North Maluku - Weda Bay
Known as the Spice Islands because of the nutmeg, mace and cloves that were exclusively found here, and which sparked colonial interests from Europe during the sixteenth century the Moluccas are now a heaven for nature lovers. Weda Bay offers amazing sights in pristine waters. Abundant fish life – pygmy seahorses, tuna fishes, dolphins, napoleon wrasses and sharks. There is still a lot to discover in these giant reefs! Most of our guests thought this is the best reef they ever visited!
- Snorkeling
- Intl. Valve
- Diving
North Maluku - Weda Bay
The air feels fresh and clean from the surrounding rainforest and the underwater landscapes are otherworldly in their shapes and sizes! Weda Bay offers some of the best coral life found anywhere in our world.
From
Mid September to May
15 Days
Add 16 dives from €
*Based on double occupancy – Prices my change without prior notice
Overview
Wedged between the Lembeh Strait near Bunaken in North Sulawesi and Raja Ampat in West Papua, Weda Bay offers the best of both worlds, from shallow reef tops to steep drop offs, abundant with strange and colorful species of underwater life.
These environments will amaze both beginners and professional divers. People compare the corals around here to Papua New Guinea, they are truly on steoroids here. Shark encounters happen on most dives, mostly black tip and white tip reefsharks.
Next to the wonders of the sea, lovers of wildlife can also enjoy Weda’s pristine rainforests, which is the habitat of the blue Wallace’s Standardwing Bird of Paradise! Hornbills, eagles, cockatoos, parrots, fruit doves, nicobar pigeons as well as the cuscus all live in these treetops.
You will be staying at Weda Reef and Rainforest Resort – a resort with the heart in the right place – where the owner manages conservation efforts and education: “We are protecting primary forest (900 hectares now), planting mangroves, managing a Sea Turtle Conservation Project, we built and are running a Kindergarten (85 children) and English classes in the village. Further we have been building public toilets and providing fresh water to the villagers of Sawai Itepo. We hope to be able to play a bigger role in marine conservation in the near future. We work together with our good and important neighbor The Aketajawe National Park (Taman Nasional Aketajawe-Lolobata )”.
This is an Eco resort, meaning that care has been given to the building materials but also technologies such as:
- Solar water heaters, providing hot showers in the resort.
- Ultra low emission outboard engines for the dive boats.
- Solar power and batteries, that provide much of our 24-hour electricity.
- Wind turbine for top-up electricity.
- Making drinking water with filters and UV technology.
Halmahera & Surroundings
The remote Halmahera island, also called Gilolo or Jailolo, is the largest island in Maluku (the Moluccas), K-shaped almost like a miniature Sulawesi. With white sandy beaches, unspoiled forests and the spectacular Mt Mamuya in the distance, this island offers stunning scenery. This is a rugged and mountainous landscape and much of the island is still covered in primary forest.
Ternate is where you fly to – a small island right next to Halmahera. Ternate and Tidore are two almost identical small islands, west of the large island of Halmahera, almost facing one another, each shaped by a volcano emerging from the deep Maluku Sea. While Ternate is dominated by Mt Gamalama, in Tidore rises Mt Kiemtabu.
The volcanic landscape of Ternate has given the island its fertile soil and beaches with black glittering sands. Today, all around the island are colorful boats in various sizes lying in the shallow turquoise water, shielded by swaying coconut trees.
For culinary and history lovers, the island is a flavorsome and historical delight that will satisfy any craving for knowledge or desire to enjoy appetizing cooking. Visits around Ternate and Tidore can be arranged in extension of the dive trip to Weda Bay.
Birdwatching
The Halmahera flora and fauna was one of the main inspirations for Sir Alfred Russel Wallace to develop his theory of the origin of species. The Ivory-breasted Pitta, Nicobar Pigeon, Halmahera Python, Wallace’s Standardwing Bird of Paradise, Pitcher plants, Cuscus and the Wallace Golden birdwing butterfly are prominent characters in his famous “the Malay Archipelago”.
In great comfort from the terrace of your cottage or the open air restaurant you can enjoy the sight of hornbills, eagles, cockatoos, parrots, fruit doves and many other winged visitors.
After we discovered a lek of the endemic Wallace’s Standardwing Bird of Paradise (Semioptera wallacii), we became very anxious to protect it against logging. We succeeded in buying the lek spot and the surrounding forest.
Now it is guaranteed the best place in the world to see this Bird of Paradise. A very nice surprise was that the Nicobar Pigeons are living here too. To reach the Bird of Paradise lek it takes 10 minutes by car and 15 minutes walking. Later we found a second lek in another part of the forest and we are very happy we were able to buy that too. Today, our Sawai Ecotourism Foundation is taking care of 900 hectares of primary forest. Our forest has a very good and important neighbor: Aketajawe National Park. This Park is accessible with us.
