Compass Atauro Lodge

Amazing diving, amazing staff, fantastic place to visit!! Transit: we opted for the private transfer on the way to Atauro Island and took the ferry back - suggest private transfer if the weather is a bit unpredictable. Diving: pristine reefs, 3-4 dives daily, quality gear and absolutely excellent, English-speaking PADI instructors (ask for Marisa!). Accommodation: the deluxe villa has AC, bug nets, a fridge, and a bathroom with proper plumbing and hot (warm) water showers. All meals are included with the accommodation and the food is delicious and plentiful. Fresh and drinkable water is always available and they also have beers, soft drinks and fresh coconuts available in the fridge. A gorgeous island paradise to spend some time underwater and/or lazing in one of the hammocks by the water - highly recommend. If you need any assistance, the staff are always there to help out. Will definitely be back!

We dived for 5 days with Jhohan and Bruna who were the most wonderful dive instructors, carefully guiding each dive and preparing all our equipment so we hardly had to do anything! Nothing was too much trouble, the divers were conducted professionally and safely, and the coral reefs were pristine and bursting with life which could be observed in 25-40m visability and 29-30 degree water. At the resort we had AC and a huge private outside bathroom with separate sit-down toilet room. The fully catered package came with three meals a day which were extensive in their variety and absolutely delicious in their taste. Couldn’t recommend this place highly enough and Jhohan and Bruna as dive guides of superlative quality.

We stayed end of October/early November at Compass Diving Resort on Atauro Island, and did a week of diving with them. Overall, we had a very enjoyable stay, mainly thanks to the excellent diving, great food, and fantastic dive guides, but also found some shortcomings. Diving: The diving around Atauro is truly outstanding — healthy, colorful reefs, lots of reef fish, beautiful corals with no visible bleaching. While we didn’t see any sharks and only few turtles, we were lucky enough to see whales and dolphins. Our guides Jhohan and Marisa were excellent: professional, caring, and very committed to making sure everyone had a good experience while compensating for some organizational problems. We felt very safe with them and enjoyed the different dive sites they took us to.m, even did some really cool drift dives. They truly made the difference! Also, the rental equipment was really good, quite new BCDs and good long 3 mm wetsuits. And we were always the only boat, no other divers at all. Organization: Unfortunately, the organization was the weakest part of our stay. We visited during whale season, which understandably changes priorities. However, on Atauro, there were only 2 dive guides instead of the usual 4, and only one boat with a maximum capacity of 8 guests. Despite this, they continued to accept way more divers. This meant that on some days fewer dives were possible as diving had to be done in shifts, since only 8 people fit on the boat, and group sizes were larger than ideal (8 divers for 1 guide). Clearer communication in advance about these limitations would have helped set expectations. But Email communication with the Dili office before arrival was sometimes confusing or incomplete, especially regarding transfers and logistics. Accommodation & facilities: The resort is nicely located and relaxed. The tents are simpler and smaller than they appear on the website (no standing room, no bed but just mattress on the floor), while the bungalows offer much more space and AC at a higher price. Showers and toilets, however, were clean and well maintained. Since there’s no real manager at the place, we felt quite lost when we arrived, only when Jhohan came back from his dive, he explained everything and took care of us. Considering the overall quite high price level, a few small upgrades would further improve comfort. For example, the Beach House, where meals are served, has no fans, making it extremely hot and stuffy if there’s no breeze, and lighting is very limited. A few fans and better lighting would make a huge difference. At the beach, there are four hammocks, but one was already half torn. A few more hammocks, sun loungers or bean bags, plus some solar lights, would greatly improve the atmosphere in the evenings - and probably increase beer consumption ;-) Also, for the price, we think a pick-up / drop-off at the ferry should be included… it’s less than 5 min, and the resort has a bus and a tuktuk, but we had to get a local tuktuk and pay extra. Arriving, we walked from the ferry since we never received an answer regarding a pickup (not recommended, it was brutally hot). Food: The food was excellent — very tasty, varied, always more than enough, and with good vegetarian options. This was a clear highlight of our stay. Conclusion: Atauro offers fantastic coral diving in a beautiful, laid-back setting. Compass Diving provided amazing dive guides, and great food, yet there’s room for improvement when it comes to organization, communication, and resort facilities. If your main focus is diving, you may want to avoid whale season, or at least be prepared for limitations. But thanks to Jhohan and Marisa, we had a very good experience despite smaller issues, and really enjoyed our dives.

We stayed here for a week of snorkelling and after travelling and snorkelling at quality resorts throughout West Paua and Indonesia this place was different. Quite good reefs and good fish life once you get away from the village area or into a protection zone. Food was simple but tasty and safe, drinking water was plentiful and safe to drink. Facilities are not amazing but still comfortable and clean. Staff are shy but polite and friendly. Activity wise you have to ask to see or go to certain reef sites or do things. There is no nightly briefing for the next day, its kind of make it up the next day. But all in all a fun place to visit and Compass looked to be one of the better accommodation options on Atauro. As prices are in USD its not amazing value for money but it is a great place to visit and some quite good snorkelling and diving can be done here. Ask lots of questions and be proactive with staff so you get to see and do what you want to experience whilst on Atauro. The housereef is good for coral but few fish due to local fishing. It is very hot and dry on the island so the villas with a/c are very good. The beach house area where meals are served is cool and breezey but once you get further back on the island it gets hot quickly. Would be good to see some shade structures and sun lounges around the waters edge for downtime to enjoy the waterfront more. Great place to visit and recommend Compass if visiting Atauro.