The Philippines: Tripping the Depths Fantastic with Atlantis Dive Resorts

Finning casually over some phantasmagoric reef terrain in the Philippines, we searched the nooks and crannies of the hard corals for banded sea snakes and other iconic keynote marine life. After spotting a regal-looking green sea turtle resting upon a bed of coral, I maneuvered to take up a position in front of the aquatic reptile so that it could easily see me. If it felt threatened in any way, it could freely swim away. Rather than flee, this sea turtle displayed both curiosity and a calm demeanor. Soon enough, fellow underwater photo pro, Michael Aw, arrived on the scene and expertly struck a pose so that I could capture an image of both him and the sea turtle amid a dense coral garden. This is how it goes whenever we go tripping the depths fantastic!

Pearl of the Orient

“Every time I go into the water, I see things I’ve never seen before.”

 — Sylvia Earle

There’s no shortage of places to scuba dive in the Philippines. Its vast archipelago of 7,641 islands has earned this country the nickname “Pearl of the Orient”, a historical sobriquet first coined by a Spanish Jesuit missionary in 1751. Scattered across 115,831 square miles, the Philippines also straddles the infamous Pacific Rim of Fire, a path along the Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes.

Understandably, this island nation is prone to both earthquakes and typhoons with around 20 earthquakes per day, and approximately 15 typhoons annually. The Philippines are part of what has been dubbed “The Coral Triangle”, a roughly triangular zone on the Indo-Pacific map that is the heart at the heart of the richest marine habitats in the world.

The Coral Triangle

“Coral reefs are the most biodiverse of all known marine ecosystems and maintain much higher genetic diversity than tropical rainforests.”

— John McManus, The International Coral Reef Initiative.

The Philippines occupies the expansive northern boundary of what is called The Coral Triangle, which spans approx. 2.3 million square miles of the western Pacific Ocean that encompasses the seas that cradle Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, and the Solomon Islands.

Amazon of the Sea

The Coral Triangle also nicknamed the “Amazon of the Sea” is deemed to be the epicentre for having 75 percent of the world’s coral species, and astounding marine biodiversity with 2,300 different fish species, six of seven species of the sea turtle, seven of the eight known species of giant clams, countless nudibranch species, migrating whale sharks, dugongs, pelagic thresher sharks, pygmy seahorses, Mola Mola, and humpback whales to name a few. When you toss in some historic shipwrecks and some incredible muck-diving photo ops into this mix, it’s no mystery why scuba divers from around the world continue to flock to the Philippines to immerse themselves in breathtaking scuba diving adventures.

Atlantis ImageMakers 2022

“I am guessing that you might be asking yourself, “Why are you getting this letter from me? And is there a catch?”

— Marty Snyderman, Atlantis ImageMakers Ambassador

Last year, Kathryn and I accepted an invitation from diving legend and Atlantis ImageMakers Ambassador, Marty Snyderman, to fly to the Philippines and participate in Atlantis ImageMakers 2022 hosted by Atlantis Dive Resorts & Liveaboards. Along with, Marty Snyderman (USA), and ourselves from Canada, among the high-profile contingent of underwater photo pros participating in Imagemakers 2022 were Vijay Raman (USA), Tanya Griffin Houppermans (USA), Joel Silverstein (USA), Kathy Weydig (USA), Maureen Sweeney (USA), Richard Salas (USA, Lennart Rossenfeld (Germany), diving legend Michael Aw (Singapore), and the 2022 North American Scholar of the Our World Underwater Scholarship Society, Rosie Poirier (Canada). Our collective mission for two weeks between the two resorts, Atlantis Dumaguete and Atlantis Puerto Galera, was to do nothing except come along and… “bring a great attitude, dive safely, and above all have fun!” 

Atlantis Philippines Dive Resorts & Liveaboards

“A sincere invitation is accompanied by a pull.”

— Philippines Saying

For us, the pull was that Atlantis Philippines Dive Resorts & Liveaboards has two premier world-class dive resorts. One is in Dumaguete on Negros Island and the other dive resort is in Puerto Galera on Mindoro Island. Each resort has its own unique charm, and both destinations are known for their first-grade service and facilities.

