate a good coach and cooperate with the driver at all times. The coach and driver are important supporters to ensure successful coach sightseeing tours. It is important to locate the best coach and driver before the sightseeing tours, booked in advance. During the tour - Take note of coach colour, number, and parking location. You don’t want to walk all around the parking lot just to find the coach stops at entrance for you, do you?


Clear communication via microphone
The microphone on the coach needs to be found and tested before you talk to the tourists. Take the guide’s seat at the front so that you can talk to the whole group easily. Ensure you have clear quality sound and no speaker feedback noise.


Planning with the driver
Communicate with the driver about itinerary, time, stops, and other things that relevant to the sightseeing tours. The driver knows the tour, but it is worthwhile confirming again in person. Exchanging mobile numbers between the driver and tour guide is also necessary.


Now let us focus on your clients. Besides tour introduction and sight commentary that a tour guide shall already be capable of, the following points will contribute to a successful coach tour.



Is everybody on the coach and safely seated? Count the heads before departure. If you are on a big coach that requires walking to the end for accurate counting, you may count once more from back to front ensuring all people are boarded. Have a quick look at overhead luggage. Make sure there is no easy-fall-off items. Remind the tourists of safety belts or other facilities. Ask them please not to walk when the coach is moving. Don’t forget to introduce the coach, its number, colour, etc.


A great comfortable tour is impossible without the support your clients. So do make a note in advance if you are on a non-smoking coach. Shall eating and drinking be avoided while on the coach? Where they can find the disposal bag or garbage bin?


Are there any tips you would like to share as an experienced tour guide on coach?