This spring Eco Divers is giving you a chance to dive Manado in style for less, with a very special offer on stays at Minahasa Lagoon Resort.
Our special All Inclusive Dive Package in a top category Sea View Cottage represents an incredible saving on normal prices. It's valid on stays from 15 May but must end on 31 July.
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Want to learn all about underwater photography? Then there's no better place to be than at award-winning Eco Divers Resort Lembeh this September.
Wolfgang Pölzer, respected underwater photo journalist, book author and double gold medallist at the CMAS World Championship of Underwater Photography, will be running a FREE week-long underwater photography workshop: plenty of diving, discovery and underwater fun, plus nightly presentations. Dates run from 28th September to 5th October.
Wolfgang has won numerous top international prizes including gold medals at the CMAS world championship on two separate occasions: 1998 (category "Macro") and 2002 (category "wide angle") and at Antibes in 2000 (category "software image"). Born in a small town in Austria, he studied marine biology at university and over the past fifteen years has published many books and worked as freelance journalist and photographer for several diving, travel and nature magazines.
In this workshop everybody – from beginner to professional – can learn from his extensive knowledge, through nightly slide shows and also one-on-one critique sessions with individual guests. Taking part is absolutely free when guests book a 7-night package, as Wolfgang is offering his workshop purely out of his aspiration to share a love of underwater photography.
To book your stay at Eco Divers Resort Lembeh: info@eco-divers.com
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The Indonesian Ministry of Tourism is sponsoring an event for the first time which, in just its first year, has instantly become the largest, longest and most prestigious photo contest in the world, with a staggering total prize value of over US$200,000!
This contest is open to anyone with a camera, with prizes in 6 underwater categories and 1 conservation category, plus a Best of Show category.
Enrolment is free – to enter the competition all you have to do is dive with a Participating Dive Operator before 30 November and then submit up to 5 images in each category. Your images will then be judged by a panel of respected judges. It’s as simple as that!
Eco Divers is a Participating Dive Operator, so if you’d like to enter IWUPC 2013 please book a stay with us in Manado or Lembeh, or a combination of both if you wish to take both macro and wide-angle photos.
If you’re interested in entering IWUPC 2013, please visit the Indonesia World Underwater Photo Contest website to learn more about this amazing contest.
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We’re not done just yet, with new managers!
Last, but not least, please say hello to Macedonia Domingues. “Macy” is not from Macedonia, mind you – she’s Portuguese.
She’s from Pombal but started her diving career in Peniche, after finishing a degree in Marketing and Tourism.
Most recently she managed a dive centre in the Azores, but wanted new experiences as well as new diving environments.
As Macy herself says “I found the paradise in Manado, as well as my dream job, since it’s a perfect combination of richness in nature, diving, culture and gastronomy.”
Macy, a qualified teacher, is organized but also creative and loves to dance. She has a capacity to combine her serious side with a warmth and genuine care for other people, which we think makes her a great person to run a dive centre. Oh, and she’s also an animal lover, of course! Come and enjoy your next dive holiday in Macy’s capable hands.
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Meet Tarkan Sever & Kathrin Heussner, our new managers in Lembeh:
Tarkan, CMAS 3 Star Dive Leader, EFR Instructor and PADI IDC Staff Instructor with more than 300 certifications under his belt, is a British citizen who has managed a dive centre in his native Turkey.
Kathrin, a German citizen, is PADI MSDT Instructor and EFR Instructor, who previously worked as a Holiday Representative for tourism giant TUI over several years through the Caribbean and Mediterranean. She was also the manager of a safari lodge in Namibia, where she was able to prove her ability in resort management. Between them they can teach many specialty courses such as Digital Underwater Photography, Nitrox and the brand new PADI Self Reliant Diver.
This charming, smiling couple came to Indonesia last year on their honeymoon. They loved it so much that they decided to stay on, well….a bit longer than originally planned! They now manage Eco Divers Lembeh, also providing photo & video services through our Digital Centre and adding their professional yet personal special touch to Eco Divers’ award-winning services. We invite you to return to Lembeh, to enjoy for yourself T&K’s friendly service.
We’re very proud of this achievement, given the huge number of small hotels in Indonesia and the incredible competition they provide. But we couldn’t have achieved it without the constant effort and customer care provided by our incredible, dedicated team and management, so this is their award. We are also extremely grateful to the many satisfied guests who took time to post a positive review for us on TripAdvisor – without it, we would simply not have been able to achieve this recognition.
Thank you!