Overview
Dive and snorkel Halmahera, the heart of the Coral Triangle, with Weda Reef & Rainforest Resort – the pioneers who has been diving around Halmahera since 1989.
Diving and snorkeling at the untouched reefs of Weda Bay at the East coast of Central Halmahera, Maluku, Indonesia offers everything from pygmy seahorses, turtles, giant groupers, sharks and schooling fish; from steep walls, some black sand sites with critters to lovely shallow coral gardens and a historical Japanese WWII shipwreck.
Diving and snorkeling are extremely exciting here. But also very relaxed. Hardly ever we encounter strong currents and you can also make incredible beautiful shallow dives!
Perfect place both for beginners as for very experienced “seen it all” divers. And it is hard to find a better place for snorkeling in the world.
Many of the reefs are situated 10 kilometers from the shore. The top of the reefs are in excellent condition and very rich in fish-life.
Schedule & Rules
- Departure: 07.30 am for 2 morning dives
- Lunch: 1.00 pm at the resort
- Departure: 3.00 pm for 1 afternoon dive
- Departure night dive: 18:00
- House reef dives: 07:30 – 20.00
- You will be asked to sign a “Standards of Safe Diving Statement” before you start diving with us.
- You will need your dive certification. The minimum age for scuba diving with us is 15 years.
- If you have any medical problems that may affect diving, you will need written confirmation from your doctor that you are able to dive.
- We do not impose time limits on dives, but we do not allow decompression dives or dives deeper than 33 metres.
- You have to use a dive computer, because it is likely you will be diving more than once a day and on consecutive days.
- You are asked not to touch anything underwater that is alive.
- Please do not ask the guides to manipulate the animals in any way. Observe the underwater environment from a reasonable distance and do not harass the creatures.
- Take nothing but good memories or pictures. Leave nothing but bubbles.
Dive Site Map
Favourite Dive Sites
Housereef: The shore of Weda Resort. Just walk in. Very good, shallow dive, if it has not been raining too much or waves hit the beach. The depth is from 2 – 8 meters. You will find beautiful corals and much fish. Specials: seahorses, big lobsters and often small black tip sharks. The house-reef is a no catch zone since April 2011.
Pasir Putih: Means white sand and that is what you will see from the boat. Under the surface the incredible coral garden starts at 3 meters depth. The site offers pygmy seahorses and long nose hawk fish, but also schooling jack fish and bump head parrot fish. It takes only 5 minutes by boat to get here. This is why we often call it our second house reef. Prepare for a long, easy going dive.
Airport Reef: This site is a long shallow stretch of coral reef along the North shore of Weda Bay. This is a perfect place to see glassfish, cardinal-fish, and some hundred other species. Like Pasir Putih, a site with a good chance to spot the endemic Halmahera Walking shark. Distance from the resort: 10 minutes.
Airport Critters: Both during the day as at night-time, you can do muck and critter diving, although being it without garbage. The guide will help you to spot the Bobbit Worms, Seahorses and other creatures on this black sandy bottom. Distance from the resort: 10 minutes.
Tanjung Uli: As at most sites the coral reef starts here direct under the surface. The diversity in both soft and hard corals is enormous. The over sized table corals are home for millions of glass fish. Bigger fish, such as Black Snappers, Emperors, Bump head parrot fish and more can be seen at snorkeling depths. Distance from the resort: 20 minutes.
Shark Mountain: This underwater mountain, which is situated in deep water, 11 kilometers from the nearest shore, has it shallowest spot at 31 meters (100 feet). We attached two lines to the bottom to make descending and ascending comfortable. Until now we hardly ever had a dive without sharks here. Further, schooling Jack fish, Barracudas, Napoleon wrasses, Tuna and much more of your wish list.
Gemaf Reef: A rather strange dive site. Here it is very easy to see how coral can grow in huge formations, then die, and form the base of new corals, and so on. Big sponges make the landscape an even bigger adventure. Distance from the resort: 30 minutes.
Gemaf Jetty: Excellent day and night, critter dives on this Lembeh Strait – like substrate. Distance from resort: 30 minutes.
Kawinet: Big schools of fish are hunting or being hunted on the slopes with white sandy bottom and coral formations. Especially the shallower parts with excellent corals and huge sponges invite to make very long dives. Distance from the resort: 35 minutes.
Small Gorango Reef: This offshore reef is a very good place if you want to see a lot of fish; including schooling Oceanic Trigger-fish. Distance from the 45 resort:minutes. Btw. Gorango is the local word for shark.
Big Gorango Reef: This big reef system actually offers much more than one dive site and it deserves some more exploring. Distance from resort: 50 minutes.
