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planning your Derawan trip

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We are super happy that you are considering booking Scuba Junkie Sangalaki for your next holiday! We know how difficult it can be to plan a dive holiday, as there is so much to take into consideration! Everything from transfers, visas, logistics, currencies, what activities to do, what to pack and when best to travel etc. It can sometimes get a bit confusing and daunting. To help make the planning off your trip to visit us as simple and stress free as possible, we have provided some useful information below that will help you with your planning stages. Please also feel free to email our booking team with any questions or queries that you may have and we will be happy to share with you our expert advice.

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Standard Terms and Conditions

Terms and conditions for Scuba Junkie Sangalaki

  • A 50% deposit will be required within 7 days of your booking confirmation to secure your package and is non-refundable.
  • Balance payment for your package can be paid in cash or by Card (Visa/ Mastercard only) in IDR on arrival at the resort. Please remember to bring enough Rupiah cash with you to Derawan as there are no money changers nor ATM's which accept non-Indonesian bank cards on Derawan island! 
  • Balance payment for your package can also be paid via bank transfer – proof of transfer must be emailed at least 14 days prior to the start of your package to enable your payment to be received / processed and an invoice created.
  • If payments are not received by the due date and no reply is received within 3 days of our email reminder, then we reserve the right to cancel your booking.
  • In the event you are unable to come, and inform us a minimum of 14 days in advance of your booking start date then we will credit your deposit and any balance payments made towards a future booking with SJ Sangalaki, up to a maximum of 12 months from the start date of your original booking.
  • No refunds are available if you shorten or cancel any portion of your original package with less than 14 days written notice. If more than 14 days notice is given, we will credit your payment to a future booking made within 12 months of your original date. Your new booking will then be subject to the current rates at the time of re-booking.
  • No refunds are available in case of illness, missed dive / snorkel trips, incompletion of dive course, or shortening of your stay.
  • If we are forced to cancel any part of your stay or dives due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances then a refund or credit towards a future holiday will be offered.
  • If you are booking as part of a group, and one or more members are not able to attend, their payment will not be able to be credited to the remaining group members.
  • We strongly recommend ensuring that you have comprehensive travel & insurance that covers these possibilities.
  • All transfers are operated by a third party (not by Scuba Junkie).  We cannot accept responsibility for any damage to personal items, injuries or any lost flights in the unlikely event of a cancelled transfer or longer journey time due to circumstances outside of our control, such as bad weather conditions / mechanical issues.
  • Please note if you confirm a transfer and cancel with less than 24 hours notice, you will still be required to pay this fee to cover all fuel and time costs.
  • Dive insurance is a compulsory requirement to be able to dive with us. Proof of insurance will be required before you can join any dives.
  • Proof of diver certification will be required for certified divers, either via email, hard copy or E copy upon check in.
  • Scuba Junkie reserves the right to change the destination of dive sites depending on weather and other conditions if need be.

Getting Here

Scuba Junkie Sangalaki is situated on Derawan Island, which is a 30 minute boat ride from the mainland of Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia. Most of our guests will arrive via Tarakan Airport/ Ferry, or from Berau (Kalimarau Airport) with flights coming via Balikpapan.

Check out the full options and recommended flight times on our getting here section.

What to bring

No single use plastics - We are proud to have environmental policies in place to reduce our impact on the planet, and one of the ways that we can all help in this area is to avoid single use plastics. Bring a refillable water bottle so that you can refill at the resort and on the dive boat.

Reusable bags and straws – Help us reduce single use plastics on our island home by bringing a reusable shopping bag for any shopping you do around the village, and to bring with you on the boat! We also sell straws made out of bamboo for those who are in need.

Reef safe sunscreen - Reef safe sunscreen and sun protection. We are proud members of Green Fins, and our dive operations have strict guidelines to minimise damage to coral and marine ecosystems. To further minimise adverse impact to coral reefs, please use reef safe sunscreen before diving. Sunscreens with Oxybenzone and Octinoxate can harm corals – avoid purchasing these types of sunscreen. Even better, bring a long-sleeve rash vest, sunglasses and a hat with you- we are sunny almost all year around!

Dry bag - It’s a good idea to prepare a small day bag with towel, possible change of shirt, camera etc as well as a water bottle. The time it takes to get to the dive sites vary between 5 minutes to 2 hours, so make sure you are prepared for the journey ahead! We sell very affordable custom Scuba Junkie dry bags in our shop.

