Overview
Tomia is the third main island of Wakatobi. It represents the ‘To’ in the abbreviation of the four major islands, which are Wangi-wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia and Binongko
When people talk about diving in Wakatobi, they are generally talking about diving spots around Tomia Island. There are around 40 dive sites in Tomia Island that have been named and mapped. One of the popular one is Mari Mabuk spot.
Access
The main gate to explore Wakatobi is from Wangi-wangi Island. You can go by flight from Makassar or Kendari to Wangi-wangi. The other way is by using ship from Kendari, Makassar, or Surabaya (PELNI). I recommend you to use flight because it will save your time and you will have much time to explore Wakatobi. But if you want to experience a long journey, cruising by ship could be amazing experience.
From Wangi-wangi, there are two types of boats you can use to go to Tomia:
- Slow boat: depart at 9am. The duration is around 5 hours. The price is under 100.000 rupiah (I don’t remember the exact price).
- Speed boat: depart at 6am. The duration is around 2 hours. The price is 150.000 rupiah.
My Experience
I did solo traveling to Wakatobi in June 2017. In the fourth day, I went to Tomia Island and did my first time diving experience. I dived with Pak Bardin as my instructor from Tandiono Dive Service. The price was 750.000 rupiah for two dive sites, boat, snack, and full equipment.
The first spot was Mari Mabuk. It was so amazing! I saw crystal clear sea water. The visibility was pretty good. I saw many of colorful soft and hard corals and various kind of creatures. But, because it was the first time I couldn’t dive for longer. It was hard to control buoyancy and equalize you body to adapt to the pressure of water. The more I went to the deeper, the more I felt my ear hurt.
After took a rest for 1 hour, I continued to the second dive spot. It was Hondue Wall spot with deep sea cliff as its characteristic. When I saw the depth of the cliff I felt a little bit afraid. But, I tried to encourage myself that it will be okay.
I felt better and enjoyed after I went down to the sea depth. Moreover, my buoyancy and equalizing technique were better. Finally, I can dive for longer time!
I think diving is a-must-activity you should include on your list while visiting Tomia. You don’t need to have diving certificate because you can still experiencing diving by join discovery scuba diving. You will be full guided by the instructor.