Mangroves: The shore south of Weda Resort, until Weda city which lies at 12 kilometers distance, consist mainly of mangroves with tenth of small island and shallow bays. Some days the visibility can be quite good there. You will experience a total different landscape, above and underwater. Distance from the resort: 20 minutes.
Pulau Dua: We dived only some parts of this extended compilation of slopes, shallow coral gardens and small, steep walls. Every time we are impressed with the healthy and undamaged condition of the corals and sponges, even in depths as shallow as 3 meters. Distance from the resort: 25 minutes.
Small Tidore Reef: This is again, a very nice off shore reef where you will see much diversity and big schools of fish. In the shallow you can look successfully for octopuses. Distance from the resort: 30 minutes. Although is has the same name it is about 2 kilometers away from the following Tidore reefs. There is also a greater Tidore Reef with 5 more impressive dive sites!
Elmoos Reef (N.W., North, S.W. S.): Most of our guests thought this is the best steep reef they ever visited. Both for diving as for snorkeling. The offshore, atoll shaped, reef is big enough to make 6 dives at different spots. The shallow reef top is overall in very good condition. The dive sites are all steep walls with countless caverns and caves. At most sites the white bottom is at 35 – 45 meters depth. This causes good light conditions on the walls. It is a 45 – 60 minutes boat ride to get there.
Foya Wreck: Japanese WW II shipwreck. We discovered this in 2014. The 35 meter long steamer is an excellent condition. Depth 10 – 30 meters. Ship has been used as a sub-chaser.
Moa Reef: This reef we discovered also recently. The corals are only at some parts of the reef in good condition. But during all dives we spotted many (up to 20) blacktip, whitetip and grey reef sharks.
Season
Visibility at Weda Bay depends on weather conditions. The off shore reefs and sites on the North shore usually have a visibility of 20 – 40 meters, while the visibility of the East shore dive sites is between 10 – 25 meters. The house reef (Pasir Putih, 5 minutes boat ride) visibility is 10 – 25 meters. The beach/shore directly in front of the resort is a great place for diving and snorkeling too – but depending on the weather conditions and waves the visibility is 1 – 15 meters.
Water temperature varies very little and you can expect temperatures of 28 – 30 degrees Celsius the whole year through!
Due to strong winds and waves during July and August, we do not offer any diving from June 1st until September 15th.
Our three fiberglass diving boats are fast, safe and comfortable. We visit more than 40 sites for snorkeling and diving, within a range of max. 35 kilometers (1 hour boat trip) from the resort.
Accommodation
Weda Reef & Rainforest Resort
From €50 Person / Night
Awesome resort, with the heart in the right place. Most amazing corals.
Full Board Included
Offers: Diving, snorkeling, Intl. Valve
Getting Here
Makassar
Jakarta
Manado
Weda
- Arrive into Indonesia either via Makassar (Sultan Hasanuddin – code: UPG); Jakarta (Soekarno-Hatta – code: CGK) or Manado (Sam Ratulangi – code: MDC) – as they all have direct flight connections to Ternate, you just choose whichever one is most suitable for you. Note that Manado is in North Sulawesi, making it the shortest route if possible.
- Car ride to a hotel for the night.
- Car ride back to the airport, to get a plane to Ternate / Maluku. (1-3 hours).
- Once you arrive at Ternate airport you will be met outside the airport by a taxi taking you to the harbour (10 minutes).
- Then you get a private boat transfer accross the strait between Ternate island to Halmahera (Only 15-30 minutes).
- Then you get into a private car that will take you on an amazingly scenic road (2-3 hours) trip accross the forrested mountains of Halmahera to Weda Bay. Welcome to a very special and remote place!
Suggested Itinerary
Leaving Europe from your most convenient point of departure. Choose the cheapest ticket or the quickest trip – it is up to you! Let us know what you are looking for and we will let you know which route is smartest.
Arriving into Indonesia via either Jakarta, Manado or Makassar International Airports – you will be met outside of the airport by your driver that will take you to an overnight stay at a nearby hotel.
We can always customize your trip depending on how much time you have.
After a good nights sleep you will be picked up in the hotel by your driver that will transfer you to the airport where you will take a flight of 1-4 hours duration to Ternate next to Halmahera.
Transfer from Ternate Airport to Weda Eco Resort takes in total about 4 hours.
First a small drive over Ternate Island, then a speedboat journey of 45 minutes followed by a drive through primary forest, past traditional villages, and with breathtaking views of volcanoes, lakes and rivers. You can stop whenever and as often you want to watch the scenery, to spot Parrots and Hornbills or to have a picnic on the beach.
