Blue Shark Divers Bunaken — Hotel in Manado

This review refers to my diving and stay at Blue Shark Divers in April & May 2023. Blue Shark Divers is a PADI Divecenter and Homestay with two double rooms, family owned and operated by Dive Instructor Murdiono "Dion" Mayo. The Divecenter targets mainly backpacking tourists that stay in the homestays on the island of Bunaken.

When I first visited Bunaken in April 2023 I stayed for 10 nights at "The Village Bunaken" but selected Blue Shark Divers as my divecenter of choice because of the good rating on google and the more attractive pricing. Dion reacted very quickly on my first contact through WhatsApp and I was very pleased that he also offered me to take care of my transportation from the Manado Airport to Bunaken by a driver and his boat crew and also a motorbike which I wanted to rent for my entire stay. Both pick up from the airport and boat transfer as well as the motorbike rental was fine and as promised.

The Divecenter is located at Dions private house which is just 20 meters away from the beach. He has his own compressor room directly at the beach where his dive boats are moored. I rented the full set of equipment which was already included in the rate for diving (except the dive computer which cost extra). The equipment (Aqualung Jacket and Regulators) was in very good condition and I learned that Dion takes much care for the maintenance of his regulators by himself.

Diving at Blue Shark Divers was perfectly organised. Once I had selected the right size of my gear, the dive crew took care of it. When I came to the boat in the morning (2 morning dives starting 08:00 am with 1h interval and return around lunchtime), all my equipment was already on the boat, set up and ready to dive. Also after we returned from the diving I could just leave the boat with my personal items. All gear was carried and rinsed with freshwater by the boat crew and the Divemasters. There was always a captain on the boat, one additional crew and at least one Divemaster as a dive guide. Even when I was the only single guest diving (!) With more guests there was always more Divemasters and sometimes also Dion himself was on the boat but he mainly focus on managing his business and doing the OWD / AOWD courses. There was always water / coffee / tee and some cookies or sometimes yummy banana pancakes on the boat. It is worth while to mention that my girlfriend who is not a diver but just loves snorkelling, was always welcome on the boat at no additional cost. While I was diving she enjoyed snorkelling and the excellent reefs and even when the current was strong, the boat crew always looked after her and picked her up when she came a bit off too far. Excellent service!!!!

The diving itself was great. I loved to dive the steep walls of Bunaken. The underwater landscape is absolutely gorgeous. Divesites like Alung Banua, Celah-Celah, Muka Kampung but also Siladen will always be my best memories. My Divemaster during my first stay was Fenly and he was a great guide, always trying to find the small creatures, nudibranchs and stuff in the reef. But also Jeffrey, who was my Divemaster during my second visit, was a great guide and it was a great pleasure to dive with him. As a CMAS* with may dives in my logbook both Fenly and Jeffrey "allowed" me to go a little deeper as I liked it and the dive time was always 60+ minutes. Regarding the underwater life I don't want to write much. You have to experience it....

We stayed for four nights at the motel and did diving for three days. Overall, a great experience. Lovely marine life.

The convenience is the most important offer of this place. They pick you up from manado, it is full board, rooms are decent and basic, you start on your boat for dives right in front of the motel, you come back and your lunch is ready. It’s the same person you coordinate for rooms, food, dives, everything. Everything is taken care of, basically. And, it is 100% value for money.

Room: The hostel/motel was good, the rooms and bathrooms were basic and had everything you need. This is a small island, thus, you will hear chickens, dogs, mosque, church around you. Also, the island has power cuts (but Blue shark had generator) and has a voltage problem due to which the AC takes a few hours to cool.

Host: Good host, easy communication in English, arranged everything for us from airport pickup to drop off in Manado. This was extremely helpful because language is a challenge. He also blocked the rooms with us without an advance payment. He went above and beyond and helped arrange (and coordinate because the taxi guy did not know English) taxi for us for the next three days also.

Food: Food was great, spread was good. They accommodated veg options too.

Dive sites: Amazing dive sites! We are beginners and some places had current, so it was good practice. The marine life is one of the best in the world. And night dives are also good.

Dive instructor: We did nine dives with Vian. He was decent, was good for fun dives, don’t think I would do a course with him though. He helped show us a lot of aquatic life, macro and micro, appreciated his effort. However, the feedback I have for him is specific on micro life. I think he is more interested in micro life. Because of that, in every dive, he would spend time at one single spot while we hover and wait at the same spot. This was not for a short time like two minutes. Once, I actually checked. I finished 20 bar just at one spot. I had originally told them that we are interested in macro life more, I hope they can incorporate this change where they can ask about what we want and focus on that. Rather than spend 20 bars on something we might not be able...

First of all, Dion, the host, smiles with his whole body and his passion for the land, sea, and his job, literally makes the world a better place! My partner and I were first time divers and Dion made us feel safe and comfortable throughout our introductory dives. He is a very experienced, thoughtful and caring teacher. The diving equipment was in good working condition, and the diving and snorkeling sites he took us to were incredible. One thing that we hadn't considered but turned out to be a blessing was the sun shade roofs on the diving boats! Our pale skin was comfy.

Upon request, 2 of his staff took us on a dolphin tour one morning and it was a lot of fun. We hung around a very large pod of spinner dolphins who were hunting for tuna. Some of the juvenile dolphins did some great surface acrobatics!

Room: AC worked well, room was clean, simple and cozy. The bed was especially comfortable. Bathroom conditions to consider: It is a small wet bathroom, and there is no real traditional sink or shower, but there is a toilet and a spigot with a pail underneath it that did suffice for our 3 night stay (likely would have gotten inconvenient if we stayed for much longer).

Food: Delicious and varied! They were accommodating with vegan options. We especially loved their breakfast banana pancakes! Make sure to let them know in advanced about any dietary restrictions so the chefs are prepped.

Also, Dion is one of the only few Bunaken locals with master diving certifications and extensive instructor experience (PADI etc.). It felt good to be able to give our money back to the local community instead of many of the other western resorts on the island run by foreigners profiting off the resources of the land.

One of the most rewarding experiences that we've ever had, thank you Dion and staff! We hope to come...