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Reviews (8)

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Atlantis Dive Resort, Puerto Galera

5
5
5
5

I stayed at Atlantis Puerto Galera for a few days and had a lovely time. The staff were incredibly welcoming and knew my name within a day, which made me feel right at home. My room was spacious with a TV, a large balcony, and a shower with great water pressure (and free shampoo and body wash). I had an ocean view suite at the front of the resort, and the sunrises were absolutely stunning! There are a lot of stairs in this resort, so that is something to be mindful of; you can request ground'ish level rooms.

The food was great, with different options for each meal every day. They catered to my gluten and dairy allergies really well, and I never felt like I missed out. I’m now obsessed with their Kalamansi juice too—you have to try it!
The resort also has a large spa with air-conditioned massage rooms—definitely worth it after a day of diving.

Even though the resort has a lot of rooms, it never felt crowded. It’s set back a bit from the main walking road (no cars allowed), so it was nice and quiet at night.

As for the diving, it was some of the best I’ve ever done! The reefs were covered in soft corals, super colorful, and full of life. I saw tons of nudibranchs, frogfish, shrimp, and crabs, which were my favorites. Some sites weren’t as colorful but still nice. The dive staff were super attentive and quickly figured out what I liked to see, so I was never bored. The dive sites are all really close to the resort, just 5-10 minutes away, so we came back between dives to relax with tea and snacks.

The dive center is fantastic—lots of space, rinse tubs, showers, and a very well-equipped camera room. The staff even gave me tips on my underwater photography. They have lots of boats, so there was never any crowding, and the built-in nitrox analyzer setup was super easy to use. Sometimes depending on the tide and the busyness of the boat area, you may have to wade through water to get to the boat, then climb a short ladder.

All in all, I would definitely come back!

Visited on 06/2024 - Submitted on 09/09/2024
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Atlantis Dive Resort, Dumaguete

5
4
4
5

I stayed at Atlantis Resort Dumaguete for a few days and would definitely return. The resort is really spacious, and the rooms are large with great air-conditioning, TVs with English movie channels, and huge bathrooms featuring rain showers and even a bench. The curtains are quite thin, so if you are light sensitive like me, bring a good eye mask.

The food was fantastic! The chef went above and beyond to cater to my gluten and dairy allergies, even making me ice cream and brownies, which was such a treat. The restaurant overlooks the beach, so it’s really nice to sit there and watch the divers come back after their dives.

The muck diving was a highlight. The guides are absolute pros at spotting all the cool stuff—we even played bingo to check everything off the list! Some of the muck dive sites have artificial reefs, which add a bit of color to the dives. I also did a full-day trip to Apo Island for 3 dives, and the sites there were beautiful and full of life. They serve a fresh, cooked lunch on the boat, with a variety of platters to suit everyone’s dietary needs.

They’ve got both small and large dive boats. The smaller ones use a backroll entry and a ladder to climb back on board, while the larger boats offer a giant stride or walk-in entry with super easy, angled stairs to get back on after you take off your gear. The larger boats are really spacious, with plenty of seating, tea and coffee, and even a toilet on board. Sometimes at low tide you have to walk across pebbles, so I would recommend booties. The dive center is very large with showers and your own lockers to put all your equipment, wet and dry. They put up photos of all the staff who are on that day and the dive guides, so you always know who you are diving with. They have a very well setup camera room with plenty of space for everyone.

All in all, it was a fantastic experience, and I’d go back in a heartbeat!

Visited on 09/2024 - Submitted on 09/09/2024
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Magic Oceans Dive Resort, Bohol

5
5
5
5

I loved my stay at Magic Oceans in Anda, Bohol. It’s about 2.5 hours from Panglao airport, and it’s so worth the trip! The vibe is super quiet and relaxed—never saw any other boats on the reef except ours, which was really cool.

The dive center is spacious with plenty of room to gear up. While there’s no dedicated camera room, they’ve set aside some benches specifically for cameras, so that worked just fine. The boats are big with lots of space and shade, plus there’s a toilet onboard, which is always nice. We had fresh fruit with tea, coffee, and water between dives, which made the surface intervals really chill. The entry is a giant stride, and getting back on the boat is super easy with the stairs.

The diving here was awesome! You can choose from walls, muck diving, or coral gardens, and the wall dives were insane—so much color and marine life. One of the dives had a really strong current, which made for an epic drift dive. Most dive sites were just a 10-minute ride from the resort, so you’re in the water pretty quick. Anda has just come into my top 5 sites in the world!

Food was a highlight too! It’s all family-style dining with your dive group, but if you want a private table, you can ask for one. They went above and beyond for my gluten and dairy allergies. I even got crispy fried food and tempura veggies, which almost never happens with my restrictions.