The following 4 days will stand in the sign of scuba diving. You can do a minimum of 2 dives per day with the possibility of adding afternoon and night dives everyday.
Spent your day resting or go on birding in the forest. This you can add on the spot for an extra charge. Morning, full day or evening trips are available.
Another 4 days of amazing scuba diving.
Two morning dives, and feel free to add afternoon and night dives as you please.
On this day you will have to say “Goodbye” to Weda Bay and you will be transferred to Ternate Island. It takes around 4 hours.
In Ternate you will spend the night in a hotel. This allows you to off gas the nitrogen in your bloodsystem and at the same time you will get the chance to do afternoon and even night dives on the day prior (Day 12).
Waking up in Ternate, you will be picked up and taken on a short car ride to the airport.
After flying from Ternate to either Makassar, Manado or Jakarta, you decide whether you want to stay overnight in the city; go to other destinations in Indonesia or continue onwards to your country of origin.
Welcome Home!
Included
Included
- Airport pick-up & return transfer by private car (Denpasar, Manado or Jakarta International Airports)
- Domestic flights to & from Ternate / Halmahera (20 kg’s checked baggage included
- 2 nights in a 4* hotel w/ breakfast
- Airport pick-up & return transfer in private car (Ternate)
- Boat transfer between Ternate to & from the Halmahera
- Car transfer across Halmahera to and from the resort
- 10 nights in resort w/ full board and free mineral water + hot water for tea and coffee)
- It is recommended to pre-book the dives in order to get a special “diver’s discount” on the total price
- Full package tour – See the benefits of being covered by the Full Package Act and Regulations here
- *Fee to Rejsegarantifonden
*A Danish Travel Guarantee Fund covering all European citizens in case of bankruptcy: link
Not Included
- International Flights
- “Visa On Arrival” ~ €30
- Tips for the staff
- Airport departure tax ~ €10
- Insurances
- Handling fee €15 per invoice
- Anything not listed in “Included”
Q & A
Yes beginners can dive here. There is actually very little current in Weda Bay, and the shallow parts of the reefs are worldclass.
Good buoyancy is always important, so you wont harm marine life and corals by kicking them.
Weda Reef & Rainforest Resort provides excellent birdwatching on Halmahera. And in great comfort too. From the terrace of your cottage or our open air restaurant you can enjoy the sight of hornbills, eagles, cockatoos, parrots, fruit doves and many other winged visitors.
We offer half-day, full-day and multi-day birding/nature trips, both for individual visitorsand for groups. We are also happy to organize your trips to the nesting beaches of the Moluccan Scrubfowl near Galela, the Buli Pass, Binagara, Foli, Morotai and the Island Rao. Our cars are very well maintained, do not have shaded windscreens and your safety and comfort are the top priorities of our drivers. Our experienced and knowledgeable English speaking guides are keen birders who will help you spotting the birds and assist you in any way.
Courses are not available at Weda
Contact us for further details – and we can arrange another place for a course and then you could visit Weda after your certification.
The prices for PADI OPEN WATER courses roughly start at €285 and takes 3-4 days.
The 3 day course will let you study via e-learning before you get here, which is smart if you want to be better prepared and spend your holiday time diving and relaxing instead of studying.
The 4 day course is the most popular and you start your studying once you get here.
The prices are almost identical.
Please book courses at the time of booking the whole trip.
You do not need to prebook the dives, but it is simpler to prebook a dive package.
You will spend most surface intervals on the dive boat going to the next site, as Weda Bay is quite huge.
The dive center have all the dive equipment you will need and in good condition.
Of course it is nice to bring your own dive gear if you can.
As a minimum we would recommend to bring your own dive mask – for a good fit.
Most dive places in Indonesia use the “International” Yoke connection for the regulators 1st stage.
If you have a DIN 1st stage you can buy a DIN to Intl. Yoke converter – which might come in handy every time you dive in South East Asia anyway!
Some resorts may have DIN tanks, but see that info on the accommodation menu.
There are plenty of ATM’s both in Ternate when you arrive by plane and in small Weda town, not too far from the resort.
Internet Access: Wifi is in the common area of the restaurant, but it can be slow. So better to see this trip as an unplugged experience in one of the most amazing natural surroundings.
Electricity: As elsewhere in Indonesia, electricity is 220-240Volt 50Hertz, using type C (CEE 7/16&17 Euro 2 pin) and F (CEE 7/4 “Schuko”) plugs and sockets.
For the “North Maluku – Weda Bay” package you must fly to either:
Manado / Sam Ratulangi International Airport (MDC) – Manado being the easiest!
Jakarta / Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK)
or Makassar (Sultan Hasanuddin – code: UPG)
From there we take care of your domestic flights and transfers.
Please remember to book your trip before you book your international flights!