Bunaken Oasis Dive Resort and Spa

WOW! Bunaken Oasis was an incredible stay for our family. From the airport arrival experience, transfers, meet and greet, accommodaiton, diving, food, service.. it's clear the key value of the property is "Excellence". The warmth from the staff was incredible. The stay is so personalised and you get the feeling of being a VIP. Thank you to the managment team of Kelle and Simon for making us feel so welcome from the moment we stepped foot on the pier. Your kindness and professionalism is second to none - top class resort management. The purpose of the stay was to go diving. The set up and fit out for divers is excellent. I was very impressed with the camera room! Peter and Sandy - thank you for guiding our teens through their Advanced Diver course! They had a wonderful and fun experience. The diving itself was incredible and made all the more comfortable with the new and well maintained dive gear that we hired. Wonderful to see so much life and diversity in the ocean. Turtle city blew our socks off as was the fun of doing our first ever Black Water dive. The fleet of boats used for diving and transfers are gorgeous – extremely well maintained hand crafted timber.. luxurious and comfortable. They really are quite unique compared to other high end resorts we have stayed at. The property itself is magical. Cascading down toward the ocean are beautifully designed, spacious cottages. They blend so well with the lush green environment – timber and thatch. Inside and outside the cottages are clean and have all the facilities you could want from a 5 star property. The rooms were always clean. We enjoyed the communication with the team via WhatsApp – very efficient. Gusti and all the restaurant staff were so attentive and friendly.. each day it was lovely to be greeted with their smiling faces - nothing was too much trouble. Food glorious Food! The food was first class... and so much of it! Very impressed with the huge choice of food options each day.. never a boring a dish. Unfortunately I didn’t get to thank the kitchen staff and chef - an outstanding job they do each day. I'd go back for the food alone! It was such a pleasure to meet the owners and listen to the stories of how Bunaken Oasis came to be... a lot of love has gone into Bunaken Oasis and that in turn has been shared that with the local community. I've stayed at high end dive resorts before but there is certainly something very special about Bunaken Oasis. Non-divers will have a fantastic stay too!

Our stay at Oasis Dive Resort Bunaken was absolutely fantastic. The resort is beautiful, the accommodation excellent, the food delicious, and the diving unforgettable. Simon, Kelly, and all the staff went above and beyond to make our stay special, and we couldn’t fault a single thing. We even got engaged during a magical sunset cruise on our last day, and the team organised a celebration we’ll never forget. We left with so many wonderful memories and can’t recommend Oasis highly enough – it’s a truly special place

We just spent 7 glorious days snorkelling at Bunaken Oasis. The resort is immaculate, the food excellent and the personalised service from time of booking to leaving outstanding. The infinity lap pool is spectacular and great for lap swimming and a great refresher after a day spent in the ocean. But the snorkelling ! Wow ! Simply spectacular. The resort is small and boutique allowing for very personalised service. All the happy staff were local and clearly passionate about working at the resort. We just loved it !

