Wakatobi – Visit this lost paradise in Indonesia and dive in its surreal waters

The complete guide to your trip to Wakatobi in Indonesia! Perfect for those who want to visit the unknown and get off the traditional route in Indonesia!

Aerial view of the Wasabinua Resort

Hey, are you thinking about your trip to Indonesia and Southeast Asia?

How about including Wakatobi in your itinerary?

You don’t know where it is or what to do there?

I didn’t know either before I started organizing my trip through Indonesia!

But we included this paradise in our itinerary and it was a pleasant (and amazing) surprise!

Wakatobi enchants due to its unexplored beauty, the crystal clear sea, the coral reefs, white sandy beaches, the people still unaccustomed to tourists and the extremely abundant and untouched marine life!

If you are already interested, keep on reading this complete post with everything you need to plan your trip to that charming destination that is Wakatobi, and get off the traditional route of tourists in Indonesia!

In this post you will find:

• Wakatobi National Park
• How to get there
• When to go
• Where to stay in Wakatobi: Wangi-Wangi
• What to do in Wakatobi
• Our 4-day itinerary and a suggestion for yours
• Costs
• General Tips

Wakatobi National Park

Wakatobi is actually a National Marine Park (Wakatobi Marine National Park), formed by 4 main islands. The name Wakatobi is derived from the first two letters of each island: Wangi-Wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia, and Binongko.

The park is in the region of Sulawesi, away from the traditional tourist route and is recognized as having the largest number of coral and fish species in the world (750 species of coral and 942 species of fish) and the second largest barrier reef in the world, only after The Great Barrier Reef, in Australia.

There are other smaller islands that are also part of the park, such as Hoga, that is very close to Kaledupa and that offers paradisiacal beaches for your visitors!

Despite being a national park, it is not necessary to pay daily or entry fee to stay there (at least for now). One more reason for you to visit as soon as possible!

The place started to be explored by tourists a few years ago after a luxurious resort with its own airport was built on the island of Tomia. Today, it is already possible to find some simple but comfortable hotels or resorts in the region, as well as homestays!

The few tourists that visit Wakatobi, go mainly in search of dives, because the place is really fantastic and very rich in marine life. But beautiful beaches also exist there! And I consider Wakatobi a fantastic destination to be visited by anyone.

Wangi-Wangi

Local Bajo Community in Wanci

Wangi-Wangi is the largest of the four islands and the most developed one.

Matahora Airport is located there, with two daily flights. Called commonly as Wanci, this island offers everything: dives, snorkeling in fantastic coral reefs, white sandy beaches and several options for hotels and homestays.

Despite the divers generally giving preference to Tomia, Wanci also has hundreds of interesting diving spots, being the Shark Point considered one of the best by many people who have already been there.

Kaledupa

Boy in Wangi-Wangi

Kaledupa is the next island after Wangi-Wangi and is accessible by boat, with daily departures from the port of Wanci. Kaledupa also has many diving points, but the vast majority of visitors go straight through the island to a tiny island just beside, the island of Hoga.

Within 30 minutes by boat, you can reach Hoga from Kaledupa. Hoga is the island known for owning the most paradisiacal beaches and a great place to relax. Although it has several diving points, the visibility in Hoga is not as good as on the other islands.

Tomia

Local Village in Tomia

Although very small, Tomia is the island most visited by tourists because it is known as the best one for scuba diving.

It is possible to get there after a 2-3h boat trip from Wanci. The island does not offer much besides scuba diving and snorkeling, but we also visited beautiful beaches and local villages. Apart from that, what is not lacking in Tomia are sights with magnificent views. The hotel sector is practically made up of guesthouses and homestays, but they are well structured.

Binongko

Binongko is the least visited island with fewer inhabitants. It is still very far from tomia and even the locals of the region hardly visit Binongko. The biggest attraction there is actually a stone park that they say is very interesting.

How to get there

Beach in Tomia

There are a few ways to get to Wakatobi and none of them are too easy or cheap. But I think it only makes the place even more unexplored and that is why it is very worthwhile to be visited.

By plane to Wangi-Wangi

Going by plane to Matahora (WNI), the airport at Wangi-Wangi is arguably the most practical option.  But expect a tiring trip and a lot of stops.