Certification card - Bring your proof of certification with you as you will need to show this on arrival. This can be the actual card or you can show it in the app from your certification agency. You may also wish to email us this in advance. For PADI divers who have lost their cert cards, we can look you up online. Don't forget to bring your log book along to log all of the amazing marine life you'll see on the dives with us.

Medication - If you regularly take prescription medication then we recommend that you bring enough for your whole stay with us. There is a very small hospital on the island should anything happen, but it is not a pharmacy where you can buy medications.

Insurance - We strongly recommend that all guests have travel to cover you throughout your stay (covering accidents, travel cancellation, medical and baggage). Please note, due to remote nature of our resort, we require all divers to have valid diving insurance before joining us for any dives. We offer DAN short terms policies for diving starting at 1 day up to 30 days.

Cash - The currency in Indonesia is the IDR (Indonesian Rupiah), often shortened to Rp. There is 1 ATM on the island and it only accepts local bank cards. You can pay for your package with your debit or credit card whilst staying with us, but make sure to have a decent amount of cash for any extras you might want to buy!

What can be bought here - Mosquito repellent, soap, shower gel, conditioner, deodorant, razors, toothpaste etc can all be bought easily on the island if you need to lighten your luggage for flights!

Planning your activities with us

Refresher
If you haven't dived in six months or longer then we offer a free refresher as part of your first dive with us.

PADI Courses
Students for all PADI courses or programs need to sign the PADI Medical Statement. If you have any YES answers then this form needs to be signed by your doctor or physician to approve you for diving activities. If all answers on the form are NO then you do not need to do anything before you arrive (you will sign your form when you start the course). The clinic and hospitals on Derawan are not able to provide the medical statement clearance, so this must be done before arriving on the island.

Day trip Schedules*
07:00 – Breakfast buffet in the lounge area.
07:45 - Meet at the Jetty/Equipment room and prepare your things for the day.
08:00 - Depart for diving – Depending on the island we visit, there might be opportunities to leave the boat during the surface intervals, for example going to the Jellyfish Lake on Kakaban, or enjoying the white beaches on Sangalaki. If this is not the case, we stay on the boat during the surface intervals and have our meals and snacks.
15:30 – 17:00 - Return to the resort after 3 dives (arrival time depends on the dive sites that we visit)
There are outdoor showers on the Jetty along with big washing stations for your equipment and cameras.

* Due to the remote nature of the islands that we visit, please be aware that not all of the islands that we visit have bathroom facilities.

Meals
Breakfast will be served in our chill our area daily at 7am. Your diving day will include a light snack and lunch on the boat, plus water refills, tea & coffee on board and at the dive centre. Let us know in advance if you have any dietary requirements. Vegetarian and vegan meals are easy to arrange and we don't need much advance notice for this, but other requests may be a little more difficult to organise due to our remote location, so as much notice as possible is appreciated. Please note that dinner is not provided in the packages- for dinner guests can choose to eat in a number of excellent restaurants in Derawan Island. This helps to the local islanders to have alternative livelihoods other than fishing and in return means the diving in this area will remain pristine. 

There are local restaurants close by that are open throughout the day as well as in the evening until around 8 - 9PM for dinner.

Most of the restaurants available on the island are typically Indonesian and are a combination of rice or noodle based dishes as well as meat, fish & vegetable dishes. A typical meal costs around IDR50- 80,000 IDR and large bottle of water / soft drinks IDR15- 20,000 IDR

No decompression limits

All dives are no-decompression dives. We ask all divers with their own computer to inform their dive guide when they reach 10 minutes of no-decompression time remaining so that the group can stay safely within the limits. Divers without their own dive computer are asked to stay at the same level as, or slightly shallower than their dive guide. If you do go over your NDL, please inform your dive guide immediately so that they can arrange for the prolonged safety stop for your computer to clear before surfacing. Please note that you will not be permitted to dive for the rest of the day. If your computer goes into error mode then you will need to wait 24 hours before resuming dive activities with us, or longer if your computer is not yet clear. In these cases there will be no refunds for any missed dives.

Valuables

We do not advise you to take valuables on the boats during your snorkelling/diving tours. Our boats are small speedboats- as such there is nowhere to lock valuables away, and there is a chance that items can get wet on board. If the destination of the day is Kakaban, you do however need at least 20.000 RP in cash for the entrance fee to the Jellyfish Lake.
Please use the safe or locker in your room if you are staying with us or feel free to leave valuables with the management at reception.

