Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
 

Dive Review of Atlantis in
Philippines/Puerto Galera

Atlantis, Jan, 2005,

by Carl Scott, TX, USA (Contributor Contributor 16 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 1578.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments The water was cold! Yes, average temps in January range from 73-77F, and that was the range during my visit. Many divers were shivering after 50 minutes in a 5 mm wetsuit, so take this into consideration before you book a trip here this time of year. Speaking of dive times, this operation schedules 4 dives per day, so they strictly limit all dives to 50 minutes (unless, I presume, you are doing the last dive of the day and have sufficient NDL time remaining). One exception is if you pay an extra $15 per dive for a private guide and individual schedule. If you come when the water is warmer, I highly recommend it. Otherwise, you'll find 50 minutes to be enough, I'm sure.

Visibility is never great here, but good enough to appreciate the diversity of marine life. This isn't Indonesia, but we did see a pair of octopus, I counted 9 different nudibranch species when reviewing my photos from this trip, and there were plenty of cuttlefish, frogfish, lionfish, and many tropicals to entertain us. There are also 2 colors of pygmy seahorse - yellow and purple. The crinoids were more plentiful than I've ever seen anywhere else, and they are active! We saw several free-swimming, and some took the opportunity to attach themselves to divers on occasion.

The service at Atlantis is commendable, as you will read from other reports here. They require you to set up your equipment prior to your first dive - my guess being that it is part of their evaluation of your skills, as well as to ensure that they set it up the same way for the rest of your stay. They do put you with a private guide on your first dive to evaluate your skills and comfort in the water.

Shore facilities are excellent, with separate rinse tanks for different types of gear. The dressing room has ample storage, but may be a bit crowded during peak seasons. Again, all dives are but a short walk from the briefing area to the boat, followed by a 1-10 minute ride to the entry point. The dive staff is also very friendly and can be expected to show up at the bar each night for a bit of conversation and a mug of San Miguel.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Thailand, Indonesia, Palau, Caribbean, Costa Rica
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather cloudy Seas choppy
Water Temp 73-77°F / 23-25°C Wetsuit Thickness 2
Water Visibility 30-60 Ft/ 9-18 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions 50 minutes - no exceptions; stay with group
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 1 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 4 stars
UW Photo Comments Boats are small, with no camera facilities. However, rides to dive sites are less than 10 minutes, so this really isn't an issue. Crew and fellow divers were respectful of camera equipment, so problems are unlikely outside of an unforseeable accident.
Was this report helpful to you?
Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here
 

Subscribe Now
Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 524 dive reviews of Philippines and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

 
Featured Links from Our Sponsors
Interested in becoming a sponsor?
Reef & Rainforest, Let our experience be your guide -- Reef and Rainforest
Reef & Rainforest
is an agency for travelers that scuba dive. We specialize in planning scuba diving adventures to the Philippines.

Want to assemble your own collection of Philippines reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

Undercurrent Home


Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email.
And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent

Free Undercurrent Issue
Get a free
monthly email and
a sample issue!


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2024 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

Page computed and displayed in 0.11 seconds