Tubbataha: A Diver's Dream

      Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines

      BP
      Blue Planet Scuba
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      142 reviews
      May 20 - 27, 2023
      Group size: 22 - 22
      Tubbataha: A Diver's Dream
      Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines

      Blue Planet Scuba
      • Email address verified
      • Facebook verified
      • Twitter verified
      142 reviews

      May 20 - 27, 2023
      Group size: 22 - 22

      About this trip

      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.

      Cancellation Policy

      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. 

      What’s included

      • 7 nights accommodations
        Double occupancy sharing a stateroom
      • Up to 4 dives a day
        On non-crossing days
      • All meals and beverages
        All meals and snacks, non-alcoholic beverages, local beer and wine (except final night onboard)
      • Local transfers
        From airport or host hotel to the vessel

      What’s not included

      • Park and port fees
        $150 USD
      • Fuel surcharge
        $200 USD
      • Local hotel
        Night before the yacht departs
      • Flights
        International and domestic flights
      • Enriched Air/Nitrox
        For Nitrox certified divers
      • Scuba equipment
        Only tanks and weights included; rental gear available
      • Tips
        Tips for the boat's excellent crew

      Available Packages

      Deluxe Lower Cabin

      ONE MALE SHARE LEFT! Staterooms 1 & 4 have 2 single side-by-side beds and rooms 2, 3 & 5 have a side-by-side single bed and a double bed with a circular window. All rooms have private bathrooms with shower, individual climate control, monitor with media player and hair dryer. 

      $3,595
      Deposit: $1,000
      Deluxe Main Deck

      A comfortable stateroom with 2 single side-by-side beds with a panoramic window and a private bathroom & shower. All with individual climate control, monitor with media player and hair dryer.

      $3,745
      Deposit: $1,000
      Balcony Suite

      A comfortable stateroom with king bed or 2 single beds. The suites have a private balcony, panoramic window, private bathroom and shower. Each with individual climate control, monitor with media player and hair dryer.

      $3,995
      Deposit: $1,000

      Available options



      Itinerary

      Saturday, May 20
      Transfer to the Philippines Aggressor

      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).

      Your Organizer


      BP
      Blue Planet Scuba
      142 reviews
      Blue Planet is a different kind of scuba diving organization — aimed at providing the best education and experiences to divers in the Washington, DC area and beyond, while harnessing the excitement and adventure of scuba diving to help protect our fragile oceans.

      Reviews

      Heather & Jonas were excellent trip leaders making sure everyone was well taken care of. The Galapagos Aggressor had a super crew and the diving was challenging and stunning! We saw hammerheads, penguins, seals, sea lions & dolphins! I really appreciated the personal touches like our matching jackets and a cake for my birthday. I would highly recommend this trip.
      By Catherine W for Explore the Galapagos on Mar 02, 2024
      This review is belated, I know... ...But that only means I took **serious*** consideration into reviewing my experience with Blue Planet DC, and ranking them very highly. Its been almost a year since I was OW Certified with Blue Planet in Cozumel - my training during that trip was thorough enough to provide me with a solid foundation to continue scuba diving afterwards many, many times. The trip itinerary, accommodations, and overall pacing of the scuba lessons were incredibly well organized. The instructors were patient and attentive - at various times I was provided specific one-on-one, actionable feedback regarding things like my trim or my breathing rhythm impacting my buoyancy and what I could do to improve my technique. They made sure we knew our stuff before letting us loose into the ocean, and during our checkout dives they stayed closeby and kept a watchful eye on us, so I felt more at ease and safe. (Even with the drift moving us around!) My main priority for this trip was to learn how to scuba, but that said, there were opportunities at Cozumel to (after the day's lessons are done) be a tourist and explore the area. The resort itself is a very beautiful spot with relaxing, open air dining, lounge, and balcony areas as well as a fantastic view of the ocean horizon. I also really appreciated that lodging AND meals were included in this travel package - it saved me the trouble of having to figure that out on my own, which made a big difference by freeing up more time after each full day of lessons to just relax and chill. I know each trip is always different of course in terms of other group trip attendees you may end up with, so of course this can just be sheer dumb luck, but everyone else on this trip was chill. Even the more seasoned divers who were already certified and doing this for years were friendly and happy to drop useful advice or recount from their personal experiences how it was like them becoming certified the first time. The time I did this it was "drift diving" and of course that scared me a ton. But the PADI material that is mandatory to study goes over what drift diving is. When doing my checkout dive the drift didn't like, wash me away from the group dive route. You'll be under instructor supervision so people are keeping an eye on you, and the drift itself is mild - I didn't have to struggle against the current (if you've ever surfed, you'll see that this isn't at all like a riptide or undertow). If anything, managing your buoyancy will end up your primary concern or worry during the checkout dive. Hope this review helps anyone considering who to go with for getting certified on their first ever scuba trip! I'm very glad I went with Blue Planet.
      By M T for March Certification Weekend in Cozumel on Feb 19, 2024
      EM
      This was my first liveaboard! 🛥️ Anthony was a fantastic trip leader and teacher, as always! The Aquacat crew was fun, the food was delicious and the diving and excursions were great! I would definitely recommend this trip with Blue Planet, especially as a first liveaboard experience! I had a good time learning about sharks, too! 🦈
      By Elsbeth M for Ring in 2024 on a Liveaboard in the Bahamas! on Jan 15, 2024
      Thanks for joining on another amazing trip! Hopefully we will be on another fun trip in sharky waters soon.
      By Anthony White on Jan 17, 2024
      AW
      This was my first trip with Blue Planet and my first liveaboard - both were a great experience! The communication and prep from Blue Planet was excellent (pre-trip meeting was really helpful, paperwork was clear and organized). My husband and I are new divers and Anthony (trip lead from Blue Planet) was an invaluable resource - we learned a lot during the dives and felt safe with him looking out for us. The liveaboard itself was amazing. The bed was comfortable, the food was amazing, the staff were wonderful. This was one of the best trips of my life - it's going to be hard to top with the bar now set so high!
      By Rachel L for Ring in 2024 on a Liveaboard in the Bahamas! on Jan 08, 2024
      Thank you so much, Rachel! I am glad you and Ben had such a good time on the trip. You were both great divers, and I can't wait to see you on more of our trips. I look forward to diving with you some more!
      By Anthony White on Jan 13, 2024
      AW
      JR
      Had a great time diving, wonderful people and nice accommodations; hotel was super convenient to dive boats.
      By Jennifer R for December Certification Weekend in Cozumel on Dec 11, 2023
      Thank you so much, Jennifer! We’re so happy to hear how much you enjoyed the dive experience with Blue Planet in Cozumel. We look forward to you joining with us on a future trip!
      By Blue Planet Scuba on Dec 12, 2023
      BP
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