Weather and waves

Weather is very difficult to predict in a tropical country and on an island in the middle of the ocean- Please note that the below is a suggested guideline on the expected visibility and waves each month in the area however weather can be unpredictable and thus this can change from year to year.

In general diving and snorkelling in the area is amazing all year round and the weather conditions are sunny with a chance of rain. The dive conditions tend to be warmer and less wavy from around April-September, making this the most popular time for divers to visit. Starting October there can be some more drastic conditions on the surface as this is typically when we experience more rainfall, and slightly bigger waves. Although this can make some far off dive sites harder to reach, it is also the time where we usually see higher quantities of Manta Rays and Whale Sharks. Due to the nutrients being brought in by the waves and currents, this is when the plankton feeders come to enjoy their feast!

The weather in Derawan is usually hot & humid all year round but our resort has a nice sea breeze and night time temperatures are around 22°C – 25°C, the day time temperature is typically 25°C – 32°C.

The water temperature can vary between the islands & depths but expect anything from 26°C to 30°C.

We recommend bringing plenty of high factor sunscreen as well as a sweater or jumper for daytrips and chilly evenings and a raincoat just in case!

Dive and snorkel sites

Dive site locations are assigned the day before - based on weather/waves/requests and where you have already been. If you have a particular dive site request - please let the dive team know and we will do our best!

Rental equipment

Bcd's: We use Mares Rovers in sizes from XXS to XXL

Regulators: We have Scubapro and Mares regulators. All of our rental regulators are Yoke valves- if you have a DIN regulator don’t worry! We have DIN adaptors available to borrow during your trip. (But please let us know in advance)

Wetsuits: We have 3mm full length wetsuits as the temperature can vary during the dives and from site to site.

Masks: Our masks are standardised one size fits all! Please note that we do not have prescription masks available for rental or retail.

Boots & Fins: We provide Mares open-heel fins with booties. Boot sizes are from EU 36 - EU 46 and fins are from XS to XL.

Tanks: We provide 12L aluminium tanks with a yoke (International) fitting. All tanks can have the insert removed to be used with DIN regulators (no adaptor needed). We have 10L tanks for children or small adults. We do not have any 15L tanks available.

Dive Computers: We have Suunto Zoop dive computers available for rent at the dive centre (available on a first come, first serve basis). It's recommended, but not mandatory to dive with a computer - Your dive guide will always have one if you do not. All students on PADI courses are provided with a dive computer (no need to rent one).

Every diver staying with us will get their own personal booth with multiple hangers for their equipment. This makes it easy to keep your things in one place, and allows it to dry till the next morning!

The Modern World

Electricity sockets in Indonesia are typically the round 2 pin plugs (same as most of Europe). Our resort aims to have 24-hour electricity but there may be some interruptions to the power supply during your stay (island life!), a torch can come in handy at times. There is good phone coverage & 4G on the island through the major Indonesian phone companies such as Telekomsel / Sim Pati.

Our resort does now have WIFI, but if you are internet dependent then it is recommended to buy a local SIM card for back up! These should be readily available on arrival at Tarakan & Balikpapan airports, just ask for an internet package for 1 week, the cost of a SIM card and 8GB of data is usually very reasonably priced and additional internet & phone credit can be bought on Derawan if needed.

Night dives

The night dives on Derawan is something you truly do not want to miss! Jump off our jetty and search the sandy and seaweed rich bottom for some of the most amazing critters Indonesia has to offer! Typically only about 2-3m deep, all kinds of wacky crustaceans, octopuses, molluscs and nocturnal fish come to life. Only a few examples are harlequin shrimps, blue ringed octopus, decorator crabs, ghost pipe fish and much, much more!

On nights when there’s a low tide instead of a high, we are unable to dive just off our jetty, and instead take the boat to probably the most famous macro dive on Derawan: Paradise. This dive can be done a bit deeper, but it is not recommended to not venture much further than around 10m to stay well safe within decompression limits, but also as that’s where most nightly creatures tend to hang out!

To join a night dive- you must be a minimum open water level certified, and have done at least one day dive with us (to ensure you are comfortable with our guides and equipment before embarking on a night dive!)

Price: 550,000 RP

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