Cakalang resort and diving

What visitors say

• ★ 5Ig Orz

  Wonderful 5-day stay at Cakalang just now. Ferdinand and Julie were the most gracious of hosts. Beautiful grounds, quiet, easy walk to town, ozone instead of chlorine in the swimming pool, nice tiled outdoor shower (loved that) delicious prepared-to-order and in my case gluten-free meals, lovely and spacious Minahasa-style bungalows with tile floors - mine was right by the water, so I got to fall asleep and wake to the sound of water lapping just below. There is no a/c yet, so if you cannot tolerate a little heat and humidity, don't stay here. The morning and evening breeze, the sea, and the pool all help to cool off. Best of all, a dugong occasionally visits the seagrass just offshore, and it's an easy swim out to the reef at all but lowest tide. Lots of intact reef all along and near the dropoff, and the water is far cleaner here than on the other side of Bunaken, where I also stayed. I snorkeled from shore and dove from their boat with a local dive guide, all very satisfying. There

• ★ 5Mara Hoevel

  We had a fantastic stay at Cakalang. Ferdinand and his wife Julie are super friendly and helped us organize both transport and our stay. Since no rooms were available on booking.com, we just wrote them on WhatsApp and got a very spacious room in the main building for 500,000 IDR. One of the things we really appreciated is that Cakalang is not overcrowded, so you can truly enjoy the peace and quiet. On top of that, they have two super sweet and very gentle German shepherds who made us feel even more at home. Diving is done on their own boat but with independent guides, which means you really get professionals who know every spot. Our guide Ghee was amazing — always attentive, knowledgeable, and he showed us so many incredible things underwater. Two boat dives cost 1,150,000 IDR all inclusive, which is very good value compared to other places. The food was another highlight. Deby prepares delicious meals fresh every day, and you can decide spontaneously whether you want to join or ski

• Geordie297

  Ferdinand the owner is a colourful character, very helpful and a good host. Our room was clean and nice, pity the power on the island goes off for most of the day. It was very quiet, low season and the result of the earthquake on Sulawisi (1000 kms away!). Resort pool was just finished as we got there and it is so nice. The snorkeling on Bunaken is the best ever with turtles and fish galore. We'd go back to Cakalang. The staff are really good people too.

• ★ 5Kévin Kanters

  Spent 3 nights at Cakalang. The stay was wonderful, thanks to Ferdinand, Julie and Debby. We also dived with one of their instructor Onong who was excellent, all dives were fantastics with plenty of turtles, corals and fishes. It was always a pleasure to share a beer or two with Ferdinand at the end of the day. Would recommend the place if you’re looking for a cosy quiet place with great people.

Review excerpts via Google Maps.