Join Blue Planet for a week of incredible diving as we explore the remote Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, one of Asia's best dive spots, from the Philippines Aggressor. 

Tubbataha

Tubbataha Reef is located in the Sulu Sea, at the center of the Coral Triangle between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Rarely visited by tourists due to its location and its status as a marine preserve, Tubbataha is quite simply one of Asia's best diving spots and on the 'wish list' for most avid divers. It is home to no less than 573 species of fish, 373 species of corals, 11 species of sharks, 12 species of dolphins and whales, nestling hawksbill and green sea turtles. 

The Diving

Minimum dive certification/experience: PADI Advanced Open Water Diver with 50 dives, most of which should be ocean dives from a boat. PADI Enriched Air/Nitrox certification required.

You’ll be diving in water that averages 80-85°F. Since we'll be doing as many as 3-4 dives each day, so some sort of protection is needed; a 3mm wetsuit should be comfortable and adequate. Due to swift currents in some of the locations, we suggest bringing safety items such as a Dive Alert, safety sausage, Life Line and any other safety items you feel necessary. Dive computers are mandatory. If you are diving DIN, you will need to bring an adaptor as the yacht has a limited number onboard. Most diving in the Philippines is drift diving so you should be comfortable with current. 

All dives are made from the 20’ custom-built high speed zodiacs capable of carrying 12 divers for quick access to even the most remote dive sites. The boarding ladders were designed for convenience to allow divers easy exits and entries. The tenders return to the mother ships after each dive. Each diver has her own tank rack, locker and spacious seating area. Night diving is not allowed in Tubbataha.

The Philippines Aggressor

The Philippines Aggressor is 135 feet long with a 28.5 foot beam, built and powered for comfort, safety and stability. There is a beautiful spacious salon, sun deck with shading, chaise lounges and deck chairs, bar and grill. The yacht is diesel powered, cruises at 10 knots and has 220V and 110V power onboard.

Comfortable accommodations for 24 guests include 12 spacious staterooms, with 5 on the lower deck, 4 on the main deck and 3 balcony suites on the upper deck. All have a private bathroom and shower. Each stateroom has ample storage and individual climate controls. Staterooms have a safe aboard to store valuables such as passports, cash, credit cards or anything else you would like to secure.

There is a variety of nightly entertainment including fish identification presentations, movies, games and more. A small library of books for exchange is maintained onboard as well as fish identification books for reference.

Breakfast (cooked to order), lunch and an elegant chef prepared meal at dinner with tableside service are served in addition to fresh mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. Beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) are complimentary while onboard. 

Travel

Plan to fly into Puerto Princesa by Friday, May 19 and overnight in one of the two host hotels. We will be picked up Saturday afternoon and transferred to the port where we will board the yacht. Everyone must be on board by 6 PM. We will checkout at 8 AM on Saturday, May 27 and transfer back to the Puerto Princesa airport or the host hotels. Please contact the shop before booking any flights or hotels.

Interested in extending your trip? We’re happy to help you plan land-based excursions in the Philippines before and after the liveaboard.

Upon cancellation of a reservation for any reason, the refund of the deposit and payments made or due will be contingent upon Blue Planet reselling the participant's reservation. Any refund may also be subject to a $300 cancellation fee and payment of any non-refundable fees imposed by the tour company, dive operator or any other contractor associated with the trip. 

Dive accident insurance is required for all divers on this trip. We strongly recommend travel insurance to protect your vacation investment. Contact us if you need more information. 

You should plan to arrive in Puerto Princesa by Friday, May 19 and stay overnight at one of the two host hotels, just to make sure both you and your bags make it on time! On Saturday afternoon, we will transfer to the port where we will board the yacht and depart for Tubbataha (a 12-15 hour crossing).

In this area lies a shipwreck dive site, Malayan Wreck located on an beautiful wall. This shipwreck scuba diving experience includes big animal action with the chance to see dogtooth tuna, giant trevally, different species of barracuda in large schools, turtles, manta rays and almost every kind of native reef fish imaginable.

This area is known for hammerhead sharks, large pelagics, different species of sharks and reef fish.

The northern tip of the North atoll is an area with high diversity of shark species such as blacktips, white tips, grey reef sharks, silky sharks in addition to turtles, rays and whale sharks. The walls have beautiful soft corals, barrel sponges and lots of cleaning stations.

This area has pristine coral with an area of branching acropora corals and lots of species of sharks can be seen; hammerheads, silky sharks and even whale sharks.

We'll make the 12-15 hour crossing back to Puerto Princesa and have dinner out that evening. 

We're looking at some exciting add-on options including muck diving in Anilao and looking for Thresher sharks in Malapascua. Contact us for details!