The dedicated dive centers at each property offer the highest standards of scuba diving education, dedicated underwater camera facilities and some of the most accommodating and knowledgeable dive guides that we had the distinct pleasure of getting to know. Other than dressing into our wetsuits, we never had to lift a finger here as the dive guides always ensured our dive gear and underwater camera systems were loaded and unloaded from the dive skiffs. Our time in the Philippines was divided between the two-dive land-based resorts. Atlantis also has a luxury diving liveaboard, “Atlantis Azores”, that takes their onboard guests further afield to visit more remote dive sites, a primo location such as Apo Reef, Cebu, Bohol, Coron, Tubbataha, and the Southern Visayas.

Atlantis Dive Resorts & Liveaboards Website

Atlantis Dumaguete Dive Resort

“I left feeling more like family. Not only is their staff highly professional, including strict safe diving standards, and they are also kind and welcoming. The grounds are crazy beautiful as well…oh, and the food…OMG so good!!?”

— Maureen Sweeney, ImageMakers 2022

Atlantis Dumaguete Dive Resort’s world-renowned beachfront luxury dive resort is located on the southern tip of Negros Island on the Mindanao Sea, in the heart of the Visayas archipelago. The dive resort lies within the municipality of Dauin (pronounced Da-win), 310 miles south of Manila and 69 miles from Cebu City, surrounded by amazingly lush tropical gardens featuring some of the rarest plants to be found in the Philippines.

With 44 well-appointed air-conditioned rooms with all the expected modern amenities, an invitingly large private swimming pool with a waterfall feature, a spa building set amongst tropical palms, a waterfront restaurant, and a spacious well-appointed camera room, guests have everything they might need without ever leaving the property.

Scuba diving is the main attraction with on average five guided boat dives per day with no more than 6 people at a time to over 40 different dive sites. Many of these dive sites are within a ten-minute skiff ride away. All the dive staff quickly learn to call guests by name and ensure that they never have to lift a thing. Dumaguete’s shoreline dive sites are protected marine sanctuaries that feature some mighty fine muck diving. For the uninitiated, muck diving is a term used to describe dive spots with silty or sandy bottoms that provide a habitat for strange and weird-looking marine life. Muck diving has attained great popularity amongst underwater photographers as this is the zone where they find fascination with mimic or Wunderpus octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, flasher wrasse, ghost pipefish, dragonettes, flounders, frogfish, rare nudibranchs and seahorses all camouflaged by sea grass, sediment, rocky terrain, and coral formations.

Muck diving is not the only attraction here. Atlantis Dumaguete also boasts some stunning coral reef areas with clownfish and their host anemones, sea crates, schooling snappers and jacks. A special day trip to Oslob offers an opportunity to snorkel with whale sharks in the wild, albeit in a somewhat organized circus environment hosted by the whale-watching agency.

Atlantis Dumaguete Resort Website

Apo Island’s Sea Turtle Garden

“Cause we were like, “woaaaah.”, and I was like, “woaaaah.” and you were like, “woaaaahh…”

— Finding Nemo

By far one of our best diving days occurred at Apo Island, a marine sanctuary established in 1982. After Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Apo Reef is the second largest connecting coral reef in the world, and the largest atoll-like coral reef in the Philippines. “Woaaaah!”, seems an apt description as it was sea turtles galore during our descents at Apo Island.

We encountered more sea turtles over three dives than we had seen elsewhere in our previous diving experience. Absolutely mind-blowing how every sea turtle we encountered seemed to serenely swim alongside as we angled ourselves into position to photograph them.

Atlantis Puerto Galera Dive Resort

“Simply Paradise.”

— Puerto Galera Slogan

“We’re entering a pirate town,” I said, to Kathryn, as we docked in Puerto Galera on Mindoro Island after a one-hour water taxi ride from a port facility in Batangas. Warmly greeted by some resort staff upon arrival, we did not have to carry anything other than our camera bags which was a personal choice. The tiny port town was bustling with activity. Puerto Galera is Spanish for “Port of the Galleons,” which is a direct reference to the Spanish Galleons that once set anchor in Puerto Galera’s natural harbor during their return voyages to Spain from the Americas.