Check-In & First Impressions After two glorious dives en route from another resort, we arrived by boat—salty, grinning, and looking very much like people who’d just fallen in love with Indonesia. We were greeted dockside by the Oasis team, who somehow managed to be both laid-back and laser-focused. Check-in was smooth, informative, and full of smiles. We were introduced to Pete, the affable Dive Operations Manager, who gave us the rundown of a plethora of dive options with enough flexibility to accommodate both seasoned divers and those who still check their air every 30 seconds. Room & Grounds Our bags magically made their way to Cottage 10—either by staff or benevolent forest spirits—while we meandered up the hill to discover a view worthy of its own postcard. All the cottages are identical in layout and luxury, so the only real differentiator is the view. In our professional opinion as people who are highly opinionated, Cottages 10 and 11 offer the best panoramas, though it’s a bit like choosing between diamonds. Inside, the room had every creature comfort, and possibly a few we didn’t realize we needed. A plush bed, ample space, fast Wi-Fi (yes, even in the jungle), and—perhaps most impressively—a laundry service that operates on sorcery: dirty clothes disappear and return the next day smelling like redemption. A true plethora of amenities. Note: this is a hillside resort, which means stairs and sloping paths. If climbing a gentle incline sounds intimidating, you may want to reassess your desire to scuba dive, which involves carrying heavy gear and not panicking at 30 meters. Food & Beverage Let’s get one thing straight: the food here is not your typical “dive, dine, repeat” fare. Every meal was a small event. Breakfast had everything you could possibly want before rolling into a wetsuit. Lunch and dinner featured a daily special alongside a consistent menu of classic dishes, all cooked with flair and served with grace. Gusti, Gusty, Merton, Angaa and the rest of the staff (whose names deserve mention but were lost in a post-dive nitrogen fog) were delightful—polite, intuitive, and with a sixth sense for when your wine glass was even thinking of being empty. A plethora of flavors and smiles, served in a dining room where we often found ourselves lingering long after dessert. The Pool This pool deserves its own section in Lonely Planet. Tiered like a Balinese temple and overlooking the sea, it’s as photogenic as it is refreshing. The deepest section (3 meters) is a dream for scuba refreshers or quiet, floaty meditations on the meaning of life. Sun loungers were dangerously comfortable, and the team would casually offer cold drinks and snacks as though it were the most natural thing in the world. “Oh, you’re awake? Here’s a chilled towel and a homemade cookie.” A plethora of pampering. We spent several afternoons floating aimlessly and considering how difficult it might be to fake our own deaths and stay forever. Dive Operations As an experienced diver, I can say this is one of the most professional and thoughtful operations I’ve encountered. From nitrox fills to dive briefings, everything was executed flawlessly. The team kept meticulous logs of each dive—including site, nitrox %, depth, time, and even your tank pressure stats. This was later emailed to us upon departure—small touch, big impression. The dive boats were clearly designed by someone who’s actually been on one. Everything you need is where you need it. During surface intervals, hot drinks, fresh fruit, warm towels, and hydration were served as if we were on a luxury yacht instead of in neoprene. A special shout-out to our dive guide Ilham—attentive, kind, and quick with a joke. He handled everything with grace, including my perhaps slightly inappropriate use of the word “dugong” to describe a particularly, shall we say, buoyant diver in our group. Ilham laughed so hard I thought he might lose his mask. Briefings were clear and emphasized respect for marine life and coral. Subtle reminders were occasionally inserted—particularly when reports emerged that some guests were behaving like underwater toddlers with too much sugar. Resort Managers – Kelly & Simon Now we come to the true magic of Bunaken Oasis: Kelly and Simon, the resort managers, hosts extraordinaire, and kindred spirits in dry wit. Always present, always gracious, they seemed to have a plethora of talents—from solving equipment issues to gently managing a wide range of international personalities, some of whom were delightfully confused about global geography. We shared several meals with Kelly and Simon, where we laughed far too much, bonded over mutual sarcasm, and found ourselves truly appreciating the human side of hospitality. When my regulator started acting up, they didn’t just shrug and wish me luck—they actively helped me find a replacement I could pick up in Singapore. That's beyond service. That’s friendship. Other Highlights We must also tip our dive hoods to Jacob Guy, the in-house photographer. Talented, charming, and quietly attentive, he somehow captured beautiful underwater moments without ever interrupting the rhythm of a dive. A plethora of photo skills packed into one genuinely lovely person. Final Thoughts Bunaken Oasis isn’t just a dive resort—it’s a living, breathing example of what happens when hospitality is done right. From the meticulous dive operation and extraordinary food, to the service culture that anticipates your needs before you realize you have them, it offers a plethora of moments worth remembering. But what makes it even more special is what happens behind the scenes. The resort has a deeply rooted commitment to its team and the local community. Staff are encouraged and supported to grow, to learn, and to shine—and it shows in every interaction. There is a clear sense of inclusion and empowerment here. Bunaken Oasis doesn’t just invest in tourism, it invests in people—and we found that not only admirable, but incredibly rare. We came as divers. We left as friends. And we now suffer from a very specific condition: chronic nostalgia for Bunaken Oasis. Go. Dive. Laugh. Float. Learn how to say “plethora” in Indonesian. And tell Kelly and Simon we said hi.

Top notch diving resort. The DMs were very knowledgeable and experienced, Matahari was the best! Dive boats were exceptional and some of the most comfortable I have ever been on, and the dive sites were stunning and had a ton of variety to suit any diver’s fancy!! All of the staff were extremely friendly and attentive. They were definitely focused on their customer’s needs and checked in often to ensure they were being met. I also had one of the most excellent massages ever with Ella. Highly recommend if you want a fantastic diving experience.