I just returned from leading an 18 day trip to both Atlantis resorts in the Philippines. We were a group of 16 mostly NJ divers.
Most of us elected to stay at the Belmont Hotel in Manila for a few days before starting the dive trip. The idea was to acclimatize and adjust for jet lag before getting wet. The Belmont is a new hotel directly across from Terminal 3 in NAIA. A stone’s throw in fact, but until the walkway (under construction) is completed; it can take 20-40 minutes to get there by shuttle or taxi. Atlantis arrange for someone to meet you at the airport and take you to the hotel which is a welcome service after THAT flight.
The Belmont has tiny rooms but they are very well appointed. Breakfast is included and is very good. They have a rooftop pool which is nice but they blast rap music through massive speakers all day long making the pool experience (to me) an unpleasant one.
Some of us took a tour to Corregidor Island (highly recommended) and others went shopping to the Mall of Asia and after two days of hanging out, we flew to Dumaguete. Once again, Atlantis arranged everything including having an agent help us with bags and ticketing. The flight is short and we landed at Dumaguete at 8:15am. We were shuttled over to the resort; once again Atlantis was efficient about the entire process. You tag your bags at the airport and they magically appear in your rooms before you do.
We had the obligatory hotel and dive briefings (while receiving complimentary massages) and two hours after we arrived, we were diving!
Resort: There are no bad rooms. They are all very comfortable. No complaints from any of my travelers. The resort staff is fantastic. They learn your names quickly and bend over backwards to accommodate ANY request. The food was superb - three choices at every meal - no complaints again. I'm a vegan and had very good food at every meal. Someone else was gluten-free - never an issue. The chef is superb.
The diving is wonderful - no dive site is further than 7-10 minutes from the resort. MO is simple: Don your wetsuit, grab your mask and fins and walk to the boat. Everything is in place and ready for you. Most diving is muck diving; There were some coral heads but it's really all about the muck. Dive times were about an hour and with temps around 77F, no-one was upset with this. We saw everything that we had planned to see. Highlights included Blue Ringed Octopi, Ornate Ghost Pipefishes, Bobbit Worms, Flamboyant Cuttlefish, one Wonderpuss, Hairy Frogfish (plus many other Frogfishes), many species of seahorses, countless nudibranchs, lots of pipefishes, and Ambon scorpionfishes.
After every dive, your boat returns to the beach where someone is waiting for you with freshly baked cookies. SIs are done at the resort. Dives go out at 8:30am, 10am, 2pm, 4pm and a night dive.
We did the Mandarin Fish dive which is conducted at dusk in a rubble reserve. Dozens of MF pop up, mate in mid-water and retreat back into the rubble while you watch with a red light. Bucket list --check.
Apo Island: This is a 45 minute ride to an area which must rate as one of the best coral environments that I have ever seen. We dove Chapel Point, Cogon and The Sanctuary. Coral heads are massive and I mean that. They will amaze you. Turtles were the biggest that I've seen too. The expanse of the corals seems to be endless. No sand visible, just coral gardens, mostly soft as far as the eye can see (in 200ft visibility water). People had such a good time that we requested a second trip. We did different dive sites but the experience was as good as the first. I want to go back again badly!
One of our divers had an ear problem. The resort took him to a hospital in Dumaguete where he saw a diving ENT. He was diagnosed with mild otic barotrauma of the middle ear and given medications. Total cost for his visit was less than $20. He was back diving within 3 days.
We spent our last day doing the whale shark dive at Oslob. I’m in two minds about this one. Yes, you do spend time in the water with many Whale sharks. You can get as close as you want. And I mean really close. You can easily get knocked about if you’re not careful. Atlantis do a good job of ushering you through the masses and ensure that you get into the water very quickly. Total snorkel time is about 45 mins with the animals.
But…it’s a giant tourist clusterball. There are thousands of tourists, all of whom are awaiting their turn to get into the water into a collection of about 20 small boats who dump them into the water in the proximity of a fisherman who is tossing krill into the water to feed the Whale sharks. In other words, it’s one of the most congested, tourist traps I have ever seen. But the picture ops were incredible and it’s a guaranteed experience.
After 7 days in Dumaguete (22 dives for me), we departed for Puerto Galera.
Big shout out to Roni and Chrystal and to DMs Genie and Alfred who were fabulous at Dumaguete.
Getting there from Dumaguete: Flight to Manila - van ride of about 2 .5 hours to Batangas and then a 70 minute ride in a banca over open ocean to Sabang Beach.
The Atlantis Resort in PG is very different from that in Dumaguete. It is built on a hill so unless your room is above the bar, you will be climbing steps to get there. I counted 87 stairs up to mine. (Ok – I had a great room with an equally good view). Rooms are not quite as good as Dum but comfortable nonetheless. No complaints from anyone about creature comforts. The overall standard of service is definitely a notch below Dumaguete. Food was good in the restaurant but most people including me felt that Dum once again had better catering.