The rooms were super comfy and spacious, with big lounging chairs and a huge bathroom with solid hot water and complimentary toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, body wash). I had an ocean view with lush forest right in front, and it was so peaceful. There’s a sandy oceanfront area with lounge chairs and plenty of shade for chilling when you’re not diving. There are hammocks around the resort too.

Overall, I had an amazing time here and would definitely come back!

Visited on 06/2024 - Submitted on 09/09/2024
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Magic Island Dive Resort

5
4
3
4

I’d definitely go back! It’s about a 4-hour drive from Cebu.

They were super accommodating with my gluten and dairy allergies—tons of tasty options to choose from. A highlight of the trip was definitely the last night when they threw a party with a live band, dancing, and a traditional Filipino feast. So much fun! The staff learn your name by the first day, which makes you feel right at home.

Diving was good; the sheer walls were nice, and catching the sardine run was a real treat. The rooms were comfy, though if you’re like me and prefer to keep the air-conditioning on all the time, you’ll have to sacrifice some natural light since you can’t open the windows.

The dive boats are nice, but be prepared to step over a few sections to reach the seating. Backwards rolls off the boat are a breeze, and the guides are incredibly helpful. There’s a small ladder to climb back on, which is manageable. The house reef where they do the mandarin fish dives is lovely.

The dive center is spacious and well-organized, with short boat rides to the dive sites—never more than 20 minutes. You can do up to 5 dives a day, which is awesome if you’re a dive junkie like me.

They’re currently renovating, so I’m looking forward to seeing the finished rooms next time. Overall, a fantastic trip, and I’m definitely planning to go back soon!

Visited on 06/2024 - Submitted on 09/09/2024
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Sangat Island Dive Resort

5
4
4
5

Sangat Island Resort is a true gem that far exceeds the expectations set by its photos. The resort's luxury is understated in its images, and it's a delightful surprise to experience it firsthand.

The dining experience was exceptional, arguably the best I had in the Philippines. The staff went above and beyond to accommodate my gluten and dairy allergies, ensuring I could enjoy every meal without any concerns.

For diving enthusiasts, particularly those who have a passion for wrecks, Sangat Island Resort offers a great experience. The wrecks, which are well-preserved with impressive coral growth, provide great underwater exploration. Although visibility was not optimal during my visit, I could still appreciate the wrecks' allure. Inside, you'll find an array of artifacts like tanks and other remnants, adding to the intrigue; they have Japanese gunboats, sub chasers, cargo vessels, and even a seaplane tender. The resort supports technical diving, with the wrecks ranging from shallow surface dives to depths of 42 meters. The furthest wreck is about 20 minutes away, making for manageable and enjoyable dive excursions.

The house reef is a standout feature, ideal for both snorkeling and diving, and provides a great alternative when you want to stay closer to shore. The resort itself is beautifully set, with the entire beachfront to yourself—no other resorts in sight, ensuring a private and serene environment. Just a friendly warning: there are monkeys around, so keep an eye on your belongings!

While the resort does not offer Wi-Fi (just the restaurant/receptions areas) in the rooms and cell service is limited, these minor inconveniences are outweighed by the resort's charm. A particularly charming feature is the mini island at the front of the resort, which has a bar perfect for sunset drinks.

The resort also has an additional private beach area with its own exclusive villa, providing an even more secluded retreat within the resort. This separate beachfront is perfect for those seeking extra privacy and tranquility, offering a serene escape from the main resort area. With its own villa, this secluded beach ensures an intimate and peaceful stay, making it an ideal choice for guests looking to immerse themselves in a truly private paradise.

The service is warm and welcoming, and the staff are truly lovely. The transfer to the resort is straightforward, with a short private boat ride after a 2.5-hour air/land transfer from Cebu.

Additional activities include a kayak tour through the mangroves to the hot springs, which is a unique and enjoyable experience. The resort can also arrange for a masseuse to visit, enhancing the relaxation of your stay.

Overall, Sangat Island Resort offers a unique blend of luxury, excellent dining, and intriguing diving opportunities. I would certainly return and highly recommend it to those looking for a special getaway in the Philippines.

Visited on 09/2024 - Submitted on 09/09/2024
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Evolution Diving Resort

5
4
4
4

I stayed and dived here for a week and I would happily come back again.

The rooms are lovely and spacious with good air conditioning, plenty of cupboard space and a nice bathroom. The patio has space to hang wet gear and a rinse bucket for your feet to save bringing all the sand into the room with you. The rooms are set far enough back from the rest of the resort that I did not hear anything at all when I was in my room.

