Wakatobi vs Lizard Island vs Maldives

Hello, my husband and I are considering a trip to Wakatobi in 2013 to celebrate a special wedding anniversary. Has anyone been there? The reviews look awesome but we are trying to decide between this, the Maldives, and the Great Barrier Reef. We want a nice quiet place with a great beach, great service, and of course great diving. We've been to most Caribbean destinations as well as Hawaii, Fiji, and Tahiti but have not been to the 3 we're considering. We would consider doing part of the trip on a liveaboard combined with a land resort. Thank you!

For the combination you suggest ... quiet, beach, service, diving, and a special anniversary, I think Wakatobi would be perfect. We celebrated our 25th by going there.

A quick search for "Wakatobi" yielded this ...

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/search.php?searchid=4633200

It books way ahead ... do it early!

Haven't been to Lizard Island, so I can't say anything about it, but I've been to Wakatobi once (going again in September) and have been to Maldives twice. I like both, but for exotic appeal, IMO Maldives offers a wider range of alternatives with a number of different styles of resorts and many liveaboards. Seeing Maldives from the air is nearly enough to convince anybody.

I can't speak to Lizard Island or the Maldives, but I just got back last week from spending 10 days at Wakatobi Dive Resort. The service at the resort was outstanding! I can't really say enough about how good it was. From when you stepped off the plane in Bali as you entered the country, until you stepped off the charter again on the way home. The diving, was good to spectacular with a variety of sea creatures of nearly every size, shape, and color. Though I personally didn't see anything bigger than a turtle my whole time there. So if you are looking for pelagic type creatures, you'll need to go somewhere else. But for the most part, the corals were alive, and vibrant. They had tons of wall dives, and a few flat area type dives. The corals above 20-30 feet were absolutely amazing and you could essentially snorkel at nearly every dive site. (And we often saw some of the best things above 30 feet) The beach at Wakatobi was also beautiful, though you couldn't see it quite as well during high tide. I have posted a ton of pics on my facebook account, you can get the links on my web site Xtcscuba and XtcAdventures.

Quero, it's funny that you 're using the term "exotic appeal" associated to Maldives.

Probably because you're already living in Asia and Maldives may look slighly more exotic than Sulawesi viewed from Phuket, but I can guarantee that viewed from a western country, I don't feel anything exotic with the charter flights, the all inclusive midmarket holidays and the dozens (hundreds) of resort islands (go figure that for each locally inhabited km² there were 2km² of resort grounds in the Maldives in the early 2000's!!!) .

I have never been to Wakatobi, out of my budget, but I think I know quite some areas in Indonesia and been in those Maldivian kind of resorts too. The fact that nobody can deny is that the coral triangle beats hands down the Maldives for fish diversity, and I would add for anything colorful underwater too (except for the numbers of sharks and rays, I have never been impressed with Maldives underwater either).

If you're looking for FP without the french flair, without the local tahitian culture and the without beauty of the surroundings, then you may favor the Maldives.
If you're looking for as colorful underwater as Fiji, then skip as you might be disappointed with the Maldives and take a better shot on Wakatobi.
If you love biodiversity, corals, small stuff, Wakatobi's choice is a no brainer.

Luko, I'm actually considering both of these places from the "average" perspective of North American clients who have never been to Asia, and of course everybody's different, but based on the feedback from my customers, what I said has validity. For a special wedding anniversary, going to a place you need a seaplane to get to, seeing the atolls from the air, having an island with nothing on it but a resort--that has a kind of exotic appeal that's so very different from anything in North America that it's shocking. I do agree that the diving is better in Sulawesi. I also like the Wakatobi resort itself, but there's not much exotic about the local area (it's interesting to spend an hour at the nearby village to buy some hand-woven sarongs, but nothing else is striking above water), or getting there, or even the topography of the islands themselves. In other words, when I offer a perspective here, it's not from my own personal point of view, but is a generalized "best guess" of what typically appeals to a particular demographic, based on customer feedback. What I did was to read the OP's opening post and base my response on that rather than on my own preferences.

Thanks for clarifying, Quero. Having just booked an expensive trip to the Maldives, as you might remember, I started crying after reading Luko's post thinking I just booked a way overpriced trip to the Haigh Quarry outside Chicago. I do know that Indonesia and Wakatobi are better diving, but I am hoping that the Maldives is better than anything I've seen in the Caribbean, which is my only point of reference...and Lake Michigan.

Rob

Rob, make sure to give us your perspective after you've completed your Maldives trip!

what I said has validity...
In other words, when I offer a perspective here, it's not from my own personal point of view, but is a generalized "best guess" of what typically appeals to a particular demographic, based on customer feedback.

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Probably it has validity, I can understand that.. you may also understand that my points do have validity as well.
Since you're an asian based reseller, you might be interested in hearing the feedback of continental european based customers coming right from people consulting for the tourism industry (yours faithfully ).

It's a while that on the european market Maldives are not considered anymore as a high end destination, the traveler choices are more and more targeting SEAsia (probably you've noticed that anywhere in Bali in august is like a french territory). I am not saying europeans are ultimately right but again, the italians, french, swiss and germans have plied the Maldives for a long time and since a few years, there's a turn for other destinations, since it has become crowded and deceivingly streamlined for average holiday market.
The numbers I've mentioned about the Maldives in my first post are facts. Just facts... and there's a big chance that in a 2 weeks stay in the Maldives, a tourist won't even talk with a maldivian (most of the hotel staff are Sri Lankan) I am sorry I still don't see anything exotic... lotsa islands with nothing on them in the 14.000 isles of Indonesia, and probably more contact with the locals spending a night in Bali before/after taking their charter to Wakatobi.