OTOH the bar here was way better than Dum; The 50 Bar has gorgeous views over the sea and the barman Tonton is a blast. I loved the 50Bar. Thanks to Gordon, Luke and Steve for ringing the bell so often!
Diving in Sabang Beach is much better than Dumaguete. Once again the rides to dive sites are brief but the topography is much more interesting and the sea creatures more plentiful and interesting. MO for diving was similar to that of Dumaguete. Don your wetsuit and walk to the boat! My favorite dive sites included: Sabang Reef, Giant clams (duh check my name), Dungon Wall, Kilima Steps, Monkey Beach and many others. The number and colors of the crinoids are amazing. Woe betide the diver that swims too close to them – they will happily hitch a ride on your wetsuit until your buddy has to remove them on your safety stop. Nudibranchs become ho-hum after a while. Just kidding. We were lucky enough to spot about five pygmy seahorses, multiple black sea kraits, a pair of mating seahorses, and a pregnant male.
We did a day trip to to Verde Island which is described as the Center of the Center of the World’s Marine biodiversity and it did not disappoint. Diving is beyond belief. The biggest schools of fish that I have ever encountered and I’ve been diving since 1976. Schools of Anthias that were so dense, we had to wave them away so that we could see in front of us; Dense schools of Trigger fishes including Clown Triggers. We saw clouds of Basslets, Wrasses and Groupers. I spotted a Flame Hawkfish, many Frogfishes, and Blennies and Gobies pop up from every tiny hole in the reef. You simply cannot count the fish or be surprised after a while. Until you are….we rounded the wall and found a Titan Trigger attacking a large crab. He was surrounded by dozens of moocher fish waiting for scraps.
Getting back on the boat presented an interesting challenge. On surfacing, the ocean was akin to a washing machine. Divers were bobbing up all over the place. Huge waves wash over you and for once I was glad that I had 1100 psi in my tank at the end of a dive. The boat has ropes attached to the pontoon poles with a loop at the end. When they approach you, you leap up and grab the loop then negotiate your way to the ladder. It took us almost 30 minutes to get all divers back on board. We did three dives on Verde Island. Totally fulfilling and exhausting.
After another week and 22 dives, we departed Atlantis and made our way back to Manila. A fantastic dive trip and I can’t wait to go back. This was the best dive trip that I have ever taken. Atlantis have two fantastic resorts and I have no qualms and recommending them for a trip to the Philippines. You will have a great time.
I will post vids and pics in the next few days. Feel free to ask any questions about trip details.
Most of us elected to stay at the Belmont Hotel in Manila for a few days before starting the dive trip. The idea was to acclimatize and adjust for jet lag before getting wet. The Belmont is a new hotel directly across from Terminal 3 in NAIA. A stone’s throw in fact, but until the walkway (under construction) is completed; it can take 20-40 minutes to get there by shuttle or taxi. Atlantis arrange for someone to meet you at the airport and take you to the hotel which is a welcome service after THAT flight.
The Belmont has tiny rooms but they are very well appointed. Breakfast is included and is very good. They have a rooftop pool which is nice but they blast rap music through massive speakers all day long making the pool experience (to me) an unpleasant one.
Some of us took a tour to Corregidor Island (highly recommended) and others went shopping to the Mall of Asia and after two days of hanging out, we flew to Dumaguete. Once again, Atlantis arranged everything including having an agent help us with bags and ticketing. The flight is short and we landed at Dumaguete at 8:15am. We were shuttled over to the resort; once again Atlantis was efficient about the entire process. You tag your bags at the airport and they magically appear in your rooms before you do.
We had the obligatory hotel and dive briefings (while receiving complimentary massages) and two hours after we arrived, we were diving!
Resort: There are no bad rooms. They are all very comfortable. No complaints from any of my travelers. The resort staff is fantastic. They learn your names quickly and bend over backwards to accommodate ANY request. The food was superb - three choices at every meal - no complaints again. I'm a vegan and had very good food at every meal. Someone else was gluten-free - never an issue. The chef is superb.
The diving is wonderful - no dive site is further than 7-10 minutes from the resort. MO is simple: Don your wetsuit, grab your mask and fins and walk to the boat. Everything is in place and ready for you. Most diving is muck diving; There were some coral heads but it's really all about the muck. Dive times were about an hour and with temps around 77F, no-one was upset with this. We saw everything that we had planned to see. Highlights included Blue Ringed Octopi, Ornate Ghost Pipefishes, Bobbit Worms, Flamboyant Cuttlefish, one Wonderpuss, Hairy Frogfish (plus many other Frogfishes), many species of seahorses, countless nudibranchs, lots of pipefishes, and Ambon scorpionfishes.
After every dive, your boat returns to the beach where someone is waiting for you with freshly baked cookies. SIs are done at the resort. Dives go out at 8:30am, 10am, 2pm, 4pm and a night dive.
