News

Located in the heart of the stunning Bunaken Marine Park, Siladen is one of North Sulawesi’s most popular resorts, whether you love awesome photo opportunities, freediving or just hanging out, eating tremendous food, and watching baby turtles scramble out of their nests. And after two long years of Indonesia being shuttered to the outside world due to COVID, the country, the resort and its breathtaking wall dives are accessible once more.

The resort has officially been open since January 5th, and it began welcoming international travelers again, but with the hassle of pre-travel visa applications. Now, like pre-COVID times, Indonesia’s Immigration Department has finally reinstated visas on arrival in Manado, Jakarta and Bali for 60 countries, and there’s no requirement for PCR or rapid antigen tests to enter the country for vaccinated travelers. Here’s how General Manager Miguel Ribeiro and Guest Experience Manager Ana Fonseca shared the great news with us:

Our whole team is so happy to welcome guests back to the resort and look forward to welcoming you in our friendly and happy way, ensuring excellent customer service and satisfaction is our priority. One of our greatest pleasures this year was welcoming back so many repeater guests who had just been waiting for Indonesia to lift its restrictions. These guests were very happy to see the familiar smiling faces of our amazing team back in the dive center, restaurant and other departments.
 

We have been getting very good feedback from returning guests as they recognised we maintained the resort during the pandemic, so it looks its very best. This year we also had a good amount of water during the rainy season, so the grounds are green and lush.

Teddy, our very popular and longstanding member of the dive center staff, is still one of the dive center managers. This year we are also happy to welcome Melania and Daniel to the Siladen Dive family to work alongside Teddy. Melania and Daniel are an Italian/Danish couple who have been together for four years, working together in their love of the ocean. The very experienced couple come to us directly from the Maldives.
 

With the enforced break in diving in Sulawesi during Covid, the reefs and marine life have flourished. The diving has been fantastic and we have found not only interesting critters like flamboyant cuttlefish and Spanish dancer nudibranchs during night dives but have also had several eagle ray sittings. A group of blacktip baby sharks have also been spotted frequently in the shallow waters in front of the resort. The last Dolphin Tour was amazing, with many dolphins spotted in the Bunaken National Park, and a pod of pilot whales has been sighted regularly close from Siladen and Bunaken.

This year we have had the pleasure of welcoming several new baby turtles, with a couple of nests hatching over the last days. There are three other nests on our beaches that should hatch during the next couple of months.

If you are planning your next visit, please send us an e-mail to reservations@siladen.com or contact your favorite travel agent for the latest travel information.