Diving Indonesia
Bill and I have recovered from the wonderful Indonesia trip and I wanted to email to thank you. As always, you arrange creative and inspiring trips for us which we will remember for a lifetime. Here's feedback about the itinerary details:
Flight to Jakarta on Etihad- booked by me but if feedback is useful-great experience, good service, no delays or issues.
Sheraton Hotel in Jakarta for layover: booked by me but suggested by you-here's feedback-hotel was clean, close to the airport and the restaurant was lovely. It was a great suggestion from you to book a hotel room. We were exhausted, it helped to get some sleep.
Garuda Air and Lion Air- no issues or delays getting around Indonesia.
Cove Eco Resort- it was lovely, our bungalow was clean, comfortable. The service at the resort was terrific, someone would respond within minutes of any request. Diving was terrific. The dive master and his staff were excellent. Bill and I had our own dive guide who was very knowledgeable. Rental gear was in great shape. In between morning dives, they parked on any of the small islands for tea and snacks. I loved the reef and wildlife at Raja Ampat. Very diverse and spectacular coral. We saw larger creatures: sharks, manta rays, several turtles and others along with the smallest creatures that the dive guide pointed out on every dive. I dove in the afternoon-usually a nearby dive spot.
Food was delicious, they usually served a couple of options for each meal or you can put in a request which they will accommodate.
Let me know if you need additional feedback
Swiss Belhotel in Sorong
Good-room was clean, the food was tasty, and it was perfect for an overnight stay. We tried to walk around Sorong but there wasn't much to see as a tourist.
Wamena/Baliem Valley Experience
Fascinating experience, we ended up with a guide called Wendy and to this day, I don't know if he was actually supposed to be our guide. There was another guy who was not on Wendy's team that followed us around and seemed to argue with Wendy. It seemed that there was confusion there. All of that aside, Wendy did a great job guiding us on tours of the two Wamena markets, suspension bridge, mummies, a cave and also hiking to visit Dani Tribes. The tribes were so friendly and happy. We enjoyed visiting with them. One of the tribes dressed in their traditional outfits with penis gourds and did a mock battle for us. They also cooked red fruit with potatoes which was delicious.
Baliem Pilamo Hotel was just okay, the restaurant had a very limited menu. Since we were out and about most of the time, it was fine.
Puri Santrian, Sanur: We enjoyed this hotel and if we go back to Indonesia, we will spend more time in Bali. The bungalow was great, the pools and food were terrific. Service was wonderful. We walked a few miles along the boardwalk to look at the various hotels and homes along the beach.
Wakatobi Resort: We had a great experience at the Wakatobi Resort. The bungalow was clean, spacious and well appointed. The resort and dive staff were amazing. We had our own dive guide for the majority of the week. He was informative and took many underwater photos for Bill when it required a still hand to photograph the tiny creatures. The dive center has a photography room with an expert and rental photography equipment. The restaurant had buffet style food, Indonesian dishes, many salads, soups and desserts. I think you've been there before so I won't go into more detail :). Wakatobi was Bill's favorite. Although the diving was terrific at Wakatobi, the Raja Ampat dive spots were my favorite. 
Emirates on return flight: Airline was great-good service, very accommodating on a long flight back! I hope this feedback is helpful for you-we will start contemplating our next adventure and be in touch!
Cathy & Bill - Apr 2025