Tomia's signature seamount, named for coral heads that recall the Colosseum in Rome.
Tomia is the island most divers come to Wakatobi for, and Roma is its headline site. Roma is a submerged seamount off the northeast of the island, named because its big rounded potato-coral heads, ringed by smaller bommies, loosely resemble the Colosseum from above. The mount rises into the current, so it pulls in schooling fish, the occasional pelagic, and dense soft coral.
Nearby Cornucopia is the other classic: a shallow slope that rolls over into a steep wall dripping with sea fans and sponges. Together they show off the topography that makes Tomia diving special.
These are current-driven reefs, so they reward divers more than casual snorkelers, though calm days open parts of the shallows up.
Getting there
Reach Wakatobi via Wangi-Wangi, then continue to Tomia by public ferry or a resort transfer boat, a journey of a couple of hours depending on the service. Roma and Cornucopia are short boat rides from Tomia's dive operators and the Wakatobi resort, and you dive them on a guided boat trip rather than from shore.
Best time
April to October usually brings the calmest seas and best visibility. Roma works best when there is some current to bring the fish in, so trust your guide on the tide and timing rather than picking a slack window.
Good to know
Roma sits in open water with current, so it suits divers with reasonable buoyancy and comfort in moving water; tell your guide your experience level honestly. Carry a reef hook and a safety marker buoy, and watch your depth, as the wall drops away fast.
The seamount's large, rounded potato-coral formations, seen together, resemble the tiers of the Colosseum in Rome. The name stuck among divers and now appears on most site maps.
It helps. Roma is a current-fed seamount in open water, so confident buoyancy and some drift experience make it safer and more enjoyable. Cornucopia's shallows are gentler for newer divers.
On calm days the shallow tops of sites like Cornucopia are snorkelable, but Roma is really a dive. Ask your operator which reefs suit surface conditions on the day.
Add it to a route across Indonesia and we will work out the travel time and cost between every stop.
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