There are direct flights from Kendari or Makassar. Some people end up sleeping in Makassar to have a trip less tiring. The two companies that travel there are Lion Air and Garuda Indonesia. We traveled from Lion Air and managed to buy the ticket Bali-Matahora, with 3 layovers on the way. It is better to buy the ticket combined because some connections were short (less than 30 minutes), so if something went wrong, the airline company would have to take responsibility.

The most practical and inexpensive way is to search the passages at Skyscanner. It shows all the best flight options and you can select the origin from anywhere in Indonesia to compare the cheaper options.

It was interesting how some airports barely have speakers or televisions with the flight schedules and some tickets were written by hand. But as everyone needs to travel by plane in Indonesia, the airports actually work very well. Lion Air’s planes were not good or clean, and we had several flights delayed, they changed our layover, but we made it without major problems.

This is not the cheapest option, but no doubt is the most cost-effective, for those who do not have much time (we paid around U$100.00 one way from Bali to Matahora).

By boat from Bau Bau

Scuba Diving in Wangi-Wangi

It is possible to travel by plane to Bau Bau (more options and lower cost) and from there get a boat to Wangi-Wangi. There are two types of boat:

The Kamaru Ferry leaves Bau Bau at 4:00 and 13:00 and arrives at Wangi-Wangi around 08:00 and 16:00 respectively;

The wooden boat leaves daily at 09:00 and arrives at Wangi-Wangi around 11:00.

They’re fast boats and they rock a lot. Come prepared with nausea medication if you are sensitive. The prices are IDR 85k per person and a taxi in Bau Bau to take you to the port will cost around IDR 50k per person.

Between the islands

Wasabinua Resort

Between the islands of Wakatobi, the transport is only possible by boat.

You can rent a private boat to move around the islands. It is worth doing this if you are in a group or if you want to spend a day in Hoga for example, but do not stay overnight.

And, there are the public boats also. The schedules are:

Wangi-Wangi – Hoga/Kaledupa: Daily between 09:00 and 10:00 and between 13:00 and 14:00, arriving between 11:00 and 12:00 and between 15:00 and 16:00, respectively (the schedule is not very correct, always arrive in advance);

Hoga/Kaledupa – Wangi-Wangi: Daily at 06:00, arriving between 07:00 and 08:00;

Wangi-Wangi –Tomia: Daily between 09:00 and 10:00 and between 13:00 and 14:00, arriving around 11:00 and 12:00 and between 15:00 and 16:00 respectively;

Tomia – Wangi-Wangi: Daily at 06:00 arriving between 07:00 and 08:00;

The costs of the boats are:

• Wangi-Wangi to Hoga/Kaledupa (and vice versa): IDR 50k
• Wangi-Wangi for Tomia (and vice versa): IDR 150k

* All information regarding the schedules and costs is related to July-2018 and the exchange rate between the dollar and Indonesian rupee was $1.00 = IDR 14k

Close to your trip, you can contact Hassam at Wasabinua Resort to check with him all the schedules and costs of the boats in order to organize your program.

When to go

Getting ready for our next dive in Wangi-Wangi

As a country with a tropical climate, Indonesia basically has two seasons, the dry and the raining season (monsoon).

The best time to visit Indonesia, therefore, is in the dry season, from April to October. Temperatures will be relatively milder, blue skies and no rain. We went in July and we got a perfect weather all the time.

Where to stay in Wakatobi: Wangi-Wangi

Wasabinua Resort

We had only 4 days in this paradise and our main focus was diving, so we ended up not visiting Hoga and spent our days between Tomia and Wangi-Wangi.

The trip to Tomia takes about 3h, so if you do not have much time, we recommend you to stay only at Wangi-Wangi. It is also an amazing place for scuba diving and snorkeling and the beaches are fantastic!

In Wangi-Wangi, there are some resorts with plenty of comfort or some homestays. In Tomia, you will find mainly homestays. We did not go to Hoga, but while we were planning the trip and thinking about visiting Hoga, the staff at the Hoga Dive Resort was very nice to us!

Book your accommodation in Wakatobi at Booking.com:

Booking.com

We chose to stay at the Wasabinua Resort and decided on a package with everything included for our 4 days there.