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January & February are great months to dive the Lembeh Strait, as there are normally calm seas and few divers.
Award-winning Eco Divers Lembeh* is offering a great deal on stays between 5th January and 28th February.
During this period the price of our 3-night All Inclusive Dive Package is just € 341 (US$ 466), to check all our packages and rates, click here.
Price is per person and is based on sharing a double room and includes accommodation in an air-conditioned room, all meals, 2 days of diving with up to 3 guided day-dives per day, free internet access, unlimited tea & coffee and drinking water, airport transfers, taxes and service. Additional nights with meals and diving cost just € 137 (US$ 187).
(Meal Plan in All-Inclusive Dive Packages begins with dinner on arrival day and ends with breakfast on departure day – all other meals charged extra. Exclusions: Tips, drinks, Nitrox, night dives, spa services, land tours, dive equipment rental, laundry).
Our unique service, combining the convenience of diving from our Day Liveaboard with the comfort of staying in a resort, provides total relaxation. With a capacity of just 16 guests, we are the most exclusive upscale resort in Lembeh. Immaculate accommodation, exceptional cuisine and a highly personalized service makes Eco Divers Resort Lembeh a top choice for discerning divers.
Guest-to-Guide ratio of 4 to 1 / 9 air-conditioned rooms / Private bathroom / Flat property (no hills to climb) / Restaurant, lounge bar with satellite TV, boutique / Professional Indonesian Spa / The Digital Centre photo & video service/ Free WiFi internet access
Group Offer: book a group of 6 or more people and you’ll only pay for 5!
To enjoy our low season prices, please make your booking enquiry now: info@eco-divers.com
* Eco Divers Lembeh is the only Sulawesi resort to have been earned both the TripAdvisor Travelers Choice award 2012 for Top 25 Hotels for Service in Indonesia and Top 25 Hotels for Best Bargain in Indonesia.
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Last month we had the pleasure of the first ever visit to Eco Divers by a team from the only dive magazine published exclusively in Indonesia, for Indonesians – DiveMag Indonesia!
Underwater photographer Muljadi Pinneng and reporter Gemala Hanafiah were with us for just two short (but sweet) days of diving, whilst on assignment to put together a destination piece on Lembeh Strait.
We’d like to thanks Muljadi and Gemala – and not forgetting the Editor in Chief, Riyanni, for organising the visit – and we hope they enjoyed our service and will come back again and again.
We also hope to see many more local guests from across this huge archipelago coming through our doors in the future, as they enjoy the beautiful and diverse natural wonders of this amazing country - Indonesia!
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L.U.P. Week is simply THE best opportunity this year in Asia to take your photo skills to the next level.
World-renowned photo geniuses Takako Uno, Stephen Wong and Jason Isley will be sharing their secrets for free, through nightly workshops and presentations.
This week is open to any and all, from beginner to accomplished photographer.
The celebrations will be rounded off with a Gala Dinner & Birthday Party Night, an informal photo contest and a prize-giving. Each guest will also receive a free gift.
For full details, click here.
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Dr. Mark Erdmann & Dr. Gerry Allen, who were visiting us in Manado as Guest Lecturers for the free biology workshop “Fish Geek Week”, conducted a survey of fish species between 1st and 12th September.
This is the first time that a scientific fish survey has ever been done in North Sulawesi.
It was done over a week out of Minahasa Lagoon Resort Manado plus five informal days in Lembeh and it threw up some most absolutely amazing unexpected results.We always knew North Sulawesi had wonderful marine biodiversity, given that it sits at the heart of the Coral Triangle, but... these results we definitely did NOT expect!
Gerry & Mark recorded 967 species from 329 genera and 84 families. That's without even surveying many habitats. They were nowhere near reaching a plateau, every day adding 25-40 new records to the list!
Gerry predicts that further surveys would show somewhere around 1020 species in total for North Sulawesi (Bunaken to Lembeh). To put these numbers in perspective, Komodo National Park has 750 species recorded to date, the Togian and Banggai islands have 819 species recorded to date, Berau in East Kalimantan (including Derawan and Sangalaki) has 875 species recorded to date, and Western Thailand has 775 species recorded to date.
Another very interesting point was the extremely high per-site diversity. In general any count of over 200 species on a single dive is considered a very high diversity site. Of the 9 sites surveyed, 6 were higher than 200 species and two of them broke 300 species (Tanjung Kelapa/Malcolm had 310 species and Satchiko's had 301 species)!