If you want luxury in the Indian Ocean, the Seychelles have still retained the upmarket feeling with fewer and more selective resorts though the diving is not really up... (and then there's also the exclusive lodges in the Quirimbas archipelago off Mozambique, where 800USD a night is the norm).

In other words, I am also reading the OP's post but I don't see any "average North american perspective", I am trying to best guess" on some people who've been to French Polynesia and Fiji. If you've ever been to the latters who can be really high end, you'd consider that Maldives come second anytime for the reasons that I'm telling in my initial post.
My first reaction was on the word "exotic" which for me was triggered too loosely like in the glossy brochures of most TOs. That word falls in my overrated categories defining what is used for everything and doesn't mean anything anymore. you decided to stand on this point but you can't suggest either that my views are coming from a personal point
The main difference is that I think you're applying average (your words) patterns while I try to individualize the advise.
I remember we've already had this discussion, Quero, where I wasn't fully agreeing on your own analysis about what the OP wanted.
Speaking about the OPs requirements, I wonder for example which liveaboards in the Maldives are able to offer such comfort and interest for a special occasion as some in the Raja Ampat/Wakatobi/Komodo area (think pelagian/Arenui/Damai). That is why I would favor Wakatobi area as my advise (and probably extend it to wider Indonesia as it comes to the liveaboard).

I am hoping that the Maldives is better than anything I've seen in the Caribbean

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Yes for sure, Rob. At least you'll come back thinking that there's even better than what you saw somewhere else in Asia.

Luko:

Probably it has validity, I can understand that.. you may also understand that my points do have validity as well.

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No question that you offer particular expertise. I responded to you only because you addressed me directly. Otherwise I would have said nothing in reply. To me SB isn't a competition for "who's right and who's wrong." It's simply a compendium of opinions, and readers take from it what they will.

Since you're an asian based reseller, you might be interested in hearing the feedback of continental european based customers coming right from people consulting for the tourism industry (yours faithfully ).

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Of course, Luko. But I also think that being reseller or an industry consultant makes us somewhat more jaded than a typical tourist. In many ways it's like having done thousands of dives and no longer finding a thrill in seeing blue sea stars all over the reef. Here's an idea for you to try on: step back and attempt to regain some of the wonder of a first-time visitor... lots of places that to you are no longer interesting are actually the trip of a lifetime to others.

It's a while that on the european market Maldives are not considered anymore as a high end destination, the traveler choices are more and more targeting SEAsia (probably you've noticed that anywhere in Bali in august is like a french territory). I am not saying europeans are ultimately right but again, the italians, french, swiss and germans have plied the Maldives for a long time and since a few years, there's a turn for other destinations, since it has become crowded and deceivingly streamlined for average holiday market.

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So what? I see tons of Europeans here in Thailand as well, and I'm sorry, but they are no more discerning than anybody else. That is an appeal to authority argument (argumentum ad verecundiam) that simply doesn't stick.

The numbers I've mentioned about the Maldives in my first post are facts. Just facts... and there's a big chance that in a 2 weeks stay in the Maldives, a tourist won't even talk with a maldivian (most of the hotel staff are Sri Lankan) I am sorry I still don't see anything exotic... lotsa islands with nothing on them in the 14.000 isles of Indonesia, and probably more contact with the locals spending a night in Bali before/after taking their charter to Wakatobi.

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And what does talking to Maldivians (or Indonesians) have to do with celebrating a special anniversary?

If you want luxury in the Indian Ocean, the Seychelles have still retained the upmarket feeling with fewer and more selective resorts though the diving is not really up... (and then there's also the exclusive lodges in the Quirimbas archipelago off Mozambique, where 800USD a night is the norm).

In other words, I am also reading the OP's post

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And where in that post did she mention Africa or the Seychelles?

but I don't see any "average North american perspective", I am trying to best guess" on some people who've been to French Polynesia and Fiji. If you've ever been to the latters who can be really high end, you'd consider that Maldives come second anytime for the reasons that I'm telling in my initial post.

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So we focused on different background information. So what? As I said above, SB is a compendium of opinions. The OP is really the only one who can know which of the opinions gives her information to help her meet her own objectives.

My first reaction was on the word "exotic" which for me was triggered too loosely like in the glossy brochures of most TOs. That word falls in my overrated categories defining what is used for everything and doesn't mean anything anymore. you decided to stand on this point but you can't suggest either that my views are coming from a personal point
The main difference is that I think you're applying average (your words) patterns while I try to individualize the advise.
I remember we've already had this discussion, Quero, where I wasn't fully agreeing on your own analysis about what the OP wanted.

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Are you saying you chose specifically to pick a fight with me because you have some past history of disagreement with my views (which I've actually forgotten, whatever it was)? Why do you feel the need? All of this because of the use of a single word that you believe is trite?

Speaking about the OPs requirements, I wonder for example which liveaboards in the Maldives are able to offer such comfort and interest for a special occasion as some in the Raja Ampat/Wakatobi/Komodo area (think pelagian/Arenui/Damai). That is why I would favor Wakatobi area as my advise (and probably extend it to wider Indonesia as it comes to the liveaboard).

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Again, all she asked about in regard to Indonesia was Wakatobi. ONLY Wakatobi. Not the Wakatobi area, either, but the Wakatobi resort which offers both the liveaboard and the resort-based diving with no additional transfers. I can see how Wakatobi and Maldives are similar in at least that regard.

Well, I'm done here.
Rob, have a great trip.
Millemar, enjoy your anniversary trip, wherever you end up.