Adding everything up it was really worth it in the end. Our package included:

• 2 Daily in the Wasabinua itself
• 2 daily in Guesthouse in Tomia (double room with private bathroom and less than 5 minutes from the harbor)
• All meals
• 5 Dives for each
• Snorkel
• Boat ride to sight dolphins
• Excursions on land visiting the beaches and local communities
• All transport (airport-hotel, boat Wangi-Wangi – Tomia, and vice versa).

Wasabinua Resort

Room at Wasabinua Resort

The Wasabinua is delicious! The resort has only 5 rooms and everything is very familiar and pleasant. The rooms have no luxury but are extremely comfortable with a large bed, private bathroom, and air conditioning. All rooms have an electric kettle and you can have coffee, tea, and water as you wish!

The restaurant is in a rock on the sea and the view is breathtaking. Imagine taking your breakfast every day from there and looking at this surreal view!

In addition, they have all the scuba diving and snorkeling equipment in addition to the boats. But I always recommend that you bring, at least, your own diving mask. You will feel more comfortable using your own mask, especially because sometimes it’s hard to find masks that properly fits on you.

They have also just acquired another boat for private journeys between the islands, making it even easier for the guests. You can have a complete experience with them!

Wasabinua Resort’s Restaurant

Having breakfast with this amazing view at Wasabinua

The restaurant is also open to the public. So I recommend you go there anyway, even if you’re not staying in the Wasabinua Resort.

Besides the amazing view, the dishes are delicious. Try the tuna steak, which was simply the best I’ve ever had in my life.

Breakfast is served anytime you want! On our last day, we had to go to the airport very early in the morning and they gave us a packed breakfast, which was very cute! They offer Indonesian breakfast (Nasi Goren and Mie Goren – fried rice and fried noodles) and pancakes.

The dishes are mostly seafood, but they also have chicken and red meat, as well as vegetarian dishes. The juices are all natural. Try the mango juice – it was sensational!

Guesthouse in Tomia

Our Guesthouse in Tomia – arranged by the Wasabinua staff

The Wasabinua staff also organized our guesthouse in Tomia. The room was huge, very clean and comfortable with a private bathroom. The guesthouse was only 3 minutes walk from the harbor!

In Tomia, we had all our meals at the Guesthouse and they were delicious. Homemade food! But remember to warn them if you have any food restrictions before your arrival!

What did you think of Wasabinua? Beautiful, huh?

I confess that when I saw the photos of the view of the restaurant, I had no doubt about staying there!

If you liked Wasabinua, book your room here at booking.com and drop a message to the owner, Hassan. He will surely help you to organize the best program for your days in Wakatobi.

What to do in Wakatobi

In general, these are the activities for you in your days in Wakatobi!

Scuba Diving

Diving in Tomia

Wakatobi, and more specifically Tomia Island, is very famous for being a scuba diving paradise.

And it is indeed. Because it is still unexplored, the corals are very lively and colorful. We saw huge schools of fish and a lot of sharks. And, you will have the sea all by yourself! We had the boat and the ocean just for us! No other divers while we were there!

We did three dives in Tomia, but it is possible to spend a week there diving if you want. There are hundreds of places to dive. We scuba dived in Wangi-Wangi at Shark Point. It was only out of this world! And only 5 minutes from the Wasabinua (seriously, you can almost swim there), we almost didn’t believe when the boat sailed less than 5 minutes and they said that we had reached the point. I think it was one of the best dives ever. Besides having seen many sharks, the corals there are in floral shape and the views were incredible!

On our trip to Indonesia, we also did scuba diving in Komodo and saw manta rays and turtles and was also amazing. Check out our post about scuba diving and the boat trip in Komodo.

Snorkeling

Snorkeling in Wangi-Wangi

If you do not dive (I think you are wasting your time and you should start right now ;)) you can do snorkeling.

We did it at Wangi Wangi and it was amazing. Super colorful and alive corals (the pictures don’t show the real beauty).  For those who can hold their breath longer and go deeper, it is even possible to visit Nemo down there. I couldn’t! We loved snorkeling there.

Dolphin Watch

Dolphins playing near our boat in Wakatobi

Ah! That was a hell of an experience.

We left very early in the morning with the sun rising and we sailed almost 2 hours watching the dolphins swimming and jumping, some of them very close to the boat. It was really beautiful!