To put this in perspective, in over 40 years' of survey work around the Coral Triangle region, Gerry Allen has only documented three sites that have broken 300 species: Kayoa Island, Halmahera (303 species), Tanjung Papisoi in Kaimana, West Papua (330 species) and Cape Kri in Raja Ampat (374 species). So Tanjung Kelapa/Malcolm is now the 3rd richest fish site ever recorded, and Satchiko's the 5th.
For the full report, click here.
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Fish Geek Week just took place at Minahasa Lagoon Resort in Manado, as part of the events planned to celebrate the resort’s 10th Anniversary.
Guests had been promised a wealth of new knowledge about North Sulawesi’s umpteen fish species, with talks by three leading authorities on marine biology and ecology: Dr. Mark Erdmann, Dr. Gerry Allen and Dr. Massimo Boyer. They were not disappointed. The famous scientists delivered wonderful nightly presentations on fish identification, biology, behaviour and much more, accompanied by stunningly colourful slide shows.
But what the guests were maybe surprised to find was that the week was not just informative; it was also great fun! This was due in no small part to the amazingly inclusive approach these three amazing Guest Lecturers brought to the event. Each presentation was delivered with unbridled enthusiasm. The passion Mark, Gerry & Massimo have for the magnificent underwater world clearly shone through and the attending guests couldn’t help but be inspired by this, to seek further understanding of the beautiful animals we all see on every dive but sometimes take for granted.
The week was rounded off with a treasure hunt dive on the last morning, followed by a closing party where guests won prizes such as a week’s stay at Minahasa Lagoon, six days of diving with Eco Divers, dive accessories, bath amenities and more.
Every guest attending also received a fantastic free gift - a book on the natural history of Bunaken National Park, by Arnaz Mehta. The Gala Dinner of local specialty dishes was the last chapter in what turned out to be a hugely enjoyable week. We’re immensely grateful to Mark, Gerry & Massimo for taking time to share their expert knowledge with us, our staff and customers.
We’re now thinking we might repeat Fish Geek Week in 2013. Who knows, if we do, maybe next time we’ll allow a few “Nudi Nerds” to join in the fun….
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Diving in North Sulawesi is always great, the sea life is rich and different and every one who dove with Eco Divers can confirm it: it doesn't matter where you jump in the water, it will always surprize you.
But sometimes it is more than great, it is just beautiful!!!
Yesterday we were at the end of the first dive in a dive site very close to the resort and a gourgeous WHALE SHARK starts to slowly swim around our boat, we swim with him he went away, then came back, then swim to the other group, then back again and so on for 15 or 20 minutes.
We all were exited, but the day wasn't finished yet. We were getting ready for the second dive and suddenly three DUGONGS comes close to the boats, we were just… speechless.
Another day of diving with Eco Divers, where extraordinary is the ordinary!
A special thank to Vladimir and Laura to allow me to use their camera :)
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We know many of our guests love to dive the world over and we've heard that now is a great time to be diving the clear, warm waters of the Red Sea. And when you do, choose our partners, Emperor Divers.
Not least because they're award winners, but also because they are extremely highly rated with guests (Feefo rating is 100%!)
Day diving, liveaboards, dive courses and special Resort Packages are all available with Emperor's friendly team of dive experts. Choose from El Gouna, Hurghada, Marsa Alam, Nuweiba and Sharm El Sheikh. Or take a luxury liveaboard on a variety of dive sites from near by to Deep South. Pack your gear for a holiday packed with marine life, corals and wrecks.
Looking for unlimited house reef diving or fast RIB trips to some of the best dive sites in the region? Then Emperor Marsa Alam has just the set-up at their new Concorde Moreen Beach centre.
Hurry and you can take advantage of their Hot Summer Offers with diving from just 30 Euros a day or visit www.emperordivers.com.
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This is simply THE best opportunity this year in Asia to take your photo skills to the next level.
World-renowned photo geniuses Takako Uno, Stephen Wong and Jason Isley will be sharing their secrets for free, through nightly workshops and presentations.
This week is open to any and all, from beginner to accomplished photographer. The celebrations will be rounded off with a Gala Dinner & Birthday Party.
Each evening’s lecture will run around 25 minutes, conducted by Jason, Stephen and Takako. Additionally after each talk our Guest Lecturers will make themselves available to individual guests, to offer further tips and advice. Each day our Guests Lecturers will accompany guests on the dive trips, to continue offering advice as guests require.
This event is totally free of charge, there is nothing extra to pay, just book a one week all inclusive dive package with Eco Divers Manado.
For full details, click here or send an email to info@eco-divers.com.
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