Dive Review of Sakatia Lodge /Sakatia Lodge in
Africa/Madagascar

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Sakatia Lodge /Sakatia Lodge: "Great Diving in Madagascar", Oct, 2014, by ROBERT PECORARO, NY, US ( Contributor 17 reports with 9 Helpful votes). Report 8017 has 2 Helpful votes.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Sakatia Lodge is a full service dive resort located on Sakatia Island, a small island off of Nosy Be Island in Madagascar. The dive operation is run by Jacques, who serves as dive coordinator and divemaster. He runs a safe, professional operation and he makes every effort to accommodate the wishes of the divers to ensure that everyone has a great time. The dives were remarkably good, and the area is loaded with tropical fish, invertabrates and healthy corals. The visibility was mostly very good, although we did have one bad day, where it dropped down to about 45 ft., with a lot of particulates in the water. The boat is small and comfortable and designed so that divers could simply swim into the boat after handing up their weight belt and kit. The boat has no transom. The stern is simply wide open. No ladder necessary. The dives were relaxed and very easy. The group followed the divemaster and ascended with him at the end of the dive. There were no time limits imposed. I suppose that buddy teams could probably stay if there was remaining air at the end of a dive, but it never really came up. In between dives we searched for whales and whale sharks. It was the end of the Humpback Whale season. Although we saw no whale sharks, we did see a few Humpbacks in the distance and we had the opportunity to swim with what we thought was a Minke Whale. I have since been told that it was actually a juvenile Fin Whale. I'm not quite sure which is correct, but it was a bit curious and fun to swim with. The Sakatia Lodge is nicely situated in a small cove. It consists of a main building, which houses the bar and restaurant, the dive shop building and a series of huts along the water or up the hill a bit on the edge of the forest. We had a "nature hut", which is near the forest. Our hut was beneath a large mango tree and we got nightly visits from a small family of Black lemurs that came to feast on the ripe mangos. The lemurs were very friendly and were not afraid to take mangos and bananas from your hand. It was a cool experience. There were snakes and lizards abound as well. Many of the beautiful bright green Day Geckos were used to people and gladly posed for photos with their perpetual smiles. The rooms themselves were open and airy. The only issue that we had was that generated electricity was available periodically throughout the day and night. This wasn't a real problem except that the electric fan would go off with the electricity around 2 am each morning. I find it difficult to sleep when I am too warm. It would be nice if they could put it on a separate circuit like some of the hotels in Madagascar did so that the fan could stay on all night. Just a thought. Other than that, I don't think that this experience could have been much better. The staff was friendly and helpful and the diving was excellent. I would certainly recommend this place to anyone looking for a relaxing diving experience with a safe, friendly operator.
Websites	Sakatia Lodge Sakatia Lodge
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Africa, Asia, Indo Pacific, Hawaii, Egypt, Caribbean, Central and South America, Australia
Closest Airport	Nosy-be Airport	Getting There	Flight to Nosy-Be, followed by a 30 min drive and a short ferry ride. Not too difficult.
Dive Conditions
Weather	dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	80-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	45-80 Ft/ 14-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	The dives were easy and relaxing. The group stayed with the divemaster and surfaced with him. I suppose that a buddy team could stay down if they had air remaining, although it never really was an issue.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	1 or 2
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Jacques is an underwater photographer and he is knowlegeable. There are no camera rinse tanks on the boat, but there is one at the shop, upon your return.

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Sakatia Lodge /Sakatia Lodge in Africa/Madagascar

Sakatia Lodge /Sakatia Lodge: "Great Diving in Madagascar", Oct, 2014,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Sakatia Lodge /Sakatia Lodge in
Africa/Madagascar