I loved this experience too much. It was wonderful to see them so close to me and having fun in their own world.

Relaxing on the beaches

Relaxing on the beach in Tomia

As expected, the islands also have beautiful beaches! We could spend some time relaxing on the beaches of Tomia! White sand, crystal clear water and no one but us.

They say that in terms of beaches, the island of Hoga is the one that offers the best beaches. We ended up not visiting Hoga this time, but now we have even more reason to go back!

Kontamale Cave

The cave has a well with an extremely clear and limpid water! There were several local people there bathing and washing clothes!

I almost had a dip in the water, but as they were all wearing clothes and I had nothing to change then I ended up not going because I was shy of wearing a bathing suit with them swimming with clothes and hijab in their heads.

This was something that I found interesting all over Indonesia, I saw lots of local people enjoying the beaches and the attractions and not only tourists.

Local communities

Local Market in Wanci

We visited some local villages (Kulati village in Tomia and Wanci village in Wangi Wangi). The Tomia’s village has an incredible view of the sea and it is very tidy. In Wangi-Wangi, you will notice many houses on stilts to stay firm in the time of rain season. We also visited some local markets.

ViewPoint in Tomia

In Tomia there is an interesting viewpoint to watch the sunset. It was uncared and a little dirty, but the view is very pretty from up there.

ViewPoint in Wangi-Wangi

ViewPoint in Wangi

It’s not actually a viewpoint. It is pretty much a hill that does not have a beautiful view. The interesting point is to see the sea rocks at high and imagine how it was all submerged a few million years ago. I spent a while there thinking about it.

Our itinerary for Wakatobi and suggestions for yours

We spent 4 full days and 4 nights and decided on a package for all our days with the Wasabinua Resort. Our itinerary was as follows:

1^st day – Arriving at Wangi Wangi

Sunset at Wasabinua Resort

We arrived around 4:00 – it was practically all full day traveling to get there. So, on our first day, we could only relax in the Wasabinua watching a magnificent sunset and dining delicious food.

We also get to know our Dive Master and settled our itinerary for the next few days. Our dive master, Iwan, accompanied us to Tomia and stayed with us all the time. We really recommend him, we had a great time.

2^nd day – Dolphin watch and the boat trip to Tomia

Wasabinua Resort

We woke up early, got into a boat and went after the dolphins. They are very active at sunrise. It was about 2 hours sailing and watching so many dolphins jumping, having fun, swimming near the boat. It was just amazing!

On the way back, we had breakfast in the Wasabinua and headed for the port to take the 10 o’clock boat to Tomia, but it had left at 9:00 :(. Learn from us and arrive with a lot of time on the ports, before the boats can leave in a different timetable.

But it was good in the end, because we then relaxed a little, bought a sim card, had lunch and then we took the 14:00 boat. Arriving in Tomia, we still went to watch the sunset from the viewpoint.

 3^rd Day – Dives in Tomia

Magnificent view in one of the viewpoints in Tomia

This was the most anticipated day.

We woke up very early again, had a very good breakfast (Indonesian breakfast with fried noodles) and took to the boat.

Just the two of us and the boat crew for our three dives. The nice thing about Tomia is that several of the main dive points are very close to the coast so we do not need to sail much.

All three dives were amazing. In the first hours in the morning, the fishes were more active and we saw gigantic schools. But the last dive was the one with the most fantastic corals because the sunlight was hitting directly into the water, the visibility reached almost 30m. Surreal!

After lunch, we stroll through some local villages and completely deserted beaches. Because of the barrier reef, you can not swim a lot, but it is extremely relaxing in the pool formed on the beach!

4^th Day – Back to Wangi-Wangi, scuba diving, and snorkeling

Very happy after an amazing diving at Shark Point in Wangi-Wangi

Another day waking up super early to catch the 6:00 boat back to Wangi-Wangi.

Arriving there, we went for another dive (we could only do one diving because we can not dive after 18 hours before a flight and we would catch our flight in the next morning).

The shark point is literally 5 minutes from the Wasabinua and was one of the best dives. After that, we snorkeled in a barrier of corals nearby, extremely colorful and rich in life! After lunch, we had a stroll through Wanci, visiting a local village, a viewpoint, a cave, and a local market. It was an interesting experience!