The restaurant was great, especially with my gluten and dairy allergies; they had this written next to my name on a board in the kitchen, so even if I forgot to mention it, they all knew. They gave me a special breakfast on the boat as usually it is overnight oats for everyone. Full breakfast after the early dives was an easy switch and they even made me some special pancakes. They were happy to switch out ingredients and were always double checking things with me; they also have gluten free pasta which is rare. All the staff knew everyone's name by the first day which was lovely.

The diving is early for the Thresher Sharks, leaving before 5am but this made sure we were the first ones at the dive site with no one else around. Group sizes are kept at 4 divers to 1 guide. The boat is lovely and spacious with a separate lounging area if you need a nap and a bathroom too. The staff help with everything and I didn't have to once lift my equipment or jump in with my camera. The guides were great spotting macro which I love and were active in telling other people from other centers to keep off the reef which I like to see.
They offer an afternoon double dive and some nights a night dive too. The other sites that are not for the Threshers were lovely too; I saw flamboyant cuttlefish, octopus, ghost pipefish, leaf-fish, disco clams, nudibranchs and frogfish along with the usual array of colorful reef fish.

Visited on 06/2024 - Submitted on 06/01/2024
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Tonga

5
5
5
2

We dived here only a few times as we came for the Whales and you are not allowed to scuba with them. The sites we dived were from Ha'apai Island and they were ok, I couldn't say that I would dive here again to be honest, but we didn't do enough diving to be able to comment too much on it.
But, as for the snorkelling with the whales, wow, wow, WOW! I have never had such interactions with any sea creature before and it is absolutely incredible! I still have no words for what we experienced here. We got to be in the water during a heat run with about 15 males chasing one female, all of them showing of their best bubble shows or breaches or sounds. We got to play with a mum and baby all day, the baby was so curious and you could see his eye checkin us out as he swam by, with mum sitting comfortably deeper letting us play. We had a pretty close call with a cranky male who tried to drown the poor baby so he could mate with mum again. We also got up close to a singer, he was about 20m below and my whole body was vibrating, enough to make me feel like I needed to quickly use the bathroom! You could even feel it coming up through the boat! This island is much quieter than well-known Vava'u, which meant we were often the only boat in the bay, so we had all the whales to ourselves.
I noticed that you don't really need to be able to swim to do this as the guides will help you through the water, but it did affect the rest of the group as we all had to move as one through the water towards the whales, meaning we missed out on seeing a few as they had swam away by then.
There was nothing else to do on the island other than water activities, but it suited us as we did the whale swim and relax and thats all.
I would highly recommend Tonga for whale swimming and I will definitely be returning one day.

Visited on 08/2022 - Submitted on 12/08/2023
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Azores

5
3
5
4

We chose a liveaboard over just day trips as you can reach the most popular dive site of 'Princess Alice', its a deep ocean pinnacle that sits at 35m and attracts huge schools of Mobula, Jacks, Tuna and Barracuda, I have never seen so many fish at once in all my life! We did mostly line diving here, we saw hundreds of Mobula at once and I was lucky enough to see a whale shark here too! Then for the Blue Shark dives its line diving also and we got to dive the whole day with them. We would drop down on the line at around 8m and just sit there and watch as the Blues came up and touched us and swam between us and around us, it was amazing! Then when we got low on air we would go back to the boat and change our tanks to come straight back down when we wanted to. The shore dives were ok, but nowhere near as exciting as the deep stuff, it also got a lot colder closer to the shore, a lot of the other divers with us did love the topography of the closer sites though. I feel the cold a lot and was wearing an 8mm suit with hood and gloves (you have to wear gloves around the Blues) but next time I would bring a dry-suit! We also saw dolphins, false killer whales, turtles and a baby sperm whale from the boat which was super cool!
We climbed Pico Mountain, a dormant volcano, at the end of our trip; (don't forget your no-fly times as it sits as 2300m high). I definitely recommend going with a guide for the hike and be prepared for a long day, we took around nine hours in total and we wernt the slowest, but the view from the crater (on a good weather day) is worth it; we could see the other islands of Faial & Sao Jorge.
We hired a car to explore, as you can make it around the island in around two hours, we did it in six as we stopped at every single viewpoint and meals too. There are so many beautiful stops along the way where you can enjoy the view of surrounding islands, the Unesco heritage vineyards and the black lava that covers most of Pico.
We took another day to explore Faial, which was only a short ferry ride. Horta is the town here and is the midway point for boats when crossing the Atlantic, it was lovely to see all the different boats and to explore the streets and old buildings.
I would definitely dive the Azores again, although next time with a dry suit!

Visited on 07/2020 - Submitted on 12/08/2023
shark, blueshark, azores, pico, ocean, sealife, bluewatertravel
shark, blueshark, azores, pico, ocean, sealife, bluewatertravel
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