Tomia and the Roma Reef
Tomia's signature seamount, named for coral heads that recall the Colosseum in Rome.
At a glance
- Entry fee
- Wakatobi National Park diving and entry fees are charged per person per day and are payable in cash, so factor that into what you carry. There is no banking to speak of on Tomia.
- Opening hours
- Guided boat dives on the operator's schedule. Roma takes current, so the slot is chosen for the water rather than for you.
- Time needed
- A half-day boat trip for two dives.
About Tomia and the Roma Reef
Tomia is the island most divers have in mind when they say they are going to Wakatobi, and Roma is its best-known site. It sits off the northeast of the island, listed among the fifty-plus boat-accessible sites in the area, and it is a pinnacle rather than a wall: a coral garden on top with a fringing ring of big rounded potato coral heads around it. Seen from above, that ring of rounded domes is what earned the site its name, after the tiers of the Colosseum.
The site catches current, and that is the point. When it flows, the reef fills with schooling life. Operators working these waters describe fusiliers in numbers, pyramid butterflyfish, sergeant majors, snappers and redtooth triggerfish over the top, with banded sea kraits, ribbon eels, scorpion leaf fish and winged pipefish among the coral. It is dived along the top and around the rim rather than as a deep drop, with the working range typically inside twenty-five metres.
Cornucopia is the other Tomia name worth knowing and it is a very different dive: a steep slope rolling into a sheer wall with overhangs, sea fans, sponges and black coral deeper down, dropping far past recreational limits. It has a reputation for unusually dense small life on top of the scenery, so it rewards divers who look closely as well as those who like the big view.
Neither site is dived from shore. Both are guided boat dives.
Getting there
Reach Wakatobi through Wangi-Wangi, then continue south to Tomia. Public transport between the islands is by Cantika fast boat and local speedboats, and the important detail is that these do not run daily: departures from each island are typically every two or three days, so an itinerary that assumes a boat whenever you want one will fall apart. Check the schedule before you commit to dates. There is a second way in that bypasses all of this. Wakatobi Dive Resort operates its own private charter flight from Bali directly to a private airstrip on Tomia, running on set days, restricted to resort and liveaboard guests. It is not a public route and cannot be booked as a standalone flight. Once on Tomia, Roma and Cornucopia are short boat rides handled by resort and local dive operations.
Best time
April to October generally brings the calmest seas and the easiest boat work, which matters for a site in open water. Roma is better with some current running rather than at dead slack, because the flow is what brings the schooling fish onto the pinnacle, so let your guide pick the tidal window rather than asking for the flattest conditions. Cornucopia is comfortable across a wider range of states. Book dives in advance in the middle months, since Tomia's dive capacity is small and the resort operates to a fixed schedule.
Good to know
Be honest with your guide about your experience and your air consumption. Roma sits in open water and takes current, so comfortable buoyancy and some drift experience make it both safer and far more enjoyable. Carry a surface marker buoy and know how to deploy it, and stay with your guide and group rather than drifting off to explore, because pickups on a pinnacle in current depend on the boat knowing where you are. Watch your depth on Cornucopia. The wall drops well beyond recreational limits and it is easy to sink deeper than you intended while following something down the face. Do not touch or hold onto sea fans or coral to steady yourself. National park diving and entry fees are charged per person per day and are payable in cash, so factor that into what you carry, and remember there is no banking to speak of on Tomia.
Things to do at Tomia and the Roma Reef
Dive the pinnacle
Tomia's signature seamount off the northeast of the island, a coral garden on top with a fringing rim, named for heads that recall the Colosseum. It is a pinnacle rather than a wall.
Be honest with your guide first
About your experience and your air consumption. Roma sits in open water and takes current, so comfortable buoyancy and some drift experience make it both safer and far more enjoyable.
Carry an SMB and know how to use it
Stay with your guide and group rather than drifting off, because pickups on a pinnacle in current depend on the boat finding you.
Tomia and the Roma Reef FAQs
Why is the site called Roma?+
The pinnacle is ringed by large rounded potato coral heads, and that circle of domes is said to resemble the tiers of the Colosseum in Rome when seen from above. The name stuck among divers and now appears on the operator site maps for the area.
How deep is Roma and do I need to be experienced?+
It is dived along the top and rim of a pinnacle, with the working range typically inside twenty-five metres rather than as a deep drop. The complication is current rather than depth. Comfortable buoyancy and some experience in moving water make it a much better dive, so tell your guide honestly where you stand.
What will I actually see there?+
Operators working these waters report schooling fusiliers, pyramid butterflyfish, sergeant majors, snappers and redtooth triggerfish over the top of the pinnacle, with banded sea kraits, ribbon eels, scorpion leaf fish and winged pipefish among the coral. The schooling action depends on current running.
How does Cornucopia differ from Roma?+
Cornucopia is a steep slope that rolls into a sheer wall with overhangs, dropping far past recreational limits, hung with sea fans, sponges and deeper black coral. Where Roma is a pinnacle that gathers schooling fish in current, Cornucopia is a wall dive with unusually dense small life on it.
Can snorkellers enjoy these sites?+
Cornucopia begins in the shallows and its upper section is snorkellable on calm days, so ask your operator what surface conditions allow on the day. Roma is really a dive, since it takes current in open water and the interest is around the rim rather than at the surface.
How do I get to Tomia?+
By boat from Wangi-Wangi via the Cantika fast boat or a local speedboat, remembering that these run every two or three days rather than daily. Alternatively, Wakatobi Dive Resort flies its own private charter from Bali to a private airstrip on Tomia, but that is restricted to its own guests and cannot be booked separately.
More to see in Wakatobi
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