It is possible to notice on all the islands, rocks similar to those found at the bottom of the sea being used in the construction of houses and other buildings. So for sure, these islands were all submerged a few million years ago.

 5^th Day – Back to Bali

Diving at Shark Point in Wangi-Wangi

We woke up early again for going back to Bali. Three more flights.

Suggestions for your itinerary

Beach in Tomia with its incredible crystal clear waters

As the islands still have unexplored tourism, I think that getting a package is the best strategy. Aside from saving a little, you have everything sorted out, like boats and activities. It is not very easy to move around there (there is no easily accessible public transport) and there are no great dining options near the hotels. So that way, you don’t have to keep moving and searching for the activities and you can just relax.

But if you can, stay at least a couple more days so you can also relax on the islands of Hoga and Kaledupa!

If you go scuba diving, I advise you to stay a couple of days diving and enjoying Wangi-Wangi, then go to Tomia for two more days of diving there and spend your last day and a half in Hoga, relaxing on the paradisiacal beaches before catching your flight on the last day to the next destination!

I considered the dolphins watch unmissable (if you like this type of activity). But for the stroll by the local communities and cave, I found them not essential.

Costs

Snorkeling at Wangi-Wangi

Wakatobi costs a little more than we are used to in our trips due to costs od flights to get there. In addition, the tourist structure is not yet so developed and therefore, there are not thousands of options of hotels or restaurants, so expect to pay a little more than you would pay in Bali for example.

In our post about planning the itinerary and costs in a trip to Indonesia, you will find our spreadsheet with all the costs of the trip, including Wakatobi. You can even download the spreadsheet and adapt to your own costs! We got the package and therefore we had discounts. But below you can see the regular prices of some activities, lodging, and meals there:

• Bed and Breakfast (regular price) at Wasabinua Resort: US$25.00 (double room)
• Meals (cost of a regular dish with drink): US$6.00
• Scuba Diving: US$35.00 per person per dive
• Dolphins watch: US$8.00 per person
• Snorkeling: US$8.00 per person
• Airport Transport: US$ 8.00 (per trip)

The prices of the boats for transport between the islands and the what we paid in the plane ticket are listed in the item of How to get to Wakatobi. Keep in mind that the airplane ticket will probably be the highest cost on this trip to Wakatobi.

General Tips

Paradise Beach in Tomia

• The predominant religion in Wakatobi is Islam. So, be prepared to wake up at 4:00 in the morning with the mosques calling them for the first prayer of the day.
• And also remember to wear long pants and cover your shoulders while walking around the city. In the boats and on the beaches it was ok to wear a bathing suit.
• Indonesians love to take pictures with foreigners in general. But in Wakatobi that was even more prevalent! All the time people were asking us to take a “selfie.” It’s a lot of fun.
• Don’t forget your travel insurance in Indonesia. You never know when you’re going to need it and it’s always best to be prepared for any eventuality. Use the MOCHILAOADOIS5 coupon for 5% discount on “SegurosPromo”. They compare the best prices in the biggest insurers and always guarantee the best offer.

What did you think of Wakatobi? I hope you are very eager to meet this lost paradise. I advise you to visit soon while it is still remote and isolated!

For any doubt, feel free to leave us a comment here!

If you are planning to go to Indonesia, I’m sure our other posts from this amazing country will help you plan your travel itinerary for Indonesia.

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Notes

Note1: There are some links in this post of affiliate programs. We inform you that you will not pay anything more in using these links, but, we from “Mochilão a Dois will receive a small commission. If you like our work, please use our links and collaborate so that our blog continues to grow. We’ll be very happy:)

Note2: The “Mochilão a Dois” did not have a complimentary stay at Wasabinua Resort, but had a small discount on the package deal. The staff of the hotel as very nice all the time and showed us around and explained everything about Wakatobi. They collaborated actively with the construction of this post.

Posted by Liany Garves

Liany is a pharmacist that worked for years in a big company. She left her safe job and comfortable life in Brazil to live an adventure in the remote Kingdom of Bhutan and, nowadays, lives in Thailand. The passion for traveling runs to her veins and she loves spending time in the travel blog, helping other travelers with her experiences or planning her next trip.