We did the Mandarin Fish dive which is conducted at dusk in a rubble reserve. Dozens of MF pop up, mate in mid-water and retreat back into the rubble while you watch with a red light. Bucket list --check.
Apo Island: This is a 45 minute ride to an area which must rate as one of the best coral environments that I have ever seen. We dove Chapel Point, Cogon and The Sanctuary. Coral heads are massive and I mean that. They will amaze you. Turtles were the biggest that I've seen too. The expanse of the corals seems to be endless. No sand visible, just coral gardens, mostly soft as far as the eye can see (in 200ft visibility water). People had such a good time that we requested a second trip. We did different dive sites but the experience was as good as the first. I want to go back again badly!
One of our divers had an ear problem. The resort took him to a hospital in Dumaguete where he saw a diving ENT. He was diagnosed with mild otic barotrauma of the middle ear and given medications. Total cost for his visit was less than $20. He was back diving within 3 days.
We spent our last day doing the whale shark dive at Oslob. I’m in two minds about this one. Yes, you do spend time in the water with many Whale sharks. You can get as close as you want. And I mean really close. You can easily get knocked about if you’re not careful. Atlantis do a good job of ushering you through the masses and ensure that you get into the water very quickly. Total snorkel time is about 45 mins with the animals.
But…it’s a giant tourist clusterball. There are thousands of tourists, all of whom are awaiting their turn to get into the water into a collection of about 20 small boats who dump them into the water in the proximity of a fisherman who is tossing krill into the water to feed the Whale sharks. In other words, it’s one of the most congested, tourist traps I have ever seen. But the picture ops were incredible and it’s a guaranteed experience.
After 7 days in Dumaguete (22 dives for me), we departed for Puerto Galera.
Big shout out to Roni and Chrystal and to DMs Genie and Alfred who were fabulous at Dumaguete.
Getting there from Dumaguete: Flight to Manila - van ride of about 2 .5 hours to Batangas and then a 70 minute ride in a banca over open ocean to Sabang Beach.
The Atlantis Resort in PG is very different from that in Dumaguete. It is built on a hill so unless your room is above the bar, you will be climbing steps to get there. I counted 87 stairs up to mine. (Ok – I had a great room with an equally good view). Rooms are not quite as good as Dum but comfortable nonetheless. No complaints from anyone about creature comforts. The overall standard of service is definitely a notch below Dumaguete. Food was good in the restaurant but most people including me felt that Dum once again had better catering.
OTOH the bar here was way better than Dum; The 50 Bar has gorgeous views over the sea and the barman Tonton is a blast. I loved the 50Bar. Thanks to Gordon, Luke and Steve for ringing the bell so often!
Diving in Sabang Beach is much better than Dumaguete. Once again the rides to dive sites are brief but the topography is much more interesting and the sea creatures more plentiful and interesting. MO for diving was similar to that of Dumaguete. Don your wetsuit and walk to the boat! My favorite dive sites included: Sabang Reef, Giant clams (duh check my name), Dungon Wall, Kilima Steps, Monkey Beach and many others. The number and colors of the crinoids are amazing. Woe betide the diver that swims too close to them – they will happily hitch a ride on your wetsuit until your buddy has to remove them on your safety stop. Nudibranchs become ho-hum after a while. Just kidding. We were lucky enough to spot about five pygmy seahorses, multiple black sea kraits, a pair of mating seahorses, and a pregnant male.
We did a day trip to to Verde Island which is described as the Center of the Center of the World’s Marine biodiversity and it did not disappoint. Diving is beyond belief. The biggest schools of fish that I have ever encountered and I’ve been diving since 1976. Schools of Anthias that were so dense, we had to wave them away so that we could see in front of us; Dense schools of Trigger fishes including Clown Triggers. We saw clouds of Basslets, Wrasses and Groupers. I spotted a Flame Hawkfish, many Frogfishes, and Blennies and Gobies pop up from every tiny hole in the reef. You simply cannot count the fish or be surprised after a while. Until you are….we rounded the wall and found a Titan Trigger attacking a large crab. He was surrounded by dozens of moocher fish waiting for scraps.
Getting back on the boat presented an interesting challenge. On surfacing, the ocean was akin to a washing machine. Divers were bobbing up all over the place. Huge waves wash over you and for once I was glad that I had 1100 psi in my tank at the end of a dive. The boat has ropes attached to the pontoon poles with a loop at the end. When they approach you, you leap up and grab the loop then negotiate your way to the ladder. It took us almost 30 minutes to get all divers back on board. We did three dives on Verde Island. Totally fulfilling and exhausting.
After another week and 22 dives, we departed Atlantis and made our way back to Manila. A fantastic dive trip and I can’t wait to go back. This was the best dive trip that I have ever taken. Atlantis have two fantastic resorts and I have no qualms and recommending them for a trip to the Philippines. You will have a great time.
I will post vids and pics in the next few days. Feel free to ask any questions about trip details.
