Tubbataha scuba diving features

Whitetip sharks

Grey sharks

Turtles

Manta rays

DESTINATION OVERVIEW
As far as you can see in any direction there's nothing but blue. Bright blue sky and deep blue sea. It feels like the middle of nowhere but it's actually the Sulu Sea in the far west of the Philippines. The Tubbataha atolls are 181 kilometres southeast of the island of Palawan and have a unique status in the country – the area was designated a World Heritage Site in 1993.

The Tubbataha park area is a long way from anywhere so it is reassuring to see that much of the ecosystem is in good condition. At certain times of year, the reef tops take quite a battering from storms but monitoring by various conservation bodies has found fish populations are on the increase. The presence of rangers assists in restricting illegal fishing practices while the remoteness no doubt helps protects Tubbataha from the ravages of man-made problems.

This is one of the few areas in the Philippines where encounters with large species, like sharks and turtles are frequent.

Seasons:
March to May only
Visibility:
30 – 40 metres
Water temperature:
28 – 29º C.
Deco chambers:
Manila and Cebu City

Flights to Puerto Princessa on Palawan then overnight on a liveaboard

Liveaboard options
are minimal in this area, search online for up-to-date options and look for boats that have good standards.

PROS AND CONS
The Philippines are a long way from Europe or the USA but everything is cheap once you arrive. The trip to this remote area adds an additional overnight sail and you can only get there for a few short months due to adverse weather conditions. Another issue is that there are only a handful of liveaboards and some are not of a particularly high standard. Because the crossing can be rough, you want to be on a reputable boat.

SCUBA DIVING
Despite the above, Tubbataha can be very impressive as an area for pelagic species. There wasn't a single dive without at least a half dozen reef sharks and the same number of turtles. In reality, there were always more, so many we even got to joking – not another shark! We couldn't complain when we got to snorkel with mantas nor about the 40 metre visibility. However, the tops of the reefs are not in great condition – most damage is natural but to get the best of the diving, you will need to go quite deep.

OPINION
No crowds, few boats, almost no divers! This remote part of the Philippines is worth seeing at least once. There isn't a huge variety of dive styles, it's all walls and deep drop-offs, but it can be quite exciting. We travelled on a boat that no longer exists (it sank) and there isn't a great choice of liveaboards making this trip although the calibre is improving.