Puerto Galera’s reputation as a top-tier diving destination is undisputed in diving circles as it is known to offer some of the best reef diving in the world! Whether an underwater photographer is shooting wide angle or macro, there is an abundance of reef fish and a spectacular cast of macro subjects scattered amidst Puerto Galera’s scenic shallow coral gardens and sand patches. The wall diving on the outer bay features rock formations and swim-throughs, and there are also some smaller shipwrecks surrounded by an abundance of schooling reef fish. Triggerfish, sea turtles, moray eels, cephalopods, macro photography-worthy crustaceans, and muck critters were seen on almost every descent.

Like Atlantis Dumaguete, the daily diving routine is five guided boat dives per day to more than 40 dive sites, many of which are no more than ten minutes from the resort. Atlantis Puerto Galera also has a top-notch dive center and a dedicated camera room for underwater photographers. The dive guides are accommodating and will take you to whichever dive site you desire, subject to weather and sea conditions. Whether it’s giant clams, flamboyant cuttlefish, frogfish, clownfish, octopus, or sea turtles, you are guaranteed to find something photogenic.

Set like an exquisite jewel into the lush hillsides that skirt Puerto Galera’s Sabang Beach, Atlantis Puerto Galera’s outstanding dive resort has forty boutique-style guest rooms and suites that are all styled upon its award-winning (Flintstones) design. Yes, we’re talking about the Flintstones from Bedrock, where the homes, buildings, and internal walls predominantly had white plastered walls with rounded corners. Of course, this resort has all the requisite Spa services and a large swimming pool in the middle of the resort which is shaded by tropical plants and foliage. The resort’s dining room is highly regarded for serving the tastiest cuisine in town.

Puerto Galera Resort Website

Verde Island’s Ocean Aquarium

“The sea is an underwater museum still awaiting its visitors.”

— Phillip Diole

Verde Island is a volcanic island situated in Verde Island Passage between the islands of Luzon and Mindoro. During our diving day trip here, we made two splashes at an offshore reef in Verde Island Passage, a place recognized as being the “Center of the Center of marine biodiversity” in The Coral Triangle. This waterway continues to yield new marine species discoveries, which further underscores its global biological significance.

Offshore from the island’s southeast corner, two rocks jutting out just above the sea’s surface are the peaks of Verde Island Pinnacle, an impressive current-swept 330-foot undersea mountain. While the place does not look like much from the surface, down below it was a completely different picture as a dazzling kaleidoscope of colorful marine life lay just beneath the surface.

Multicolored crinoids attached themselves to rocks and giant barrel sponges. Hard and soft corals dominated the vibrant seascape that harbor approximately 60 percent of the world’s reef fish. Swirling clouds of anthias added a surreal feeling to this place. Napoleon wrasse, clownfish, parrotfish, and unicorn fish were plentiful. The odds are good that divers might encounter pelagic species here such as whale sharks, manta rays, sharks, and tuna, although the diving gods did not surrender any of them to us on this day. A remarkably wild place that begs more exploration.

Mabuhay!

“My soul is full of longing for the secret of the sea, and the heart of the great ocean sends a thrilling pulse through me.”

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

On our last night in Puerto Galera, our fellow ImageMakers 2022 participants sequestered themselves in the resort’s beachfront, ocean view, “50 Bar.” With classic 70’s & 80’s rock music playing in the background, we hoisted gin & tonics and San Miguel beer in celebration of what had been an incredible two weeks of diving in the Philippines. For many in the group, this trip was their first dive trip to the Philippines. It will certainly not be their last as several had already made plans to return. The Philippines is a thrilling destination seemingly made for scuba divers. As Marty Snyderman urged us in his invitation… … “bring a great attitude, dive safely, and above all have fun!” Indeed, we did all this… and more.

Until our next dispatch, dare to Explore…Dream…Discover.

Belmont Hotel Manila

If you are needing to overnight or spend a week, in Manila, we cannot say enough good things about the Belmont Hotel Manila, a 4-star hotel which is just a five-minute walk from Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3. Located within the renowned entertainment city, Newport World Resort, the customer service we received during our stay was impeccable and went above & beyond. From accommodating a later checkup time to assisting with the arrangement of transportation to take us to Greenhill’s Pearl Market, we cannot say enough good things about the concierge staff who checked in to ensure our every need was met.

Belmont Hotel Manila Website